Journal 7 The Godfather

1. Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

The Godfather is a film adaptation of a novel of the same name written by Mario
u!o. "rancis "ord #oppola directed The Godfather$ released in 1%7&. 't was
#oppola(s seventh film that he directed$ but his first hit. #oppola is most well )nown for
the Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now. The Godfather is ran)ed as the second
best film of all time by the *merican "ilm 'nstitute$ Citizen +ane is ran)ed first and The
Graduate is ran)ed third. The Godfather received eleven *cademy *ward nominations
in total$ but only won for ,est icture$ ,est *dapted -creenplay$ and ,est *ctor .Marlon
,rando/. The largest theme present in this film is family. There are many scenes that
involve the whole family such as the wedding in the beginning and the ,aptism near the
end. "ood is also very present in the film$ and there are over fifty scenes with food in
them. 0ne of the most memorable 1uotes from the movie is 23eave the gun$ ta)e the
cannoli4. *s a film created near the end of the 5ollywood Renaissance$ the anti6hero is
another theme present in The Godfather. *lthough the main characters are all in the
mafia$ the audience cannot help but route for them. Marlon ,rando as 7on 8ito
#orleone$ *l acino as Michael$ James #aan as -onny$ and Robert 7uvall as Tom
5agen9 all delivered great performances that had the audiences sympathy throughout
the movie. The Godfather was extremely profitable at the box office9 it earned &::
million dollars worldwide.
&. "ind a related article and relate the content.
'n Roger ;bert(s review$ 2The Godfather4$ ;bert comments how he li)es the fact
that this film is not all about the glamour of a traditional gangster film. 5e appreciated
the raw realism of the film$ the loyalty and the vengeance witnessed throughout. ;bert
li)ed how film was told 2from the inside out4 and how we end up identifying with the
#orleone family because we are with them from the beginning. ;ven though Marlon
,rando gets the billing as the lead actor$ it is in fact *l acino who is the star of the film.
;bert thought that ,rando(s portrayal was not even that special$ and he won the
*cademy *ward for ,est *ctor for his role. ;bert did li)e the other actors who were cast
for the many of the other roles$ especially Richard #astellano as #lemen!a. * main
reason he cites for the success of the film adaptation of The Godfather is that it includes
every eventful scene from the novel. *nother reason he cites it for being successful is
because it was filmed as a period piece$ right after <<'' during the 1%:=(s$ instead of
bringing the story up to date and being set in the early 1%7=(s. <hile the movie is three
hours long$ there is no rush for it to end because of how great of a film it is.
http>??www.rogerebert.com?reviews?the6godfather61%7&
@. *pply the article to the film screened in class.
' greatly respect Roger ;bert$ but ' believe he is wrong about his feelings on
Marlon ,rando(s performance as 7on 8ito #orleone. ,rando may not have been the
true lead in the film$ but he delivered an unforgettable portrayal as a mafia boss. '
agree with ;bert that the audience will connect with the #orleone family while watching
due to how intimate you get to )now each of the characters. <hile ' usually do not li)e
watching movies over two and a half hours long$ ' agree with ;bert that there was no
need to shorten The Godfather9 it is as long as it needs to be. ' had no clue that the
original plan for the movie was to set it to the current time period it was filmed$ the early
1%7=(s$ but ' am glad they decided against it and stuc) to the same time period as the
novel.
:. <rite a critical analysis of the film.
The Godfather is a masterpiece that needs to be seen every few years. 't is a
film where )nowing the ending is of little conse1uence and does not matter much9 the
story ta)es you for a ride whenever you see it and escorts you from scene to scene
throughout. The ensemble cast is fantastic$ with appropriate actors filling their
respective characters they were cast as li)e a glove. The whole execution of the entire
film is near flawless$ but there is one scene that stands out that ' cannot excuse. <hen
-onny .James #aan/ finds his sister #onnie beaten by her husband #arlo$ he then finds
#arlo in the street and begins beating him. 7uring the fight scene there is a punch that
is not even remotely close to hitting #arlo(s face$ yet there is still the sound effect of a
landed punch. <hile this scene does not ruin the movie for me$ it Aust ma)es me
wonder why be so meticulous in creating such a great film but drop the ball so badly for
that one sceneB Most viewers probably will not notice this as it is a fast scene$ but for
anyone who has noticed it$ they can never forget this imperfection. *l acino put forth a
great acting performance$ and 7iane +eaton played her part well as his <aspy wife. 't
was not covered in class or Roger ;bert(s article$ but the music in the film is almost as
iconic as the movie itself. ;very time ' hear the music from the movie ' instantly thin) of
the film. The Godfather set the bar for all mobster movies both past and present9
another great director$ Martin -corsese$ has put forth some really great mobster films
since$ such as Goodfellas$ Casino, and The Departed$ but nothing compares to "rancis
"ord #oppola(s The Godfather.
CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM
1) (X) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.
2) (X) If I reused any information from other papers I have written
for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.
3) (X) If I used any passages word for word, I put uotations
around those words, or used indentation and citation within the
text.
!) (X) I have not padded the "i"liography. I have used all sources
cited in the "i"liography in the text of the paper.
#) (X) I have cited in the "i"liography only the pages I personally
read.
$) (X) I have used direct uotations only in cases where it could
not "e stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper
and in the "i"liography.
%) (X) I did not so over&use direct uotations that the paper lac's
interpretation or originality.
() (X) I chec'ed yes on steps 1&% and therefore have "een fully
transparent a"out the research and ideas used in my paper.
)ame* +yan ,eitche ,ate*#-12-1!