The Godfather Trilogy

It’s unlikely that’s there’s much to be added to the critical evaluation of the Godfather trilogy: two of the greatest films ever made plus a third that, 18 years on from its initially mixed reception, is looking more and more like a thoroughly fitting final chapter, and one without which the journey of Michael Corleone is not complete. Taken chronologically as one massive story, the trilogy spans 70-odd years from young Vito Corleone’s arrival at Ellis Island from Sicily, through his early days honing his trade as a neighbourhood tough guy (as played by De Niro in the monumental, flashback-heavy second part) to the enormous wealth and power garnered by the criminal enterprises of the Corleone family, with Brando as the older Vito in the more intimate first chapter. De Niro and Brando may have taken the Oscars, but the films are really the story of the gaining of power and the loss of soul of Vito’s youngest son, Michael (Pacino). His transformation from a clean-cut war hero, unmoved by his father’s business, to a cold-blooded angel of death to his yearning to go legitimate form the basis of scene after immortal scene, brimming with operatic violence and emotional depth, crafted with technical perfection and all played out by the finest acting talent of the last 40 years. What more do you need? [Paul Greenwood]