the god father movie review

"The Godfather," which opened at five theaters here yesterday, is a superb Hollywood movie that was photographed mostly in New York (with locations in Las Vegas, Sicily and Hollywood). It's the gangster melodrama come-of-age, truly sorrowful and truly exciting, without the false piety of the films that flourished 40 years ago, scaring the delighted hell out of us while cautioning that crime doesn't (or, at least, shouldn't) pay.

It still doesn't, but the punishments suffered by the members of the Corleone Family aren't limited to sudden ambushes on street corners or to the more elaborately choreographed assassinations on thruways. They also include life-long sentences of ostracism in terrible, bourgeois confinement, of money and power but of not much more glory than can be obtained by the ability to purchase expensive bedroom suites, the kind that include everything from the rug on the floor to the pictures on the wall with, perhaps, a horrible satin bedspread thrown in.

Yet "The Godfather" is not quite that simple. It was Mr. Puzo's point, which has been made somehow more ambiguous and more interesting in the film, that the experience of the Corleone Family, as particular as it is, may be the mid-20th-century equivalent of the oil and lumber and railroad barons of 19th-century America. In the course of the 10 years of intra-Mafia gang wars (1945-1955) dramatized by the film, the Corleones are, in fact, inching toward social and financial respectability.

For the Corleones, the land of opportunity is America the Ugly, in which almost everyone who is not Sicilian or, more narrowly, not a Corleone, is a potential enemy. Mr. Coppola captures this feeling of remoteness through the physical look of place and period, and through the narrative's point of view. "The Godfather" seems to take place entirely inside a huge smoky plastic dome, through which the Corleones see our real world only dimly.

Thus, at the crucial meeting of Mafia families, when the decision is made to take over the hard drug market, one old don argues in favor, saying he would keep the trade confined to blacks--"they are animals anyway."

This is all the more terrifying because, within their isolation, there is such a sense of love and honor, no matter how bizarre.

The film is affecting for many reasons, including the return of Marlon Brando, who has been away only in spirit, as Don Vito Corleone, the magnificent, shrewd, old Corleone patriarch. It's not a large role, but he is the key to the film, and to the contributions of all of the other performers, so many actors that it is impossible to give everyone his due.

Some, however, must be cited, especially Al Pacino, as the college-educated son who takes over the family business and becomes, in the process, an actor worthy to have Brando as his father; as well as James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Al Lettieri, Abe Vigoda, Gianni Russo, Al Martino and Morgana King. Mr. Coppola has not denied the characters' Italian heritage (as can be gathered by a quick reading of the cast), and by emphasizing it, he has made a movie that transcends its immediate milieu and genre.

"The Godfather" plays havoc with the emotions as the sweet things of life--marriages, baptisms, family feasts--become an inextricable part of the background for explicitly depicted murders by shotgun, garrote, machine gun and booby-trapped automobile. The film is about an empire run from a dark, suburban Tudor palace where people, in siege, eat out of cardboard containers while babies cry and get under foot. It is also more than a little disturbing to realize that characters, who are so moving one minute, are likely, in the next scene, to be blowing out the brains of a competitor over a white tablecloth. It's nothing personal, just their way of doing business as usual.

Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, Diane Keaton and Al Lettieri.

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola; screenplay by Mario Puzo and Mr. Coppola, based on the novel by Mr. Puzo; director of photography, Gordon Willis; editors, William Reynolds and Peter Zinner; music composed by Nino Rota; produced by Albert S. Ruddy; distributed by Paramount Pictures. Running time: 175 minutes. At Loew's State I and II.

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

The Godfather review – a brutal sweep of magnificent storytelling

Francis Ford Coppola’s first film in the series is still an epic, full of hypnotic acting, which reinvented mafia criminals as players in a dynastic psychodrama

W hen director Francis Ford Coppola and screenwriter-novelist Mario Puzo released The Godfather 50 years ago, the mobster had already been a stock figure in film for half a century. Their genius (and that of the film’s own godfather, producer Robert Evans) was to reinvent these criminals as a dysfunctional dynastic psychodrama.

They took the figure of the ageing don as seriously as Lear, the careworn ruler of a secret American state-within-a-state. Stomach-turning flourishes of violence are juxtaposed with elaborate rituals of familial piety and respect, which generations of real-life criminals in the United States treated as how-to behaviour manuals for decades afterwards. These Italian-American gangsters do not complain about the bigotry heading their way, and are themselves casually racist and antisemitic. Extravagant gestures of romantic adoration and solemn respect for womenfolk are combined with casual sexual abuse; and women have to reconcile themselves to their role: a pretext for revenge. (A tour guide in Sicily once told me that the word “mafia” is taken from the Italian phrase “ non toccare ma figlia” – don’t touch my daughter – an explanation I have yet to see confirmed anywhere else.) There is a toxic chill to the film’s opening speech, from a local undertaker piteously demanding the Don take revenge on his behalf against two over-privileged white boys who have raped and disfigured his daughter. Many cannot forgive this film for sentimentalising mob violence with this fantasy rationale.

Marlon Brando is as hypnotic as a cobra playing ageing gangster patriarch Vito Corleone, his cottonwool jowl-padding giving something extra to that unmistakable adenoidal wheeze. He is hosting a colossal family wedding for his daughter Connie (Talia Shire): a magnificent set-piece scene that itself has more energy, detail and dramatic interest than most entire films. The don will, with stately calm and an upheld finger, like a cardinal or the Pope himself, listen to murmured information or advice in his ear. Vito’s wife Carmela (a name that reverberated in the later 90s era of The Sopranos) says little or nothing. Vito’s aggressive hothead son Sonny (James Caan) is at the party, a married man furtively having sex with a bridesmaid; present also is the weakling son Fredo (John Cazale), who is drunk in an undignified, undisciplined way. But the old don is pining for his favourite son, Michael (a stunningly charismatic performance from Al Pacino), a decorated second world war veteran with no interest in the family business. Michael shows up late, handsome in his uniform: indicating the transferable military skills. With him is his wasp fiancee Kay (Diane Keaton).

Vito’s trusted consigliere , Tom Hagen, is the unofficial son: a brilliant, atypically self-effacing performance from Robert Duvall . It is quiet Tom who is to supervise, off-camera, the film’s most diabolical act of violence: kidnapping the racehorse (Godfather superfans will know the horse’s name) belonging to a Hollywood producer who has to be intimidated into giving a role to the Don’s Sinatra-esque godson Johnny Fontane (Al Martino), drugging it, cutting off its head and placing it in the sleeping man’s bed. Eerily, this producer (played by Cassavetes veteran John Marley) had the night before given an impassioned speech denouncing Fontane’s ruination of an innocent actress, a weird echo of the undertaker’s speech to the don about his daughter.

But all this is the calm before the storm, as the crime families’ peace accord disintegrates, with the coming of drugs. Virgil “The Turk” Sollozzo (Al Lettieri) offers Vito a piece of his growing new heroin business; the don refuses, apparently because he disapproves of this evil trade, or perhaps because he thinks his cut isn’t big enough. Affronted by the refusal and suspecting the Corleones simply intend to launch an attack for all of his business, Sollozzo’s men launch a pre-emptive strike, shooting Vito as he buys oranges from a market, and of course pathetic, incompetent Fredo is unable to protect his father. (Again: Godfather superfans can tell you which Jake LaMotta fight is being advertised on the poster in the background of this shot.) And as Vito lies in hospital, having miraculously survived, it is Michael who realises at this moment that his destiny is to abandon his claim to the respectable American dream and take over the family business. It is to culminate in the now legendary sequence in which Michael becomes a godfather to his sister’s child and the baptismal service is intercut with nightmarish vignettes showing the slaying of all the rival bosses. The point of course being: this is Michael’s own baptism.

Coppola’s epic storytelling sweep is magnificent: there is an electric charge in simply the shift from New York to California to Sicily and back to New York. This is the top-down approach to gangsters, the “great man” theory of organised crime. Later movies such as Scorsese’s Goodfellas will emphasise the more ragged lower ranks (although Paul Sorvino’s Paulie Cicero insists on the Corleone-esque murmuring in the ear) and David Chase’s The Sopranos showed the Italian-American mob in decline. My own view is that one of the greatest post-Godfather movies is Abel Ferrara’s The Funeral, which lays out the hellish sense of self-replicating sin and shame in the criminal world.

Coppola was to follow his epic masterpiece with the equally ambitious and audacious The Godfather Part II , a sequel/prequel that is often thought of as even better. Brilliant though that second film is, I think the original will always have the edge in its simplicity, clarity and brutal power.

• The Godfather
• Francis Ford Coppola
• Marlon Brando
• Film adaptations
• Crime films
• Diane Keaton

Most viewed

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, black writers week, the godfather coda: the death of michael corleone.

