Money, murder, power, and loyalty, the epitome and basic essentials of any Mafia movie. Initially, when watching two of the most popular titles in this genre, Goodfellas and The Godfather, they may have similar themes, but in all truth, they are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. While Goodfellas welcomes you to the family with a friendly smile and a voice-over, The Godfather makes you stand astray and watch in silence as an outsider. Loyalty, the root of any mob family, something that Francis Coppola’s, The Godfather so strongly believes in, whereas Martin Scorsese’s, Goodfellas is more of a fend for yourself type of atmosphere. The Corleone family sets up loyalty as if it was a commandment. Whether it is staying loyal to one’s …show more content…
If one was to step outside the thin line of this obligatory trust, an imminent death is close by. The opening scene of The Godfather is a real eye opener for the viewer, defining what loyalty means to the Corleone family. Within the first scene, a man approaches Vito Corleone, the Godfather, with a favor at hand, offering the Godfather a nice amount of money. Declining, and taking the offer as an insult, the Godfather insists on being rewarded with the man’s loyalty, hinting that a man’s word is far more valuable than money. On the other hand, as you ride along in Goodfellas, you will soon get the sense that loyalty struggles to stay afloat. For example, Paul Cicero insists Henry to stray away from drug trafficking, giving you the underlying thought of, ‘if you get caught, I get caught’. But within the next few scenes, one can see the exact opposite of what the warning was. Henry is in fact deeply involved in the drug business. Although, there is a sense of camaraderie among the protagonist and his crew, he is slow to realize that murders come with smiles. Loyalty is portrayed differently in these two movies. In The Godfather, loyalty is demanded, expected and held to a high standard, while in Goodfellas, loyalty can be achieved, but it can also be a
The Godfather, released in 1972 by Paramount Pictures, set a course for the comeback of the gangster genre after its decline in the 1960’s. With its main characters as Sicilian-Americans, Hollywood continued to use them to portray criminals, particularly members of the mafia. The film is set in New York City between 1945 and 1955, and is centered around the fictional Corleone crime family.
Both films were huge contributors in the film industry in a way or another. Breathless was one of the earliest, most influential examples of French New Wave cinema, while The Godfather is a film that arguably defined a genre. The film generated numerous rave reviews as well as audiences that became fans instantly. What separates the film from others is the fact that it was the first movie in Hollywood to innovate and incorporate plot twists into the gangster genre. Apart from the thematic additions, the characters in the movie also were by far one of the more complex ones in the modernist era. Take Don Vito Corleone. He is the protagonist of the film. He is old and wise. And he sure is a most complicated gangster. In his own words, he is not
The gangster genre within films in America has accomplished numerous positive criticisms and constant willing audiences due to containing outstanding spectacles and mind-blowing action. The Godfather, being second on the IMDb Top 250 Movies, has set a new popular concept to life within the Mafia from their point of view. Doing so, creating a positive association. Yet within Italy, the same topic contains a complete different view. Movies such as I Cento Passi demonstrate unenthusiastic view by those whom are outside yet negatively affected by those members. Unlike American films, the gangsters are not as often viewed at the protagonist and are the main causes for the problematic events. But how different is Italian Mafia and American Mafia in cinema?
The 1972 release, ‘The Godfather‘, first a book by Mario Puzo before being transformed into three-part film by Francis Coppola - is the movie hailed a masterpiece, rendering many imitations, parodies and shameless impersonations. This infamous gangster text which, while confirming our preconceived notions of the mafia; a life of murder, gambling, male chauvinism, blackmail and corruption, can tell the tale of what might be “the greatest family movie ever made”. Appealing to our sense of intrigue, the audience, as onlookers inside such a secretive, often glamorised world, respond not with repulsion but instead are enticed to feel a sense of loyalty to the family including us in the environment where mobsters are “never to tel...
The Godfather is most notably one of the most prolific films of its time. This "gangster" film displayed many transformations of permeating color to give the viewer observable cues in its mise en scene that drew one right into the movie. The dramatic acting set the tone of the film with a score that lifted the viewer right out of their seat in many scenes. The directing and cinematography made The Godfather ahead of its time. The nostalgic feel of family importance and the danger of revenge lets us into the life of the Mafia. Even though no other techniques would have given the viewer a feeling of inside the mob like the mise en scene of the power the godfather held, the characters are reinforced literally and figuratively because the story views the Mafia from the inside out, and the cinematography of the film gives it a dangerous and nostalgic feel.
