On March 24th, 1972, one of the most widely celebrated and renowned films of all time was released to the public. Ranked number two on the American Film Intitutes 100 Years... 100 Movies list, The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppolla is an enormous, groundbreaking film whose power and influence are impossible to deny. Upon its release, it instantly became an American classic, one to be remembered and celebrated for years to come. According to Vincent Canby's New York Times review published before its theatrical release, on March 16, 1972, "Francis Ford Coppola has made one of the most brutal and moving chronicles of American life ever designed within the limits of popular entertainment." Based on the 1969 novel by Italian-American author Mario Puzo, The Godfather tells the story of the aging Don, or boss, of a powerful New York crime family. This family consists of Don Vito Corleone (played by Marlon Brando), and his three sons, Sonny, Fredo, and Michael Corleone, along with thier many partners and associates. It's a story of power, corruption, family, betrayel, and change, but it is a coming of age story more than anything else. Vito Corleone is getting old, and he needs one of his sons to take over the family when he's gone. He knows Sonny is too volatile and hot-tempered, and Fredo is too weak and dim-witted. Only Michael (played by Al Pacino) smart, cool, and capable enough to run the family, but he is a soldier newly returned from World War II. He has a fiance and is eager to start a family and settle down. Taking over the family business of murder, racketeering, and extortion isn't exactly on his list of priorites. However, as he spends more time with has father and brothers, he eventually agrees to take over. Not only is t... ... middle of paper ... ... the mob. On the other hand, it could also be argued that it made them more predictable, less elusive, and easier to catch, which in turn would be a good thing. It lies somewhere in between. However, one thing that is certain is that The Godfather had a remarkable effect on one of America's darkest, most violent, and most frightening demographic. The Mafia is still active in America today, although it is at perhaps its weakest point since its immigration from Sicily. In fact, well over one hundered connected mobsters were charged and arrested a couple years ago, according to The United States Department of Justice. Although the mob has been dwindling in recent years, the film that most famously depicted it is still going strong. The Godfather is one of the best pieces of American cinema, and, unlike the mob, it is very likely to stay that way for a very long time.
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.
large city government, The Godfather Part II accomplished something matched only by one other film in American history by making the AFI top 100 greatest films as a sequel.
Like Dracula, the Mafia represents the other in the 20th century. The Mafia is foreign, in other words, their origin is different from mainstream Americans. Their organization is ruthless as well as exclusive, and they live outside the law. We have the fear that they will control us, and due to that fear, we must destroy and control them. In a way, the Mafia is the ultimate vampire of modern day society because they invoke fear, repulsion and anxiety much like the reactions felt by Jonathan Harker, Van Helsing, Mina and the other vampire hunters in Stoker’s Dracula. Both vampires and the Mafia appeal to our most private selves through sexuality, they operate with the greatest power at night, and run their organizations in a parallel manner.
“This life of ours, this is a wonderful life. If you can get through life like this and get away with it, hey, that’s great. But it’s very unpredictable. There’s so many ways you can screw it up” said Paul Castellano, boss of one of the biggest mobs in American history. Stemming from the enormous crime syndicate called Cosa Nostra, meaning “our thing” in Sicilian, the Gambino family and Cosa Nostra became a national menace. La Cosa Nostra, as it was referred to by law enforcement¬ and members, was a title for the American Mafia. The Mafia emerged during the late 1900’s and early 20th Century in New York's Lower East Side, then in many other areas of the East Coast and in several other major cities. The mob was greatly populated by the wave of Italian immigration. Many of immigrants came from economically downtrodden southern Italy, with many Mafia members in Sicily and Naples who were fleeing the rule of fascist Benito Mussolini, who began to crackdown on the Mafia in Italy. Although it became a separate coalition, the Cosa Nostra can trace its roots to the Sicilian Mafia, and other Italian criminal groups. The Mob, at its height, stretched from coast to coast, but was most active in New York, the crown-jewel of organized crime. It was a huge influence in other major metropolitan cities like New Jersey, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, Florida, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Texas. In New York five families reigned supreme: the Gambino, Lucchese, Genovese, Bonanno and Colombo families. They “generated a toxic effect on the lives of all New Yorkers and untold millions of Americans...” (Raab). The Gambino Crime Family, the most powerful of the five, sank it tentacles into virtually every aspect of American life from its beginning during...
This Crime genre basically evolved around the illegal supply of alcohol during the prohibition was making gangsters rich and powerful. and this is how the so-called Mafia came about. One of the greatest characters in film history, Al Pacino. established himself during the film's greatest decade, the 1970's. During this period Al Pacino was offered the part for Michael Corleone. in Godfather, The (1972).
