Sometimes, a movie just hits the zeitgeist and it develops a whole other persona that follows the movie like a shadow. That other persona is made up of fandoms, accolades, pop culture status and often our faulty memories. The Godfather might be the ultimate example of this phenomenon. For some, The Godfather is the movie. More “it’s not just a movie, it’s a way of life”. The Godfather, and its sequel (Part II, not Part III), both won multiple awards, including some of cinema’s highest honors. The first one was #3 on the American Film Institute’s original list of 100 American-made films and #2 on the revised list a decade later. How often is The Godfather quoted? “I’m gonna make him an offer, he can’t refuse.” “Luca Brazi sleeps with the fishes.” “Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.” “It’s not personal. It’s strictly business.” T-shirts with Marlon Brando’s face on them sell at places like Spencer’s. Lookalikes and wannabes abound. A study of film ranging from 1914-2014 concluded that 98 films prior to The Godfather were made featuring Italian-American mobsters. Since The Godfather, there have over 430 such films. It was precursor to Goodfellas and what some consider the greatest television show of all time: The Sopranos. Film Bro culture obsesses over the culture to the point where it got a shout-out in last year’s hit, Barbie. There is no conceivable way to overestimate the influence this film has had on cinema and our culture.

On the day of his daughter’s wedding, Don Vito Corleone listens to requests from “friends”. Vito’s youngest son, Michael, is a war hero and has done his best to keep out of the family business, and he introduces his girlfriend, Kay, at the reception. One of the requests Vito entertains is from Johnny Fontane, Vito’s godson and a singer, asks Vito to help him get a movie role. Vito sends Tom, his Irish consigliere, to convince the studio head, Jack Woltz, to give Johnny the role. Woltz refuses, but changes his mind when he wakes up the next morning with the head of his prized horse in his bed. Later, a man called “The Turk”, whose real name is Sollozzo, asks Vito to invest in his drug business, but Vito declines for the sake of his political connections. Vito is also suspicious of Sollozzo’s ties to the Tattaglia family, so he sends Luca Brasi to gather information. However, Brasi is killed right away. Vito is shot in the street, which puts the eldest son, Sonny, in charge, and Sollozzo tries to convince him to join the business since Vito wouldn’t. Vito survives but is in the hospital, and one night, Vito’s guards are made to leave by the police captain, McCluskey, who is on Sollozzo’s payroll. But Michael shows up in time to realize his father’s life is at stake and saves him. Michael convinces Sonny to let him have a meeting with Sollozzo and McCluskey to “settle the dispute” with the intention of killing them both with a gun left for him in the bathroom. This triggers an all-out war between the Five Families of New York City, and Michael is sent to hide in Sicily and the middle son, Fredo, is sent to Vegas under the protection of casino owner, Moe Green.

Connie, Vito’s daughter who was married at the beginning of the film, is beaten by her new husband, Carlo Rizzi. Sonny learns of this and beats Rizzi and threatens to kill him if he does it again. Rizzi does it again, and Sonny rushes over to confront him, but he is ambushed and murdered on the way over. Meanwhile, Michael falls in love with a woman named Apollonia, but loses her shortly after their wedding by a car bomb intended for him. Vito, back to health mostly, sets a meeting with the Five Families and vows to not avenge Sonny’s murder or prevent their drug business if the war stops and Michael is allowed to safely come home. Michael does so and takes on the family business and marries Kay. With Vito’s guidance, Michael figures out who killed Sonny – man named Barzini – and two possible Corleone men who betrayed them – Clemenza or Tessio. Michael demotes Tom, claiming he’s not a “wartime consiglieri”, and also travels to Las Vegas to forcefully buy out Moe Green’s casinos. Vito dies, leaving Michael fully in charge. As Michael stands in as Connie’s baby’s godfather on the day of their baptism, he carries out hits on the dons of the Five Families, Moe Green and Tessio (who accidentally revealed himself as the betrayer). Michael also gets Rizzi to confess to having a hand in Sonny’s death and has him killed. Connie confronts Michael about killing her husband in front of Kay, but Michael denies it to both of them. Kay is relieved, but then watches as Michael is shown reverence as “Don Corleone” by his men, just before the door is closed in her face.

