Search - The Godfather [Widescreen]

Popularly viewed as one of the best American films ever made, the multi-generational crime saga The Godfather is a touchstone of cinema: one of the most widely imitated, quoted, and lampooned movies of all time. Marlon Brando and Al Pacino star as Vito Corleone and his youngest son, Michael, respectively. It is the late 1940s in New York and Corleone is, in the parlance of organized crime, a "godfather" or "don," the head of a Mafia family. Michael, a free thinker who defied his father by enlisting in the Marines to fight in World War II, has returned a captain and a war hero. Having long ago rejected the family business, Michael shows up at the wedding of his sister, Connie (Talia Shire), with his non-Italian girlfriend, Kay (Diane Keaton), who learns for the first time about the family "business." A few months later at Christmas time, the don barely survives being shot by gunmen in the employ of a drug-trafficking rival whose request for aid from the Corleones' political connections was rejected. After saving his father from a second assassination attempt, Michael persuades his hotheaded eldest brother, Sonny (James Caan), and family advisors Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) and Sal Tessio (Abe Vigoda) that he should be the one to exact revenge on the men responsible.

After murdering a corrupt police captain and the drug trafficker, Michael hides out in Sicily while a gang war erupts at home. Falling in love with a local girl, Michael marries her, but she is later slain by Corleone enemies in an attempt on Michael's life. Sonny is also butchered, having been betrayed by Connie's husband. As Michael returns home and convinces Kay to marry him, his father recovers and makes peace with his rivals, realizing that another powerful don was pulling the strings behind the narcotics endeavor that began the gang warfare. Once Michael has been groomed as the new don, he leads the family to a new era of prosperity, then launches a campaign of murderous revenge against those who once tried to wipe out the Corleones, consolidating his family's power and completing his own moral downfall. Nominated for 11 Academy Awards and winning for Best Picture, Best Actor (Marlon Brando), and Best Adapted Screenplay, The Godfather was followed by a pair of sequels. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Marlon Brando - Don Vito Corleone
Al Pacino - Michael Corleone
James Caan - Sonny Corleone
John Cazale - Fredo Corleone
Robert Duvall - Tom Hagen
Diane Keaton - Kay Adams

1972	Anthony Asquith Award (winner)	British Academy of Film and Television	Nino Rota
1972	Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama (winner)	Golden Globe	Marlon Brando
1972	Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama (nominee)	Golden Globe	Al Pacino
1972	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (nominee)	Golden Globe	James Caan
1972	Best Director (winner)	Golden Globe	Francis Ford Coppola
1972	Best Screenplay (winner)	Golden Globe	Francis Ford Coppola
1972	Best Screenplay (winner)	Golden Globe	Mario Puzo
1972	Best Original Score (winner)	Golden Globe	Nino Rota
1972	Best Actor (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Marlon Brando
1972	Best Adapted Screenplay (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Francis Ford Coppola
1972	Best Adapted Screenplay (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Mario Puzo
1972	Best Costume Design (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Anna Hill Johnstone
1972	Best Director (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Francis Ford Coppola
1972	Best Editing (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	William H. Reynolds
1972	Best Editing (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Peter Zinner
1972	Best Picture (winner)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Albert S. Ruddy
1972	Best Sound (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Richard Portman
1972	Best Sound (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Christopher Newman
1972	Best Sound (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Charles Grenzbach
1972	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	James Caan
1972	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Robert Duvall
1972	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (nominee)	Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie	Al Pacino
1972	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (winner)	National Board of Review	Al Pacino
1972	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (winner)	New York Film Critics Circle	Robert Duvall

Often considered one of the landmark films in American cinema, The Godfather was previously available on DVD only as part of a box set featuring all three of the films in the series. This single-disc edition of The Godfather is similar to the edition of the film available in that set. The film is presents in a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio. This top-quality transfer does a fine job of capturing the dark hues employed by cinematographer Gordon Willis. An English soundtrack has been rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1, while a French soundtrack has been recorded in Dolby Digital Mono. English subtitles are accessible. The only supplemental material offered is a feature-length commentary recorded by director Francis Ford Coppola. He relates a wealth of stories about how difficult and stressful the shooting of the film was for him. He also explains an interesting, though unintentional, camera trick during the funeral scene into which some people have read a great deal of significance. While the box set is highly recommended to any serious film lover, this edition is a solid release from Paramount. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

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