Mumble mumble family mumble Santino mumble respect (The Godfather Trilogy (5 DVDs))

Name: hogsflesh

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Product:	The Godfather Trilogy (5 DVDs)
Date:	31.10.04 (202 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The first two are great!, Long melodramatic crime, films with good music

Disadvantages: Sadly the third one, is really not up to scratch, and not worth buying

It's generally accepted that the 1970s was mainstream Hollywood's last 'golden age'. While I feel that this is a little harsh on what's been produced since, it's hard to deny that the era that gave us Taxi Driver, Carnal Knowledge and Chinatown was pretty special. Probably the most iconic films of the decade are the first two Godfather films, epic (i.e. long) mafia movies directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Their high production values, skilful direction and splendid acting have brought them huge acclaim, while the violence and emotional resonance have made them very popular. This box-set contains both, along with the disappointing third film and a disc of extras.

Based on Mario Puzo's successful novel, the first film was released in 1972. It tells the story of a Sicilian mafia family, the Corleones, in 1940s New York. The head of the family is the imposing Vito (Marlon Brando), 'The Godfather', a man of immense power and influence. His eldest son, the brutal Santino (James Caan) is his right hand in the family business, while his weak, gullible second son, Fredo (John Cazale) helps out. His youngest son, the reserved Michael (Al Pacino), has been kept away from crime, and is engaged to a nice WASP girl, Kay (Diane Keaton). He also has a daughter, Connie (Talia Shire, Coppola's sister) and an adopted son, Tom (Robert Duvall). The extended family includes Vito's trusted lieutenants, fat Clemenza and thin Tessio, and his fearsome enforcer, Luca Brasi. After Vito is almost assassinated, the Corleones are drawn into a brutal war against other mafia clans.

This is probably the best film of the three, and though it's almost three hours long the pace rarely flags (perhaps some of the scenes with Michael in Sicily could have been shortened a bit). The photography is beautiful, making amazing use of shadows and having an almost sepia look, which perfectly evokes the era. There are some incredible moments. The final sequence, where a family christening is intercut with moments of shocking violence is fantastic, brilliantly directed and edited. Nino Rota's incidental music is perfect, especially the laconic main theme. Coppola hadn't directed anything particularly noteworthy before The Godfather (although his mid-60s horror movie Dementia 13 is enjoyable), but this put him well and truly on the map.

But probably the main reason for its success is the acting. Marlon Brando as Vito is at his incomprehensible, mumbling best, putting in a wonderfully judged performance that's far more than just a good make-up job. The supporting cast almost all became stars as a result of the film, and Caan and Pacino are particularly good. They manage to convince you that they really are a family, the warmth of their relationships coming through even as they discuss murdering their enemies. You find yourself liking these people, even though they aren't really terribly nice.

Part 2 followed in 1974. It's very, very long (it's split onto two DVDs). It's both a prequel and a sequel to the first film: half is devoted to the young Vito's arrival in America and how he establishes himself as a crimelord. The other half shows how the family fares under Michael's control in the 1950s as it becomes embroiled in congressional hearings and the Cuban revolution. There's an obvious contrast between the warmth of the scenes set in the 1920s and the coldness that has enveloped the family in the 50s. Michael's concerns now are substantially bigger than his father's as he gets drawn into conflict with the ageing Jewish mobster Hyman Roth.

It's usually claimed that Part 2 is at least as good as, if not better than, Part 1. I'm not entirely sure I agree with that. For a start it's a lot slower and less entertaining, although it's never unintelligent. Also, while the actors who return from the first film are excellent (Pacino and John Cazale especially), there aren't enough memorable characters otherwise. The exception is Robert DeNiro, brilliant as the young Vito in the flashback scenes. Unfortunately, Lee Strasberg as Hyman Roth just isn't dynamic enough to carry off what should be the pivotal role. Strasberg was a legendary acting teacher, but he obviously wasn't much of an actor.

