"May their first child be a masculine child." (The Godfather - Soundtrack)

Member Name: berlioz II

Product:	The Godfather - Soundtrack
Date:	20/06/08 (119 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A classic score with great themes

Disadvantages: But marred with bad sound and little variation on its material

I suppose there is nobody around today who doesn't know The Godfather. Mario Puzo's epic tale of the Corleone family was a bestseller when it came out and it was not long before the book was turned into a successful series of movies by Francis Ford Coppola. Regardless of over-glamouring mafia life and making organised killing look cool, the book and the films (well, the first two films at least) were both incredibly enjoyable as a whole, creating masterpieces still resepcted today, and has led many later mafia films to take a lot of inspiration from these origins. When it came to the first film, it is interesting to note that Coppola was constantly struggling with the film and to remain in helm for going over-budget and over-time as the producers were already seeking a replacement director, and yet the first film turned out to be such a success that a sequel was immediately put into works with Coppola still in charge with considerably more free reign. Outside of the many fantastic performances and classic cinema scenes, one of the most memorable aspects in the films has always been the music. Composer Nino Rota was nearing the twilight of his career as he entered writing the music for The Godfather and, apart from perhaps his score for Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet, wrote his most well remembered score of his career, unless you include his Fellini output among his best remembered compositions (personally I find he had fame with Fellini but not much popular recognition). Off the bat, one might say that his music for the film is of an exceptional level and perfectly brings the absolutely correct sense of feel to the film that it required: stately, shadowy, elegant yet menacing. On the other, though, I don't think he was really at his best with the first Godfather film than when you compare his second outing with The Godfather, Part II.

Framed by three main themes, each is definitely of an outstanding quality. The first is, of course, The Godfather Waltz, a stately valse for the outside glitz and glamour of the Corleone family, a mask that hides away the seedy underbelly of what the family's activities are really all about. It is an infinitely wonderful theme that encompasses everything one needs to know of the mafia family. The second major mafia theme on the other hand is called "Halls of Fear" and is much more menacing in tone. It is the inner reflective voice of the family's true nature and has none of that elegance that the waltz proper has, being infinitely more brooding and dark, and which always opens the end credits sequences as a clear reference to the real Corleone Family of murder, crime and coercion. Often lumped among the mafia themes comes the third major theme, which in reality is in fact the love theme for Michael Corleone and his Sicilian crush Apollonia. This is a highly lyrical theme, as much as Rota ever composed, and has all the traits of the Italian lyricism that is so habitual of the sing-song music of the country. The added pop twist to the music also sets it apart from the more formal Godfather music that otherwise dominates, but it is not to be confused as a representation of the actual mafia elements of the film, regardless how many mafia spoofs often tend to use it rather than the waltz.

However, as ragards the score's real qualities, they don't personally work all the way for me. Music is used fairly sparingly in the film itself, regardless of the three-hour running time and Rota's score works perfectly in conjunction with the film's images. But on album we face several little problems that somewhat marr the listening experience. The most noticeable is the poor sound quality in which surface hiss is painfully obvious and the bass regions are rather over-exaggerated, resulting in a boomy sound that does not make for particularly good listening. Also the album's inclusion of the song "I Have But One Heart" and the source music of Carmine Coppola in "Connie's Wedding" (complete with crowd participation) are extremely disruptive and don't fit particularly well with Rota's compositions. Thirdly the score itself tends not to feature that much highlights apart from basic theme to theme performances, thus making it somewhat of an under-developed listen. With only 30 minutes of music on the MCA album, it is something that could benefit from at least a proper re-mastering if nothing else, but I was personally left underwhelmed with this first effort, whereas the sequel score has infinitely a lot more to get excited about. But regardless of this, there is no denying that this is a classic score, if not wholly as enjoyable as a standalone listen.


1. Main Title (The Godfather Waltz) (3:04)
2. I Have But One Heart (2:57)
3. The Pickup (2:56)
4. Connie's Wedding (Carmine Coppola) (1:33)
5. The Halls of Fear (2:12)
6. Sicilian Pastorale (3:01)
7. Love Theme from The Godfather (2:41)
8. The Godfather Waltz (3:38)
9. Apollonia (1:21)
10. The New Godfather (1:58)
11. The Baptism (1:49)
12. The Godfather Finale (3:50)

Music Composed by Nino Rota
Conducted by Carlo Savina
Music Recorded by Don MacDougall
1972 / MCA, 1991 (MCAD-10231)

© berlioz, 2008

Summary: Works for the film exceptionally well, but not so much on CD.