Face-Off: Godfather vs. Goodfellas

Francis Ford Coppola brought so much directorial style to a film that was at its essence the story of a royal family. The classic pull back in the opening scene to reveal Don Corleone, to the brilliantly put together montage of Michael Corleone’s revenge of against the five families at the end of the film. Teaming with a legendary cinematographer in Gordon Willis will definitely provide with an impressive finished piece of work. His contrast of light and darkly lit scenes were interesting. Also, I have to give extra points to Coppola standing by his convictions that the film needed to faithful to the novel as a period piece, despite the studios efforts to reset it in present day. Definitely the wise choice.

The Godfather was plagued with countless problems during production, but none caused so much paranoia that Coppola would get fired than that of his casting decisions. From the studio not wanting Pacino or Brando, which resulted in James Caan almost getting cast as Michael, it’s a miracle everything turned out for the best. All the actors in this film seemed to perfectly understand their characters and knew how to bring them to life. It’s said that the scene that convinced the studio to allow Pacino to remain was his shooting of Solozzo and the police captain. His transformation from the innocent war hero to who he ultimately became was fascinating. James Caan’s performance was undoubtedly the influenced many ‘mafioso’ performances that followed. And Brando, well I’ve read that Brando altered the way real life mobsters spoke and conducted themselves, take from that what you will.

The film was slow burning, but when it was time to get to the goods it delivered. The massacre of Sonny (influenced by the deaths of Bonnie & Clyde) being the obvious scene to highlight, all those squibs must have been a bitch. The agonizing strangling of Clemenza, the death of Sollozo and the police captain (that red mist was nuts), and the classic bullet to the eye. This film may have romanticized a crime family, but it definitely pulled out all the stops when it depicted the potential consequences of their dealings.

“You spent time with your family? Because a man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.”

“I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

“YOU CAN ACT LIKE A MAN!!”

“Leave the gun, take the cannoli.”

“Don Corleone, I am honored and grateful that you have invited me to your daughter… ‘s wedding… on the day of your daughter’s wedding. And I hope their first child be a masculine child.”

“It’s a sicilian message, it means Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.”

I mentioned a couple times throughout this article that the mob is depicted in a romanticized and dare I say somewhat noble way in The Godfather. In some aspects the organized crime aspect is depicted in a realistic way, but like the films of the 30’s we are given a group of criminals that we end up rooting for. The whole story played out more like a Shakespearean play rather than an accurate portrayal of a life in “that thing of theirs”. This is by no means a negative aspect of the film, but it definitely had a tone and a message all its own.

I love a story that focuses on a tragic hero, a story that began with a good man and chronicled his fall from grace. That is what The Godfather provided us with. I loved the direction, I loved the cinematography, I loved the cast, I loved the music, all the elements just came together to make this film a classic to the majority of those who see it. I have yet to see an ending to a film that packed as big of a punch as The Godfather did. I hate repeating myself but Michael Corleone’s transformation was the heart of this film, and he was complimented by characters that became just as memorable as he is.