About

Based on the 1969 best-selling crime novel by Mario Puzo, The Godfather is epic exploration of the socio-psychological impact of violence, corruption and fierce familial loyalty. Set in the boroughs of New York City in the mid 1940s, the film offers an intimate portrayal of life inside Corleone crime family. Dominated by the aging Sicilian immigrant ‘Don’ Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), the family is confronted by the changing landscape from traditional racketeering revenues to the lucrative drug trade. After Corleone’s refusal to traffic heroin leads to his attempted assassination, war hero son Michael (Al Pacino) must leave his legitimate life behind to the head of the family business. More ruthless than his traditionally driven father, Michael’s confrontation of the other four ‘families’ of the crime syndicate spirals into a bloody harbinger of the turmoil to come. Director Francis Ford Coppola has crafted a dark multi-layered allegory of American capitalism. Delivering the breadth of a Shakespearian tragedy, the film lyrically intertwines scenes of intense beauty and horrific violence captured in rich tones by cinematographer Gordon Willis and underscored by the deftly haunting score of Nino Rota.

MA15+ | Strong themes and violence