The Godfather is one of those films where you might need to watch it a couple of times just to understand what is going on, especially if you don’t have an Italian background. A lot happens in this movie, and most of it is explained in quick lines of dialogue. The names can blur together sometimes too, or at least they did for me. Francis Ford Coppola has been criticized for being indulgent in his filmmaking, but The Godfather is not one of those films. It is tightly constructed and Coppola’s own Italian ancestry informed a lot of the culture depicted onscreen, making it both authentic and natural. Some of the decisions in filmmaking are particularly fantastic, such as the montage of Michael violently tying up all loose ends juxtaposed with the baptism and christening of Connie’s baby. The gangster genre, since the 30s, has always focused on bad people – it’s just kind of the nature – but The Godfather took those gangsters and made them complex. They’re family men and have their own twisted moral code as to what they will and won’t do. That depth and almost-contradictory attitude hadn’t really been explored much until that point. The characters are still bad people, but you somehow almost want to root for them anyway,

Bonus Review: The Godfather Part II

The Godfather Part II is a rare example of a sequel that is just as good as its predecessor, if not better. It’s also a rare example – the only example, in fact – of a sequel to a Best Picture winner also winning Best Picture. Originally, Part II was viewed as any other sequel – without the impact of the original and retreading of familiar territory. And although it received its share of accolades when it came out, it’s only in recent years that the second film has been considered, along with the first, one of the greatest films of all time. The first one makes my list because it can stand on its own. Part II requires having watched Part I first. But there are some who argue Part II is superior and I can’t fault anyone who feels that way. It has the exact same energy as the first one. And while I called it a sequel earlier, it is also a prequel. While the sequel storyline continues to follow Michael Corleone as the new don, the prequel storyline features a young Vito (Marlon Brando replaced with Robert De Niro) as he moves to America and creates his empire. It juxtaposes Vito’s rise with Michael’s fall, which makes it fresh instead of just a rehash of the first one. Just don’t mention The Godfather Part III.

As I mentioned before, the film tells two storylines at the same time. Vito’s story starts when he’s a boy and he witnesses his family murdered during a funeral procession by a Sicilian mobster, Ciccio, because Vito’s father did not pay him tribute. Vito escapes to New York and grows up and gets married to Carmela, and the two have an infant son, Sonny. When Vito loses his job, his neighbor, Clemenza ropes him in to a fencing operation. The two add Tessio to their “business”, and their success attracts the attention of Don Fanucci who threatens to expose their work to police if they don’t pay him $600. Vito says he’ll take care of Fanucci, and pays him $100 only to later shoot him and take the $100 back. Vito travels back to Sicily to begin an olive oil importing business, but his partner, Don Tommasino, tells him they will have to get Ciccio’s approval first. Vito takes the opportunity of Ciccio’s age and health to avenge his family.

Now, Michael’s story is much more convoluted. At the family property at Lake Tahoe, there is an attempt on Michael’s life. He confides in Tom that he suspects a traitor within the family. He spends the rest of his time trying to blackmail powerful people into getting what he wants, like a senator he tricks into believing that he killed a prostitute to coerce him into getting a gaming license in Vegas. He also tries to set up business operations in Cuba with a Jewish mobster, Roth, who he suspects might have been the one responsible for the assassination attempt. His suspicions are confirmed and he discovers his own brother, Fredo, is the traitor when Fredo and Roth’s right-hand man, Ola, very clearly know each other. Michael orders hits on Ola and Roth, but Roth survives and everyone gets out of Cuba as quickly as they can. Michael reveals his knowledge about Fredo’s betrayal to some of his men, but tells them not to dispose of him while their mother is alive. Kay makes her intentions known that she plans to leave Michael and take their kids, but Michael keeps the kids and kicks her out. Soon, Carmela dies. At the family home, Fredo and one of Michael’s men, Neri, go out on the lake for a fishing trip, but Neri shoots Fredo and dumps him in the water instead. Michael looks on at the scene from the window and reminisces on his father’s 50th birthday. That day, Michael announced he was quitting school and joining the Marines, and Fredo was the only family member who supported his decision.