Capital Celluloid 2018 - Day 265: Tue Oct 2

The Godfather (Coppola, 1972): BFI Southbank, NFT2, 7.55pm



This cinema classic 4K re-release is on an extended run at BFI Southbank from September 21st. You can find all the details here.

Guardian review:
Francis Ford Coppola's first Godfather from 1972, now rereleased, looks more than ever like a measured, deathly ­serious epic – without the comic or ironic relief that might make it ­"Shakespearean". This is the top-down theory of the mafia: a capo's-eye view different from the chaotic, venal lives of other ranks in GoodFellas or The ­Sopranos. It permanently ­introduced into the genre the scene of the ­mafia don inscrutably receiving advice ­whispered into his ear; Marlon Brando made this gesture his own, receiving the murmured attention of consiglieri with a raised, almost papal forefinger. He is the ageing Don who in 1946 loses his grip on the business by fastidiously refusing to handle the lucrative new narcotics trade; Al Pacino is the adored youngest son and straight-arrow army veteran who coldly accepts his destiny when an attempt is made on the life of his ­beloved papa. A big-screen must.
Peter Bradshaw

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