My experience watching the Godfather was very positive. Organized crime and corruption has always interested me and that is what The Godfather is all about. The Godfather was full of action from the very start which also kept me engaged even though it was a very long film. A scene that stood out to me in particular was when Johnny Fontane and Don Vito tried to convince Jack Woltz to give Johnny a part in a movie and when Woltz refuses they cut off the head of his horse and leave it in his bed the next morning. This scene stood out to me because it didn’t seem like it would be that big of a deal for Johnny to not get the acting part, but I thought that it symbolized that the family gets what they want by any means necessary and commit extremely personal crimes, like killing pets, to send a message.
The elements of the film that stood out the most to me were the mise en scene and the sound. For the mise en scene, I thought that the setting was realistic and the costumes also helped play a role in shaping who the characters were. The sound also helped add to the film because it was kind of ling but the music let the audience know when something important was about to happen and helped me pay attention more.
Critical conversations of The Godfather were very positive, this makes sense because The Godfather has been nominated for and won several awards. The Godfather is also viewed by many as “one of the most influential films of all time” (History). I also didn’t know that the film was based on a book originally but critical conversations also said that the film did a great job of staying consistent with the storyline of the book and capturing most necessary details. One critic had an interesting take on The Godfather and wrote, “The Godfather presents the gangster’s perspective of the Mafia as a response to corrupt society. Although the Corleone family is presented as immensely rich and powerful, no scenes depict prostitution, gambling, loan sharking or other forms of racketeering,” (George De Stefano).
I would tend to agree with the critics takes on The Godfather. I was worried about how my viewing experience would differ from critics because the film was made so long ago but I was engaged the entire time and thought it was very profound and interesting.
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