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Godfather, The
Paramount Pictures

Godfather, The reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 100 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.1 out of 10
based on 14 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 308 votes
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MPAA 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)


GENRE(S): Drama  
WRITTEN BY: Mario Puzo (also novel)
Francis Ford Coppola
 
DIRECTED BY: Francis Ford Coppola  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: October 9, 2001 
Video: May 21, 2002 
Theatrical: March 11, 1972 
RUNNING TIME: 175 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

The film picked up the Best Picture Oscar at the 1972 Academy Awards. The film also won an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Puzo/Coppola), and Marlon Brando won the Best Actor Oscar.

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...

100
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]
100
Washington Post Desson Thomson
A great American picture, full of incredible images and lasting moments.
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100
LA Weekly F. X. Feeney
The Godfather traces the arc of this doomed idealism with a beauty that is still fresh.
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100
Chicago Reader Dave Kehr
Sharp, entertaining, and convincing--discursive, but with a sense of structure and control that Coppola hasn't achieved since.
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100
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]
100
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]
100
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.
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100
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.
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100
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).
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100
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.
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100
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.
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100
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.
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100
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]
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80
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.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 308 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Stabs M. gave it a10:
What's there to say? A perfect movie that I was accustomed to watching on VHS or cable, both of which had the color washed out. The DVD release has the color beautifully restored; the color, alone, allows you to rediscover The Godfather again. The special features are fantastic. Coppola walks you through the movie, slowly and expertly. The deleted scenes are wonderfully shot. What's not to love?

Over Rated gave it a0:
Completely over rated ... nuff said.

Liam G. gave it a10:
The greatest and most influential mob movie ever. Even after 36 years, nothing, bar its sequel and Scorsese's 'Goodfellas', have come close to matching its absolute perfection.

Jared C. gave it an8:
Goodness gracious me, it is not the best movie ever made. Sure, it's on the top 10 list, but not the number 1 greatest, at least for me. The Godfather was a brilliant and outstanding setup for Part II, and for that It was good. There really was no big storyline to it though. Part II there were many thing happening. But The Godfather just had Marlon Brando walkin' around saying random things with his, somewhat annoying, but kick ass voice. It was just family problems. Oh no Michael was sent to prison, Johnny was murdered, and Michael took over the family business. In a nutshell, that's all it really was. But it sure was a good movie. A beautiful, amazing setup for Part II. It's worth watching, but you have to be In the mood, and when you are, you'll find the picture breathtaking. Sometime you wonder if they even made it in '72, thinking they did it sometime in the '90s. But the film was very well done.

T. G. gave it a10:
Simply put, awesome movie.

Jeanette A. gave it a10:
I saw this movie when it first came out and it's been my favorite movie of all time. The key to the story line is how the family loves each other even though the business they are in is violent. The story line is the best part. No other movie has come close to having all that this one has to offer.

Diogo C. gave it a10:
A despite of the boring beginning, the plot gains more and more emotion while the story is being told. At the end, you look back, and realize this was one of the best movies ever.

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