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smokingbootOne of my favourite films ever, watched it again last night, followed by Godfather II, which, while flawed, is still pretty magnificent. Godfather III was said by Francis Ford Coppola to be an epilogue to the story which played out in the first two films; I get that, but it's still nowhere near as good, even if he had got it named as he wished, 'The Death of Michael Corleone.'
Godfathers I and II are so lovely to look at, with Pacino all pocket eyed and gorgeous, and the weasel-sharp cheekboned beauty of young De Niro as his father*... oh yes, and the golden light, and the peeling walls of Sicilian villages, and the brash sparkle of Batista's Cuba... But the thing that always hits me when I watch GII is the terrifying decor of Michael and Kay's house. I often think that the first attack we see from the inside of the bedroom is less an assassination attempt, more a commentary on whateverTF is happening with those walls and curtains. 'Why are the drapes open?' asks Kay. Forget hitmen, it's cos the human eye can't take the pain. Michael Corleone's fall to darkness, the light closing even as we watch him accept his satanic majesty, is amply demonstrated by the last frames of GI. But if we wanted him to have any shot at redemption in the sequel, we wouldn't have put him in that room - I forget whether it's in the original house, at Lake Tahoe or on the borders of interior decorators hell - with what look like circular logs plastered into the wall. All I'm saying is that of course Michael Corleone is troubled, with all that around him how could he not be? And if, in this trad family setting, the look of the house is meant to have been arranged by his wife, maybe it's all a not so subtle revenge on her part. I do have a problem with the women in the Godfather movies; they're tropes, and I guess that's the point, the need for this whole set-up to depend on people acting out designated roles within their society. Even so, if I was the Godfather I would automatically consider any tearful entreaty from Connie or Kay as a divine injunction to do the exact opposite. The best course of action is inevitably never to listen to them.
Still.
It's a weakness. What can I say?
*Not so much Marlon, who, having transformed all his facial features into rubber except for his jawline was so grandpa-ish one could see why Barzini fancied his chances.
Godfathers I and II are so lovely to look at, with Pacino all pocket eyed and gorgeous, and the weasel-sharp cheekboned beauty of young De Niro as his father*... oh yes, and the golden light, and the peeling walls of Sicilian villages, and the brash sparkle of Batista's Cuba... But the thing that always hits me when I watch GII is the terrifying decor of Michael and Kay's house. I often think that the first attack we see from the inside of the bedroom is less an assassination attempt, more a commentary on whateverTF is happening with those walls and curtains. 'Why are the drapes open?' asks Kay. Forget hitmen, it's cos the human eye can't take the pain. Michael Corleone's fall to darkness, the light closing even as we watch him accept his satanic majesty, is amply demonstrated by the last frames of GI. But if we wanted him to have any shot at redemption in the sequel, we wouldn't have put him in that room - I forget whether it's in the original house, at Lake Tahoe or on the borders of interior decorators hell - with what look like circular logs plastered into the wall. All I'm saying is that of course Michael Corleone is troubled, with all that around him how could he not be? And if, in this trad family setting, the look of the house is meant to have been arranged by his wife, maybe it's all a not so subtle revenge on her part. I do have a problem with the women in the Godfather movies; they're tropes, and I guess that's the point, the need for this whole set-up to depend on people acting out designated roles within their society. Even so, if I was the Godfather I would automatically consider any tearful entreaty from Connie or Kay as a divine injunction to do the exact opposite. The best course of action is inevitably never to listen to them.
Still.
It's a weakness. What can I say?
*Not so much Marlon, who, having transformed all his facial features into rubber except for his jawline was so grandpa-ish one could see why Barzini fancied his chances.
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Date: 2018-04-29 12:04 pm (UTC)That room is pretty standard mid-century American decor. Well. Except for the weird flagstone and wood inlays, which - you're right - are a tribute to the rustic environs of Lake Tahoe.
I recently rewatched GI and GII as well. They really are fabulous films. My father's family were low-level mobsters, so a very familiar milieu for me.
Pacino's performance is particularly brilliant because if you analyze it, there is nothing in the script that accounts for Michael Corleone being suborned by the Dark Side so thoroughly. It's all in the acting.
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Date: 2018-05-04 06:38 am (UTC)As for that room, I could handle the mural on the back wall. Or the curtains. But together?
The flagstones reminded me of a strange fashion that took off here in the 70s, paved chimney crests. My mother did ours all by herself, and it was greatly admired by all who saw it. I found a photo of it a while back; bloody monstrous.