I first saw The Godfather around 25 years ago, long before I became a film buff. I thought it was good, not great. When registering on IMDB a decade ago I rated it a 7/10 from memory. Incidentally part II I rated a little higher, an 8/10 due to the engaging flashbacks.
Ten years of being a film buff...I've seen some incredible works in that time (including two Coppolas, namely his Apocalypse Now & Dracula). Curious if The Godfathers are as good as their 9.2/9.0 ratings on here, I purchased the Bluray-Restoration Trilogy and just now watched the 3-hour first movie...only my second watch, and the first time since 25 years or so.
....and my opinion is unchanged! The Godfather is a good film. It's very well made, with tons of neat intelligent scenes and dialogue. Well acted. Fitting music. Decent camera work. But it's also tricky to follow, a few times I wondered who characters were referencing...this isn't a problem I've had with Goodfellas or Sopranos. Michael's relationship drama with his two wives isn't really that compelling, and neither is the paranoid mob war. The motives of the antagonist mobsters don't feel convincing.
A couple of action scenes have dated badly. One scene has Sonny punching clear air but the sound effects are claiming contact. Tho' the death scenes were generally done well and still look good today.
Curiously, there's often no offered subtitles when the characters talk in Italian. Specifically an important restaurant scene is missing this. I later watched an online clip with the translation, and I disagree with Copolla: the subs should've stayed in. Also, the image-quality isn't that impressive for a claimed 4k-mastering restoration. Very deep blacks for indoor scenes, meaning you struggle to differentiate among all those black suits. I guess they were going for a chiaroscuro-style (like Caravaggio famously employed in his paintings), so this gets a pass.
7/10 feels absolutely fair. Yet poll after poll still puts this movie right at the top (or very close) in the all-time rankings.
Citizen Kane is one of those I feel deserves such a reputation. The Godfather...not so much.
Part II next. Let's see if it holds its 8/10 (hopefully improves on it!).
Ten years of being a film buff...I've seen some incredible works in that time (including two Coppolas, namely his Apocalypse Now & Dracula). Curious if The Godfathers are as good as their 9.2/9.0 ratings on here, I purchased the Bluray-Restoration Trilogy and just now watched the 3-hour first movie...only my second watch, and the first time since 25 years or so.
....and my opinion is unchanged! The Godfather is a good film. It's very well made, with tons of neat intelligent scenes and dialogue. Well acted. Fitting music. Decent camera work. But it's also tricky to follow, a few times I wondered who characters were referencing...this isn't a problem I've had with Goodfellas or Sopranos. Michael's relationship drama with his two wives isn't really that compelling, and neither is the paranoid mob war. The motives of the antagonist mobsters don't feel convincing.
A couple of action scenes have dated badly. One scene has Sonny punching clear air but the sound effects are claiming contact. Tho' the death scenes were generally done well and still look good today.
Curiously, there's often no offered subtitles when the characters talk in Italian. Specifically an important restaurant scene is missing this. I later watched an online clip with the translation, and I disagree with Copolla: the subs should've stayed in. Also, the image-quality isn't that impressive for a claimed 4k-mastering restoration. Very deep blacks for indoor scenes, meaning you struggle to differentiate among all those black suits. I guess they were going for a chiaroscuro-style (like Caravaggio famously employed in his paintings), so this gets a pass.
7/10 feels absolutely fair. Yet poll after poll still puts this movie right at the top (or very close) in the all-time rankings.
Citizen Kane is one of those I feel deserves such a reputation. The Godfather...not so much.
Part II next. Let's see if it holds its 8/10 (hopefully improves on it!).