Spoilers

IMDB, Letterboxd, Rotten Tomatoes & Empire cant all be incorrect can they? Well lets find out shall we. My parents own all these films on DVD but ive never seen any of them. Only the iconic parts of it (which lets be honest should be so much of the 3 hour film) but all4 were showing them, so why not. Its friday night at 9:40 lets put it on & see if all these people are right.

Well turns out they are right. Ha. I mean i didnt think it would be complete trash, no way Jose, but ahhhhhhhh it was so so clever & good, it still hold up even today. It just rocks it & it is still a masterpiece.

So i usually when i watch films on all4 they are around 90mins long so two advert breaks at 30mins each make sense, however with a 3h film i was like oh for fuck sake. I get that all4 & c4 need to make their money i get that, but a film i started watching at 9:40 was over at 1:20 a full 40mins over its run time. I mean thank fuck act 3 was so insane. It kept me awake for sure, if at 3 hadnt lived up to the hype i would have been falling asleep on the sofa watching it which i dont like doing at all.

I have one criticus of the film. The time jumps arent clearly shown. I get that its all over a decade or the rise & fall of the family. However suddenly hes been in Italy in a year & then hes been back in America for 2 & then hes got a 3 year old with a woman. It was suddenly like hang on we just had an important conversation & yet that is now 3 years ago what the hell. Yea it was a little like hang on im still thinking of this thing from yesterday in that scene but for them it was months ago. It seemed a little odd. That i believe is my only criticism of the film.

So i had no idea that Marlon Brando turned down his best oscar for best actor for this film for various reason. I mean good on him but wow, that really must have pissed on everyone’s chips to do that. Like wow. I mean he is so good, i mean he gets the iconic line obviously & is so cool & suave & untrusting & dark. I love it. It is a performance that well im talking about no in 2023 over 50 years later. That shows how the longevity is. MAKE ME AN OFFER I CANT REFUSE! Chills, so many chills. When hes shot at the end of act one, so of that fake blood coming out of his back is a but suspect (the learn that & do it properly later on with James Caan death in the film). But i love that it wasnt the Mafia or enemies that got him, it was his own health & he actually died happy playing with his grandson in the garden.

I almost didnt recognise Al Pacino at the start, i was like damn when i realised. Also what character development. To go from a shy guy whos in the army to being The Godfather, damn. The make up when he gets properly beaten up is like ahh, & the effort to make him look so bad & scared for that meet up & then for the start of the time hes in Italy its so clever.

There are so many iconic deaths in this. I mean everyone remembers the horse in the bed. But its the death at the bar, its the dinner assassinations, James Caan getting shot by every single person at that check point, & then obviously killing everyone while hes at the baptism, renouncing his sins. Its insane & crazy & i love it & its the perfect alibi & its just ahhhhhh. so so cool & stylish & hes so calm while every single person who is a threat other then his brother in law (who gets it later on) its just stunning & so chilling & you know then that the character cant be salvaged he is now pure evil & in charge.

Was this when garrotting became an in thing. I love how its so graphic.

I love how the whole thing really doesnt hold back, at all. From betrayals to cheating & being vicious & just being a wanker to everyone all in the name of family. Maybe Vin Diesel needs to take note for fast x. joking obviously. But the fact its all from the roots spread at his daughters wedding & the fall out that happens from that moment.

I wasnt expecting the guy at the bar to be murdered quite like that, it was like damn thats full on. The smile the drink the stab & then his eyes almost popping out of his head (no more eye stuff people ever please it freaks me out a little).

I didnt get the whole Vegas thing at the start with, it felt like a distraction we didnt need. But then it showed how powerful he had become & then its his alibi for the death of the brother in law. The brother in law did deserve it though, he really did. He had beaten her up & abused her so much & it was only a matter of time before he was going to be found out & then be killed, it was just who was going to be the person who would eventually get the death.

I felt so sorry for his Italian wife, i get that he had already snapped earlier trying to live an normal life & ran away to Italy, but she did not deserve to blow up in that car. & yes it was the 1940s & 50s but they could have done that bombing better timed to take him out too & that guy was do dodgy. Also his ex girlfriend just takes him back after being away for like 3 years & not speaking to her. I know love makes you do crazy things but seriously. I mean yes its kind of romantic, but he really was no longer the man she fell in love with at all.

The ending echoing the start being called don & having the loyalty kissing of the hand, showing he is fully in charge of the empire, shows that it doesnt matter how much time passes, things are always going to be inevitable. & the door closing on those in the family that arent the family & the audience is a brilliant metaphor.

Its so well written, there are so many things because its iconic that you pick up on & go ahhh i know thats important in about an hours time. Its so well shot as well. To make the people who look powerful even more powerful. Its very clever cinematography.

So the world didnt get this wrong, it is one of the all time greatest & i am going to try & get the rest of them done before they leave all4. Its a rather spectacular long stunning film. There nothing else much more i can say about it that hasnt been said in the last 51 years. It will live forever.