My introduction to the saga was the television re-edit, presented as a mini-series over (I think it was) three nights. I liked starting with the background of young Vito and seeing his rise to power. Also, Robert De Niro was terrific. When I later saw them as standalone films, the jumping back and forth between eras seemed kinda cool, but I never thought it worked as well as others seemed to think. I pretty much always prefer a chronological narrative.
Re: my retracted post from earlier. Honestly, over half of it was basically the same as Stadler's. But here are a few other things.
Michael was a "civilian" to the other family members. He was known both within the Corleone family and the other families as a civilian, which is why they were okay with him meeting Solozzo and McCluskey at the restaurant. The irony of course is that Michael is a decorated war hero to the rest of the American public. Until the hit on Don Vito, he never wanted anything to do with the family business, but here was his opportunity to do something.
Much later, it is the combination of his military background and his knowledge of family business that made him such a formidable enemy. The coordinated strike at the end against all four rival families at once is a military strategy.
The Italian spoken in the movie isn't great by the American actors, but in Pacino's case is completely fine because it's within character. Michael was the youngest, and grew up seeing what kind of family he had, including his brothers and sister, and his Italian wasn't very good. Probably because he at least subconsciouly rejected his Italian heritage. He considered himself American and spoke English. Remember he asked Solozzo to slow down at least once during their conversation. And when he was in Sicily, he had his bodyguards translate for him when we wanted to meet Apollonia's father and her family, because he didn't want to mess it up.
Oranges!
Totally agree on "I'll make him an offer he don't refuse" (which is the correct line). Don Vito had a very understated way of speaking, and this is but one example. Unfortunately, it's one that people latched onto and made it into something that it's not. It's not meant to carry menace or warning; it's a simple statement of fact. In the book, there are a few other examples. Don Vito knows the power he wields. He doesn't flaunt it, but will use it when necessary.
Observation: Most people lump The Godfather in with other gangster movies, which I suppose it is. But they tend to focus on the violence and ruthlessness of Don Vito, when I think the primary theme is family. Vito grew up as an immigrant in the U.S., and tried to live within the system, but saw early on how stacked everything was against him. After a few forays into the underside of things, he realized that there was an entire underworld, and that world operated completely differently and separately from the "legitimate" system. Within the underworld, he could be the man he wanted to be, support his family, give them everything they need, and while yes, he achieved great power, it was always to support his family. There's that early scene where he comes home with a pear from the store. A really nice one, and Mama Corleone remarks on what a beautiful pear it is. Later you see them in a slightly better apartment, and Mama is cooking food for him, Tessio, and Clemenza. Later still, he's in a very nice house, hosting people, but there is always the family around. Family is everything. He didn't do what he did because he's a ruthless murderer. He did what he did to provide for his family.
I loved his "strategy", which may or may not have been intentional at first, but certainly became an excellent way to work. He did favors for people. He helped them out whenever he could, starting with people in the old neighborhood. When he has the run-in with Don Roberto over his wife's friend with the dog, he tells Don Roberto to ask around. He's a man of his word, and knows how to repay a favor. As time went on, some of these people would go on to become business owners, politicians, police officers, etc., but they would always remember the favor that Don Vito did for them way back when they were first getting started. Don Vito's power came not from the money or by ruling with guns and an iron fist. His power was that so many others with power were willing to do his bidding, because they owed him a favor. His was a friend to people, and people return friendship, they return favors.
Topic: Last movie you saw? (Read 559896 times)
