14 DAY TRIAL // It happened in 1972. I was not born when it was a smashing box-office. I wouldn't be born until years later and I would witness the result of one of the greatest directors in history only because "they" made me. I was "forced" into it. At the end of the movie I thanked "them" for telling me about it. They kept yapping and yapping about it, so that I simply had to see what was all the fuss about. Yes, that's how they "forced" me.
That movie created a legend and fired up the imagination of many. The name of the movie that changed my life is simple, yet resonant. Mario Puzo's novel, envisaged by Francis Ford Coppola, created a new standard in Hollywood. It brought forth a new age and made the move from western to Mafia almost definitive. The direction took a sudden turn from the rural jungle to the urban one.
The Godfather, every time it comes to my mind of it I can't help thinking about the three actors that performed beautifully despite the scarce experience of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. The award winning performance of Marlon Brando proved the talent of a great actor (by the way, Brando refused the Oscar in '72 for this role).
More than thirty years have passed since then, and the movie has not lost its effect on me or others. Unfortunately, I have not yet had the chance to talk to someone from a younger generation and ask for an opinion. I am very curios to see if the Scary Movie generation is still impressed by the interlope world depicted in The Godfather.
When I first saw the trilogy I was only able to pay attention to the life they had, the influence, the way they handled the "family business". Later on, I began to notice that it had no heroes. It was all about the heritage from one generation to another. The passing on of the business.
Don Vito is the main character in the first two parts, while - in the second - the power is shifted to Michael Corleone, the youngest son of The Godfather. Michael, the person least expected to take the lead did not see that coming for himself. All he wanted was a peaceful life away from the violent business of his father. And yet he finds himself caught in the intricacies of the business. It was as if a new and improved version of Don Vito had appeared out of nowhere.
After the Don dies, Sonny, the eldest son, takes the lead, but he was too subjective and he took decisions too hastily, not thinking them through and not being aware of the consequences that would follow. He ends up dead too and Fredo would have been next in line. However, Fredo was mamma's boy and was not made for this sort of life. Tom Hagen would have been a good alternative if Michael did not quit his quiet life with Kay.
Don Vito Corleone was the dominant figure in the first and second parts of the trilogy. He was played by two different actors and the generation gap between them was pretty huge. Marlon Brando on one side and Robert De Niro on the other. Brando came with an already established career of more than twenty films, while De Niro had acted in half that number of movies.
Al Pacino was at the beginning of his career and judging by his next movies/successes we can say that The Godfather was a huge ramp for him. And Coppola made the right choice when he picked Pacino who had only one lead role by then.
The movie is set in a changing world, where the traditional values were no longer necessary and you would find loyalty only if you paid enough. People were changing, and so were the ways of doing business. Controlling the unions smuggling was no longer enough. It was time for a transition in the Corleone family as well. The most powerful family had to adapt to the new environment and search for other resources for profit.
One of them would have been drug dealing, but Don Vito's humanity did not let him get involved in this deal. He knew what drugs did to people and did not want to be part of that. But the time of the man who was able to make "an offer you can't refuse" was coming to an end and the envy of all the other families was too strong for a single man to handle. Restructuring was needed and youth was needed in order to keep respect of all the others. Organized crime was on its way to become even more organized.
By the end of the first part, Michael had taken all the necessary classes to become the leader of the Corleone family. He took his graduate by killing The Turk and a policeman. The next step would be the masters that he took by going to Italy. There he learned the old family ways and when Michael came back he found himself ready to take over the family business.
The first part ends with Michael cleaning the family of all the leeches and traitors. He lied to Kay with a placid look and all the others welcomed him and accepted him as the new Don. The dawn of the new order and leadership has already appeared.
A deeper analysis will follow next week. You will be presented with the mischiefs that are so greatly ensconced by the performance of the actors and the plot.
