The Godfather (DVD 2004)

Quite simply, the greatest movie ever made. Though I hesitate to use the tired allusion, it must be said: This is the movie Shakespeare would've written had he been born 400 years later. It has become one of a very few films that has etched itself deeply into the fabric of society. There are countless lines that are immediately recognizable (and still often used) by every English speaking male on the planet. I stress "male" because this is a decidedly masculine movie. "The Godfather" offers everything, except sex, a man could possibly hope for in a film.

At a time when we've become content if a filmmaker can develop and maintain a single idea throughout a movie, "The Godfather" is an embarrassment of riches. Respect, trust, power and importance of family are just a few of the main themes woven together to form this magnificent tapestry. Actually, the movie is a collection of individual episodes, any one of which could have been developed into a whole separate film. Instead, they are all tied together into a brilliant air-tight bundle of a plot. The basic storyline is the waning power of Don Vito Corleone, a New York City mob boss in the 1940s, and the emergence of his sheltered youngest son, Michael, as the new head of an even stronger family, but it's impossible to give the film justice with a short synopsis.

Looking back at the whole, it's amazing so much was crammed into one movie. It's more like six films in one, but never feels cramped or confused (but it is long so pack a lunch). Then it ends with one of the best closing shots of all time as Michael's wife, Kay, stares back in horror as she finally realizes what her husband has become. Despite the length, it still leaves us wanting more.

DVD Review:
This new DVD is enhanced for 16:9 TVs but isn’t loaded with extras. Not that that matters – you don’t purchase a DVD of this classic for the extras. It does, however, include Francis Ford Coppola’s commentary, which is superb and blows away the majority of the extra features that pollute today’s DVD sets.

Most fans of this extraordinary film and of filmmaking in general will hang on Coppola’s every word. Coppola tells a captivating story of how difficult it was to make the movie, giving details of the studio’s many efforts to fire both him and Al Pacino. In the end, though, Coppola won most of the battles and left us with this masterpiece.