At 40 Years Old, 'The Godfather' Has a Profound and Complicated Legacy

NorthJersey.com ^ | SUNDAY MARCH 18, 2012 | JIM BECKERMAN

[nickcarraway]

Once, it was thought of as the gangster movie to end all gangster movies.

Before he played Don Corleone, Marlon Brando had been all but written off after several flops. But of course that's exactly what "The Godfather," which opened in New Jersey 40 years ago this Saturday, was not.

Instead, it was the gangster movie that began all gangster movies, at least as we know them now: not just its own sequels, "The Godfather: Part II" and "The Godfather: Part III," but also "Goodfellas," "Donnie Brasco," "Analyze This," "Scarface," "The Freshman," "Prizzi's Honor" and "Married to the Mob," not to mention "The Sopranos." But "The Godfather" is the epic original: the "Gone With the Wind" of the boomer generation.

"It's compulsively watchable," says Teaneck-born critic Leonard Maltin. "If you should stumble onto it on cable, you can't stop watching it."

This is not the only iconic film to mark an anniversary this year; "Casablanca" returns to theaters Wednesday in honor of its 70th (for more, see Monday's Better Living).

"The Godfather" has also aged in an interesting way. Back in 1972, it was thought to be a movie that exploded all the romantic Hollywood myths about criminals. These bad guys, critics said, were not glamorous lone-wolf heroes like Edward G. Robinson or James Cagney; they were yes-men who followed orders from a vast hierarchical organization, just like the guy sitting in the next cubicle at work.

But this, it turned out, was the most romantic thing of all. The idea of a powerful, all-embracing family that would protect you, avenge your wrongs and license you to go out and kill your enemies was exactly what made "The Godfather" far more seductive than old-fashioned gangster movies like "Little Caesar" and "The Public Enemy."

Italian-Americans, needless to say, have a complicated relationship with this film. On the one hand, it reinforces stereotypes of Italians as gangsters – an old concern about Hollywood crime movies (there were similar complaints, in the 1930s, about "Little Caesar" and "Scarface").

On the other hand, it makes those gangsters so attractive, so sexy, so exciting, so operatically tragic, that Italian-American kids were proud to identify with them, and non-Italians were envious. Real-life Mafiosi took the Corleones as role models, just as gangsters of the 1930s practiced lines like "I'm takin' over the whole North Side, see?" with a Little Caesar snarl.

"The Godfather" is memorable for lots of reasons:

As the great comeback film of Marlon Brando – the 20th century's most iconic actor, the genius of "On the Waterfront," who had been all but written off after a string of 1960s clinkers. He gave the performance of his life as Don Corleone – then he gave Hollywood the finger, sent Sacheen Littlefeather to refuse his Best Actor Oscar and settled back into his long road to hell, which in his case turned out to be "The Island of Dr. Moreau."

As a fount of clichés: "I made him an offer he can't refuse." "Leave the gun, take the cannoli." "May your first child be a masculine child." "Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes."

As a great collaboration: Director Francis Ford Coppola was matched in brilliance by his cast, by cinematographer Gordon Willis, by composer Nino Rota and by novelist Mario Puzo, who started it all. (Paramount Pictures is currently trying to stop Anthony Puzo, son of Mario, from publishing a new sequel to the novel, due out in May.)

As an example of sheer movie storytelling at its best. There are those who prefer "The Godfather: Part II," a brilliant film in its own right. But it's the first "Godfather," a film that begins with a wedding and ends with the killing of the groom, that has the great story arc. It is, above all, the story of the Fall of Lucifer: Michael (Al Pacino), the apple of his father's eye, the brightest hope of the future, the college boy who will lead the Corleone family to legitimacy, turns to the dark side and ends up the coldest, most fearsome gangster of all. Brando's look of pain, when he discovers that it was his son Michael who killed his enemies, is unforgettable.

As inside baseball: Real people and incidents are referenced throughout the film. Perhaps the best – Brando's slapping the Frank Sinatra surrogate, Al Martino. In real life, there was little love lost between "Mumbles," as Sinatra called him, and Frank, who resented the actor for landing the roles he wanted in "On the Waterfront" and "Guys and Dolls." "Sinatra is the kind of guy," Brando once said, "that when he dies, he's going up to heaven and give God a bad time for making him bald."

As a showcase for a new generation of actors. Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan, Talia Shire, John Cazale, all gave the performances of their lives in this film (as did Robert De Niro in "Godfather II"). The close shot of Pacino's eyes, darting crazily back and forth in the seconds before he shoots Sollozzo, may be the great, virtuoso example of movie-acting in film history.

As a watershed in movie violence. Audiences in 1972 were horrified to see the bloody horse's head, and James Caan being riddled with bullets at the tollbooth. Today, arguably, schoolchildren are exposed to worse.

"It troubled me at the time that this epic saga was about ruthless gangsters, who murdered people with reckless abandon," says Maltin, who never forgot his first exposure to "The Godfather" at the now-defunct Rialto in Ridgefield Park. "But it's undeniably fascinating."

[Perdogg]

ping

[re_nortex]

And I always felt that Cazale’s performance blew away everybody else’s in the Godfather movies.

I'll add Lee Strasberg to that list. His portrayal of Hyman Roth was just right.

His lecture to Michael Corleone, "This is the business we've chosen", is a masterpiece of monologue. I realize that former Ronald Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan has lost her bearing but her analysis of Roth's speech, "as he stood, weak and furious, before cold-eyed Michael Corleone", is a worthwhile read, a portion of which is excerpted here:

It is simple, unadorned, direct, declarative. There isn't anything in it that is "eloquent," and yet taken as a whole it is deeply eloquent: It tells you something big in an unforgettable way. There is in it no obvious, signaled rhythm, and yet if you read it aloud you will find in it the beautiful, unconscious rhythm of concentrated human speech. There are no phrases that seem to attempt to conjure up pictures, and yet when you hear it you imagine a Moe Green and see the dusty nothingness of early Las Vegas.