The legacy of “ The Godfather, Part III ” has largely been reduced to two statements: “It’s not as good as the first two” & “ Sofia Coppola isn’t good in it.” Neither of these declarations are false, but they turn what was always at least a solid film into a footnote, something director Francis Ford Coppola seeks to correct with this month’s “The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone,” a new version of the 1990 film that’s being released in theaters today and on Blu-ray and VOD on December 8 th . The director has a long history of recutting his work with alternate editions of films like with “ Apocalypse Now: Final Cut ” and “ The Cotton Club Encore ”. In this interesting endeavor, he hasn’t radically altered the bulk of the film in a way that feels designed to appease critics—his daughter’s performance hasn’t been cut, for example—and yet “The Godfather Coda” does seem different, thanks largely to how he opens and closes the film. Overall, this version feels even more elegiac—a true coda instead of just another part of the same story.

The biggest change that Coppola makes is to get right to the heart of the story, and it's a drastic improvement. Gone is the wishy-washy opening segment of the film that connects it more directly to “ The Godfather, Part II ,” as this new version opens in Italy with Michael Corleone ( Al Pacino ) meeting with Archbishop Gilday ( Donal Donnelly ) to discuss his contribution of $600 million to the Vatican, followed immediately by the after-party. Instead of dragging its feet, “The Godfather Coda” opens with Corleone doing business to legitimize his family and reputation. And then it dives into an extended sequence that mirrors the wedding from the first film, while also getting Andy Garcia ’s Vincent involved more quickly. Everyone who really matters is at that party, which happened much later in the original cut. From there, “The Godfather Coda” plays out in ways that will be familiar to fans of the 1990 version. There are tweaks here and there—some notable—but the biggest change to come is the ending, which has been tightened and then cuts earlier with an on-screen quote that I’m not fully convinced works.

“I had a whole different destiny planned.” Even more than the original version, “The Godfather Coda” feels like a film about regret. The oft-quoted line from the film is about “being pulled back in,” referring to the criminal underworld that Michael Corleone is trying to leave behind, but it also refers to the regrets and memories he can’t escape, and the doomed tone of the entire film. The cuts in this version make it feel more somber than I remembered, something reflected in Pacino’s performance (although that could be by virtue of being personally much closer to his age than as a teenager when the movie came out), and that material stands out instead of the admittedly dull stuff about politics, crime, and religion. I found Pacino’s work this time to be among his career-best. The scene in which he confesses to ordering the death of Fredo is stunning, and there’s a bone-deep sense of tragedy that he carries throughout the movie. You can feel the weight of his life on his shoulders. It’s a film about a man constantly fighting the ghosts of his past, whether he’s trying to reunite with Kay ( Diane Keaton ) or basically dismantling his criminal organization. He's searching for that move that will allow his mind and soul some peace. And yet Michael is also a smart man who knows the futility of some of his choices, especially as he watches his children pull away from him and his business decisions backfire.

The action set pieces in “The Godfather Coda,” like the helicopter scene in Atlantic City and the massacre at the street festival, aren’t the strongest parts of the saga, but there’s practically no one who can ring more character and tension out of a “meeting” than Coppola. The first act of this new version has simply some of his best filmmaking as we’re reintroduced to Michael Corleone as an old man, figuring out for ourselves where he’s at in life through interactions with Gilday, Vincent, and Joey Zasa ( Joe Mantegna ). There are great performances throughout these scenes too, particularly from Garcia, who makes a much bigger impact in “Coda” by virtue of being essential earlier. Garcia was always very good here—it’s one of his best performances, a great counter to Pacino's work. He almost feels like he would have fit right at home in the original films and has that young Pacino energy.

The truth is that the first two “Godfather” movies tell a complete story. There’s no need for a third, and that's why Coppola avoided making it for years, only succumbing to pressure from Paramount after a few notable financial failures in the ‘80s. And the expectations set by the word “Part” in the title forced comparisons. It never felt like part of the same story. Removing that, making this a “Coda” instead, allows it a different tone. People completely turned off by Sofia Coppola’s performance won’t be swayed by this version, but if you’re someone who defended it or found yourself wondering if it was better than you remembered ... well, it’s definitely better now.

Now playing in select theaters, and available on Blu-ray and VOD on December 8.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

Now playing

Christy Lemire

Peyton Robinson

Hummingbirds

Travis hopson.

Simon Abrams

Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge

Nandini balial, film credits.

The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone (2020)

Al Pacino as Don Michael Corleone

Diane Keaton as Kay Adams Michelson

Talia Shire as Connie Corleone Rizzi

Andy Garcia as Vincent Mancini

Eli Wallach as Don Altobello

Joe Mantegna as Joey Zasa

George Hamilton as BJ Harrison

Bridget Fonda as Grace Hamilton

Sofia Coppola as Mary Corleone

• Francis Ford Coppola

Latest blog posts

“This Is The Life, Isn’t It?” Martin Mull: 1943-2024

Kevin Costner: The Last of the Cornball American Directors

Leaving A Mark Behind: Kevin Costner on Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1

The Hard Way, Or My Way? RIP Bill Cobbs (1934-2024)

THE GODFATHER

"crime classic".

What You Need To Know:

(B, C, PaPaPa, Ro, LLL, VVV, SS, NN, A, D, M) Moral but tragic worldview with mild Christian themes in morality tale about violence and hypocrisy in organized crime, with the hero eventually being corrupted by his experiences with evil men, so there’s very strong pagan content and some Romantic elements suggesting society has corrupted the hero; 18 obscenities & 7 profanities; heavy violence including several gunfire murders, one very graphic, strangulation, car explodes with woman inside, man’s hand is stabbed, wife abuse implied, & gross images such as bloody severed horse head & other bloodletting; implied adultery, briefly depicted adultery & briefly depicted marital sex; upper male & female nudity; alcohol use; smoking and drug sales; miscellaneous immorality including lying, cheating, extortion, threats, racial slurs, organized crime, and man orders multiple murders that are depicted at the same time that he’s baptizing his child and saying he renounces Satan.

More Detail:

Gaining an Oscar for best actor for Marlon Brando, an Oscar for best screenplay and an Oscar for best picture at the Academy Awards for 1972 pictures, THE GODFATHER has become a modern classic of rich characterizations and almost mythic qualities concerning organized crime among an Italian-American family following the second world war. Now released with digitally re-mastered sound, this violent and gritty drama suffers from an apparent lack of visual restoration, having washed out color and including no additional footage or scenes.

The story remains the same. At the start, Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) receives visitors into his private study at his New York home, while a party outside celebrates the wedding of his daughter Connie (Talia Shire). One such visitor, an undertaker, begs Corleone for “justice” (revenge), against the thugs who raped his daughter. Corleone says, “these men will be dealt with.” At the party, we meet Vito’s sons, college-educated and suave Michael, played by Al Pacino, and the volatile Sonny, played by James Caan.

We see the muscle of the Corleone family when Don Vito sends his adopted son, Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), to Hollywood to persuade a film producer to hire the Frank Sinatra type character, named Johnny Fontaine (Al Martino ) for a new production. Tom places the severed head of a prized racehorse in the bed of the producer, and Johnny gets the role. When a rival gang introduces narcotics into the crime circle, Don Vito balks at including it in his operations. Hence, he is gunned down, but not killed. A second hit team comes to finish the job, but Michael stands guard and thwarts these efforts. This infuriates a police chief who has been paid off by a rival gang. The police chief beats up Michael.

Michael conducts “business”, kills the police chief and heads into exile in Sicily. While Michael hides in Italy, Sonny is brutally gunned down in America. Don Vito recovers slightly and consents to narcotics, but then he dies. Michael comes back to head up the family business. Michael’s cool, educated exterior makes him a perfect instrument of intimidation and power. Insiders who betrayed the Corleone family are removed, and the heads of the other five crime families are murdered in cold blood, while Michael gives allegiance to God during his child’s Catholic baptism.

With a running time of over 3 hours, this movie contains extensive and rich detail of the Corleone family. Rebuked at the time of its production by Italians and Italian Americans, it not only celebrates one aspect of Italian culture, but it also implies that the whole of organized crime is controlled by Italians. Mob movies had been made before in the past, but no movie painted such a clear picture of how the mob operated.

One of the most talked-about aspects of this movie is the special effects make-up applied to a 47 year-old Marlon Brando to make him appear in his 60’s. His persona and voice characterizations have been imitated in parody ever since. This movie also launched the career of Al Pacino who has subsequently acted in many gangster movies such as SCARFACE, CARLITO’S WAY and the recent DONNIE BRASCO. A movie full of detail and ironies, it also represents a major high point of Francis Ford Coppola’s directing career.

Of course, the hallmark of this movie is the violence. It has many instances of brutality and gunfire. It serves as the springboard for even greater violence in movies like GOODFELLAS and CASINO.