Everyone knows the famous quotation from the movie ' The Godfather', in a scene where Marlin Brando's character is considering how to make a wealthy man to do what he wants him to do, he says simply, “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.” The Godfather of Mario Puzo fame is nor mirely fictional. He was his archetype because there were Mafia bosses very much like him, who would sit almost like kings in their armchairs and their suits, welcoming visitors and offering friendship. Everyone needs friends, especially a friend who can help to solve any problems that you cannot solve yourself. Throughout the film, the phrase is used many times and is to show how powerful and influential is Italian mafia, The Cosa Nostra. The Cosa Nostra became successful in the early 1900s because it combined shrewd business, intimidation, and a strict code of loyalty.
The Godfather is the “dark-side of the American dream story” (Turan, pp2). The film follows the practices of a fictional Italian mafia family, the Corleone’s. Though most Americans do not condone the practices of the Italian mafia, they cannot deny that Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather is a cinematic masterpiece. This film gave insight to a mysterious way of life that the average person does not have knowledge of. As the audience is educated about the mafia they also are introduced to many stereotypes.
In conclusion, from my perspective, the movie is presented in the middle 70’s, showing a portrayal of a City of New York overcrowded. The violence presented is the primary ingredient, drugs, betrayals and murderers are also included in this film that shows the city from a perspective of the streets and the world of the mafia, probably something that happened in those days and remains part of an unseen
He is willing to help anybody who comes to ask for his help, especially if it is his own family (Copola 1972: 00:22 minutes). At the beginning during the wedding Corleone’s godson comes to see him, ask him for a favor, he wants to be a Hollywood star and the godfather is the one who can help because he had helped him become a singer (Copola 1972: 00:22 minutes). The godfather seems to care about his godson. In the introduction to Street Corner Society by William Whyte, he writes, “ties between families were cemented by the establishment of godparent-godchild relationships.” In other words, the relationship in Italian families between godparent and godchild is indeed solid, but before the godfather agreed to help his godson, he asked him “[if he] spends time with [his] family because a man who does not spend time with his family is not a real man.” The godfather truly emphasizes the importance of family to his godson, to the godfather his family is first corresponding to “[the] first-generation [of immigrants] that was primarily around the family and secondarily [around people from the same town]” (Whyte 1943: xvii). In Street Corner Society, Whyte writes the organization of Cornerville included a gift system, and that it was the leader’s responsibility to be generous with those lower than him, but that was not the case with the
The quality of being loyal to someone or something is a choice of action that helps define loyalty as a person. Being loyal would be a person giving or showing continuous support to someone or something. Loyalty plays a major role in everyday life. Some people honor loyalty and some people couldn’t care less about having such a thing. Loyalty consists of working a marriage out, maintaining a good reputation, and keeping a steady job. According to Maurice Franks, “Loyalty cannot be blueprinted. It cannot be produced on an assembly line. In fact, it cannot be manufactured at all, for its origin is the human heart the center of self-respect and human dignity. It is a force which leaps into being only when conditions are exactly right for it and it is a force very sensitive to betrayal.”
For example the release of The Godfather, while considered by many to be one of the best movies of all time, also created a host of prejudice and negative stereotypes. Italian Americans gained a reputation for organized crime and were often associated by the public as mobsters. This paradox was greatly supported by the movie, The Godfather (Fordham). The success of this movie innately resulted in other films and shows that encouraged the negative stereotypes of Italian Americans in regards to the mafia and organized crime. Italian American fought these stereotypes back with media releases that romanticize Italian culture. For example, movies that involve large family dynamics that create, “deep-seated nostalgia for the ‘old neighborhood’” and enhance the appreciation for Italian culture and combat negative stereotypes
The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is a family mafia story established through an analogy of the pre- and post- World War II gang scene, filled with organized crime in America. Set in 1940’s New York, The Godfather ultimately changed the viewpoint on American culture at the time, emphasizing the importance of tradition and respect, and how defying society’s expectations can pose a threat to those seeking the American Dream, a stark contrast from the revolutionary 70s.
It is the Godfather that demands the family stick with family and never side with any one out side of the family no matter the situation. Vito the Godfather would remind them family is family and no one will miss treat or use any member of the family. He proves this point when his godson comes to him about a problem with a director name Jack Woltz. Because Jonny Fontane is the godson the Godfather Corleone will send his step son who is consigliere to the family to California to advise the director to hand the part over to Fontane.
Money, murder, power, and loyalty, the epitome and basic essentials of any Mafia movie. Initially, when watching two of the most popular titles in this genre, Goodfellas and The Godfather, they may have similar themes, but in all truth, they are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. While Goodfellas welcomes you to the family with a friendly smile and a voice-over, The Godfather makes you stand astray and watch in silence as an outsider.
When we hear the words gangster or mobster, the first picture that comes to mind is bloodshed and violence. But Warshow shows us in his writings that this is not necessarily the case by giving us examples from the movie The Godfather of how the family is very similar to a normal everyday household yet very different at the same time. The family has this unique kind of courage that allows them to do what they want without having to care about what they can lawfully do. The family does not openly talk abou...