0:00 In 1972, a single film, The Godfather, became the highest-grossing movie of the year, pulling in over 250 million dollars.0:08 Last week, Admin, we talked about the endurance of Casablanca, but this is a whole different level of cultural footprint.0:17 For fifty years, this has been the benchmark for the gangster film.0:22 Has it, though?0:23 Or has it just been the film everyone feels they have to say is the benchmark?0:28 I mean, I rewatched it this week, and honestly...0:32 it’s slow.0:33 It’s a three-hour film, and you feel all one hundred and seventy-five of those minutes.0:39 Whoa, okay, coming in hot.0:41 I completely disagree.0:42 That pacing isn't slow, it's deliberate.0:45 It’s a tragedy.0:46 It’s the story of a man, Michael Corleone, methodically losing his soul.0:52 You can’t rush that!0:53 Al Pacino’s performance is built on that slow burn.0:57 Oh, I’ll give you Pacino.0:58 His transformation is incredible.1:01 But let’s talk about the other performance, the one that won the Oscar.1:06 Marlon Brando.1:07 A masterclass.1:08 What about it?1:09 Is it?1:09 Or is it a skillful throwaway, as Roger Ebert himself called it?1:14 It's a great performance, sure, but it's all affect.1:18 It's the voice, the makeup...1:20 The movie isn't even about him.1:22 It's about Michael.1:23 Brando is more of a symbol than a character.1:27 But that's the point!1:28 He's this fading lion.1:30 He represents the old world that Michael is trying to escape and then, ultimately, has to embrace and surpass.1:38 His presence looms over everything, even when he’s not on screen.1:42 That's not a throwaway, that’s thematic genius from Francis Ford Coppola.1:48 Alright, I'll give you that one, the thematic weight is there.1:52 But the world itself...1:54 that's where it really starts to feel dated for me.1:57 What do you mean?1:59 The cinematography, Nino Rota's score...2:01 it's immersive.2:02 It feels like a dark fable.2:04 It feels like a boys' club.2:06 And I know, I know, it's about a patriarchal crime family.2:11 But the film isn't just depicting it, it feels like it's reveling in it.2:16 The women are, what, wives, sisters, mistresses?2:19 Kay Adams is just a symbol of the normal life Michael is leaving behind.2:24 She has almost no agency.2:26 I think that's a modern lens on a period piece.2:29 The film is showing the poison of that world.2:33 It’s a critique of that unapologetic gender stereotyping, not an endorsement of it.2:39 The way Michael lies to Kay at the very end is one of the most chilling moments in cinema because it shows that the patriarchal corruption has fully consumed him.2:50 I hear you, but...2:52 is it a critique?2:53 Or is it just romanticizing the whole thing?2:56 The meals, the meetings, the sense of honor among thieves...3:00 It presents the Mafia as this noble, almost understandable response to a corrupt society.3:07 We're meant to find it compelling, even attractive.3:10 It's compelling because it's complex!3:13 It doesn't give you easy answers.3:15 It's an emotional and intellectual experience, not just a shoot-em-up.3:20 That’s why it's a masterpiece.3:23 I just think later works, like The Sopranos — which obviously owes everything to The Godfather — did a much better job of showing the ugly, pathetic, and deeply un-romantic side of that life.3:36 The Godfather still feels a little too in love with its own mythology.3:41 But it created the mythology for The Sopranos to deconstruct!3:46 You can't have one without the other.3:48 The Godfather built the cathedral.3:51 It set the standard for American cinema, not just crime movies.3:55 It built a beautiful cathedral, I agree.3:58 I just think if you look closely, you can see the cracks in the foundation.4:04 It’s a monumental piece of film history, absolutely.4:07 But the greatest film of all time?4:10 For today's audience?4:11 I don't think so.4:13 Huh.4:13 So we’re left with this question, then.4:16 Does a film have to be morally and socially timeless to be considered an artistic masterpiece?4:22 That's exactly it.4:24 Can we separate the art from the era it was born in?4:27 I'm not sure we can, or even if we should.
