My review of The Godfather parts 1 and 2

I’ve loved movies about the mob for a long time. My favorite director is Martin Scorsese. I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to finally watch the first 2 installments of the godfather, but it’s probably because they run so long. Now that I’ve seen more than a short clip, I’m prepared to give my thoughts. First, I want to say that I didn’t watch part 3 because of public opinion and the fact that I couldn’t find it streaming on any platform I subscribe to.

Part one was fine, if a little slow. My controversial opinion is that I didn’t enjoy Brando’s take on Vito Corleone. I could barely understand a word he mumbled . There have been so many impersonations of him in the role that it became difficult to take him seriously. Pacino, on the other hand, was much more believable to me. Another controversial opinion is that I’ve never been a fan of Al Pacino in anything but Dog Day Afternoon, but I really enjoyed him here. I don’t know why John Cazale isn’t a more lauded actor. His performance as Fredo was brilliant. As for the women who wowed me, Talia Shire was a revelation, and Diane Keaton in the scene where she admitted that she didn’t have a miscarriage was chilling .Now anyone who knows me, knows how much I LOVE  Robert Deniro,and I think that he was perfection as young Vito Corleone. As a matter of fact, I think there should have been more to young Vito’s story ,I would have really enjoyed a full prequel with Deniro in the role.

All in all, I liked the first 2 installments of the Godfather, but I still prefer Scorsese and Deniro in Goodfellas and Casino, andeventheIrishman. Scorsese sets a great pace, and his musical choices are just incredible.

I’ll leave you with an anecdote about the time I ate with Marlon Brando. My husband at the time and I went to eat at our favorite Indian restaurant in Los Angeles. I was facing away from the door when it opened, and the entire restaurant went so quiet that you could hear a hair fall to the floor. As I  began to look around, my husband whispered across the table to me that Brando was there. The whole place remained eerily silent until he and his older male companion left. Once the door shut behind them, everyone let out a breath simultaneously as if we’d been holding our breath the entire time he was there . It’s was one of the weirdest experiences of my life.