The early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.
When the menace known as The Joker emerges from his mysterious past, he wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham. The Dark Knight must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.
Director:
Christopher Nolan
Stars:
Christian Bale,
Heath Ledger,
Aaron Eckhart
The presidencies of Kennedy and Johnson, the events of Vietnam, Watergate, and other history unfold through the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75.
The story of Henry Hill and his life in the mob, covering his relationship with his wife Karen Hill and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito in the Italian-American crime syndicate.
In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
A meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.
A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O.
Director:
Christopher Nolan
Stars:
Leonardo DiCaprio,
Joseph Gordon-Levitt,
Ellen Page
When the aging head of a famous crime family decides to transfer his position to one of his subalterns, a series of unfortunate events start happening to the family, and a war begins between all the well-known families leading to insolence, deportation, murder and revenge, and ends with the favorable successor being finally chosen.Written by
J. S. Golden
George Lucas put together the "Mattress Sequence" (this montage of crime scene snaps and headlines) as a thank you to Francis Ford Coppola for helping him fund American Graffiti (1973). Lucas used photos from real crime scenes. The one pictured is Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti, Al Capone's right-hand man who had not been murdered, but actually shot himself. During the scene Coppola's father Carmine Coppola is the piano player. See more »
Goofs
When Sonny is beating Carlo, the actor Frank Sivero is watching the fight. Frank Sivero played the young Genco in the "back in time" scenes in The Godfather 2. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Bonasera:
I believe in America. America has made my fortune. And I raised my daughter in the American fashion. I gave her freedom but I taught her never to dishonor her family. She found a "boy friend," not an Italian. She went to the movies with him. She stayed out late. I didn't protest. Two months ago he took her for a drive, with another boy friend. They made her drink whiskey and then they tried to take advantage of her. She resisted. She kept her honor. So they beat her. Like an animal...
[...] See more »
Crazy Credits
In the Blu-Ray version, the 2002 Paramount logo is used and tinted in sepia. See more »
Following Bonasera's exit in the first scene, Vito whistles at Sonny for not paying attention to business.
During the wedding reception, Tom Hagen informs Don Vito that consigliere Genco won't last the night in the hospital.
After the wedding, the Don and his sons are leaving the compound with Johnny Fontane to visit Genco. Vito asks Michael if Kay was able to get home all right.
In the hospital, the Don looks at Michael's military decorations with disdain then tells Michael that he has plans for him after graduation.
A dying Genco begs Vito to stay with him believing that Vito will somehow stop his death.
An extended version of Jack Woltz's party for his child star, Janie.
After being thrown out by Woltz, Tom looks up and sees Janie crying and her mother push her back into Woltz's bedroom.
Connie and Carlo argue and she runs crying into Mama's arms. Sonny wants to confront Carlo but Vito tells him not to interfere.
After Tom returns from Hollywood, he discusses with Vito what he has discovered about Woltz.
Michael and Kay are in their hotel bed in New York City and don't want to go to the family compound. Michael has Kay call Tom pretending to be an operator, then Michael tells Tom that they are in New Hampshire and will be at the compound the next day.
On the way to meet Sollozzo, Luca sees the nightclub's neon sign burn out.
Sonny gets a call from a detective telling him about his father's shooting. He then tries to call Tom.
Sonny tells Mama about the shooting. He then goes into Vito's study, calls Tessio and tells him to prepare his men. He then tries to call Luca.
A quick shot of Michael driving, returning home after his father's shooting and Rocco offering to escort Michael into the house.
Michael brings Tom's wife Theresa into the study where Sonny and Tessio are. Sonny comforts her and tells them both to wait outside but Michael stays. They discuss with Michael whether Clemenza or Paulie was the traitor. Michael tries to talk Sonny out of going to war stating Vito would not want it. Then Tom returns home and hugs Theresa.
Immediately following is a quick shot of the Corleone compound that dissolves to the scene where they discuss their next course of action.
Rocco admires Clemenza's car but Clemenza complains that the bumpers are wooden due to the war effort. He then tells Rocco that he is to kill Paulie.
Clemenza has Paulie check the hideout spot. He then has Paulie make a stop so he can buy some cannoli and have a meal at a restaurant.
In Sicily, Michael and the bodyguards watch a Communist demonstration march.
While relaxing in the afternoon sun, Fabrizio begs Michael to bring him along to America when he returns.
Michael and his bodyguards visit his father's childhood home and find it abandoned.
After Connie hangs up the phone on Carlo's "girlfriend", she then confronts him in the shower. Then, Carlo orders her to make him dinner.
Bonasera is shown getting ready to return his favor to Don Vito. Bonasera tells his wife who is helping him get dressed that maybe he will be asked to be an accomplice to murder.
