Tag Archives: John Marley

#4 Favorite Film, 1972 Films, Al Pacino, Best Picture Oscar Winners, Diane Keaton, Drama, Epic, Favorite Film of the Year, Francis Ford Coppola, James Caan, John Cazale, John Marley, Mario Puzo, Marlon Brando, Mob, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, Talia Shire, Top 10 Films, Top 100 Films, Top 25 Films, Top 250 Films, Top 50 Films

The Godfather-1972

Leave a comment

The Godfather-1972

Director Frances Ford Coppola

Starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan

Top 250 Films #4

Scott’s Review #196

60011152

Reviewed November 24, 2014

Grade: A

The Godfather (1972) is one of the most identifiable and brilliant film masterpieces of all time. It is so ingrained in pop culture and film history that it was a blueprint for 1970s cinema, and its legend deserves to live on.

The film has not aged poorly nor been soured by over-exposure. It is as much a marvel today as it must have been when it was initially released in theaters.

The film revolves around the Corleone family- a mob family living in New York. They are high-powered, wealthy, and influential with politicians and law enforcement alike. They are the cream of the crop of organized crime families.

The patriarch of the family is known as “The Godfather”; his real name is Don Corleone, played by Marlon Brando.

The eldest son is hot-headed Sonny, played by James Caan. Middle son Fredo, played by John Cazale, is dim-witted and immature, serving as the family’s weak link.

Finally, the youngest son is the central character in the film. Michael, played by a very youthful Al Pacino, has just returned home from World War II, a decorated and Ivy League-educated hero.

Throughout the film, Michael wrestles with steering the Corleone family business toward the straight and narrow or continuing the death, bloodshed, and corruption that currently plague the family.

Rounding out the Corleone family is Tom Hagen, an Irish surrogate son of sorts, who serves as the family attorney. Connie, the temperamental and emotional sister, and Mama Corleone, the passive wife of Don, complete the prominent family.

The various supporting characters are numerous, ranging from family friends and relatives to corrupt mob figures and those introduced when Michael lives in Italy.

The brilliance of The Godfather lies in the richness of the numerous characters on the canvas, as well as the film’s structure and pacing.

Even minor characters are vital to the film, and every scene is essential and effortlessly paced, so that they neither seem rushed nor dragged out; the film is immeasurably character-driven.

My favorite character is Michael Corleone, as he is the most troubled and complex of all. Pacino plays him to the hilt as, initially, a nice guy trying to do the right thing, going against the grain, and non-traditional- he proposes to a WASP woman who has no Italian heritage.

When events develop in a particular way, Michael suddenly becomes the leader of the family, despite being the youngest son, and the complexities of the character deepen from this point.

Specifically, the revenge killing sequence is brilliant as the viewer is kept on the edge of their seat through a car ride, a meal in a restaurant, and a men’s room scene, until finally, all hell breaks loose, all the while Michael is conflicted, unsure, and intense.

Has he veered too far from being a nice guy? Can he salvage the family business without being ruthless? Michael faces a battle of good vs. evil.

The scenes are brilliantly structured- the grand opening scene alone is beautiful as the audience is introduced to the entire family- cheerfully dancing and frolicking during a bright and sunny outdoor wedding (Connie’s) at the Corleone estate, while inside a dark interior study, a man begs Don Corleone to help avenge his raped and beaten daughter by having her attackers killed.

Several scenes in The Godfather are my personal favorites —the aforementioned restaurant scene, where Michael is faced with a dilemma involving a corrupt policeman and a high-powered figure. One can feel the tension in this extended scene.

The scene in a Hollywood mansion where poor, innocent, horse Khartoum meets his fate in the most gruesome way imaginable.

Later, Michael’s beautiful Italian wife, Apollonia, has an explosive send-off.

Towards the end of the film, there is an improvised scene featuring a tomato garden with an elderly Don Corleone playing with his young grandson.

Finally, the brutal scene involving Corleone’s son Sonny at the toll booth is mesmerizing, murderous, and flawlessly executed.

The lack of any strong female characters and how women are treated (either beaten or passively following their husbands) is bothersome.

Still, unfortunately, circa the 1940s, this was the way things were.

One could argue that Kay Adams, played by Diane Keaton, is the strongest female character, as she questions the Corleone family’s motives and attempts to keep Michael honest and trustworthy. She has little in common with the other female characters.

Lines such as “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse” and “Don’t forget the cannolis” are unforgettable and quote-worthy.

The finale of the film is breathtaking —a combination of bloody kills mixed with a peaceful scene of Michael accepting the honor of becoming his nephew’s godfather. As he pledges his devotion to God and denounces Satan, the murders he orchestrated are simultaneously being executed.