As time moves forward, cultural inevitably changes as well. With that cultural shift, there eventually comes a time when a genre is slightly carved into that of the culture. During the early 1970’s, gangster rap was slowly becoming a popularity. During that same era, was when the notorious rap crew NWA was formed. The Godfather was the first film in the modernist era to show the point of view of the actual gangsters. In previous thriller films like Breathless, the antagonist is never given a fair look of his/her personality and true intentions. However, The Godfather showed the inside scoop of what Mafia’s did and how they ran their group. The etiquettes of the underground world were portrayed and really let the audience understand the true
Between 1891 and 1920 about 4 million Italians arrived in the United States. By early 1900, about 500,000 Italians lived in New York City, in the most destitute social and economic conditions. Mafia groups in the United States first became lively in New York City. The Mafia was made known to by Sicilian immigrants who reproduced in the cities in which they established, as a ceremonial brotherhood made up of loosely connected, but otherwise autonomous and uncoordinated families structured hierarchically. Steadily, they evolved from small neighborhood jobs in deprived Italian ghettos to citywide and later on, international activities.
Violence, blackmail and corruption as business terms, one would doubtfully consider them commonplace, but in the Mafia, nothing is. Looking at the history surrounding the Mafia, and the motivations apparent for its unconventional practices will lead one to realize that it is much more a union aimed at entrepreneurial success than the more common notion that it is simply a malicious group of amoral villains, anxious to wreak havoc. For decades the Italian-American Mafia has employed violent to achieve success in a capitalistic sense. “The Mafia has changed a great deal since the days of the peasant uprisings in sun-baked Sicily. It has found a place within its ranks for business-school graduates, and it has adopted modern banking methods and invested in legitimate corporate ventures.” The Mafia, also known as La Cosa Nostra, is generally composed of Italians or Italian-Americans that work together as entrepreneurial criminals. La Cosa Nostra literally means “The thing ours” but is loosely translated as “our thing.” The Mafia traces its roots back to Sicily, Italy in the 9th century AD when its purpose was to guard the feudal estates of wealthy landlords. When members of the Sicilian Mafia immigrated to the United States they initially excelled in extortion, but soon adopted gambling and prostitution as business ventures. In order to understand the role the Mafia has played in the United States, it is first necessary to study the formation and role of the Mafia in Italy.
The Mafia originated on the island of Sicily, Italy during the mid nineteenth century. These “families” were formed to protect themselves from intruders, often foreigners. They called themselves mafiosos. They then formed small
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.
In the movie, “A Bronx Tale” the story is about the life of kid named Calogero, “C” for short, living and growing up in a neighborhood within his own type of culture. The time is around the 1960’s when the Italian mob was seen everywhere on the streets showing power and being feared. But also you had racial tension with other types of people and in the movie that is seen when two neighborhoods start waging war against each were African-American neighborhood against the Italian-American neighborhood. The story begins with C being a child and witnessing a murder down by Sonny the neighborhood mob boss. The explanation for the way the system worked was based on fear. When the police went to question young Calogero his father even told him
The main character in the movie is Vito Corleone played by Marlon Brando and his son Michael
Organized crime can be traced back hundreds of years ago, it wasn’t until more recently that organized crime became organized, stronger, more efficient and often fly under the law enforcement radar. Before, or back in the 1600s, they were more of a small gang, now we have the Mafia, which remains the largest organized crime group in the US (Siegel, 540). Today we also have major gangs such as the Crips and the Bloods.
Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather is considered by many to be one of the greatest movies ever produced. This timeless classic has captured the attention and admiration of movie lovers across all age ranges, racial lines, and religious belief systems since it’s release in 1972. The film, set in 1945, follows the story of Don Vito Corleone, an old mafia boss who is at the head of the most powerful mafia family in New York. There comes a point in the film when Don Corleone retires, and relinquishes his control over the Corleone family to his youngest son, Michael. The film is wildly captivating and extremely entertaining from beginning to end, but there are also many different sociological themes at play throughout
A genre is a type or category of film (or other work of art) that can be easily identified by specific elements of its plot, setting, mise en scène, character types, or style. (Goodykoontz, 2014) The gangster film is a sub-genre of the broader genre of crime film. A genre main objective is to classify the depiction of entertainment. The genre of my movie is a gangster film. My movie I chose was Scarface. Directed by Brian De Palma.An update of the 1932 film, Scarface (1983) follows gangster Tony Montana and his close friend Manny Ray from their trip on the Cuban Boat Lift for refugees to their arrival in Miami. (Scarface, 1983a)