Vito Corleone is the aging don (head) of the Corleone Mafia Family. His youngest son Michael has returned from WWII just in time to see the wedding of Connie Corleone (Michael's sister) to Carlo Rizzi. All of Michael's family is involved with the Mafia, but Michael just wants to live a normal life. Drug dealer Virgil Sollozzo is looking for Mafia Families to offer him protection in exchange for a profit of the drug money. He approaches Don Corleone about it, but, much against the advice of the Don's lawyer Tom Hagen, the Don is morally against the use of drugs, and turns down the offer. This does not please Sollozzo, who has the Don shot down by some of his hit men. The Don barely survives, which leads his son Michael to begin a violent mob war against Sollozzo and tears the Corleone family apart.I guess I disagree that the second one was better...It takes you back to the good old days when the five families used to run New York and Rudi Guiliani hadn't locked them all up yet (there are actually five families in this movie, but none of them are based on any of the real ones.) A lot more seems to happen in this movie (except the scenes with Michael in Sicily...those kind of drag) and I thought the acting was great, especially Marlon Brando. Some of it isn't acting...apparently, James Caan really did beat the shit out of Gianni Russo (Carlo), cracking two of his ribs and chipping his elbow. Apparently, Brando was just as difficult to work with in this one as he was in Apocalypse Now which makes me wonder why the hell Francis Ford Coppola cast him again.
The Godfather was nominated for ten Oscars and won three, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Marlon Brando who never accepted it. This was the famous "Littlefeather" incident, where Brando sent up a little known California Actress named Maria Cruz to pose as someone named Sacheen Littlefeather to tell them all he refused the award based on Hollywood's discrimination of Native Americans. How bizarre...
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