by Francis David,
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UNITED STATES, Nov 09 — Paramount took an option on Mario Puzo’s novel before it became a best seller. The project was thrust upon a reluctant and untried Francis Ford Coppola after Elia Kazan, Arthur Penn, Peter Yates and Fred Zinnemann turned it down, the most frequently cited reason being that the story glorified the Mafia. Paramount made a shrewd investment: the rights cost US$50,000 and box-office takings amounted to US$86 million by December 1977, making The Godfather the company’s most profitable film till that date. Desson Howe of the Washington Post is representative of current critical opinion: ‘With Puzo, [Coppola] forged an epic tragedy about America, capitalism, family greed, treachery and love
P
aramount took an option on Mario Puzo’s novel before it became a best seller. The project was thrust upon a reluctant and untried Francis Ford Coppola after Elia Kazan, Arthur Penn, Peter Yates and Fred Zinnemann turned it down, the most frequently cited reason being that the story glorified the Mafia. Paramount made a shrewd investment: the rights cost US$50,000 and box-office takings amounted to US$86 million by December 1977, making The Godfather the company’s most profitable film till that date. It remains the top rated film among IMDb voters.
Critics were initially less enthusiastic. Among the doubters were Judith Crist, who dismissed the film as immoral, Stanley Kauffmann, who complained of its implicit endorsement of Mafia methods and excessive length, and Arthur Schlesinger Jr., who wrote in Vogue that The Godfather had ‘swelled into an overblown, pretentious, slow and ultimately tedious three hour quasi epic. John Russell Taylor of The Times displayed less strong feelings: ‘It is exactly the kind of holding, not too demanding entertainment you would love to drop into by chance and see at your local.’ A. D. Murphy of Variety was equally tepid, finding the film overlong and occasionally confusing. His conclusion was that ‘While never so placid as to be boring, it is never so gripping as to be superior screen drama.’ Vincent Canby of the New York Times was more enthusiastic:
Taking a bestselling novel of more drive than genius (Mario Puzo’s The Godfather), about a subject of something less than common experience (the Mafia), involving an isolated part of one very particular ethnic group (first-generation and second-generation Italian-Americans), Francis Ford Coppola has made one of the most brutal and moving chronicles of American life designed within the limits of popular entertainment.
In 1992, The Godfather joined the Sight and Sound list of the best films, since when it has retained its popularity with professionals and public alike. In 2006, it came second among the top screenplays chosen by the Writers’ Guild of America, being beaten only by Casablanca. Desson Howe of the Washington Post is representative of current critical opinion: ‘With Puzo, [Coppola] forged an epic tragedy about America, capitalism, family greed, treachery and love. He showed us — with almost Shakespearian gravitas — the errors of hasty vengeance and the wisdom of assured leadership.
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