In THE GODFATHER, the violence is all part of the family business. One of the great ironies which pervade the film is that the Corleones try to present themselves as legitimate and even moral. One of the most revered scenes in American cinematic history comes near the end, when, at Michael‘s direction, many mob leaders are killed as Michael vows to serve God and renounce Satan. What could be more evil than murder and who could be more hypocritical than a man pretending to be a member of the Christian faith while he endorses murder? This shocking contrast is one of the great attractions of this film, where moviegoers want to see violence perpetrated not by low-life thugs, but by a distinguished family. Ultimately, the story is a morality tale about the downfall of a hero, who is corrupted by the violent, evil men and circumstances around him.

• Movies & TV
• Debt Consolidation Reviews
• Debt Consolidation Blog
• Tax Relief Reviews
• Tax Relief Blog
• Car Insurance Reviews
• Credit Cards
• Advertising Disclosure
• Privacy Policy

Advertiser Disclosure : Many of the companies featured here provide compensation to us. This is how we maintain our free service. 

Advertiser Disclosure : Many of the companies featured here provide compensation to us. This is how we maintain our free service. Compensation and in-depth editorial research, determines where & how companies appear below. 

A Review of the Godfather, One of the Greatest Films Ever Made

Are you looking for the next film to put on your movie bucket list? If so, I’m ‘gonna make you an offer you can’t refuse’: The Godfather. Despite the fact it will mark its 50th anniversary in March 2022, the Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece remains an iconic blockbuster that plays a significant role in global pop culture. There’s a reason it appears on the ‘X movies to watch before you die’ lists around the world . You will not be disappointed.

The Godfather Is One Of A Kind

Most film critics would point towards The Godfather as one of the most important films ever made. It was met by global acclaim after its release and is still one of the best-loved movies of any genre to this day. While Coppola has worked on many noteworthy films, such as The Rain People (1969r), Patton (1970, co-writer), The Great Gatsby (1974), and Captain EO (1986), it is the Godfather trilogy – and, in particular, part I – that defies Coppola’s career and shaped the gangster genre on the big screen for decades to come. The film’s cultural significance cannot be emphasized enough.

A Critical, Commercial, and Cultural Phenomenon

Upon its release, The Godfather was an instant classic, winning a plethora of accolades and scooping a then-record five Golden Globes as well as three Academy Awards and one Grammy. Commercially, the film’s box office returns were over 40x the budget spent on making the movie. In addition to widespread applause for direction, storytelling, and cinematography, the film provided some of the biggest roles for huge stars like Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and James Caan.

The film’s immediate appeal has been followed by sustained adulation. A Rotten Tomatoes score of 98% based on over 730,000 user ratings tells a story of its own while a Metascore of 100% landed it a ‘must-see’ badge. The Godfather’s list of accolades and positive reviews is supported further still by the fact that the film has been adapted into video games (decades after its initial release) while the music score, famous quotes, and characters have been emulated, parodied, and celebrated time and time again.

A Story of the Most Famous Fictional Gangster Family

The Godfather, which is adapted from the novel, centers around the fictional Corleone family and is set in the post-WWII New York. While several subplots occur, Vito Corleone (played by Marlon Brando ) is stepping down as the mob boss and wants to hand the reins over to son Michael (Al Pacino). 

The performances of the genre’s most famous actors bring Coppola’s vision to life, while the Corleone name is synonymous with the gangster film genre. While the cinematography and editing are ahead of their time, it’s the storytelling that focuses on the themes of family and loyalty as well as crime and violence that truly makes it one of the greatest films of all time.

An Insight into The Godfather

A fascinating story starts, as is the case with many subsequent films in the genre, around a family wedding. Internal conflicts between sons and father threaten to tear the Corleone family apart as the threat of mob war looms large due to underworld activities. The struggle between power and family values is another central theme that, albeit in the same violent context, is something most people can relate to. The humanization and audience empathy is very much a key feature of the movie’s widespread and lasting appeal.

The Godfather: The Bottom Line

Ultimately, there’s not a lot to say about The Godfather that hasn’t already been said. It is a film of epic cultural significance and you’ve almost certainly encountered references to it in pop culture, even if you didn’t realize where they come from. The story of the New York underworld in a post-war era might be fictional, but the gripping narrative and believable characters provide an insight into a world that is fascinating and frightening in equal measures.

The film’s many levels have made it a multigenerational classic that can be rewatched time and time again. Besides, if you ever watch crime and gangster films made in subsequent years, The Godfather’s influence will be noticeable. “Many have tried to emulate The Godfather’s ability to capture an audience, ” according to Scott Cooper Miami but no other film has surpassed it.

So, there you go; our insight into the70s classic that is The Godfather. It is truly one of the best things you can do with 177 minutes of your life – although you should be prepared for the fact you’ll probably want to watch The Godfather Part II and Godfather Part III immediately after.

MOVIE REVIEWS

Buzz has worked as a journalist and ghostwriter for various print-based magazines for more than 5 years. With an experience of two years covering the local news, Buzz has a panache for recognizing, understanding, and decoding retail-based news.

Related Posts

Breaking Boundaries: The Dave Ramsey Lawsuit’s Groundbreaking Influence on Financial Teachings

Diving into The Matrix: More Than Just Bullet Time!

Molly’s Game: The All-In Masterpiece That Dealt a Winning Hand

Echoes of Brigitte Bardot: Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter and the Mystique of “Lacy”

Comments are closed.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Where and How To Watch The Godfather Movies in Order

Published on.

Rachel Ulatowski

Official JustWatch writer

The Godfather trilogy, directed by legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola , is one of the most decorated and well-received movie series of all time. While it has been over half a century since the series started, the movies boast lasting relevance and appeal. For those interested in delving into the Oscar-winning series, this guide will explain how and where to watch all The Godfather movies in order using popular streaming services like Paramount+ , Netflix , Max and many more!

The trilogy kicked off in 1972 with the release of The Godfather . The film follows Michael Corleone ( Al Pacino ), the youngest son of crime boss Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), who faces pressure to join the family business. It gained high critical acclaim for the phenomenal performances of Brando and Pacino, the rich storytelling of a hero’s fall, and the larger-than-life villains. Most importantly, it revolutionized the film industry by demonstrating just how sophisticated and artful the gangster genre could be.

It was no surprise that the film received a sequel, The Godfather Part II , which continued tracking Michael’s deterioration into one of cinema’s greatest villains. The movie is also partially a prequel and examines the life of a younger Vito ( Robert de Niro ). Once again, the film was a huge critical success and is often considered one of the best movie sequels ever made.

After the successful sequel, the film series took a 16-year hiatus before concluding the trilogy with The Godfather III , which wrapped Michael’s story. While the film boasted strong performances and allowed Michael’s story to come full circle, the absence of Robert Duvall, the controversial casting of Coppola’s daughter Sofia Coppola , and the lack of a strong script kept it from receiving the same universal acclaim as its predecessors.

In 2020, Francis Ford Coppola released The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone , a recut version of the third film, which he considers the “definitive” version. While working on the final film, the director struggled for creative control with Paramount Pictures, so he decided to release what he described as the version he and co-screenwriter Mario Puzo originally intended to make.

Where to watch The Godfather movies online

Watching The Godfather movies in order is simple as the release date and chronological order are the same. If viewers wish, they can watch the recut after the trilogy to compare it to the original movie. See below for where to stream The Godfather trilogy in order in the United States!

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.

The Godfather Part II

In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.

The Godfather Part III

In the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealings in 1979 New York and Italy, aging mafia don, Michael Corleone seeks forgiveness for his sins while taking a young protege under his wing.

The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone

Francis Ford Coppola is developing a new version of ‘The Godfather Part III’ titled ‘The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone’ The film will have a new beginning, ending & rearranged scenes; Coppola says it is a “more appropriate conclusion”

Screen Rant

Vito corleone's the godfather timeline explained (in chronological order).

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

The Godfather: 15 Best Don Corleone Quotes

10 box office flops that eventually became cult classics, the vourdalak review: this french feature debut bites back at the mundanity of modern vampire movies.

• Vito Corleone's tragic backstory unfolds in The Godfather Part II, from his birth in 1891 to his death in 1955.
• Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro both won Oscars for playing Vito, showcasing the character's iconic status.
• Vito's rise from a Sicilian immigrant to a powerful American crime lord is explored, including his revenge on Don Ciccio.

Vito Corleone was already a rich and powerful crime lord when audiences first met him in The Godfather , but the prequel segments of The Godfather Part II filled in his complex (and tragic) backstory. After first appearing in Mario Puzo’s 1969 novel The Godfather , Vito was introduced to movie audiences in Francis Ford Coppola’s film adaptation in 1972. The Vito played by Marlon Brando in the first Godfather movie is already established as one of America’s most notorious mafia kingpins.

