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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Godfather, The
Paramount Pictures


8.1

based on 14 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 251 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

MPAA RATING: R

Starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, John Cazale, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, James Caan, Richard S. Castellano, and Abe Vigoda

Francis Ford Coppola's epic features Marlon Brando in his Oscar-winning role as the patriarch of the Corleone family. Director Coppola paints a chilling portrait of the Sicilian clan's rise and near fall from power in America, masterfully balancing the story between the Corleone's family life and the ugly crime business in which they are engaged. Based on Mario Puzo's best-selling novel and featuring career-making performances by Al Pacino, James Caan and Robert Duvall, this searing and brilliant film garnered ten Academy Award nominations, and won three including Best Picture of 1972. (Paramount Pictures)

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Mario Puzo (also novel) Francis Ford Coppola
DIRECTED BY:	Francis Ford Coppola
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: October 9, 2001 Video: May 21, 2002 Theatrical: March 11, 1972
RUNNING TIME:	175 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

The film picked up the Best Picture Oscar at the 1972 Academy Awards. The film also won an Oscar for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Puzo/Coppola), and Marlon Brando won the Best Actor Oscar.

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

The New York Times Vincent Canby

One of the most brutal and moving chronicles of American life ever designed within the limits of popular entertainment. [16 Mar 1972]

100

Washington Post Desson Thomson

A great American picture, full of incredible images and lasting moments.

100

LA Weekly F. X. Feeney

The Godfather traces the arc of this doomed idealism with a beauty that is still fresh.

100

Chicago Reader Dave Kehr

Sharp, entertaining, and convincing--discursive, but with a sense of structure and control that Coppola hasn't achieved since.

100

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Overflowing with life, rich with all the grand emotions and vital juices of existence, up to and including blood. And its deaths, like that of Hotspur in "Henry IV, Part I," continue to shock no matter how often we've watched them coming. [16 Mar 1997, Calendar, p.7]

100

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Brando made Don Vito something we rarely see in movies: a tragicomic villain-hero, a vulnerable hood. The don is so close to a comic character -- the movie itself is so close to comedy -- that Brando's capacity to move us in the role is doubly impressive. At the end, it is the older Godfather's tenderness and sagacity we recall. [21 Mar 1997, Friday, p.A]

100

San Francisco Examiner Barbara Shulgasser

A handbook on cinematic lucidity. All events are described clearly. Motives of all the characters are set right there on the table next to the pasta for our consideration.

100

TV Guide Staff (Non Credited)

The Godfather is a generational saga; it's also an action film; but above all, it catches the imagination of audiences because it suggests that the career of a gangster is not so very different from the career of a businessman or a politician.

100

Film Threat Ron Wells

One warning however: James Caan's shoulder hair, when seen on this size screen, may frighten children considerably (you'll at least want to discuss it openly after the show, answering any questions your kids may have in an honest and direct manner).

100

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Just about as great as a movie's ever gonna be... As for the storytellng, The Godfather is an intricately constructed gem that simultaneously kicks ass.

100

ReelViews James Berardinelli

The picture is a series of mini-climaxes, all building to the devastating, definitive conclusion... It was carefully and painstakingly crafted. Every major character - and more than a few minor ones - is molded into a distinct, complex individual.

100

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

The wedding sequence... is a virtuoso stretch of filmmaking: Coppola brings his large cast onstage so artfully that we are drawn at once into the Godfather's world.

100

San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann

In scene after scene -- the long wedding sequence, John Marley's bloody discovery in his bed, Pacino nervously smoothing down his hair before a restaurant massacre, the godfather's collapse in a garden -- Coppola crafted an enduring, undisputed masterpiece. [21 Mar 1997, Daily Datebook, p.C3]

Variety Staff (Not Credited)

Overlong at about 175 minutes (played without intermission), and occasionally confusing. While never so placid as to be boring, it is never so gripping as be superior screen drama.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.1 (out of 10) based on 251 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Bill M. gave it a10:
I finally got to see this movie yesterday and it was great. Even after all the cliches it caused.

Johnny C. gave it a7:
THE most overrated movie ever! Ya it has a nice story,and a nice set of actors. But it's way to long. Some of you are saying that if others dont agree this is the greatest movie ever there a moron? Lol. This movie is not all that. Scarface is better. More action,a good story,long,but not to long. The only reason people are saying this is the greatest ever,is because there trying to follow the crowd.

Benjyx gave it a10:
It has to be said that not everyone will agree on a film and critics do tend to overrate films like this. I have to say though this film is something else.... Im only 17, not part of the baby boomer generation and this film was just something else. It's not perfect but it's definately one orf the greatest films ever made, and the tension and shocks in some of the scenes are incredible. Last point; anyone who considers the characters unlikeable, did you skip scenes? Al Pacino's slow descent into a life that he doesn't wants, Marlon Brando's performance as a mob leader who uses logic and politics rather than murder, plus his last scene with his grandson... wow.

Kent C. gave it a6:
Not for everyone. It certainly doesn't deserve a 0, but it wasn't one of my favorite movies of all time. You really have to be interested in the genre. I tried watching it for the full 3 hours, but couldn't. I found it pretty boring, despite fantastic acting. People will probably assume that I like bloody, mindless action movies, which isn't true. I love classic films, but found this to be a bit tedious. Watching it in segments helps, but make sure that you don't do anything else that will distract you from the movie (reading a magazine, talking on the phone, etc) as you really need to be paying attention for 100% of the movie to fully understand it.

JimBob Jones gave it a1:
The most overrated and boring thing i have ever seen. It was just a bunch of stuff that happened for three hours. No point, no meaning, no feeling. Get off the bandwaggon!

christian w. gave it a10:
What a movie, what a cast. I love this flick so much, it blows me away every time I watch it. James Caan at the toll booth is one hell of a scene. Best movie ever made anywhere. It even pips Kubricks 2001, no mean feat.

Michael R gave it an8:
Its a slow and very long movie but patience is a virtue.This is not a movie for the impatient people.This is an instant classic movie that has a great moral story and all Italians will love this movie.Marlon Brando was perfect for the role of the Don.The acting,dialog and action was brilliant.Its the second best movie ever made after Scarface.

Godfather, The Paramount Pictures

Godfather, The
Paramount Pictures