“Never hate your enemies; it affects your judgement.” This is a famous quote by the infamous Michael “Don” Corleone from the Godfather part III. Ever since movies were given sound gangster films have been major blockbusters throughout the years. In most recent times films like The Godfather trilogy, Scarface, Casino, Goodfellas, and Carlito’s Way, just to name a few, have been conquering box offices throughout America and the world alike. Arguably, the most notable of these gangster films is The Godfather trilogy. Everybody knows the Corleone family from Sicily that was lead by Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), and lastly by Vincent Corleone (Andy Garcia). Al Pacino arguably is the greatest gangster movie star in …show more content…
This movie starred Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, Andy Garcia as Vincent Corleone and Talia Shire as the sister of Michael Corleone named Connie. It was released in 1990 and the cinematographer was Gordon Willis. It is classified as a gangster/mafia movie and it is a blockbuster considering it grossed close to one hundred and thirty eight million dollars worldwide. Al Pacino played the typical role of what is considered to be the head of a mafia family. He was older, soft spoken, mature and much wiser than the rest. Andy Garcia, who became the successor of the Corleone empire, played the young inexperienced nephew of Don Corleone which was groomed to be his successor. Talia Shire played the typical role of the supportive sister of Don Corleone named …show more content…
After taking control of the company he makes the Vatican an offer to buy their part of the company which was twenty five percent. Michael knew that Archbishop Gilday which was the head of the vatican bank at the time ran up an enormous deficit and Michael Corleone agrees to pay six hundred million dollars for the deal However the Pope John Paul VI has to approve of the deal or else it will not work. One of New York’s mafia bosses and a friend of Michael Corleone tells Michael that he and some colleagues want in on the deal and Michael does not want any mafia involvement in this deal in his attempt to legitimize his business dealings. Michael Corleone gathers a meeting with fellow mafia bosses and pleases them by sharing profits from his Las Vegas businesses with the exception of Joey Zasa. Zasa gets angry and basically declares Michael as an enemy and storms off. Afterwards a helicopter comes flying over and opes fire and kills most of the members in that room with the exception of Michael Corleone and Vincent Corleone. Following this tragic event they meet at one of Michael’s homes in New York and they decide how to deal with the situation that happened and Vincent firmly states that he wants to kill Joey Zasa but Michael refuses to do so in
The two major themes in this movie is friendship and greed, and the two themes often come in conflict with each other. The mafia is made up of a very select few individuals, who are together all the time and don't affiliate with outsiders. This makes them grow strong bonds and develop friendships with each other. According to Jimmy Conway, the two most important things to remember is "to never rat on your friends,
The gangster genre within films in America has accomplished numerous positive criticisms and constant willing audiences due to containing outstanding spectacles and mind-blowing action. The Godfather, being second on the IMDb Top 250 Movies, has set a new popular concept to life within the Mafia from their point of view. Doing so, creating a positive association. Yet within Italy, the same topic contains a complete different view. Movies such as I Cento Passi demonstrate unenthusiastic view by those whom are outside yet negatively affected by those members. Unlike American films, the gangsters are not as often viewed at the protagonist and are the main causes for the problematic events. But how different is Italian Mafia and American
Francis Ford Coppola directed the gangster crime drama film, The Godfather (1972), inspired by the novel of the same name, written by Author Mario Puzo. The film plays out in the beginning how Don Corleone declined to join the narcotics business with notorious drug lord Sollozzo. With this in mind, one of the greatest gangster films created by a man who decided to lead, and not follows. Moreover, explaining the formalist approach for this film which covers an array of elements that include plot structure, camera techniques, editing, mise en scene, and sound. The following film critique will analyze “The Godfather,” beginning by utilizing the formalist approach theory, camera technique and sound gradually introducing additional theories
There are many minor characters in The Godfather due to the Corleone family’s immense size and intricate relationships with other crime families and policemen. The first Don mentioned in the book, Michael’s father Vito Corleone, was minor character. Sonny Corleone was the successor to the Don because he was his son, he was the most qualified of the Don’s sons to take over the business and he did so until he was murdered a short while after in a phone booth. Michael and Sonny had one other blood brother, Fredo Corleone, who doesn’t play a big role in the family. Fredo was with the Don when he was shot and went into shock; to protect
“It was during the troubled years of the 1860s that the Italian kingdom’s ruling class ruling class first heard talk of the mafia in Siciliy” (Dickie, s38, 2004). In this quote we find a potential reason to why the idea that the mafia was born during the making of the modern Italian state has become leading with scholars. Most likely this event shaped the mafia into what it has become because of the political influence that the Italian state bestowed upon Sicily. However, it is not unlikely that the mafia wasn’t already existing in Sicily during this time, and most definitely that criminal gangs of Sicily before this time had traits that were transferred into the mafia as it evolved under the new Italian kingdom. While the mafia is largely