When Coppola followed it up with The Godfather Part II , he went back and explored Vito’s origin story as an orphaned Sicilian immigrant who moved to New York and launched a criminal empire. He was played by Oreste Baldini as a boy and by Robert De Niro as a young man. Brando and De Niro became the first actors to win Oscars for playing the same role, highlighting just how iconic a character Vito is. His complicated backstory takes him from his birth in Sicily in 1891 to his death on Long Island in 1955.

Don Corleone has some of the best quotes in The Godfather, and they've become some of the most famous movie quotes of all time.

1891: Vito Corleone Was Born "Vito Andolini" In Corleone, Sicily

The movie gives a different date of birth than the book.

Vito’s story began in Corleone, Sicily, in 1891, where he was born Vito Andolini. In the novel, Vito’s date of birth is mentioned to be April 29, 1887, which is the date seen on his tombstone in the first movie. However, the second movie retconned Vito’s birthdate to be December 7, 1891.

1901: Vito's Family Is Killed By A Local Mafia Boss

Vito manages to escape to america to start a new life.

In 1901, after Vito’s father Antonio refused to pay tribute to a local mafia boss named Don Ciccio, Ciccio murdered Antonio. Vito’s older brother, Paolo (presumably the one who was retconned to be born in 1887), swore vengeance against the mob boss, but Ciccio’s men killed him, too. When Ciccio ignored Vito’s mother’s pleas to spare Vito – fearing that Vito would seek revenge later in life – Vito’s mother held a knife to Ciccio’s throat to give Vito a chance to escape . Ciccio’s men killed Vito’s mother, but Vito got away.

Friends of the Andolini family smuggled Vito out of Sicily and put him on a ship full of immigrants traveling to America. At Ellis Island, an immigration officer changed his name to Vito Corleone, presumably mistaking his hometown for his surname . (Vito would later use Andolini as his middle name to honor the family legacy.) Vito was taken in by the Abbandando family, distant relatives living on New York’s Lower East Side in Little Italy. Vito befriended the Abbandandos’ son, Genco, and worked at their grocery store, but was fired when local mobster Don Fanucci demanded they hire his nephew.

1920: Vito Begins A Life Of Crime & Kills Don Fanucci

Vito takes over the neighborhood.

In 1920, Vito began his life of crime when small-time criminals Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio taught him how to fence stolen clothes and do favors in exchange for loyalty. Fanucci learned about Vito’s operations and threatened to report them to the police if they didn’t give him a cut of their profits. So, Vito schemed to kill Fanucci. He followed Fanucci on his walk home and shot him dead outside his apartment.

Vito then took over the neighborhood and treated the people with more respect and fairness than Fanucci ever did. He and Genco teamed up to launch an olive oil importing company called the Genco Pura Olive Oil Company, which became the nation’s biggest olive oil importer. This became the front for Vito’s organized crime operations, and between his legal and illegal business endeavors, Vito became obscenely rich .

1922: Vito Returns To Sicily

Vito goes back to the old country to settle an old score.

In 1922, Vito went back to Sicily for the first time since he fled as a child. Vito and his colleague Don Tommasino killed all of Don Ciccio’s men who were involved in the deaths of Vito’s family. When Vito met an ailing, elderly Don Ciccio, Ciccio didn’t recognize him. Vito approached Ciccio, revealed himself to be the son of Antonio Andolini, and cut into Ciccio’s stomach as a gruesome act of vengeance . Tommasino took over the town and became Vito’s closest ally in the old country for decades that followed.

Early 1930s: The Corleone Crime Family Is Born

The corleones become notorious.

By the early 1930s, Vito had established the Corleone crime family as one of the most powerful crime families in the United States . Genco was his consigliere and Clemenza and Tessio were his caporegimes. Vito unofficially adopted his oldest son Sonny’s friend Tom Hagen, who would eventually become his trusted lawyer. Sonny grew up to become Vito’s capo, heir apparent, and de facto underboss. Vito’s second-born son, Fredo, was given unimportant responsibilities due to his weakness, and Vito’s youngest son, Michael, wanted nothing to do with the family business and enlisted to fight in World War II.

1939: Vito Moves His Operations To Long Beach

Tom hagen takes over for an ailing genco.

Sometime around 1939, Vito – usually referred to as “Don Corleone” or “The Godfather” – moved his operations to Long Beach, New York, on Long Island. When Genco was diagnosed with cancer, Hagen took over his duties. Vito prided himself on being a fair and reasonable crime boss, but he occasionally endorsed the use of violence to get what he wanted (like when he had his hired gun Luca Brasi use the threat of murder to get his godson Johnny Fontane out of a singing contract).

1945: Vito Hosts Connie's Wedding & Survives Two Assassination Attempts

Virgil sollozzo tries (and fails) to kill vito twice.

In 1945, when the first Godfather movie picks up, Vito hosted his daughter Connie’s wedding to small-time crook Carlo Rizzi. He honored the Sicilian tradition of granting favors on the day of his daughter’s wedding, which led to two college students being beaten up for sexually assaulting Amerigo Bonasera’s daughter, and a severed horse’s head ending up in a Hollywood movie mogul’s bed. Drug kingpin Virgil Sollozzo asked Vito to invest in his heroin business, but Vito declined , thinking that the judges and politicians in his pocket would turn against him if he got involved in drug trafficking.

Sollozzo didn’t take the news too well and sent hitmen to assassinate Vito at a fruit stand. Vito survived the assassination attempt and was taken to hospital, where Sollozzo made a second attempt on his life. Mark McCluskey, a crooked police captain on Sollozzo’s payroll, removed Vito’s bodyguards, leaving his hospital room unguarded. Luckily, Michael arrived just in time to move his father to another room and evade the assassins . There, the family’s last holdout pledged his loyalty to Vito.

1955: Vito Dies Of A Heart Attack

"life is so beautiful".

Towards the end of The Godfather , on July 29, 1955, Vito dies of a heart attack while he’s playing in his garden with his grandson , Michael’s son Anthony. After surviving several assassination attempts, Vito gets to die peacefully. In the novel, Vito’s last words are, “ Life is so beautiful. ”

The Godfather (1972)

Francis Ford Coppola directed this 1978 classic that would go on to become one of the most iconic crime films ever made. Starring Marlon Brando, James Caan, and Al Pacino, The Godfather gives a tense and introspective look into the Corleone crime family of New York City.

The Godfather

Reviewed by: Owen Batstone CONTRIBUTOR

Thieves in the Bible: Theft , Robbery , The two thieves

About murder

About death

What is THE FINAL JUDGMENT OF GOD? Answer

What is ETERNAL DEATH ?

About the Ten Commandments of the Bible

Have you kept each of the Ten Commandments? Are you good enough to go to Heaven? Answer

FILM VIOLENCE —How does viewing violence in movies affect families? Answer

“An offer you can’t refuse.”

Sequel: “ The Godfather: Part III ” (1990)

T his film attracts a world-wide, almost cult-like following, with its depth, design and artistic boldness that has shined from the moment of its release, right through to present day. I will review the film from a particular angle: The broad-way slide to destruction.

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.” — Romans 6:12

“The Godfather” Part I is beautifully directed and methodically scripted. The antithesis of its gentle filming approach weaved in the explosive and gripping content, is the head of the hammer that hit 70’s cinema hard.

The film exclusively follows the lives and events of the Corleone Family—a mid-twentieth century mafia clique in New York. Audiences are magnetically drawn to every aspect of their day-to-day struggles. Formed by Vito Corleone ( Marlon Brando ), this dysfunctional family has everything the gangster genre asks for. Olive-oiled hair, Italian accents, riches, power, weapons, women, cars, catch-phrases and charisma—we see it all.

From the moment the notoriously chilling “Nino-Rota” soundtrack strikes, audiences are seduced to the screen from start to finish. The narrative takes nearly three hours to unfold, yet with its depth, desires to end are rarely heard.

The adult certificate would be laughed at by today’s standards, but we must remain theologically based, and with a significant handful of verbal profanities, two mild-sexual references, and numerous counts of often graphic murders —take heed. The mafia life always entails temporary highs and pompous riches built off a foundation of lies, deception , violence, lusts and treachery.

With their religious jewelry, rituals and recitals, these men have a “form of godliness, but deny its power thereof” 2 Timothy 3:5 .

Playing god-like roles themselves, they freely take lives and break all of God’s commandments with bitterness and hatred. The mafia system has a hierarchy of human importance—with the Godfather sitting at the throne; however, in Romans 3:10 we are told,

“There is none righteous , no, not one”.