The character, while complex, suddenly becomes a hypocrite.

Some view Michael as strictly a hero whose choices should not be questioned or analyzed; others view Michael as not a hero, but rather a complex, tortured, and flawed character.

One must watch The Godfather and The Godfather Part II (1974) as companion pieces, as Part I is slightly more straightforward and easier to follow than the more complex and layered sequel.

The Godfather (1972) is storytelling and filmmaking at its absolute best and continues to influence films to this day.

Oscar Nominations: 3 wins-Best Picture (won), Best Director-Francis Ford Coppola, Best Actor-Marlon Brando (won), Best Supporting Actor-James Caan, Robert Duvall, Al Pacino, Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (won), Best Costume Design, Best Sound, Best Film Editing

1970 Films, Ali MacGraw, Arthur Hiller, Drama, John Marley, Ray Milland, Romantic Drama, Ryan O'Neal, Tommy Lee Jones

Love Story-1970

Leave a comment

Love Story-1970

Director Arthur Hiller

Starring Ryan O’Neal, Ali MacGraw

Scott’s Review #950

Reviewed October 23, 2019

Grade: B+

Love Story (1970) was an enormous blockbuster hit at the time of release, with two good-looking stars of the day immersed in a tragic romance. Almost fifty years later, the story feels contrived and watered down with a “been there, seen that” result.

While reviewing the film, one must be mindful of the period in which the film was made (before similar films hit the circuit), and the chemistry between the leads holds up quite well.

Perhaps the film works best when seen decades ago, as it now feels dated.

Handsome Oliver Barrett IV (Ryan O’Neal) is a star ice hockey player attending Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is heir to the wealthy Barrett family, led by father Oliver Barrett III (Ray Milland).

While at school, he meets the blue-collar Jenny Cavilleri (Ali MacGraw), who attends Radcliffe College, a neighboring college, and studies classical music. The couple falls madly in love and becomes inseparable.

Oliver is met with anger after he proposes to Jenny. She accepts, and they travel to the Barrett mansion so that she can meet Oliver’s parents. They are judgmental and unimpressed with her, thinking she is nice, but hardly a companion for their son.

Later, Oliver’s father tells him that he will cut off his financial support if he marries Jenny. After graduation, Oliver and Jenny marry nonetheless and begin a life of economic struggle, but filled with happiness. When they attempt to conceive, they learn that Jenny is terminally ill and has weeks to live.

The film’s primary appeal is the romance between Oliver and Jenny, which feels primal and honest. They are the cliched rich boy and poor girl equation, but in this film, the dynamic works.

O’Neal and MacGraw are good-looking and were on the cusp of Hollywood A-list classification, so the stars aligned in the casting. They ebb and flow at the beginning of the film with Jenny’s sarcasm and Oliver’s quiet arrogance, but there is never a doubt that the pair will fall madly in love, and we, the audience, are hooked from the start.

On an atmospheric level, the icy northeastern climate and the myriad of exterior scenes throughout Massachusetts give the film a proper ambiance.

For anyone who has studied at a university in this area or has an interest, the film succeeds, and it adds a robust flavor to the surrounding events. The youthful wonder and the promise of a bright future are of paramount importance to the story being told, and the foreshadowing is effective.

The film lacks guts in its pacing, though. Most of Love Story is spent focusing on the newness of Oliver and Jenny’s romance and their hurdles surrounding family members, and a brief nod to class and societal roles.

At a brief one hour and thirty-five minutes, there is very little time left for the shocking turn of events surrounding Jenny’s illness. Coming out of nowhere, the character is alive and well, has a brief fainting spell, and is then seen lying on a gurney before dying off-screen.

There is no bedside death scene, no suffering or deteriorating health, and the entire tragedy is glossed over. Hence the title, the focus is on the “love story,” but this seems like a scam.

So much is invested in the couple that the loss seems skimmed over. How can one die from leukemia (blood cancer) within a few days anyway?

The filmmaker’s clear attempts to play it safe come at the expense of the overall film experience.

Love Story (1970) deserves praise for being one of the first of its kind- the romantic tearjerker. The genre would soon be overrun with imitators so cliched that they bring the original down a notch, making it feel trite.

The ‘chick flick’ contains good acting and lovely scenery, but lacks the emotional depth I was hoping for. Melodramatic to a fault, the appeal of the leads surges the overall effort way more than it should.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Picture, Best Director-Arthur Hiller, Best Actor-Ryan O’Neal, Best Actress-Ali MacGraw, Best Supporting Actor-John Marley, Best Story or Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced, Best Original Score (won)