Year Released: 1972 Directed By: Francis Ford Coppola Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, John Cazale, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Robert Duvall (R, 175 min.)
It's getting so that there's little room for new film releases what with all these anniversary re-releases demanding equal screen time these days. This weekend we get to add two more classics to the town's first-run screens, screens that are already crammed full with three (count 'em) Star Wars reissues. But here's the thing. The Godfather is just about as great as a movie's ever gonna be. The 1972 best picture Oscar-winner is a great pulp drama co-authored for the screen by Coppola and novelist Mario Puzo (the script also won an Oscar). And all the while, we think we're watching a Mafia crime story but we're actually watching one of the great American family melodramas. The casting is nothing to sneeze at either with Marlon Brando delivering one of the signature performances of his career (he, too, won an Oscar) and the very young Al Pacino seizing his screen destiny. So many great roles and characters in this movie and then there's that eternally haunting Nino Rota score. As for the storytellng, The Godfather is an intricately constructed gem that simultaneously kicks ass. As for Gordon Willis' celebrated cinematography, let me just say that if you've only seen this dark atmospheric stuff on TV, you owe yourself the revelation of seeing this 25th anniversary re-release in a theatre. It's an offer you can't refuse.
Antichrist Lars von Trier lives to affront again. Chaos, indeed, reigns. - Marc Savlov The Blind Side John Lee Hancock, director of The Rookie, scores with another sports drama, this time concerning a true football story. - Kimberley Jones Fantastic Mr. Fox Opens Wednesday. - Marjorie Baumgarten The Messenger Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster play two members of the military's casualty notification team, which delivers bad news to soldiers' next of kin. - Marjorie Baumgarten Ninja Assassin Opens Wednesday. - Marjorie Baumgarten Old Dogs Opens Wednesday. - Marjorie Baumgarten Planet 51 In a switcheroo, animated aliens fear the human in their midst. - Marc Savlov Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire Much like the title character Precious, this rough-hewn movie overcomes the unlikely odds for its success. - Marjorie Baumgarten The Road Opens Wednesday. - Marjorie Baumgarten The Twilight Saga: New Moon Edward and Bella are back for more thwarted young vampiric love. - Marjorie Baumgarten Until the Light Takes Us This music documentary chronicles the history, ideology, and aesthetic of Norwegian black metal. - Raoul Hernandez
