Kubrick said: I didn't believe The Godfather was the greatest film of all time until I watched it for the tenth time. So, what's so good about the godfather? Why is it so attractive? It seems to have powerful magic power. It is not only known as the "Bible for men", but also a highly concentrated cultural symbol.
I hope I can interpret it from my personal point of view and enjoy this excellent work with you. At the same time, I want to make it clear that here, we only explain the film itself, regardless of the original text. The essence of film is the art of telling stories. Tell a complete story vividly in a limited time. In a movie, seeing other people's lives seems to have ended their own.
The godfather's story happened in a completely closed and isolated space from beginning to end. The world here has completely abandoned our original worldview, and we are in the position of the godfather to reflect on their values and life.
Therefore, it is difficult for us to evaluate the right and wrong of the mafia here with our original view of good and evil. But from the perspective of the mafia, we will evaluate good and evil from the perspective of the mafia. In this completely closed world, moral principles are closely related to the life of the old godfather. Our judgment standard is familial, and our justice and discipline are the bottom line and norms within the mafia.
The only villain is a traitor. Never go against your family. Fortunately, if there is a clear stream in the underworld, it is the fairness and integrity observed by the old godfather, which is the source of the contradiction in the whole movie. The bottom line struggle between other families and the Corleone family also runs through the old godfather's tradition of being a man. He only intervened in the gambling industry and never dealt drugs, and the magnificent story behind it began. The first scene of the movie "I Believe in America" was just a few words, but the picture was completely black, and then the first close-up was given to the funeral home owner who loved his daughter. The American dream, the fragility of the middle class was exposed in the social background at that time, and the old godfather also came to the United States from Sicily to start from scratch. At the same time, it also shows the predicament that the Corleone family will face in the future.
Then, the picture turns to the sunny outdoor, but it still gives people a dim feeling. The background of people coming and going is as complicated as the plot itself. Movie master's wonderful handwriting made the main characters appear at the wedding. Every scene has its profound meaning. In the first act, family strategist Tom and his eldest son Sonny appeared at the same time, while his second son only shot once in the family photo, suggesting that they have different positions in the family and different endings.
I specifically asked Mike, and he refused to have a picture of Mike, which shows his preference for his younger son. At that time, Mike had no idea of becoming a godfather in the future. As an officer, Mike, a young boy, has no intention of family business. The old godfather placed great trust in him, and it was his long-cherished wish to wash the underworld into light. Corleone personally came out to receive another gangster, bassini, one of the godfather's greatest enemies, and Sonny, his eldest son, followed him. After the kissing ceremony, he introduced himself. If the plot hadn't changed dramatically, the new godfather would be Sonny. But Sonny didn't have the qualities to be a godfather, and his character laid the groundwork for the tragic death behind him. In this scene, the godfather once again showed his wisdom, and his closeness to bassini reflected another famous saying. Get close to your enemies instead of hating them, otherwise it will affect your judgment. Godfather is a person who really cares about family and attaches great importance to family relations. He loves his wife and children very much. He said that a real man must spend time with his family. A man who doesn't take care of his family is not a man at all.
There is a detail on the dining table at the back of the movie, which reveals a family rule that eating with family members is not allowed to talk about business. This is also the personality charm of the godfather. Different from other things, Corleone pays attention to righteousness first, but in this dark world, because the godfather is old, it is only a matter of time before his order is replaced and the family crisis is gradually exposed. When "feelings" are lost to "business", everything will become an exchange of interests instead of emotional complementarity. Mafia boss bassini ordered his men to seize the camera of the Corleone family cameraman and destroy the film himself. Among them, the hidden contradictions of major families are looming. On the surface, the affinity is the same, but the calculation behind the scenes is unusual.
Strategist Tom told his wife that he was the adopted son of the godfather. He was brought up as a child, and he is a minister who has the ability to govern the world. However, it is difficult to play a role in future changes. Without blood relationship, he will eventually alienate his family. Being rude to detectives and reckless to cameramen, Sonny, the eldest son, can't be godfather at all because of his personality defect. His impulsiveness and mindlessness also echoed the fact that he was later shot and killed. Here, indoor and outdoor lines begin to cross. It's sunny outside and dark and claustrophobic inside. The godfather's life is also constantly wandering between light and darkness. One window, two worlds.
All the people who came to the godfather for help were arranged for foil. It left us with an impression that the godfather has a high status and a great image. Accompanied by soothing music and warm sunshine, Mike finally appeared with his girlfriend. As the real protagonist, the director adopted the way of restraining first and then promoting, and only appeared after the wedding for a long time. In this wedding, he always observes everything from the perspective of a third party.
A great man is not born great, he is slowly experienced and honed in his growth.
Who would have thought that the youngest son Mike, who appeared in the laughter and sunshine, finally took over the evil throne of the godfather. His life will also start from here and slowly move from light to dark peak. Along the way, Corleone looked at their favorite son silently through the window. The godfather's old generals rehearsed the blessing words repeatedly when they met the godfather, which reflected the godfather's prestige, but also reflected that the cohesion of the family was not as good as before and they were close to each other. The confession of this wedding in the early stage of the movie is the focus of the whole movie, so I will spend more ink here and explain it as simply as possible later. Laughter in the sun is always short-lived, and most of the time, it is still covered by a shadow.
