字幕表 動画を再生する
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The opening shot of Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 classic
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is a close up of Bonasera
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who utters a now famous line
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00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:25,420 The camera then opens up
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and reveals the world where the story is going to unfold.
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The seductive nature of this opening shot lures us into the mystery of this world;
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the world of The Godfather.
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Bonasera's opening monologue forms a significant part of the elaborate opening sequence
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which is intercut with Connie and Carlo's wedding outside.
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This is the sequence where most of the themes are established.
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First, it establishes the perspective.
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We are going to witness this world from inside.
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We see the nervous immigrants seeking justice,
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an Italian mob wedding,
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food, family, friends.
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The mafia is presented as everyday people,
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not as the scum of the society like in the previous mob films.
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The family ties are established with as much importance as the world of mafia itself.
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This is where we understand that despite the nature of its world,
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The Godfather, inherently,
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is a family drama.
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Coppola uses contradiction to establish the complex nature of the family business
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and shapes our understanding towards these men.
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Through Bonasera,
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we understand that the Corleone family is on the side of justice.
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But the way of providing justice paints them unlawful.
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A sense of respect is evident on Kay's face
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when Michael explains to her why Tom Hagen has a different last name.
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But that feeling diminishes when she gets to know the importance of Luca Brasi.
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The two significant shots from the opening sequence show Vito
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gazing out through his office window at the family celebration.
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These shots link the exterior to the interior,
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balancing for Vito his want and need,
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leisure and obligation,
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family and business.
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His commitment to his work is the sole reason for the opulence outside.
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The acquisition of wealth and happiness involve acts of violence.
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The key aspect to notice in this opening sequence
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sequence is that the violence performed on Vito's behalf isn't something we are asked to judge.
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Instead, we focus more on how the family business keeps Vito away from the business of family.
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None of these sentiments are spoken out loud.
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Not even in the form of exposition.
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This is all in subtext.
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Coppola presents the subtext through masterful staging and blocking.
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An extraordinary emphasis is put on set design, lighting and camera placement.
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Notice the scene when Tom is being held captive.
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The opening shot is a grotesque wide angle close up of Sollozzo bathed in warm orange light.
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He walks across the camera to present Tom in a half lit mid-shot.
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There's no establishing shot.
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That is because we have to share Tom's uncertainty
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to feel sympathetic to his situation.
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Another scene where Michael realizes
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that the safety of his father and family depends upon the assassination of both Sollozzo and McCluskey,
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he takes control of the meeting and the scene
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by taking a seat in the center of the frame.
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During the entire assassination sequence,
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Michael is aware of the fact that he is an actor performing a script.
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So when he comes out of the bathroom,
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we expect him to carry out Clamenza's instructions.
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But Coppola plays with audience's expectation.
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Michael strays from the script.
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He comes out and looks Sollozzo in the eye.
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There's a moment of hesitation.
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He was supposed to come out blasting.
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Instead, he walks to the table and sits down.
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The conversation continues.
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The action is suspended,
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strengthening our desire to reach the intended conclusion.
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But Michael's introspection reads hesitation
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and as we worry that he might lack the courage to pull the trigger.
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We want him to remember Clemenza's words
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because we really want him to get away with the murders.
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But Michael's diversion from the given instructions
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is how Coppola makes us root for Michael.
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He must do that
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because the main theme of the film requires
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that we root for Michael.
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And that theme
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is the theme of succession.
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One of the most significant decisions Coppola took while adapting the novel
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was to focus less on Vito and more on Michael.
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And the way Michael's character arc is presented is a stuff of genius
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from both Coppola and the cinematographer, Gordon Willis.
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When we meet Michael for the first time,
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he is presented in a bright sunlight.
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He enters his sister's wedding like an outsider.
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A sense of naïve innocence is evident when he assures Kay,
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Then he stays away from much of the action.
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And when he does come back, he is treated as a kid.
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Tom advises him not to get involved too directly
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He is given meager jobs like answering phone calls.
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It is done intentionally
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because Michael needs to gain the trust of his family.
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Which in turn means ours as well.
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That moment arrives when Michael saves his father in the hospital.
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The first character change occurs when he assures his father,
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He takes control of the situation.
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He gains our trust with his shrewd handling of a potentially fatal situation.
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Later in the house, he has to assume even bigger responsibility.
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The weight of the decision reflects in the camera movement.
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As Michael explains his intentions,
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the camera slowly tracks in on him from a wide to a mid-shot,
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begging everyone to take the boy seriously.
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Because we have witnessed his actions in the hospital,
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we know he means business, while everyone else laughs.
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His time in Italy keeps him away from the ugly war in New York.
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He marries Apollonia partly out of guilt.
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The guilt of not staying true to his words he assured Kay with.
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But the news of Sunny's death
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and witnessing his wife's murder hardens him.