Worth noting is the slip into corruption by the lead character Michael Corleone ( Al Pacino ) and the parallels it connotes to the Christian walk. Michael begins the film vowing to fiancée Kay Adams ( Diane Keaton ), that he would never join his family lifestyle. He tries to stand alone, but unarmoured, finds himself in frequent compromising situations. Christians are told to fight the battle of Christ equipped with the armour of God ( Eph. 6:13 ), lest we slip away. Michael slowly begins to peer into the gangster world from what he feels is a safe distance, like Lot in Genesis 13:12 who, “pitched his tent towards Sodom .” This is a dangerous approach, and in this film has obvious repercussions.

Christians and seekers, we must be on guard, to avoid the whirlpool of sin and be sure to ruthlessly cut it away. As the Godfather unravels, Michael’s takes some obvious lunges into sin, and his journey becomes deeper and darker, entering a dangerous area of a silenced conscience. Christians,

“Take heed, watch and pray —lest we fall into temptation , the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak”.

“The Godfather” is fictionally entertaining—not a gentle meal to digest, but hosts relevant connotations to any living soul. It remains a definitive and interesting cinematic giant.

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers .

• Young people

DreamWorks' Dog Man Movie Gets New Look Revealed

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

The Dog Man book series is getting a feature film adaptation from DreamWorks . A new sneak peek has been revealed for the film, providing a look a the character's transition from the printed page to the big screen.

The sneak peek comes from the cover of the tie-in book, The Art of DreamWorks Dog Man , which will be released on Dec. 10, 2024 . Months ahead of the release, the book is available for pre-order at Amazon and other retailers, and the listings include the cover of the book. This features artwork as seen in the film along with the Dog Man logo. The book will include fun bonuses like concept artwork and exclusive interviews to go along with the film.

The film will be directly based on the children's book series by Dev Pilkey. Dog Man is a spinoff of Pilkey's Captain Underpants series, and the film adaptation will be directed by Peter Hastings --- the showrunner of the animated series The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants . The show followed the release of the film Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie in 2017.

Dog Man Is Coming to Theaters in 2025

The Dog Man movie will be released on Jan. 31, 2025 , following the release of The Art of DreamWorks Dog Man on Dec. 10, 2024.

Source: Abrams Books

Box Office: ‘Inside Out 2’ Blasts Past ‘Dune 2’ as 2024’s Biggest Movie, ‘Bikeriders’ Revs $4 Million Opening Day

By J. Kim Murphy

J. Kim Murphy

• Box Office: ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ Gets Loud With Franchise-Record Opening Day, ‘Horizon’ Moseys to Third as ‘Inside Out’ Vies to Stay on Top 1 day ago
• Bud S. Smith, Editor of ‘Sorcerer,’ ‘The Exorcist’ and ‘Flashdance,’ Dies at 88 2 days ago
• Jon Stewart Blasts Biden and Trump’s Incoherent Presidential Debate: ‘Both of These Men Should Be Using Performance-Enhancing Drugs’ 3 days ago

It’s still all smiles for “ Inside Out 2 ” as Disney and Pixar’s animated sequel continues to dominate box office charts in its second weekend. The emotional motion picture added $30.5 million on Friday, bumping its domestic haul to $285.7 million. That’s enough to surge past “Dune: Part Two” ($282 million) to become the highest-grossing North American release of 2024 so far — and with only eight full days in theaters.

Related Stories

Is netflix about to turn into a franchise factory, 'the count of monte cristo' review: a splendid update of the french classic feels at once timeless and thrillingly new, popular on variety.

Originally set to release from Disney and 20th Century Studios, the Jeff Nichols-directed biker drama had been positioned as an awards player, with a Telluride premiere last fall and an auspicious autumnal release window. But producer New Regency elected to delay the picture amid the Hollywood strikes and sought a new distributor; after a short period, “Bikeriders” landed at Universal’s Focus. And now with the SAG-AFTRA strike in the rearview, the film’s cast, which includes Austin Butler, Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy, gets to hit the promotional circuit.

The star power was probably worth the wait, though “Bikeriders” still carries a $40 million production budget. Reviews are positive ( Variety chief critic Peter Debruge dubbed it “‘The Godfather’ of biker movies in his review ) and early ticketbuyers seem to like the film, as indicated by the “B” grade determined by audience survey firm Cinema Score. Those are helpful factors for a longer run, which “Bikeriders” will need to hope for.

Sony gets fourth place too with “The Garfield Movie,” still chowing down on some business as its animated rival “Inside Out 2” hogs the spotlight. The Alcon-financed feline feature is projecting $3.2 million for its fifth weekend, and it looks to claw past $85 million domestic through Sunday.

And “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” is still monkeying around in the top five. 20th Century Studios and Disney’s sci-fi sequel is looking to add around $4 million in its seventh weekend of release. It’s now surpassed $160 million domestic.

More from Variety

Korea box office: ‘inside out 2’ leaps to powerful lead with $12 million debut weekend, price chart for leading subscription video streaming services: updated with new max prices, china box office: ‘be my friend’ opens ahead of ‘furiosa’ and ‘civil war’ on dragon boat holiday weekend, china box office: ‘doraemon the movie: nobita’s earth symphony’ wins opening weekend, ahead of ‘garfield’, how roblox is facilitating animated films’ domination of 2024 box office, korea box office: ‘furiosa’ holds soft second weekend lead over ‘the plot’, more from our brands, will smith delivers uplifting performance of ‘you can make it’ at bet awards, 7 fresh hotel openings and renovations hitting new england this summer, caitlin clark and fever bring road show to sellout crowd in phoenix, the best loofahs and body scrubbers, according to dermatologists, house of the dragon’s bethany antonia, harry collett weigh in: can baela and jace’s affection survive rhaenyra and daemon’s rift watch, verify it's you, please log in.

The 32 top twist movie endings

They were dead, or dreaming, or hidden in plain sight, the whole time

Who doesn’t love a good twist ending? Some of the best movies ever made tend to surprise their audience just before the credits roll. But which among them are actually the greatest of all time?

The appeal of plot twists are easy to understand, even if we don’t fully understand why. In a 2019 interview with NPR’s Hidden Brain podcast, cognitive scientist Vera Tobin observed that stories operate like a “magic trick.” We recognize stories because of patterns, Tobin said, so we’re impressed when expert storytellers subvert expectations. In a separate 2021 essay for Aeon, Tobin wrote that a good plot twist invites audiences to participate more than passively enjoy the media. 

“Stories with surprise twists involve several noteworthy kinds of labour,” Tobin wrote. “First, like any story, they ask their audience to put in the time and effort to build up specific ideas about what is going on. We invest our attention and affections in characters and situations. Then, in the wake of the surprise, we’re supposed to undo a lot of that work and do new work instead, reconstructing our understanding of what’s going on to fit the surprising new information.”

For those looking for a good surprise in their movie offerings, behold: We’ve collected 32 movies with some of the most memorable twist endings. And good news! For your benefit, we’ve done our best to keep everything here as spoiler free as we could so you can discover the twists and turns for yourself, though some still might be obvious given how we've discussed them. You’re welcome! But remember to pick your jaws back up from the floor.

32. Saw (2004)

Virtually all the Saw movies contain some kind of a surprise or plot twist. But still, to this day, nothing beats the jaw-dropping ending to the first installment in the gory horror franchise. In the 2004 original that put James Wan and writer Leigh Whannell on the map, it’s the one person in the room that audiences least expect who is, in fact, the true mastermind behind the whole grisly ordeal. Not only is Saw a true 21st century horror classic, but its introduction of Tobin Bell as Jigsaw is one of those once-in-a-lifetime reveals that really felt like it changed everything.

31. The Power of the Dog (2021)

Toxic masculinity and repressed identities sprawl across wide open plains in Jane Campion’s acclaimed 2021 Western film The Power of the Dog, based on Thomas Savage’s novel. Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons co-star as wealthy ranch owners, with the former being psychologically and verbally abusive towards the latter’s new wife (Kirsten Dunst) and effeminate son (Kodi Smit-McPhee). While The Power of the Dog doesn’t have a twist ending in the traditional sense, it’s still a shock to see how deep one’s capacity for evil can run.

30. Barbarian (2022)

Emerging from the mind of sitcom and sketch comic star Zach Cregger, the 2022 cult hit horror-thriller Barbarian contains several different twists that it’s impossible for anyone to say they saw any of it coming. What begins as an uneasy but somewhat grounded thriller about sharing an AirBnB rental with a stranger (played by Bill Skarsgård, who exudes an air of mistrust eerily well) devolves into something far darker and inexplicably evil. By the end of Barbarian, you’ll be hard-pressed to hold in your lunch by the sheer horror of it all.

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

29. The Prestige (2006)

The genius about The Prestige and its “twist” ending is that Michael Caine (in the role of John Cutter, a stage engineer and experienced magician) outright says there’s a twist coming, right at the top. In Christopher Nolan’s searing psychological period drama, two rival stage magicians (Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman) enter an escalating battle of one-upmanship that reaches dangerous heights. By the end, audiences may be dizzy from parsing out what’s real and what’s an illusion. But they are surely left in awe as the film rolls up its sleeves to reveal its final trick.

