Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, is being shown on BBC2 at 10pm tonight. The Oscar-winning classic is still regarded as the greatest gangster film ever made.
A Legendary Cast and Timeless Story
Widely regarded as one of the best films ever made and one of the best gangster films in cinema history, the movie airs on BBC this evening. More than five decades since its release, The Godfather continues to command a devoted following, and tonight viewers can watch it on television free of charge.
Featuring Marlon Brando in one of his most legendary roles while simultaneously launching Al Pacino into Hollywood superstardom, the film remains the definitive standard for crime and gangster cinema to this day. The film centres on the Corleone crime family, serving as the opening instalment of an extraordinary trilogy directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
Adapted from Mario Puzo's Novel
The mafia epic, adapted from Mario Puzo's novel of the same title, focuses on the Italian-American criminal organisation headed by Don Vito Corleone and his youngest son Michael, portrayed by Pacino. Diane Keaton plays Michael's loyal yet conflicted wife.
The picture shattered box office records and dominated the 1972 awards season, securing three Oscars for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, with Brando also claiming Best Actor. The film also secured seven Golden Globe nominations, ultimately winning in the categories of Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Actor (Brando), Best Original Score, and Best Picture.
Critical Acclaim and Lasting Legacy
One Reddit user labelled it the "best film of all time." Meanwhile, a Rotten Tomatoes critic wrote: "Now half a century old, Francis Ford Coppola's revered New Hollywood masterpiece has one of the best-known final shots in film history - but it almost had a much more Catholic ending."
One admirer said: "Coppola was able to take a trashy pulp novel and turn it into something close to Shakespeare; a sweeping, epic tale of family, crime, corruption and the Immigrant experience in America." A second critic added: "The Godfather works like a masterfully conducted orchestra, whose immaculate symphony is a meticulously crafted and extraordinarily integral thread in the fabric of cinema history."
A third wrote: "The Godfather is the most memorable, most influential, most quoted, most beloved, most discussed, most imitated, most revered and most entertaining American movie ever made." A fourth noted: "It is a gangster film without any of the pity and hatred we might feel towards such aliens in our midst, because it recognises that in all of us there is the ignition towards power and criminality. For all its graphic violence, the movie was-unlike the novel it was based on-no mere exercise in popcorn sensationalism; it was emotionally complex, tragic, melancholy, definitely for grownups."
The Godfather will be broadcast on BBC2 at 10pm.
