You’ve probably heard the phrase “sleepin’ with the fishes” or heard about a horse head ending up in someone’s bed. It’s also almost impossible not to have rolled around in a chair, stroking a cat, while playing the villain in childhood games. For all of these things, we have AFI’s No. 1 gangster film, The Godfather, to thank. Set in the 1940s New York, the film follows the organized crime Corleone family, with patriarch Don Vito, played by Marlon Brando, in the role of Godfather. While filled with the beautiful Italian music composed by Nino Rota, The Godfather also contains hot heads, harsh threats and gruesome violence. As a warning, this film is not for the faint of heart.
Filmed in 1972, The Godfather is not the first gangster film of its time. Movies portraying organized crime began to really grow around the ‘30s, the era of Prohibition and the emergence of big time gangsters like Al Capone. Most films made during this time would be based off the daily newspaper’s headlines. Premiering in 1932, Scarface: The Shame of a Nation, shocked audiences with its ruthless violence and gruesome tactics of the leading men. This film was the first land-marking Italian-American gangster film. However, after the audience reaction to Scarface, production studios created the Hays Production Code. This was a censorship code for studios to de-glorify the crime and show viewers that gangsters were psychotic criminals, not the “tragic hero” films portrayed them as. To dodge the code, films shifted to seeing FBI agents, police officers and typical good guys trying to stop the gangs, usually resulting in same ruthless violence.
The Godfather came out in 1972, and the original gangster crime flick was back to where it began. A film with an overall emotional tone, this movie does more than just show organized crime and action; it shows a strong sense of family. I believe the overarching theme is to do anything you can for family; the film features strong moments like hot head Sonny Corleone protecting his sister’s well-being to simple moments of Vito patiently waiting for son Michael to take a family photo. While a central plot of The Godfather is the evolution of the character Michael, played by Al Pacino, Michael’s motivation in the film all stems from his family- first attitude.
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather won three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Brando) and Best Writing of a Screenplay based on material of another medium. The musical score was nominated until the Academy discovered Rota used some of the music in a previous Italian film, Fortunella. The nomination was withdrawn.
How do you feel about gangster films like The Godfather? Do you think that films such as these glorify crime, or do you think it is purely for entertainment purposes? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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