After the car bomb, Michael wakes up in bed surrounded by nurses and Don Tommasino. Michael tells Tommasino to find Fabrizio and he passes out.
Michael and Vito talk in the new garden after his return from Sicily. Michael takes responsibility for avenging the deaths of Sonny and Apollonia so Vito will not have to break his promise to the other Dons.
Additional dialogue when Michael removes Tom from his position as consigliere.
The final scene is Kay in a Catholic church lighting candles and praying.
This is a masterpiece. A timeless masterpiece. Initially, I didn't like this film all that much - I found it rather over-hyped and boring. This was until the advent of DVD, which gave me the feature I needed for this sort of film: subtitles. Once I switched them on and heard (read) every last word of Brando's ramblings and other characters ramblings, I grew a true appreciation for this epic.
To make a true epic, you need all of three following ingredients working in near perfect harmony. For screenwriters who come across this, take the following pointers on board: 1) Contrasting Characters: Good films have some character distinction, but most fall rather flat because the core of each character is the same.
Of course, there are exceptions to rule (ie... where you want mono-tonal characters... aka matrix; or where you want outlandish contrasts... aka The Fifth Element), but ultimately, this is what makes films deep, meaningful and grand. Consider the contrasts between the Don's children. Michael is rather cool, rational and collected, whereas Sonny is more hot-headed, spontaneous and simple minded. But simply having these contrasts is not nearly enough. What you really need to do is to develop these characters - place them in situations - and then dwell on how their character impacts on the situation they're put in. The Godfather is a terrific example of how to pull this off. While many try to do this in screenplays, most lose the plot and create character obscurities that stretch credibility.
2) Transformation: The central character(s) must undergo a transformation, resulting in them being almost unrecognizable by the end of the film. By putting them into situations, the character's character must not only influence the outcome of the situation; it must also have a lasting impact on the character. Consider Michael at the wedding and compare that to the Michael we see at the end of the film. Again, many films try, but most fail because they come up with unreal (literally, not praisingly) or simply moronic transformations (eg, Wall Street).
3) Patience: Men in Black 2 was an astounding film for one simple reason - it was an entire film squashed into about 70 minutes. It was not much longer than an episode of ER or Buffy. I certainly hope the new goal of Hollywood isn't to make films as short as possible.
All the great ones spend time - time developing characters, family life, growth, patience with the story telling in general. This is the key (provided that the story isn't mind-numbingly boring). Dances with Wolves, Heat.. and so on are very patient but top-class films. While studios may be lukewarm on the idea of longer films, they are worth it if you have a ripper story to base it on.
I feel that this film has not dated all that much and has tremendous re-watch-ability.
352 of 488 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
This is a masterpiece. A timeless masterpiece. Initially, I didn't like this film all that much - I found it rather over-hyped and boring. This was until the advent of DVD, which gave me the feature I needed for this sort of film: subtitles. Once I switched them on and heard (read) every last word of Brando's ramblings and other characters ramblings, I grew a true appreciation for this epic.
To make a true epic, you need all of three following ingredients working in near perfect harmony. For screenwriters who come across this, take the following pointers on board: 1) Contrasting Characters: Good films have some character distinction, but most fall rather flat because the core of each character is the same.
Of course, there are exceptions to rule (ie... where you want mono-tonal characters... aka matrix; or where you want outlandish contrasts... aka The Fifth Element), but ultimately, this is what makes films deep, meaningful and grand. Consider the contrasts between the Don's children. Michael is rather cool, rational and collected, whereas Sonny is more hot-headed, spontaneous and simple minded. But simply having these contrasts is not nearly enough. What you really need to do is to develop these characters - place them in situations - and then dwell on how their character impacts on the situation they're put in. The Godfather is a terrific example of how to pull this off. While many try to do this in screenplays, most lose the plot and create character obscurities that stretch credibility.
2) Transformation: The central character(s) must undergo a transformation, resulting in them being almost unrecognizable by the end of the film. By putting them into situations, the character's character must not only influence the outcome of the situation; it must also have a lasting impact on the character. Consider Michael at the wedding and compare that to the Michael we see at the end of the film. Again, many films try, but most fail because they come up with unreal (literally, not praisingly) or simply moronic transformations (eg, Wall Street).
3) Patience: Men in Black 2 was an astounding film for one simple reason - it was an entire film squashed into about 70 minutes. It was not much longer than an episode of ER or Buffy. I certainly hope the new goal of Hollywood isn't to make films as short as possible.
All the great ones spend time - time developing characters, family life, growth, patience with the story telling in general. This is the key (provided that the story isn't mind-numbingly boring). Dances with Wolves, Heat.. and so on are very patient but top-class films. While studios may be lukewarm on the idea of longer films, they are worth it if you have a ripper story to base it on.
I feel that this film has not dated all that much and has tremendous re-watch-ability.