28. Remember Me (2010)

To be clear: Few people say they actually like the twist ending of Remember Me, a sappy romantic drama from 2010 starring Robert Pattinson and Emilie de Ravin. But the reveal is still so infamous to this day, it deserves recognition even if it’s painfully ironic. In this contemporary romance set in 21st century New York City, two young people (played by Pattinson and de Ravin) still hurting from family trauma fall in love. However, the twist, which borders on disrespectful to the point some find it hilarious, is that their romance ends in a true-life terrorist attack. While some fans argue that the tragedy was a shock and thus the movie’s sudden evocation of it is appropriate, others vehemently disagree on the basis of good taste.

27. The Conversation (1974)

Just two years after Francis Ford Coppola unleashed his undisputed American classic, The Godfather, Coppola again asserted his master craftsmanship with The Conversation starring Gene Hackman. In this neo-noir thriller, a surveillance expert (Hackman) faces a serious dilemma when he believes the couple he’s hired to spy on believe they’re about to be murdered. The ending of The Conversation is nothing short of brilliant, with its meditation on the intrusive ways technology is seeping into our daily lives. There may be an absence of smartphones and social media in The Conversation, yet it's a movie that is strikingly relevant now more than ever.

26. Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)

After the first Paranormal Activity blew up into a sensation in 2007, it was inevitable that a similar sequel would follow in its footsteps. What few moviegoers expected, however, was a prequel featuring deeper ties to the original movie’s characters. With Paranormal Activity 2, its “twist” ending reveals when it actually takes place and how it tragically connects to the possession and subsequent disappearance of Katie (Katie Featherston). With Paranormal Activity 2, fans didn’t just get more of the same, but an expansion of a new, terrifying universe.

25. High Plains Drifter (1973)

In his sophomore feature as a film director, Clint Eastwood channels the eerie atmosphere of ghost stories in the dark Western shoot-’em-up High Plains Drifter. After a nameless gunslinger (Eastwood) wanders into a frontier town whose people hide a secret, the townsfolk plead with the gunslinger to protect them from vengeful outlaws. In the end, justice is delivered - but at what cost? The movie’s closing image suggests that spirits stay restless until graves are finally marked, and that even when justice is served, it’s not always on behalf of those deserving. 

24. The Invitation (2015)

In Karyn Kusama’s razor-sharp thriller about torturous social interactions and the gaping maws of vampiric Los Angeles lifestyles, a man (Logan-Marshall Green) still mourns the death of his son when he endures a party hosted by his ex-wife (Tammy Blanchard) and her new husband (Michiel Huisman). At the party, a strange guest (John Carrol Lynch) slowly introduces the party to new age principles - one might call it a cult - that slowly, and quite literally, kills the vibe. It’s in The Invitation’s closing shot where the power of Kusama’s twist ending is really felt.

23. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

It’s not so much a twist ending than it is a satisfying conclusion that impressively betrays its own premise. In Michel Gondry’s early-aughts classic, bookish introvert Joel (Jim Carrey) submits himself to a breakthrough new procedure that erases all memories of his ex-lover Clementine (Kate Winslet). But deep in the process, Joel finds how important Clementine is to him - and more importantly, the memories they shared. In the end, Joel and Clementine are strangers only vaguely aware of the pain they’ve caused each other. But their willingness to try again anyway, despite all the events that precede this moment, is the movie testifying how important all our experiences are, even if we ultimately regret them.

22. The Village (2004)

M. Night Shyamalan is known even by the most casual of moviegoers for his many plot twists. That doesn’t mean his brand of storytelling still isn’t effective. Such is the case with his creepy 2004 thriller The Village. Set in what appears to be the 19th century, a small village in Pennsylvania lives in eternal fear of creatures who live beyond the woods that encircle them. In true Shyamalan fashion, the twist of The Village is divisive; fans say it’s ingenious and pointed, detractors say it’s Shyamalan mining cheap thrills. But being a story about festering paranoia that takes root within isolated rural communities, no one can deny it isn’t insightful.

21. Parasite (2019)

It technically doesn’t count as a twist ending , but the mid-story twist in Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite is so unforgettable, it’s also become a meme. In the Korean-language Oscar winner for Best Picture, a family living in poverty conspire to embed themselves in the daily lives of a far wealthier family. But just when they’re sitting pretty in the lap of luxury, an unexpected returning visitor (Lee Jung-eun) threatens to undo everything. Parasite captivated audiences worldwide for a reason. Besides its resonant themes about income inequality, its propulsive storytelling with unexpected sharp swerves is largely why.

20. Chinatown (1974)

You can tell someone to “Forget it, it’s Chinatown,” but truly no one ever forgets this noir classic from Roman Polanski. In Chinatown, Jack Nicholson stars as a private investigator whose latest case somehow brings him into the heart of a conspiracy involving California real estate and the water supply. But where the real shocking twist occurs is late in the movie, where Faye Dunaway reveals the true identity of her daughter and her father. The reveal is sickening, rendering the movie’s ending of brutal death and evil standing victorious isn’t shocking as it is numbing.

19. Mulholland Drive (2001)

In David Lynch’s surrealist mystery classic, Hollywood dreams are proven to be as much a fabrication as flashing images on a screen. Naomi Watts stars as an aspiring actress who arrives in Hollywood and meets an amnesiac woman (played by Laura Harring), with whom she becomes lovers. But as the movie unfolds, all is not what it seems. The events of the movie’s first two hours are but a figment of one character’s imagination to mask a far bleaker reality. While David Lynch’s movies are notoriously impenetrable, Mulholland Drive isn’t indecipherable. It simply takes true dreamers to know how to vibe with it.

18. Arrival (2016)

Before embarking on his epic Dune duology (not to mention the modern classic that is Blade Runner 2049), Denis Villeneuve proved his mettle as a sci-fi visionary with his emotional 2016 epic Arrival. Amy Adams stars as a professor of linguistics who is recruited by the U.S. military to establish communication with alien entities. While the movie leads us to believe that we meet Adams’ character in the aftermath of her personal grief, we instead find that some stories, including hers, aren’t linear. In the end, Arrival posits that a lifetime of memories - both the pleasurable and the painful - are all worth their weight regardless of how the stories actually end. 

17. The Game (1997)

David Fincher plays with his audience with his 1997 psychological thriller The Game. Michael Douglas stars as wealthy banker Nick Van Orton who, on his birthday, is given an especially strange “gift”: an immersive challenge of mystery and conspiracy that involves virtually all aspects of his life, all in the name of interrogating his quality as a person. While the rest of us would rather play something less intense, like maybe Dungeons & Dragons, Fincher’s movie is clever as it is conniving, proving that some games are best played deadly serious.

16. The Mist (2007)

It is maybe, just maybe, the best Stephen King movie adaptation of all time. Helmed by Frank Darabont and based on King’s 1980 novella, The Mist tells of ordinary people in a Maine supermarket who find themselves surrounded by a strange fog - and terrifying monsters lurking in them - that completely envelops the town. The ending in Darabont’s film version differs from Stephen King’s novella, which King himself praised as “so anti-Hollywood” and “nihilistic” in a retrospective 2017 interview with Yahoo! Entertainment.

15. Malignant (2021)

It’s one of the most aggressive plot twists of all time, bordering on hysterical absurdity if it wasn’t also so terrifying. In James Wan’s 2021 horror classic Malignant, a pregnant woman named Madison (Annabelle Wallis) finds herself haunted by violent nightmares that feel a little too real, as well as constant bleeding from the back of her skull. Soon enough, everything about all that ails Madison is explained. But when the explanations also defy reason, that’s when you know you’re dealing with a movie unlike any other. 

14. Us (2019)

In Jordan Peele’s acclaimed sophomore horror movie Us, the ancient horror of doppelgangers gets a modern spin in a picture replete with intentionally repetitious symbols. But no good horror-thriller is complete with a plot twist; in this case, it’s the reveal of which version of Addie (played as an adult by Lupita Nyong'o) got to grow up in the outside world, and which was forced to live underground. The twist is a terrifying one to consider, in that we are sometimes never really sure of the people even closest to ourselves.

13. Ex Machina (2014)

Without giving too much away, the “twist” of Ex Machina isn’t about the concealed nature of identities, realities, or time, as it is in so many other films. Rather, it’s about motives. In Alex Garland’s celebrated sci-fi thriller, a lowly programmer (Domnhall Gleeson) is invited to spend a week with his company’s elusive CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). There, he meets a beautiful, cutting-edge A.I. named Ava (Alicia Vikander). While the two grow close as Nathan reveals himself to be a lethal narcissist, the movie ends with a stunning twist regarding the true intentions of those you thought were allied with you. Even machines have thoughts and feelings of their own, and Ex Machina is a warning to not trust anyone - or anything.

