- Sep 22, 2013
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Francis Ford Coppola's groundbreaking film adaptation of Mario Puzo's novel (The Godfather) about the humanism behind the drama of mafia-related crime in America cemented the director as a premier of cinema history.
There are three Coppola Godfather films in all.
In the original The Godfather (starring Oscar-winning Marlon Brando), we see the power and influence and human sentimentalism behind the rule of the conspicuous mafia family the Corleones. This original was stark, elegiac, controversial (for its mafia-romanticism subtleties), and in some scenes downright brutal.
In the sequel The Godfather Part II (which highlighted the contribution of Al Pacino), we see a dual timeline story of the early rise of Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando's character from the original film portrayed in this sequel by a younger Robert De Niro) and the emergence and development of the power of Michael Corleone (son of Vito and the inheritor to the Corleone throne) as he tackles the ominous influence of a corrupt Jewish crime-master whose fingers dip into multi-national corruption.
Finally, in The Godfather Part III, we see the settlement of the Corleone empire under the 'sunset leadership' of an aging Michael Corleone as he tackles a new age 'mafioso rebelliousness' and considers how his throne may be granted to a young Vincent (portrayed by Andy Garcia), son of his murdered brother Sonny Corleone, who may become Michael's rightly successor if he can deal with the modern problem of 'heretical assassins.'
Coppola gave American movie audiences a crowning achievement in 'ethnicity-based film-making' which arguably rivals D.W. Griffith's incendiary Ku Klux Klan focused film The Birth of a Nation in its presentation of 'populism culture' and 'immigration-paranoia' related themes.
When we evaluate the Godfather films, we are motivated to consider how movies serve as 'pop psychology' symbols of the 'immigration rhetoric' in America and therefore create a 'power-capitalism conversation.'
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MICHAEL: More and more Italians are immigrating to America.
VITO: The Corleones must take advantage.
MICHAEL: We should create 'spheres of influence' in commerce.
VITO: Imports/exports are a great boon for the mafia.
MICHAEL: We don't want immigration to feel like terrorism.
VITO: It could become 'every man for himself.'
MICHAEL: Family comes before politics!
VITO: The Corleones must seek political prestige.
====
The Godfather series (Wikipedia)
There are three Coppola Godfather films in all.
In the original The Godfather (starring Oscar-winning Marlon Brando), we see the power and influence and human sentimentalism behind the rule of the conspicuous mafia family the Corleones. This original was stark, elegiac, controversial (for its mafia-romanticism subtleties), and in some scenes downright brutal.
In the sequel The Godfather Part II (which highlighted the contribution of Al Pacino), we see a dual timeline story of the early rise of Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando's character from the original film portrayed in this sequel by a younger Robert De Niro) and the emergence and development of the power of Michael Corleone (son of Vito and the inheritor to the Corleone throne) as he tackles the ominous influence of a corrupt Jewish crime-master whose fingers dip into multi-national corruption.
Finally, in The Godfather Part III, we see the settlement of the Corleone empire under the 'sunset leadership' of an aging Michael Corleone as he tackles a new age 'mafioso rebelliousness' and considers how his throne may be granted to a young Vincent (portrayed by Andy Garcia), son of his murdered brother Sonny Corleone, who may become Michael's rightly successor if he can deal with the modern problem of 'heretical assassins.'
Coppola gave American movie audiences a crowning achievement in 'ethnicity-based film-making' which arguably rivals D.W. Griffith's incendiary Ku Klux Klan focused film The Birth of a Nation in its presentation of 'populism culture' and 'immigration-paranoia' related themes.
When we evaluate the Godfather films, we are motivated to consider how movies serve as 'pop psychology' symbols of the 'immigration rhetoric' in America and therefore create a 'power-capitalism conversation.'
====
MICHAEL: More and more Italians are immigrating to America.
VITO: The Corleones must take advantage.
MICHAEL: We should create 'spheres of influence' in commerce.
VITO: Imports/exports are a great boon for the mafia.
MICHAEL: We don't want immigration to feel like terrorism.
VITO: It could become 'every man for himself.'
MICHAEL: Family comes before politics!
VITO: The Corleones must seek political prestige.
====
The Godfather series (Wikipedia)