Unlike Goodfellas, the violence in The Godfather occurs mysteriously and almost magically. The organized crimes and murders simply occur without any mistake in this film. One of the bloody scenes that portray this is the one where Woltz’ bed is covered in blood. This scene was very slick the way Tom Hagen slipped away without being noticed by anyone. Hagen’s visit was to intimidate Woltz by proving that if he had to kill him, he would be able to. Another very violent act was Sonny’s death. This plan was organized carefully by Don Emilio Varzini with the help of Carlo Rizzi, his brother-in-law. Earlier in the film Sonny had beaten Carlo after he heard Carlo was abusing his sister Connie. To get back at him, Carlo viciously beats Connie using his belt. When Sonny hears of this he speeds to Connie’s apartment. As he approaches, Barzini’s men surround Sonny and viciously shoot him to death. This act was also thought out very cautiously by masterminds. Towards the end of the movie, the planned killing of the five other mob leaders is revealed. Michael orders all of the head of the families to be killed so he can be the top Don. Although this scene is violent, it is masked by the ceremony of Michael becoming Connie’s son’s godfather. The mass murder was perfectly planned to
Like all types of criminals and their organizations, the Gambino family had enemies and allies. According to wikipidia.com the Gambino family had enemies around New York City as well as their allies. The fight was territorial and power. During Carlo Gambino’s time there was no doubt that Carlo was the boss of bosses, it was proven with the fact that he was not murdered. But before, during and after his time his allies were going crazy trying to achieve a higher ranking this causing rivalry between each other.
The Mafia way of life may seem like a romantic updated version of the western movie played out on the streets of the big cities where the good guys and the wise guys who share the same instincts and values do battle before an enthralled public but it is actually very different. The Mafia is really just a group of uneducated thugs making money by victimizing the public. Initially, the Mafia was setup as a prominent supplier of bootlegged liquor, but it has spread into many different areas of crime. During this research paper I will discuss three aspects of the Mafia which are crime, structure and decline in leadership.
La Cosa Nostra Perhaps one of the most poignant moments in American cinema is the closing scene in the film “The Godfather” when Don Vito Corleone’s son Michael takes over his father’s position... and one of the most unforgettable moments, a severed horses’s head lies bloody in a man’s bed. It is this tradition and brutality that characterizes the Mafia, a secret Sicilian society that lives and functions just as much today on American soil as it did and does still in Italy. To understand this organized crime, one must begin to understand how it came to be organized in the first place. During the medieval times in Sicily, Arabs invaded the land and native Sicilians fled and took refuge in the hills. Some of these refugees formed a
The Godfather is the story of a Mafia family. It follows the rise of Michael Corleone within the family. Michael was once a war hero and did not want to be involved in the family business. When his father is shot though, Michael takes revenge on the people who did it and becomes a part of the Mafia lifestyle. When his older brother is murdered, Michael ascends to become the boss of the family, and proves to be more ruthless than his father and brother combined. The scene that I am analyzing is one where Michael is becoming his nephew’s godfather at his baptism.
Al Capone was the center of the movie, as a man who went against all
The Godfather is a mob film focuses on the Corleone Family, with its head Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) trying to find a suitable heir to his empire, while war is breathing down the neck of other crime families. Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) then steps in to organize the family back to shape. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and based from the novel of the same name written by Mario Puzo. It received critical acclaim by critics and was cited as an influence by real life mobsters due to its rather realistic portrayal of gangster life and Cosa Nostra.
THE GODFATHER, made in 1974, details the Corleone crime family in Manhattan during the mid 1930s. The Don, Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando, leads his organization against a relentless narcotics push by a rival family, the Sollozzos. Vito Caleone does not want anything to do with drugs because he believes they will be the downfall of the Mafia. The story, covering a ten year time period, offers a rich tapestry of Mafia life from the inside, drawing the audience into witnessing the transfer of power within a close-knit family
Let’s start with the story of “The Godfather Part II”. The movie’s story is a continuation of where the first movie left off, which is with Michael Corleone as the new don, or head of the family. However, this film is quite different from the first, or any other movie as it shows two different stories at once. One story is of Michael Corleone’s fall and the numerous legal battles he goes through as he tries to legitimize his family business, and the other is the story of Michael’s father, Vito, and his rise to power from young adult to mafia leader. The story of Vito Corleone is shown through flashbacks that happen too often for my liking, and are not as entertaining as the
“A man who doesn’t spend time with his family, can never be a real man” - Mario Puzo, The Godfather. As described in the novel Godfather, Don Corleone is a man who is passionate for obtaining respect, as well as repaying the favor. Don, a man of power, and much wisdom is very persuasive in using force to get what he wants. Throughout the Godfather, it will take many twists and turns into the lives of the mafia. It will reveal a world of crime, men on the run. Drugs, what such things