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Year One
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Godfather, The
Universal acclaim
Based on 14 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 372 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by:
Mario Puzo (also novel)
Francis Ford Coppola
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Release Date:
Theatrical: March 11, 1972
DVD: October 9, 2001
Running Time: 175 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R
Starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, John Cazale, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, James Caan, Richard S. Castellano, and Abe Vigoda
Francis Ford Coppola's epic features Marlon Brando in his Oscar-winning role as the patriarch of the Corleone family. Director Coppola paints a chilling portrait of the Sicilian clan's rise and near fall from power in America, masterfully balancing the story between the Corleone's family life and the ugly crime business in which they are engaged. Based on Mario Puzo's best-selling novel and featuring career-making performances by Al Pacino, James Caan and Robert Duvall, this searing and brilliant film garnered ten Academy Award nominations, and won three including Best Picture of 1972. (Paramount Pictures)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Apocalypse Now Redux Dracula Jack One from the Heart Rumble Fish Tetro The Conversation The Godfather: Part II The Godfather: Part III The Outsiders The Rainmaker Tucker: The Man and His Dreams Youth Without Youth
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The New York Times Vincent Canby
One of the most brutal and moving chronicles of American life ever designed within the limits of popular entertainment. [16 Mar 1972]
Washington Post Desson Thomson
A great American picture, full of incredible images and lasting moments.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly F. X. Feeney
The Godfather traces the arc of this doomed idealism with a beauty that is still fresh.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Dave Kehr
Sharp, entertaining, and convincing--discursive, but with a sense of structure and control that Coppola hasn't achieved since.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Overflowing with life, rich with all the grand emotions and vital juices of existence, up to and including blood. And its deaths, like that of Hotspur in "Henry IV, Part I," continue to shock no matter how often we've watched them coming. [16 Mar 1997, Calendar, p.7]
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
Brando made Don Vito something we rarely see in movies: a tragicomic villain-hero, a vulnerable hood. The don is so close to a comic character -- the movie itself is so close to comedy -- that Brando's capacity to move us in the role is doubly impressive. At the end, it is the older Godfather's tenderness and sagacity we recall. [21 Mar 1997, Friday, p.A]
San Francisco Examiner Barbara Shulgasser
A handbook on cinematic lucidity. All events are described clearly. Motives of all the characters are set right there on the table next to the pasta for our consideration.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Staff (Non Credited)
The Godfather is a generational saga; it's also an action film; but above all, it catches the imagination of audiences because it suggests that the career of a gangster is not so very different from the career of a businessman or a politician.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Ron Wells
One warning however: James Caan's shoulder hair, when seen on this size screen, may frighten children considerably (you'll at least want to discuss it openly after the show, answering any questions your kids may have in an honest and direct manner).
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Just about as great as a movie's ever gonna be... As for the storytellng, The Godfather is an intricately constructed gem that simultaneously kicks ass.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
The picture is a series of mini-climaxes, all building to the devastating, definitive conclusion... It was carefully and painstakingly crafted. Every major character - and more than a few minor ones - is molded into a distinct, complex individual.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
The wedding sequence... is a virtuoso stretch of filmmaking: Coppola brings his large cast onstage so artfully that we are drawn at once into the Godfather's world.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann
In scene after scene -- the long wedding sequence, John Marley's bloody discovery in his bed, Pacino nervously smoothing down his hair before a restaurant massacre, the godfather's collapse in a garden -- Coppola crafted an enduring, undisputed masterpiece. [21 Mar 1997, Daily Datebook, p.C3]
Read Full Review >Variety Staff (Not Credited)
Overlong at about 175 minutes (played without intermission), and occasionally confusing. While never so placid as to be boring, it is never so gripping as be superior screen drama.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.3 (out of 10) based on 372 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Sedrick W gave it a10:
What the hell is wrong with kids these days! The Godfather is the daddy of all movies. The Godfather is hands down to greatest movie ever seen on a TV anywhere in the world ever. That was misspelled horribly I am sorry. But The Godfather is amazing so up yours kids!
Zach B gave it a10:
One of the best movies ever made and anyone who says other wise was most likely born after 1995.
Archan S gave it a10:
The greatest movie I have ever seen. Strong realistic character development, complex plot, analytical evaluation of human nature, twists, classical depiction of mafia characteristics with great casting (including one of the greatest performance in world history by Marlon Brando and career making performance by Al Pacino) and directed by one of the greatest visionary director Francis Ford Coppola makes this film not only the greatest gangster movie of all time but also the greatest movie of all time. Reading the comments of other users I have found that some people rated it very poorly (even some gave the movie 0). They think giving the movie 10 rating makes it overrated. But for them I want to say that either they haven't understood the movie or haven't actually watched the movie. Considering public rights it can be said that anyone can give any rating in their accordance but giving this movie 0 rating is a social insult in my opinion. Many people think Scarface and Goodfellas are better than this film. But I strongly believe that Scarface has neither strong character development nor any good story. Yes it has some cheesy lines and some eye-candy violence which makes it a "notable" gangster (also a reason is that it is based on a true character) film but definitely not a "great" film. And yes Goodfellas is a great film the characters of the film are all villainous in nature. They don't appeal the sympathy of mass. Along with it neither have the classical approach as The Godfather has nor had any complicated story which the viewer will go on thinking long after the movie as The Godfather. So I think rating this movie 10 is just.
J S gave it a10:
The greatest movie ever made. The only blockbuster ever produced for thinking adults. All the performances are outstanding and the direction is peerless. Manages to turn a good summer novel into a dark, brooding masterpiece.
Scott gave it a10:
The greatest movie of ALL time, hands down! those who dislike, know nothing about cinema.
Philip B gave it a4:
The first part is ok, but kept falling asleep for the rest of it, and never even made it to part three. One of the most boring movies I've ever tried to sit through.
Mark K. gave it a10:
Bob N is an idiot. This movie is great! And by saying that I don't mean "great" as in "good movie" I mean "great" as in "a movie revolutisionizing every aspect of the gangster genre" A lot of people thinks it's too long, (Too much movie to handle) but with a little patience and a mature mind you are sure to find this movie exciting and unlike anything else! Fantastic!
