The Godfather Review

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

In class we learned that The Godfather uses the anit-hero theme. As I watched the film I found myself feeling sad when one of the "good guys" died or feeling happy when they were triumphant. I want the Corleone family to be successful and I want them to rule the day. What makes this very strange, however, is who they actually are. These people I'm rooting for are criminals. They are cold, hard murderers and thieves, yet here I am growing a liking for them. Does that make me a bad person? Should I re-evaluate my morals? The answer to both of those questions is no simply because it is not my fault. The way the film was made and the characters demonstrated is what is at fault. The characters are made to be loveable characters and the film puts us in their shoes. We see the situations through the eyes of a member of the Corleone family.

2)  Find a related article and summarize the content. 

One of the biggest challenges in making the film was casting it. One of the hardest members to cast was Marlon Brando and this was for multiple reasons. This article talks about how Brando was very troublesome when making the movie. The first step for Coppola in getting Brando on the team was convincing the producers. Marlon Brando had become wildly disliked amongst film producers because of how difficult he was to work with. He would cause countless problems on set and sabotage the films he was in. Paramount wanted nothing to do with him. Coppola almost lost the job as director of The Godfather by insisting that Brando be cast in the film. After a few weeks Paramount finally agreed only if Brando agreed to audition and work for no salary. Knowing that he could never get an audition from Brando, Coppola went to Brando's house and recorded him practicing the role and coming up with the character. The studio was so blown away by how Brando portrayed Don Corleone, they couldn't wait for him to sign the contract.

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/443184/The-Godfather/articles.html

 

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class.  

While viewing the film in class, it was quite obvious that Marlon Brando was the star of the film. His performance was nearly perfect and gets critical acclaim all over the world. Coppola's mission to sign Marlon Brando into the movie was a valiant mission indeed because Brando really was the only man for the job. Out of any filmmaker in the world, I feel the most sympathy for Coppola. He struggles a lot when he wants to make a film, but that is also why I respect him so much. He went through a lot of headache to cast the right man for the role, but through his persistence he got what he wanted and it turned out great. 

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion,  formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.  

Let's start off by saying "Wow what a great movie!" There are very few flaws in the film and to say I finally saw it is a load off of my back. I did see the movie before, but a long time ago and while I was with my girlfriend and they can be very...distracting. What makes the movie so great is thinking about it afterwards. The more you think about it the more impressed you become with it. The powerful symbolism and plethora of themes allows for many days of thought and appreciation. What else makes it such a great movie? All of the actors do a fantastic job. Each and everyone one of them put in so much effort and it all paid off. The movie was a huge success and launched their incredibly successful careers they have now. Everyone knows who Al Pacino is. The true backbone of the film though, is Francis Ford Coppola. Although he hasn't done a whole lot after The Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now he still proved himself as a fantastic filmmaker with The Godfather. The wonderful cinematography and perfect pacing create an extraordinary viewing experience. The only thing I didn't like about watching the film in class was splitting it into two days. The week gap between the first half and the second half really took away from the experience so I will definitely have to see it again.

1) (Yes) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) (Yes) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) (Yes) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) (Yes) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) (Yes) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) (Yes) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) (Yes) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) (Yes) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Name: Geoffrey Perez_____________________________  Date: 2/12/13_______________________