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The devastation of losing his loved ones forces him to grow old quickly.
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He understands the importance of keeping his lineage going.
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So when he proposes Kay for marriage,
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it is more out of business reasons than out of love.
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This is the point where Michael starts to become central to the family.
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Coppola saw the Corleone family as something that belongs to a Shakespearean universe.
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A king with his three sons inheriting part of his qualities.
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Sonny inherited the robust strength.
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Fredo inherited the sweetness of a young mind.
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While Michael inherited the cunning intelligence.
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And it is his intelligence that fuels the rest of the film.
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It is interesting to observe how much of The Godfather takes place indoors,
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in softly lit rooms, to mask the business of the family.
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The style grants the family a sense of visual safety from the outside world
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which is noticeably missing when the movie takes place outside.
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Because of the knowledge of the danger of the outside world,
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Michael prefers to take care of the family business indoors.
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And when he would choreograph the murder of his enemies later in the film,
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all but one will be carried out indoors.
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Places others would also assume to be safe.
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But for Michael to carry out such a big act of violence,
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he has to assume the ultimate position.
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There has to be an exchange of power from the old to the new.
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And that happens in this beautiful, and pivotal scene.
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Which is also my favorite.
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The exchange of power happens over 12 over the shoulder shots,
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last of which becomes a lengthy two shot.
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The scene plays out in three levels.
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At textual level,
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it presents Vito alerting Michael of his possible assassination.
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This is a father discussing the family business with his son.
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At the second level, it is subtext.
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And the subtext is personal.
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At first, Vito's mind seems to be wandering with multiple thoughts.
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When Michael assures his concerned father with the line,
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Vito gets his only chance in the movie to exercise his eloquent soliloquy.
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An extraneously presented inner monologue
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provides Vito a well-deserved moment of clarity.
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A moment where a father can apologize to his son
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for an unintended fate.
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While all of this is happening,
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Coppola guides us towards the third level, where the theme of succession takes place.
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Michael's assurance to his father is queued with Nino Rota's Godfather theme.
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This timely yet subtle introduction of the musical piece
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marks the exit of the old Godfather
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and the arrival of the new.
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Vito's death allows Michael to execute a plan he was patiently waiting for.
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The day he becomes the Godfather for his niece
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is planned to coincide with the day he executes his enemies.
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So brilliant is the execution of Coppola's filmmaking
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that we are invited to examine our initial decision to back Michael
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to become the successor of the family.
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His way of using his alibi to carry out
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the violence of towing proportion
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dents our respect towards Michael.
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And this is the moment
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where the film's metaphor of American capitalism reaches its zenith.
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The baptism sequence shows that to be successful,
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Michael has to pay a price.
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And the price is to trade soul for success.
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That's a sacrifice Michael is willing to make.
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An apt commentary on the American capitalist ideology where ruthlessness in the marketplace
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has become a necessary credential for success.
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This ruthlessness is on display again when he decides to execute two more people.
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Tessio and his sister's husband, Carlo.
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If there was ever any doubt about his cold-blooded approach towards the family business,
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this is the sequence where it is eradicated.
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There are no sentiments involved.
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Michael had learnt his lesson early on,
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There is an old saying.
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“You reap what you sow”.
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The Sicilian seeds of violence sowed in the American soil
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comes back to haunt Michael at the very end of the film.
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When Michael lies to Kay about his involvement in Carlo's murder,
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it feels like a selfish act to keep his image in her eyes intact,
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rather than keeping his family unaffected by the business.
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The family that Vito always kept in sight despite his commitment towards the family business,
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is abandoned by Michael when he shuts the door on his wife.
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For the family business to flourish,
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Michael sacrifices his ties with his family.
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From a naïve, innocent and a stoic war hero,
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he ends up becoming a cold, heartless and a vengeful mafia lord.
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The tragedy for Michael
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is that he couldn't avoid the inevitable doom of succession
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despite its prior knowledge.
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The Godfather glides along its 3 hours run time.
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there's not a single moment where the film loses its grip.
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There's not a single unnecessary scene.
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Not one unnecessary shot.
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You can never say you understood every character's thought process
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because so much of the conversation happens just by a look.
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Even almost half the century later,
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The Godfather still resonates with people.
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Because we relate to the troubled Bonasera in need of a father figure to get him justice.
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We share the same family values Vito advocates
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Like Michael,
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we also have shared the same kind of relation with our father.
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We also value loyalty as much as Michael does
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Like the Corleone family,
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we all have grown up in a patriarchal hierarchy.
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And for better or worse,
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we all have to make sacrifices for our family.
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All these characters reside in us.
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They all represent part of us.
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The all hold a mirror in front of us,
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revealing a truth that we thought was buried in our conscience.
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The Godfather offers you a chance to explore your family values
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against your moral values.
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And to be honest,
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it is an offer you shouldn't refuse.