ok, admittedly as a 30 year old film fan there are supposed 'great' films that i have never seen. i just finished up watching one of them, 'the godfather'. i have heard how great a film this is and to be honest, i was bored for most of the movie. i really just didn't care what happened to any of them. so what am i missing?

Couldn't tell ya, but maybe you should watch it again because it's one of the greatest films ever made. Don't ask me why...it just is.

Take a look at some of the essays and reviews of THE GODFATHER (especially Pauline Kael's analysis) if you want a better appreciation of the film.

Maybe you just don't like Italians?

But, good movie or not, I just don't like Mafia-related things, so it loses points for that.

I didn't care for it either, and I do like mafia/gangster movies...it's way overated, IMO.

Maybe you should list your top five favorite films so we can degrade you for them and act superior.

i do think its way way way way overrated. its a decent movie but not as good as film geeks want you to thin, lots of "classics" I think were great for there time, did things that no other movie might of done before it, but I dont think many stand up as good as many people would like you to think., to me most classics are way overrated.

when I first saw Godfather, I hated it. but as I watched it again and again, catching snippets of it on HBO, I got to love it. I don't think it's the greatest movie of all time, but it's a great movie. Can't wait to watch Godfather 2, next time it comes out on HBO

Give me your top 10

I'm sorry, but those who say it's overrated are just not realizing how they are looking at things.

Godfather was what made the mafia picture. Without it you wouldn't have your goodfellas, your sopranos, your whatever else. Godfather may be outdated to todays violence and gore. But it in no way suffers from a lack of great story.

What the hell do you consider "overrated" to be really? I keep hearing people toss out "OVERRATED" but really. Do folks even know how define overrated?

It's on so many top then list for a reason.

Greatest movie ever.

I have to agree with Kevin75, I thought it was pretty boring too.

Sometimes it's tough to watch films that have been critically and publically acclaimed for decades. I imagine it would be impossibe for The Godfather to be as good in reality as it's been built up to be. Still, I've seen it dozens of times and still enjoy every minute of it.

Other than the excellent writing, direction, lighting, action, photography, sets, and music, what makes it such a great film is that it uses the story of a family (albeit an organized crime family) to tell the story of the immigrant experience in America, and more broadly, of the relationships between family, country, and duty. The first line in the movie is "I believe in America. America has made my fortune", yet there is the clash between love of country and respect for family traditions, made human in the figure of Michael, who earns the ire of his father by joining the Marines and becoming a war hero. Yet, of all his sons, Michael is the one who most resembles Vito in ability, outlook and temperament, and is ultimately the one whom Vito respects the most.

There is also the more materialist, Marxist interpretation of the film, that implies that economic success in America can only come through immoral behavior which destroys tradition and breaks up familial bonds. I could write for hours on this, but I won't go there.

ALSO, it's a Shakesperean tragedy in five acts. Beat that with a stick!

Godfather 2 is even better (or more boring, depending on your tastes)

The ending blew me away the first time I saw it, when Michael finally accepts the title of "Godfather". Seeing him go from mild mannered Michael who wanted nothing to do with the family business to finally becoming to the Godfather was tragic.

The Godfather is arguably the finest movie ever made. I actually didn't like it that much the first time I saw it(which was back in 2001, I believe). But I caught it a few more times when it was shown on TV, and after a couple more viewings I was blown away.

You really do have to see it more than once. It's a long movie, but because there are so many characters and not a minute is wasted, there's no way a single viewing is enough to soak it all in.

The Godfather Part II is a different matter. I do really like the movie, but the whole Havana segment still bores me to this day. And while the young Vito flashbacks are interesting, they're also superfluous. We know who Don Vito is from Marlon Brando's performance in the first movie. We don't need Robert DeNiro to fill in any blanks.

That being said, the final 45 minutes of Part II are as great if not better than anything in the first film. You're rewarded for sitting through the Havana and young Vito scenes. Truly tragic, gut-wrenching stuff. And maybe the greatest closing shot in a movie I've ever seen.

And the end of Part II makes it even more tragic. I think Part I can be better appreciated after seeing I and II in their entirety. It's been my opinion that Michael is the title character because it's really his story. He goes from having everything to having nothing. The end of Part II is one of the greatest film endings ever. As for the violence being outdated by today's standard, I think the scene with Carlo kicking out the windshield while being strangled from the back seat is still one of the most violent scenes ever filmed, and said so in a thread about "most violent scenes in movies" some time back.

If you thought GODFATHER PART I was slow-moving, wait til you get to GODFATHER II and III.

It gets more slower-paced as the series moves along.

Still, I think it's great filmmaking. Even III.

this is one of the greatest movies ever made...... its unfortunate that the movies you have seen probably messed it up for you but this movie was the pioneer of the industry

That should be the tag-line for this forum.

I agree that II is slower, but you can't ignore the brilliant parallel storytelling of a father's rise and his son's fall.

Prior to 1977's STAR WARS, most movies were paced the way THE GODFATHER was. If there's one thing George Lucas changed about movies (other than special effects) it's the pacing of films. Say so long to character development, say hello to "Short Attention Span Theater"!

As far as American movies are concerned, you are correct, sir.

agree 100%

features a truly ensemble cast.