The Godfather is an award-winning movie, based on the
novel of the same name that was written by Mario Puzo. Directed by the
Italian-American director, Francis Ford Copolla, its star cast includes
Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia
Shire, Al Lettieri, Sterling Hayden and John Cazale. With Marlon Brando
as the legendary 'Don Vito Corleone', the story of The Godfather
revolves around a Sicilian Mafia family and captures crime from every
possible angle in the 1940's. Read its complete summary below.
The story of 'The Godfather' opens in the study of Don Vito Corleone
(Marlon Brando), the leading patriarch of a New York Mafia family,
holding court during the wedding of his daughter Connie (Talia Shire).
Guests-cum-suppliants come and pay tribute to him, each beseeching him
with his/ her personal requests - revenge, role in a movie, husband for
a daughter, etc. Don Vito's youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), a World
War II hero, is also home with a new American girlfriend, Kay Adams
(Diane Keaton).
Though Don Vito maintains his overpowering deportment, there are hints
that his powers are eroding. His old-world ideas and policies are viewed
as antiqued by many. Things take a bad turn when his eldest son, Sonny
(James Caan), opposes his refusal to enter the drug business. When a
drug-supplier named Sollozzo (Al Lettieri) arrives with intriguing
business proposals, which Don Vito rejects, it leads to a bloody battle
of treachery, deceit and plunder among the five mob families of New
York. With Sonny's death, the plot takes volatile turns.
What makes Don Vito so galvanizing is his intricate character. He is
not a killer, but a complicated gangster. He epitomizes a family man,
who shows equal prowess while handling Mafia dealings. His wordless
compassion for Michael, when he finally emerges as the new Godfather, is
one of the most illuminating moments of the movie pertaining to the
father-son relationship. In fact, the cinematic splendor of the movie
lies in its tightly-knitted plot, its larger-than-life characters and
its realistic pace.
Since its release in 1972, The Godfather has garnered 10 Academy Award
nominations and also bragged the title of 'Best Picture'. Such is the
appeal of The Godfather, that it has become the yardstick for gauging
the intensity of all the gangster movies. In fact, it is a wonderful
masterpiece that palpitates with a matchless magic and has been an
inspiring predecessor of many gangster movies that followed its time.
