I feel a lot of pressure writing a review for a film as universally acclaimed as this one (currently the #2 rated movie of all time on IMDB). This is for two very different reasons. First, on the positive side, what can I say that hasn't been said a thousand times already? The acting is absolutely phenomenal, with naturalistic/subtle performances that deserve every award given. The story successfully captures an ambitious decade spanning epic. The music is iconic. The production design and attention to detail is unsurpassed. Suffice it to say that virtually every aspect of this film is worthy of praise.
This brings us to the second reason why I feel pressure writing this review, and that is the inclusion of the word "virtually" in that last sentence. Despite thinking the movie was great, I did have issues that prevented it from being the 10 out of 10 perfect film that many others have deemed it to be. I can't help but feel like I'm committing cinephile sacrilege when I only say the movie was an 8 out of 10 for me. So, what were the things that held the film back?
The main issue is actually connected to one of the film's strengths, that is the epic scope of the story. This film covers a lot of ground, and even with three hours to do it, certain segments aren't left with enough screen time to land effectively. Compare the opening sequence, Connie's wedding, to the the sequence of Michael in Italy. The former gives us 26 minutes of screen time for a single evening. It throws us into the deep end of the Corleone's world, with character introductions and world building galore, all while giving plenty of room for the story to breathe. On the other hand, the Italy sequence comprises less than 20 minutes, yet it attempts to tell the story of an entire romance playing out over multiple years. Compared to what we get elsewhere in the film, it just felt rushed and underdeveloped. If this story was being adapted in today's world, I am quite confident that it'd be done via a miniseries, with potentially 6 or 8 hours to work with, which would alleviate this issue.
The only other issue I'd point out is much more minor and many would argue unfair, but I have to say that the film does show its age in certain respects. In particular, the violence that should be the dramatic punctuation marks on the story fall a little flat due to the dated special effects.
Review by SkinnyFilmBuffVIP 8BlockedParent2022-06-25T18:22:29Z
I feel a lot of pressure writing a review for a film as universally acclaimed as this one (currently the #2 rated movie of all time on IMDB). This is for two very different reasons. First, on the positive side, what can I say that hasn't been said a thousand times already? The acting is absolutely phenomenal, with naturalistic/subtle performances that deserve every award given. The story successfully captures an ambitious decade spanning epic. The music is iconic. The production design and attention to detail is unsurpassed. Suffice it to say that virtually every aspect of this film is worthy of praise.
This brings us to the second reason why I feel pressure writing this review, and that is the inclusion of the word "virtually" in that last sentence. Despite thinking the movie was great, I did have issues that prevented it from being the 10 out of 10 perfect film that many others have deemed it to be. I can't help but feel like I'm committing cinephile sacrilege when I only say the movie was an 8 out of 10 for me. So, what were the things that held the film back?
The main issue is actually connected to one of the film's strengths, that is the epic scope of the story. This film covers a lot of ground, and even with three hours to do it, certain segments aren't left with enough screen time to land effectively. Compare the opening sequence, Connie's wedding, to the the sequence of Michael in Italy. The former gives us 26 minutes of screen time for a single evening. It throws us into the deep end of the Corleone's world, with character introductions and world building galore, all while giving plenty of room for the story to breathe. On the other hand, the Italy sequence comprises less than 20 minutes, yet it attempts to tell the story of an entire romance playing out over multiple years. Compared to what we get elsewhere in the film, it just felt rushed and underdeveloped. If this story was being adapted in today's world, I am quite confident that it'd be done via a miniseries, with potentially 6 or 8 hours to work with, which would alleviate this issue.
The only other issue I'd point out is much more minor and many would argue unfair, but I have to say that the film does show its age in certain respects. In particular, the violence that should be the dramatic punctuation marks on the story fall a little flat due to the dated special effects.