The Godfather: Critic Reviews

Francis Ford Coppola has made one of the most brutal and moving chronicles of American life ever designed within the limits of popular entertainment.

A measured, deathly serious epic.

There are volumes that could be written -- and have been -- about the movie's uniformly powerful performances; its precedent-setting editing by William Reynolds and Peter Zinner; Nino Rota's haunting score; and Dean Tavoularis's evocative set design.

Brando made Don Vito something we rarely see in movies: a tragicomic villain-hero, a vulnerable hood.

The ultimate family film.

The biggest achievement here is the establishment of mood and time.

In its blending of new depth with an old genre, it becomes that rarity, a mass entertainment that is also great movie art.

This compeling movie of mafia and family life is superb in every department, writing, acting, directing, a highlight of Coppola's career as well as of New American Cinema.

Traces the arc of this doomed idealism with a beauty that is still fresh.

Terrific performances and the perfect brooding atmosphere make it a truly outstanding work.

The Godfather films remain so powerful, so ubiquitous, because in the Corleones we see the American Dream -- and in turn, ourselves.

The classic tale of a Mafia family. Not for kids.

With all due respect to this 1972 classic, Vizzini was right: Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line.

As filmmaking and storytelling, 'The Godfather' remains a bravura piece of work, its set pieces, dialogue and performances entrenched cinematic icons.

The greatest gangster film ever made.

Like a favored method of Mafia influence, "The Godfather" is an offer no audience can refuse.

With the themes of family and loyalty, this film is a must see for any movie fan.

Coppola offers a rich and layered look at family and does so with an incredible cast and a meticulous amount of detail.

Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 classic, The Godfather, is to gangster films what Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments was to super spectaculars.

...it's the stellar cast's career-best work that ultimately assures the viewer's interest even through the film's less-than-enthralling stretches.

...a metaphor for creating and protecting your own business in this country - only with the added glamour of guns.

A multi-generational epic that never leaves the audience less than enthralled, this is the godfather of all gangster films.

Not only one of the greatest mob films of all time, The Godfather is also one of the greatest overall pictures ever.

Like Citizen Kane, The Godfather doesn't age.

O primeiro ato da obra maxima do Cinema.