The Godfather
Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.
March 14, 1972 · Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
What's been said
Viewers and critics have received The Godfather with near-universal acclaim, with a 97% Tomatometer and 98% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes and a 9.2 on IMDb, placing it among the most celebrated films ever made. The performances draw the most consistent praise, with Marlon Brando and Al Pacino singled out repeatedly, alongside Gordon Willis's shadowy cinematography, Nino Rota's score, and Coppola's assured direction, which critics describe as setting new benchmarks for American cinema. The most recurring complaint, even among admirers, is the film's deliberate pacing and nearly three-hour runtime, with a minority of viewers finding it slow-moving; critic Rex Reed famously panned it at the time as 'overly long and boring,' the most notable dissenting voice on record. A notable behind-the-scenes detail: actor Lenny Montana was so nervous performing opposite Marlon Brando that he flubbed his lines, and Coppola found the genuine nervousness so fitting that he kept it and added extra scenes to explain it.
Will you actually like it?
Answer a few quick questions and we'll predict how much you'll like this movie, not whether critics did. Each one targets something this film specifically leans into, where viewers tend to split. We think these are the questions that will best help predict how well it will align with you.
Where to watch
Trailer