The old man sang dirty jokes, and Sonny flirted with the people upstairs and echoed each other. The mafia is the mafia after all. Even if the godfather is politically powerful, the family will not be easily accepted by the white road. So many members didn't come to the wedding, but only replied politely, which is also helpless. The godfather's favorite adopted son Johnny appeared, the star of the entertainment circle. Do you think the godfather really loves him that much? No, he just values the power of the entertainment circle, otherwise he wouldn't help Johnny clear the roadblocks on his later star road.
Mike's uniform is not suitable for this environment. He is the godfather's favorite youngest son, and the treasure of the family, but he has always been far away from the family's influence and worked hard by himself. The so-called condition that you can't refuse is nothing more than threats, intimidation or even shooting. Mike told the story to his girlfriend reluctantly, because he didn't want her to get in touch with these dark sides, and even he didn't like it himself. His girlfriend was shocked, and Mike's facial expression was complicated. This violent story happened to be wrapped in Johnny's tired voice and told in lyrical ballads. That's my family, not me. Unexpectedly, Mike finally embarked on this bloody and dark road, more criminal and violent.
This is a mockery of fate. The only anger exposed by the godfather in the film is only in teaching the younger generation. How can you cry like a woman? I immediately imitated it and amused myself and everyone. What a complicated person. I like this sentence, the treasure house of men's wisdom, and the charm of "godfather" lasts forever. Although he is talking to Johnny, he is actually talking to Sonny. It seems that he is already dissatisfied with the disagreement between his eldest son and his wife. Godson's request was immediately agreed without hesitation.
Why? As mentioned above, this is the godfather's emphasis on the strength of the entertainment industry. Only such a smart person can know how to keep a balance between interests and emotions. The only thing Corleone asked of his daughter and son-in-law was his wisdom. Since ancient times, it is not good for consorts to intervene. In the movie, the decline of the family is really due to the betrayal of the son-in-law. All the tasks have been completed one by one, and everything has been arranged and handled properly. The last photo of the wedding is the end of this paragraph. After a wedding, the story is finished, and the groundwork behind it is almost completed. It's a textbook movie. Another hint in this photo is that it represents the godfather Corleone, his last glory. Since then, the family has been hit hard one after another, and the godfather has also been assassinated, pushing the epic sense of the story to the peak, and then slowly slipping.
Really restore the style of American society in that era, full of elegance and nostalgia, and the streets are full of beetle-like sports cars (no screenshots, go to the movies by yourself), which makes people feel full of dislocation of time and space. This bgm is very nice. Some people say it's also used on cats and mice, others say it's love suicide, and then ask for support. Johnny's affair was solved satisfactorily, and the priceless horse was directly killed. The horse's head was thrown into the director's bed, and people were so scared that they were incontinent. The reason why we can't refuse is that no one dares to refuse, and the means of the Corleone family can be seen.
The front has been paved for so long. When we get here, we will enter the main plot, that is, the drug trade. Although the godfather is ruthless, his principled position is firm. Drugs should never be touched. However, apart from him, who can resist the naked and huge temptation of drug dealing? Except him, who can have a long-term vision and know that drugs are forbidden areas for politicians and police, and as long as they are contaminated, they will be doomed. It's a pity that there are too many greedy people in this world. In order to make huge profits, everyone will take risks and push themselves into the abyss. Don't let outsiders know what you are thinking, especially your enemies. Corleone was not satisfied that the eldest son did not inherit the wisdom of the godfather.
Corleone is the moral core of the whole movie. When we look at the movie from the mafia perspective, we will take fairness and integrity in the godfather's law as our moral principles. There will be no drugs or even other crimes in the godfather's world, but there will definitely be no drugs. As mentioned above, the expert with a knife instantly subdued the spy sent by the godfather. Because the godfather refused to cooperate, the contradiction of the day was put on the stage and immediately changed from peace talks to bloody struggles.
The use of montage, the two scenes keep switching, while baptizing the pure baby, while carrying out bloody killing. There is a sharp contrast between the baby's crying and the gunfire. The legendary assassination wiped out the heads of five families in one fell swoop, but it also had a perfect alibi. Guarding and killing, sacredness and sin are intertwined at the same time. The priest asked, "Mike, do you believe that God created the world?" "Do you believe that Jesus is the only son of God?" "Do you believe in the Holy Spirit and the Church?" Mike: I believe the answer is always the same. At this time, Mike has completed the dual identity transformation, became the real godfather, and officially bid farewell to his past self. You are destined to accept your fate and this reincarnation, Mike.
In the sacred glory, the blood is flying. Anyone who betrays his family will be punished. Mike decisively executed his sister's husband. If he did something wrong, he would pay for his family. Now that your child has a godfather, there is no need for you to exist. Finally, Mike's sister came to him and asked her frantically why she wanted to kill her husband. Mike was cold and ordered someone to take her away and call a doctor. He is already the godfather of a new generation. He didn't want his wife to know what he had done, but he couldn't turn back. At the end of the film, the wife looked at Mike silently and accepted the blessing of her elders. Don Corleone!
The door of the study was slowly closed by the assistant, leaving only his wife's complicated eyes. The door is closed, the picture is completely black, there is no retreat, there is no way back to the past, everything is blocked, only the dark peaks ahead. Another era has begun. The second generation godfather, the era of Mike.