TheGuardian – From Succession to the real-life drama of the Tory government, the influence of Francis Ford Coppola’s mafia film is everywhere
We have no choice but to show respect. To be clear, it is unequivocal good news that The Godfather is being rereleased. The pretext is its 50th anniversary but, really, it should be reissued every year for the sheer cinematic hell of it. Excellent, too, that it is being followed by both sequels. (Yes, The Godfather III deserves your love.) To see these genius films on a big screen, in a dark room, the way they were intended, etc etc: bellissimo! And yet on another level: irrelevant. In 2022, we are watching The Godfather all the time already.
Paramount seeks to recast its role as ‘The Godfather’ turns 50
FinancialTime – As a fan of 1970s cinema, I have seen The Godfather more times than I can count, but never on a big screen. So when an invitation arrived recently to watch a restored print of the Francis Ford Coppola classic — at Paramount Studios, no less — I accepted immediately.
The screening last Tuesday of The Godfather, the greatest 175 minutes in the studio’s history, was to kick off celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the film’s release on March 24. Paramount rolled out the red carpet for Coppola, who attended with two members of the cast — James Caan, who played hotheaded Sonny Corleone, and Talia Shire, who was Sonny’s little sister, Connie. It was a cool, windy evening by Los Angeles standards but the crowd of film executives, reporters and other industry figures seemed happy to stand outside and watch the Hollywood legends pose for photos. When the guests finally moved into the Paramount Theatre, I overheard a man confess to colleagues: “I know it’s a cliché, but when people ask me for my favourite film, I always say it’s The Godfather. It just is.”
Finding New Meaning in The Godfather on Its 50th Anniversary
Time – The Godfather is a movie about organized crime, focusing on one dynasty in particular. But it’s most specifically a movie about fathers and sons, which may be the quality that gives it such enduring power.
Its violence is vigorous and brutal; in adapting Mario Puzo’s novel, Francis Ford Coppola gives us a portrait of domineering masculinity in overdrive. But there’s a strange tenderness at work in it too, all radiating from and toward Marlon Brando’s crime boss Don Vito Corleone. He wields power over every outsider who has come to—or been forced to—respect him. But his relationships with his sons by birth, James Caan’s Sonny, Al Pacino’s Michael and John Cazale’s Fredo, as well as his de facto adopted son, Robert Duvall’s Tom Hagen, generate the fierce energy that drives the film. He’s their sun king, the figure whose approval and affection they crave, a blazing light that can make or break them.
Il Padrino compie 50 anni e torna al cinema
Rai – Coppola: “È gratificante celebrare insieme ai fan che lo hanno amato, alle giovani generazioni che lo trovano ancora attuale e a coloro che lo scopriranno per la prima volta”.
Il 15 marzo saranno passati 50 anni dall’apparizione sugli schermi de “Il Padrino”, leggendario film di Francis Ford Coppola. Tratto dal libro omonimo di Mario Puzo, immediatamente acquistato dalla Paramount per il cinema, rischiava di rimanere senza un regista. Sergio Leone rifiutò per girare “C’era una volta in America”, Sam Peckinpah litigò con la produzione per la sua visione western del racconto, Bogdanovich, Kazan e perfino il veterano del gangster movie Arthur Penn si tirarono indietro. La scelta alla fine cadde su Coppola, che prima rifiutò e poi accettò l’incarico, ma a condizione di poter contare su Marlon Brando e Al Pacino, entrambi bocciati inizialmente dalla Paramount.
«Il Padrino» torna dopo 50 anni in una versione restaurata
Corriere della Sera – Brando, patriarca della mafia resiste al passare del tempo: il capolavoro di Coppola è un caposaldo della mitologia pop che resta nella storia del cinema internazionale.
Palermo 1986, Luciano Liggio depone al maxiprocesso: la pettinatura (con le tempie imbiancate e i capelli all’indietro) e il baffo curato, per non parlare della mimica facciale e della postura delle mani, sono inconfondibili: impossibile non riconoscere Marlon Brando nei panni di don Vito Corleone. Glendale (Arizona) 2008, XLII Super Bowl: la macchina da presa dello spot pubblicitario entra in una villa principesca, si avvicina a un letto proprio quando chi dorme tra la seta si sveglia e si scopre le mani sporche di grasso per motori. Preoccupato cerca di capire da dove provenga, getta via le lenzuola e invece della testa di cavallo mozzata trova il radiatore della sua vecchia auto. E nel giardino una fiammante Audi A4 si accende e si mette a correre.