It is simplicity that gives the speech its power. Each word means something and each seems to inevitably follow the word that precedes it and summon the word that follows. And so a kind of propulsion is created: It moves forward, and with good speed.

[M1903A1]

I reckon the difference was that Fredo was caught off guard in the assassination attempt on Vito, while he was actively involved in trying to get rid of Michael. And he decided on his own to eliminate the two gunmen, in order to cover his tracks while looking like the hero.

[wtc911]

Goodfellas is definitely closer to what I have seen.

Two more tidbits...

The Tom Hagen character in TGF had a real-life counterpart. His name was Sheridan and he lived two doors away from Gambino in the cul-de-sac (mapquest Club Drive in 11758 I lived on Exeter - Seinfeld on Riviera).

There was a guy named Cardinale a few doors up the cul-de-sac. Just by being there he had to be a made guy. I had an old '58 Buick (this was in '70). I was driving up from Sheridan's house (I knew his kids). Cardinale came running down the driveway waving for me to stop, like I was Mister Softee. I did, because, well, it seemed the prudent move. He said, "Hey, what's this, a 58? Come'ere, I got somethin' to show you...". I followed him to his garage where he had hundreds of brand new tires of all kinds...I found a couple of snows and paid him ten each.

A made guy, living in what is now a $1.5 million house, hustling hot tires to a kid...that's the Mafia I know.

[allmendream]

Someone once asked Mario Puzo who he based Don Corleone on - and Mario said “my mother.”

“Whenever the Godfather opened his mouth,” the author later wrote, “in my own mind I heard the voice of my mother. I heard her wisdom, her ruthlessness, and her unconquerable love for her family and for life itself, qualities not valued in women at the time. The Don's courage and loyalty came from her; his humanity came from her.”

Asked how a sweet Italian woman could be compared to a gangster - he supplied this little anecdote.

Mario had just been paid an advance of $500,000. The largest book advance (at that time) in history. He called up his mother to brag about a half a million dollar advance on a book he hadn't even written yet.

To his surprise, family members started calling him to congratulate him on his “$50,000” advance. He called up his mom and said “Mom - it was $500,000 - NOT $50,000!”.

And in a calm clear voice his mother told him she didn't want to tell people that!

The code of silence!

[Hot Tabasco]

I always admired Vito Corleone. In the first movie, he seemed to be above it all. He focused on his family, was clean living, generous to friends, full of life-experience

Excellent analysis.......and don't forget to add that he was also against drugs.

I have my favorite movies and most of them, if not all, are science fiction. But The Godfather is at the top of the list......it's the only movie that I've been willing to watch more than twice.....

[jocon307]

LOL, page 75!

No, really, this is very fresh.

It’s really how he beats the cr*p out of his sister’s horrid husband. I hate it so much how that gets used against him.

He’s a pretty good actor, James Caan, I also always remember that scene in “The Gambler” (I think that’s the title.)

He’s a compulsive gambler and he loses the big bet that going to get him even, rage and self-loathing are then on full display.

A very depressing movie but well done.

[Little Bill]

I hung out in an old Industrial City in Mass. The mob boss was a guy named Russo, ran a plumbing business and the best Italian restaurant in the city.

The bookies were all Polocks, even Artie the Greek, went to jail on a bank scam. A local thug, a barber, started selling dope and porn out of his shop, he was a Greek. The locals mostly Irish went and saw Russo and told him do some thing about this or we will.

Russo felt that this would be bad for business and the barber got a couple of broken legs, Artie got his head busted by a cousin of mine for booking out of his Bar, before he went to Jail, Artie, and peace reigned in the land.

[M1903A1]

Sounds like a friend’s story...he lived down in Chicago, and his family knew this one fellow down the block who didn’t appear to have an actual job. The guy and his wife were always offering my friend and his parents earmuffs, gloves, other general merchandise...but they always had grosses, caselots and the like spread out on their dining room table, not just a few!

He finally figured out this guy was likewise in charge of moving stuff that “fell off the truck”.

[Yardstick]

Glad I clicked the link — that’s some great stuff from Peggy Noonan.

[tang-soo]

This is interesting. The Godfather and Oranges
here.

[yarddog]

I liked Hyman Roth’s little speech too. The unspoken nuances such as despite his saying that the murder of Moe Green was just part of the business they had chosen, deep down inside, he was going to get revenge and he couldn’t quite hide that feeling.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Plus he was nailing Meryl Streep in her prime.

I was going to mention that myself.

My wording would have been a little different.

[dfwgator]

I was going to mention that myself. My wording would have been a little different.

I always assumed then, since it was around the time the Holocaust mini-series was being filmed, Meryl was dating James Woods, their chemistry in that series was very believable....I never would have guessed she was with John Cazale.

[GOYAKLA]

“prime”? Anatomy?

[GOYAKLA]

Ever wonder about the song “ I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now?”.

[dfwgator]

{SIGH} I am IN LOVE with James Caan in that movie. Still, to this day, just head over heels in love with him.

I still think of James Caan as "Brian Piccolo" from Brian's Song.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Romancing.

[Fester Chugabrew]

......it's the only movie that I've been willing to watch more than twice.....

And here I recently watched "Godzilla vs. Monster Zero" twice.

[jocon307]

“I still think of James Caan as “Brian Piccolo” from Brian’s Song.”

I’ve actually never seen that movie, but I remember it and the book too. What big hits they were, but to me it was a boy’s story so I never read/watched it.

Wasn’t that one of the first made for TV movies? Or was it just one of the first good ones?