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On March 24th, 1972, one of the most widely celebrated and renowned films of all time was released

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On March 24th, 1972, one of the most widely celebrated and renowned films of all time was released to the public. Ranked number two on the American Film Intitutes 100 Years... 100 Movies list, The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppolla is an enormous, groundbreaking film whose power and influence are impossible to deny. Upon its release, it instantly became an American classic, one to be remembered and celebrated for years to come. According to Vincent Canby's New York Times review published before its theatrical release, on March 16, 1972, "Francis Ford Coppola has made one of the most brutal and moving chronicles of American life ever designed within the limits of popular entertainment." Based on the 1969 novel by Italian-American author …show more content…

Michael eventually rises to the occassion, he, along with the family, becomes even more ruthless, cold, and powerful than his father ever was. Despite its renouned and loved status, there are many criticisms with The Godfather. Perhaps the strongest point of criticism for it is that it portrays mobsters in a positive, sympathetic light. It takes murderers, crooks, and con artists and turns them into heroes. It romanticizes violence and villainy. According to Roger Ebert's 1997 review, "During the movie we see not a single actual civilian victim of organized crime. No women trapped into prostitution. No lives wrecked by gambling. No victims of theft, fraud or protection rackets. The only police officer with a significant speaking role is corrupt." The Godfather doesn't show the reality of crime and the effects it has on society. It shows the exciting, mysterious, admirable side of it. It turned gangsters into role models, and people loved it. Therefore it is necessary to seperate the film from reality. And people, for the most part, can seperate it from reality. However, The Godfather not only had a profound effect on the world of cinema, it also heavily influenced the real world of organized crime it portrayed. According to the book Hollywood and the Mob, by Tim Adler, The film "changed the way the Mafia regarded itself and, for many, rehabilitated gangsters into men of

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