The other problem is that the film doesn't expand on the central idea of the first film, that if you scratch the surface of the American dream you'll find violence and duplicity. In fact it cheapens it slightly by shoving it down our throats with all the subtlety of a Carry On film. There are too many lengthy shots of Michael's mask-like face and dead eyes, and they all too frequently cut to DeNiro's scenes, obviously contrasting the difference between father and son. I got the message the first time they did it, by the fourth or fifth time I was starting to feel that my intelligence was being insulted. But still, it's a fine film, and it's emotionally tough going, especially in Michael's relationships with his wife and his brother Fredo.

The third film wasn't made until 1990, and in the meantime Coppola had lost it. (He's only made three good films: The Godfather 1 & 2 and The Conversation. Everything else he's done has been overblown rubbish, and that includes inexplicably popular nonsense like Apocalypse Now and Rumblefish alongside obvious dross like One From The Heart or Dracula.) It's not that Part 3 is bad exactly; it's just that it isn't good, and if you're making a sequel to two of the greatest films of the 70s, you really need to be rather better than just good. It's set in 1979, and Michael's now mellowed in his old age as he tries (again) to move into completely legal business. His hotheaded nephew Vincent (Andy Garcia) is being groomed as his successor as Godfather, and Michael has to balance family problems with his business concerns. When the film gets bogged down in Vatican banking scandals and conspiracy theories about the death of Pope John Paul I you begin to suspect that there may be an element of hubris present. It's all a bit lacklustre, as if no one's heart was really in it, and the fact that Coppola puts in scenes that deliberately hearken back to the previous films only highlights how disappointing this one is.

Not many of the original cast are present, and while Talia Shire gets more to do than in other films she doesn't fill the gap left by Robert Duvall, who wisely refused to participate. Pacino lacks the spark that made his earlier performances so good, and his hair looks absolutely ridiculous. He does deserve some credit for managing lines like 'Even the new Pope is in danger!' with a straight face, but he's a shadow of his former self. The new cast members are mostly adequate, although only Joe Mantegna as a New York hood is actually good. The main problem is that Michael's daughter Mary is played by Coppola's daughter Sofia (now a successful director in her own right), and she's rubbish. This was necessary because Winona Ryder, who was scheduled to play the part, had one of her periodic mental health episodes, and there wasn't time to cast another actress. Knowing that doesn't help, though.

At the end of the day he should have left well alone. There are no surprises in the film; in fact it's crushingly predictable throughout. Part 2 was also predictable, but in a Greek-tragedy kind of way. This is just predictable in a mediocre-film kind of way.

The extras disc has a lot on it. There's a behind the scenes documentary, which has good contributions from various actors (Pacino, DeNiro, Caan etc). The best bit is the screen tests, including Caan testing for Michael (weird), Martin Sheen testing for Michael (bad!) and DeNiro testing for Sonny (intense!). There are some shorter features, one showing some of the locations used (a bit dull), one where Coppola discusses his notes for making the first film (kind of interesting for a few minutes) and one about Coppola's father, who wrote the music for the second and third films. There's also an audio recording of Nino Rota playing the theme from the first film on a piano.

The Gallery is better than most DVD galleries, with plenty of production shots and stills from cut scenes. There's a 'Rogue's Gallery', which has photo portraits of various minor hoodlums from the trilogy. The trailers aren't really all that interesting, although the trailer for the first film is notable for consisting mostly of still images, and for giving away almost the entire plot. There are clips of Oscar acceptance speeches (although sadly only for best director and film. I wish they'd included Brando's Oscar, where he made the baffling decision to send a Native American woman to reject his award; there are conflicting reports about whether she was a real Native American or a white actress pretending). Still, the early 70s fashions and sets are fun, and Jack Lemmon is weirdly twitchy when he gives the award for best picture.

Then there are filmmaker biographies, but the text is way too small. There's also a family tree, which gives character biographies (completely pointless), and you can also read actor biographies if you can find them (the navigation is really not intuitive). The only really interesting extra feature is a collection of additional scenes that were cut from the first two films. There are lots of DeNiro sequences from the second film, and also a surprising number of good Brando moments from part 1. All in all, though, I'd just try and get the first two individually rather than fork out for the box set, as part 3 really isn't good enough to make it worth spending all that extra money on.

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