12. The Ring (2002)

Although Gore Verbinski more or less followed the same beats as his Japanese predecessor Hideo Nakata (director of the original 1998 J-horror Ringu) it doesn’t stop his movie from hitting hard. In The Ring, a cursed video tape containing the vengeful ghost of a young girl, Samara (Daveigh Chase) spreads as an urban legend; viewers have seven days to make someone else watch the video, or else Samara comes after them. While the protagonists believe they’ve spared themselves from Samara’s wrath, there’s one important character who realizes too little, too late that they haven’t escaped Samara’s line of sight at all. Let The Ring be a warning to always remember the finer details.

11. Atonement (2007)

In Joe Wright’s romantic war drama (an adaptation from Ian McEwan’s 2001 novel), James McAvoy and Keira Knightley co-star as young lovers, Robbie and Cecilia respectively, whose lives in 1935 coincide with the violence of World War II. But the source of the title Atonement comes from Cecilia’s sister Briony (played by Saoirse Ronan as a child, and Vanessa Redgrave as an adult), whose jealousy towards her sister leads her to interfere with their romance. Without spoiling the whole heartbreaking thing, Briony is atoning for an act of selfishness on her part, and the beautiful love story that’s being told is part of her own futile effort to seek forgiveness. 

10. Fight Club (1999)

Decades after its release, David Fincher’s Fight Club is still remembered for its stunning (and earned) twist ending. In Fincher’s adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s 1996 novel, an aimless office drone (Edward Norton) strikes up a sudden friendship with a charismatic and handsome stranger named Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt). The two start a “fight club” that invites men a way to blow off steam and their aggression towards the modern world, only for it to spiral into an activist movement. Most people already know the story twist of Fight Club as much as they know that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father (oops, did we spoil that too?), it’s still impressive to revisit Fight Club and see the breadcrumbs Fincher leaves in the build-up to his grand reveal.

9. All of Us Strangers (2023)

In this heart-wrenching romantic fantasy from Andrew Haigh (based on the novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada), Andrew Scott plays Adam, a writer in London who is stunned to find that his childhood home is still inhabited by his dead parents, who seem as alive as they were before their fatal car accident. Meanwhile, he embarks on a relationship with a hot stud of a neighbor, Harry (Paul Mescal). While there is no big twist concerning Adam’s parents - they are unambiguously dead - the real stunner is learning more about Harry. In the end, Haigh’s movie is about how, in our quest for inner peace, we lose ourselves to fantasies that can feel so real.

8. Shutter Island (2010)

Even in his large body of work, Martin Scorsese doesn’t normally engage in twist endings. But in 2010, the master filmmaker broke tradition with Shutter Island, his film version of Dennis Lehane’s 2003 novel. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a U.S. Marshal who ventures to a mental institution in Boston to conduct a missing persons investigation. The movie more or less adheres to the book’s own shock ending, which reveals the actual reason why DiCaprio’s character is at a mental institution and how the disappeared person is related to them. Shutter Island is one of Scorsese’s most riveting movies, powered by both the director’s undisputed talent and the story’s exploration of delusions and the real nature of sanity.

7. Unbreakable (2000)

Before superhero movies became the dominant cinema genre of the 21st century, M. Night Shyamalan’s cerebral thriller Unbreakable probed comic book conventions with a septic needle. Several years after Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson co-starred in Die Hard with a Vengeance, they reunite in Shyamalan’s thriller about a family man, David Dunn (Willis) who discovers incredible powers, and submits to the guidance of an enigmatic comic book expert (Jackson). In the end, however, David learns that fate has a funny way of finding people - and that all superheroes need a supervillain, or else their stories mean nothing.

6. Donnie Darko (2001)

In Richard Kelly’s seminal portrait of suburban teenage angst, aloof teenager Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) is haunted by strange visions, including a specter dressed in a creepy rabbit costume. Ultimately, what Donnie is seeing is his near future - a future that ends in death and destruction. It’s only by going back to the beginning of the story that Donnie can save everyone, if only at the cost of himself. While ostensibly a dark psychological drama, Donnie Darko keeps a toe dipped in supernatural waters to enable its twist ending to not just mean something, but for it to even happen at all.

5. The Usual Suspects (1995)

Before he helmed the X-Men film franchise, director Bryan Singer unleashed his masculine ‘90s crime thriller The Usual Suspects. Told largely in flashback, its story involves an eyewitness detailing how a criminal mastermind, an elusive figure named Keyser Söze, convinced five other criminals to carry out a fatal heist. The twist ending of The Usual Suspects is not only good old Hollywood filmmaking at its finest, but popularized “Keyser Söze” as a new slang term for calculating, omnipresent menaces.

4. The Sixth Sense (1999)

M. Night Shyamalan’s third feature film became his Hollywood calling card, being a dark thriller with a jaw-dropping, unforgettable twist that quickly defined his artistic identity. In The Sixth Sense, Bruce Willis stars as a child psychologist whose patient Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) claims to have contact with the dead, as told by the infamous and oft-quoted line “I see dead people.” But Cole Sear (get it?) isn’t lying, and it’s who Cole tells that line to that says everything about where Shyamalan’s movie is taking its audience. 

3. Psycho (1960)

Alfred Hitchcock didn’t just scare audiences with Psycho, he outright traumatized them. In his towering horror-thriller, a beautiful on-the-run criminal (played by Marion Crane) takes shelter at a podunk motel owned and operated by shy Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins). After a fateful encounter, the movie’s plot changes entirely - in an actual, textbook example of a “plot twist” - only to end in a way that is both frightening and iconic. Psycho is easily one of the most influential movies of all time, and everything, including up to the moment it ends, is a prime example of a master storyteller known for misdirection at work.

2. Oldboy (2003)

It would be beautiful if it weren’t so ghastly. In Park Chan-wook’s celebrated Korean New Wave thriller Oldboy loosely based on the Japanese manga, a businessman (Choi Min-sik) is imprisoned for 15 years. When he’s released, he feverishly hunts down the one responsible for his captivity while aided by a beautiful sushi chef ( Kang Hye-jung). In this pitch black psychological thriller, revenge is the theme du jour where almost-forgotten high school gossip carries a far greater cost than one might think. In Oldboy, hatred festers like an ulcer, calcifying into something inky and venomous in which death is too cheap of an exit.

1. Citizen Kane (1941)

Orson Welles’ movie is hailed as a classic, and all these years later, its status is deserved. Its praise extends to its ending, which isn’t so much as a twist as it is a fine detail that audiences easily forget until they’re reminded in dramatic fashion. In this fictional biopic of a newspaper titan, Charles Foster Kane (played by Orson Welles), his dying words “Rosebud” are an invitation for a journalist to trace Kane’s life to find its origins. In the end, it’s not about secret words or scorned lovers. It’s simply about youthful happiness, and how no amount of wealth can ever compensate for lost innocence.

Eric Francisco is a freelance entertainment journalist and graduate of Rutgers University. If a movie or TV show has superheroes, spaceships, kung fu, or John Cena, he's your guy to make sense of it. A former senior writer at Inverse, his byline has also appeared at Vulture, The Daily Beast, Observer, and The Mary Sue. You can find him screaming at Devils hockey games or dodging enemy fire in Call of Duty: Warzone.

Fantastic Four star Joseph Quinn hasn't reached out to Chris Evans or Michael B. Jordan: "It’s important to claim these opportunities as your own"

Hate superhero movies? 35 movies to change your mind

Silent Hill creator's new action horror game Slitterhead is a rare breed that's exciting to see: mission-based, manga-inspired, and weird as it is bloody

Most Popular

• 2 Still Wakes the Deep review: "A moody, ambient piece of short-form horror fiction"
• 3 Destiny 2: The Final Shape review – "an incredibly well-executed expansion that nicely rounds off a decade-long journey"
• 4 Nine Sols review: "Metroidvania blended with Soulslike elements and the execution is nothing short of astonishing"
• 5 The Rogue Prince of Persia Review: "a roguelite with few fresh ideas that's mainly being propped up by its slick combat"
• 2 MaXXXine review: "If you've come for carnage, this slasher will satisfy your bloodlust"
• 3 Something in the Water review: "Bridesmaids meets Jaws in an unmemorable thriller"
• 4 The Exorcism review: "The Russell Crowe horror veers more ridiculous than terrifying"
• 5 Inside Out 2 review: "Pixar's sassy sequel will take you on a Joy ride"
• 2 Star Wars: The Acolyte episode 5 review: "Mounting tensions come to a head in an explosive confrontation"
• 3 Doctor Who episode 8 review: "A thrilling climax to a season that has made this 61-year-old TV show feel young again"
• 4 Doctor Who episode 7 review: "Real potential here to make it an epic, Gatwa-worthy finale"
• 5 The Boys season 4 review: "Wildly entertaining but the cracks are starting to show"

The Complicated True Story Behind Marlon Brando's Oscar Refusal

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

The Big Picture

• Brando's refusal of his Oscar through Sacheen made a bold statement about Native American mistreatment.
• Brando prioritized social justice over his acting career, feeling that the world's problems deserved more attention.
• Despite backlash, Brando and Sacheen's actions paved the way for celebrities to use their platforms for important social issues.

