I watched it recently for the first time, and I really don’t get why it’s so loved. IMDB rates it as the second-best movie of all time, but it seems far worse than that to me. I like most old movies and see their hype, but The Godfather didn’t do it for me. What am I missing?
Sometimes works of art (paintings, music, film, sculpture, architecture, literature, doesn’t matter) are so profoundly influential as to become a part of the fabric of that medium. I think the Godfather is one of those films that inspired an entire generation of filmmakers to weave the special bits into everything they created since.
The problem with watching it now is that the craft of filmmaking has spawned from it and molded around it, and the things that made it special are now mundane. Try to watch Citizen Kane, or 2001 A Space Odyssey, or Seven Samurai, and you’ll see every trope and flaw because their impact is no longer unique. But that’s not because they weren’t amazing films, it’s because they have all be copied and modernized and lampooned to death.
With the Godfather, a film buff could talk for hours about the lighting, the symbolism, the mise en scene, the music, and how it was all seminal to half the movies made since. Watching it with virgin eyes, though, and you’ll see reflections of Goodfellas and Casino and Scarface and Once Upon a Time in America and The Irishman and A Bronx Tale and Donnie Brasco and New Jack City and Road to Perdition and We Own the Night and The Departed and The Untouchables and probably 50 other movies I can’t think of off the top of my head.
You can’t help but see it as a relic, a source of inspiration for the movies you saw before and loved. That’s why you don’t see it the way they did, and why it seems over hyped.
I had this weird sensation when I watched Metropolis. I found myself thinking “ugh every trope and this is hacky as hell” then I remembered: “oh wait, this is the source of all of those things.” It made it a lot easier to appreciate.
Fantastic answer.
Also, Citizen Kane was one of my worst watches ever, even in film class.
‘The Maltese Falcon’ seems like the most cliché ridden movie imaginable. Then you realize this is the movie that created all the cliches.
Was thinking that the other day. I love the Maltese falcon, it’s got so many tropes for film noir. Then I remember, and then I recall showing my wife The Matrix and her eye rolling so hard at things that became so popular they were overdone. Didn’t expect a laugh at the slow mo bullet scene but it definitely cracks me up now too.
I rewatched this recently, and yeah, all the cliches are there (some rather clumsily filmed even by 40s standards) - but fuck me if Bogie still doesn’t blow it out of the water with that performance. I can’t think of a single film noir protagonist that matches what he pulled off in that film. He’s better here than he is in Casablanca by a long shot imho.
Great write up. 2001 a space odyssey is a great example. The story holds up, but the effects were blown away (with star wars etc being a main example). It’s interesting, but not at all a good watch except in the context of film evolution. That said, it changed so much in cinema, storytelling, and more.
And that explains why it was impactful movies in the 70s, but that doesn’t explain why it’s rated 2nd best movie today. If anything you provided arguments against that.
Because things can be appreciated for their historical relevance. It’s like saying that the Sputnik should be forgotten because SpaceX launches 20 satellites with a single rocket every other month. Or that Michelangelo statues are overrated now that we invented 3D printing.
But again, for all it’s historical relevance, nobody rates Sputik second best satellite today.
It’s rated highly because the people who do the ratings are familiar with how impactful the movie was. They understand the quality of the film within the context where and when it was created.
If you were to compare a Manet to an AI generated photorealistic version of the same painting, an art buff would prefer the Manet. Someone who lacks the context and background might complain about the brush strokes or the imperfect color blending or the lack of definition in the faces, and say that the AI generated image is “better.” That preference does not in any way diminish the quality of Manet’s work or the appreciation people have for it.
When discussing art, “best” is always subjective. You’re allowed to not like the Godfather. It’s not my favorite movie, either, but I enjoy watching it now and again. People who love the film have written many books on why it’s their favorite masterpiece. You won’t win an argument with them that it’s not among the best movies of all time, but then neither will they convince you to appreciate the movie if you didn’t enjoy watching it.
What you’re forgetting completely (like 90% of “movie guys”), is that most people don’t care or notice most of what you’re talking about. Godfather is fundamentally a boring film. The story is banal, was back then probably too. You can have the best lighting you want, if the story is boring, the movie sucks.
This could be a case of the Sienfeld is not funny trope
A movie or other work of media is quite revolutionary when it is released, it gets copied so much that many of its features become common in later projects. Then someone goes back to the original and thinks, Why was everyone so impressed with this?
Citizen Cane is another example.
Or:
It could be that you personally don’t like the movie. Taste is not universal and not everyone likes everything.
Well most of those shows like Seinfeld fall victim to the fact most only laugh at it bc of the laugh tracks. Which for me I don’t get bc I could imagine friends or golden girls without it and they’d still be good imo 🤷
True but it is the same effect as a laugh track. The actors have to pause their delivery to let the audience react so that they are not talking over or getting drowned out by the laughter. There are a few scenes where you can see Jerry and the others almost break character while they are waiting for the audience to finish laughing.
I could imagine friends or golden girls without it and they’d still be good imo
There are plenty of examples of this on youtube, have you watched any?
Friends, without the laugh track…
To me, any show shot with a laugh track or studio audience feels really strange without it. The pauses make it very stilted.
I loved Seinfeld growing up and can still laugh at today. It’s one of those shows you couldn’t make today.
Did you find that it insists upon itself?
It’s a masterclass in acting, cinematography, and soundtracking. Not only that, but Mario Puzo’s novel which came out shortly before the movie was produced was a smash hit.
In the 70s, movies didn’t look like The Godfather. They looked like weird objective cameras put on a tripod and just filming actors, with not as much thought put into the “feel” of the film. FFC (as well as other directors such as Hitchcock and Kubrick) essentially invented modern cinematography. Remember watching Avatar for the first time? It was kind of like that for movie going audiences.
It was always hailed as an “epic drama” so you have to kind of temper your expectations based off that. It’s not a “murder a minute” gangster flick like a Scorsese picture.
If you don’t get it, you don’t get it, and that’s fine.
From someone who’s went through film school:
It’s a great movie. I wouldn’t call it second ever, but it’s up there. The cinematography is some of the best put to film, the writing is excellent, and the acting is phenomenal. I love the music as well, personally. Mafia stories are/were big hits for film in general, dating back even to the black and white era.
In simple terms: basically everything about it is made better than your average film, and if there’s something you specifically like about films (music, cinematography, etc.) It’s usually an easy example to point to for a quality example of said thing
But yeah, there are too many movies in existence to put any real stock on “x best movie of all time” things
I said it elsewhere in the replies, but it’s like calling 2001 a space odyssey boring.
2001 absolutely is a boring film though. Impressive on a technical level, but very slow burning, and there is so much that they don’t bother to explain to the audience that the books actually cover, for example Hal’s reasons for going off the rails.
