COM3417 - Communication in Film

Daniela C. Curiel

COM 3417

Professor Mario Diament

7 April 2020

The Godfather I, II, & III

The Godfather I, II, and III are a collection of spectacular masterpieces directed by Francis Ford Coppola. These movies can be regarded as one of the greatest films of all time, based on novels by Mario Puzo. After watching the Godfather trilogy, I found a few of the themes of the movie interconnected regardless of which film was being viewed. The two themes that I found most important was the theme of family and the theme of society and class (Shmoop Editorial Team).

The theme of family is prominent in all three Godfather movies. The Corleones always put their family first. They are both an ordinary Italian family and a mafia family. Nothing comes before their family, not even business. When Michael’s brother Fredo gets out of line at the end of the Godfather I, he says to him "Don't ever take sides with anyone against the family again." Additionally, in Godfather II, Vito's mother takes Vito with her to see Don Ciccio and begs the don to spare Vito's life. When Don Ciccio refuses, Vito's mother puts a knife to his throat and tells Vito to run — sacrificing herself for her son. This scene shows just how important family is to the Corleones. Loyalty to the family is a more important principle for most of The Godfather's characters than allegiance to any other cause or institution. These causes include religion or laws. This is seen in the Godfather III, whenMichael visits Cardinal Lamberto, priest, to speak about the Immobiliare deal. Lamberto convinces Michael to confess, his first in thirty years, and Lamberto absolves Michael’s sins. Michael gets interrupted with the news that Don Tommasino, his friend, has been killed, meaning violence is about to begin. So, he leaves the church in pursuit of blood. For many people, a family is a fundamental part of everyday life. However, for the Corleones, it's a way of working outside the system to get the things that they want.

The theme of Society and Class is also prominent in the trilogy. The Corleone family is holding a powerful influence in America. They're wealthy, and they have lots of political power. However, they make their living through crime, so they’re looked down as low-class, as a threatening and gangster presence. They refuse to climb the social ladder legally because they feel like the system isn't going to work in their favor. In the Godfather I, you can see this when Vito Corleone gathers a meeting of the heads of the five main Mafia families. He announces that he will not be going into the drug business because they will lose influence. Also in Godfather II, when Michael plans to expand his casino and rejects the senator’s offer of extortion and his ethnic slurs against Italians. Here Michael ethically can’t envision doing business with someone with such low class. Throughout the movies, they manage to achieve status for themselves marked by tons of bloodshed on their enemies.

However, Vito didn’t want this life for Michael. Vito wanted Michael to be able to have a political status, like becoming an honest senator or governor. Nevertheless, the business Michael and Vito created ends up sucking even his children Anthony and Mary into the drama. The final scene of Godfather III shows when Michael screams in pain at the opera house staircase when Mary is shot. Then we see a cut to a shot of a future aged Michael, outside in his lonely villa collapsing in his chair and dying alone. I find that the message of this scene is that bloodshed will only build more, and despite how much money you have of what class you're in or what political influence you have, the gangster business will not bring you happiness. Crime can pay its price, and that price is missing out on joy and the chance of a normal life, despite the money and social status.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie, one of the best I’ve seen. Despite the gore and violence, there wasn’t anything I did not enjoy. I highly enjoyed keeping up with the complicated plot and themes as well as interpreting the filmmaking. I would recommend this movie to my friends and family, a masterpiece.

Works Cited

Biography.com Editors. “Francis Ford Coppola Biography.” The Biography.com Website, A&E

Television Networks, 28 May 2014, https://www.biography.com/people/francis-ford-coppola-9257168.

Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Godfather Themes." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov.

2008. Web. 8 Apr. 2019.