The Oscars, which are now in their 96th year, have a history full of surprises, snubs, and scandal. One of the most undisputed Oscar wins in history was Marlon Brando winning Best Actor for The Godfather , with his portrayal of Vito Corleone getting more than enough praise and analysis on why it's so brilliant. What's more interesting, however, is what happened after the performance. Namely, Marlon Brando refused the Oscar and recruited a woman named Sacheen Littlefeather to show up in his place, give a speech on the mistreatment of Native Americans by America, and leave everyone stunned.

The Godfather (1972)

Don Vito Corleone, head of a mafia family, decides to hand over his empire to his youngest son, Michael. However, his decision unintentionally puts the lives of his loved ones in grave danger.

Marlon Brando Wasn't Interested in Fame

The Godfather served as a big comeback for Brando, who had hit a major dry spell with his career in the previous decade, due in part to his behavioral issues and the controversies of films like One-Eyed Jacks , Mutiny on the Bounty , and A Countess From Hong Kong . His name had effectively been tarred and feathered, and so you would think that he'd be exceedingly grateful to be greeted with some of the best reviews of his career and the highest award in the entertainment industry being given to him by his peers and supporters. Alas, he had bigger things on his mind.

In William J. Mann 's definitive biography of Brando, The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando , a common theme is how, throughout his entire life, Brando felt more committed to sociopolitical and social justice causes than he ever felt committed to his acting career. He would espouse the belief that "acting was not an important vocation in life when the world was still facing so many problems," that the only reason he committed to an acting career was as a promise to his dying mother, Dodie. He also said the idea that he was at all loyal to " the Method " as an acting philosophy was a lie spread by Lee Strasberg , the legendary acting teacher and chief faculty member of the studio where the Method became popular. In Brando's mind, Strasberg spread such misinformation in order to boost the number of students who'd come to learn it, since he only dropped in a few times for fun. He later found the continued insistence on him using the Method insulting.

In short, Brando took his internal craft seriously but took all the external career/fandom/media aspects of his life with little to no seriousness at all, if not with downright disdain. Even when he won his first Oscar for On the Waterfront , he would many years later say it was an "error in judgment" and "silly" to accept that award, that it felt like a flagrant hypocrisy on his part. So imagine flashing forward 18 years to an older, increasingly jaded and more socially conscious than ever Marlon Brando being given another award he didn't actually want in the first place. You really want to shove that guy front and center again?

What Happened on Oscar Night?

Brando didn't even bother showing up to the Academy Awards show. According to The Contender , everybody knew Marlon wouldn't show up and that he was going to send a mysterious "someone" to accept his award. When he was officially announced as the winner, the camera swooped across the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and settled on...a young woman with long black hair and a traditional Native American buckskin dress. She went up to the stage, silently refused to take the award , and proceeded to speak about how the American film industry had historically mistreated the Native American community and made a mockery of them. This led to a mixture of nervous applause and thunderous boos.

What just happened? Who was this woman that nobody had heard of before? Why would Marlon Brando, the most famous actor in the world, choose somebody with no social clout at all to carry out his most important social message in his life? At the Oscars, of all places? Surely nothing more controversial could ever happen at the Oscars since then. Right ?

How Did Marlon Brando Meet Sacheen Littlefeather?

Accounts of how Brando and Littlefeather met vary. Littlefeather herself, when interviewed by the Akron Beacon Journal in 1974 , claimed they met when she applied to work for Francis Ford Coppola, who then referred her to Brando because he allegedly knew Brando's interest in the Native American experience. However, in 2021 , she changed the claim and said that she got to know Brando by hiking in the San Francisco hills with him, and subsequently she inquired about his interest in Native American issues. Once they became acquainted, she would repeatedly come over to his house, so she could further educate him on Native American issues.

This Actor's Multiple Wins Forced the Academy To Change Its Rules

This voting bloc lost their Oscar voting privileges.

Whatever the case, Mann's book makes it clear that Brando felt deeply invested in fighting for the rights of Native Americans. It particularly spiked after seeing the incident at Wounded Knee on February 27, 1973, when the American Indian Movement took the settlement of Wounded Knee in South Dakota, holding 10 hostages at gunpoint in order to "demand that the U.S. Senate begin investigations into the treatment of native peoples and the rampant corruption in the management of tribal affairs."

As a lifelong advocate for social justice change himself, Brando felt inspired by seeing such radical action . He saw the way America historically treated Native Americans as part of the "same deep, corrosive racism that refused to extend civil rights to African Americans," and he felt far more invested in dealing with those kinds of ongoing issues than with whether he should accept an Oscar. In other words, anybody who knew Marlon Brando as a human being knew he was never going to accept that award, and may even have slightly suspected he would use his platform to make an important statement.

Marlon Brando's 'The Godfather' Oscar Refusal Caused Drama

Predictably, there was some pushback. By Mann's account, while Marlon got some congratulations from people like his children and Jack Nicholson , the majority of mainstream media condemned it as a shameless affront to American values in an act of what we would perhaps call empty virtue signaling. Numerous television and newspaper/tabloid outlets were quick to call him things like "coward," "colossal bore," and to suggest that he should retreat from the public eye entirely; gossip columnists would claim that all the letters they received were unanimously against Brando's actions. On top of that, Littlefeather's name got dragged through the mud by people pointing out things like how she wasn't an actual Apache princess (even though she never claimed to be a princess in the first place), that her original last name was Cruz (as if that would immediately negate her Native American heritage), and that she entered a Dark Shadows promotional contest specifically to raise awareness for the Alcatraz tribe (as if that was somehow dirt on her name). The experience left Littlefeather discouraged and heartbroken, convinced that she was "exploited in a cruel and vicious way by the media."

The strangest part of the whole thing might be what happened on March 31, 1973. The American Film Institute paid tribute to the career and legacy of John Ford , a moment so important that President Richard Nixon himself showed up to give a speech about how Mr. Ford was a great man who made films that showed "the good picture of America." Was it a coincidence that this event took place just a week after Marlon's refusal? Most likely. Was it a coincidence that the media decided to put coverage on this event after Marlon and Sacheen made a statement denouncing the exact kind of racist rhetoric and stereotyping of Native Americans that John Ford's films were guilty of spreading and codifying for an entire generation of Americans? That's quite doubtful.

What made the optics appear even worse in regard to Brando's involvement is that he ultimately chose not to appear at Wounded Knee in order to provide support, even though he had fully intended to. According to The Contender , friends convinced him that it would be embarrassing for him to go to Wounded Knee and get inevitably arrested by the law enforcement, which the press would turn into a massive loss for Brando and his efforts. With this logic in mind, he decided to simply stand by what he said, but predictably, the press used his not going as evidence of him being a hypocrite. Despite this, there were some journalistic sources that stood up for Brando and praised him for bringing attention to such an important issue, and the Native American activists at Wounded Knee were deeply appreciative of his actions.

Marlon Brando and Littlefeather Made History

Brando's life, more or less, was unaffected by this scandal, an odd footnote amidst an illustrious and legendary lifetime. People eventually moved on from it, and so did he. In the case of Littlefeather, however, her legacy grew complicated due to some allegations from her family. For the San Francisco Chronicle , Navajo author Jacqueline Keeler interviewed Littlefeather's sisters, Rosalind Cruz and Trudy Orlandi , and her sisters claimed that their family has no Native American heritage, and that she stole her backstory from their father, who had a history of an abusive childhood and poverty. Considering that Littlefeather herself acknowledged she had a history of mental illness, it is tragically plausible that her private struggles contributed to how she interpreted her life.

Whatever the case, Marlon Brando and Sacheen Littlefeather teamed up to blaze a trail that future celebrities would follow. Nowadays, it's considered much more the norm, if not the downright expectation, for people in the film industry with platforms to use their power to bring awareness to important social issues. It's seen as actively irresponsible and disrespectful if a public figure doesn't do so. Knowing full well the criticism that they were likely to endure, Brando and Littlefeather staked a moment in history that would pave the way for all future activism, and for that, our current generation should be immensely grateful.

The Godfather is available to watch on Paramount+ in the U.S.

Watch on Paramount+

• Movie Features
• The Godfather