"Leave the gun, take the cannoli"

Ten Academy Awards nominations and the winner of three Oscars -- Best Picture, Best Actor (Marlon Brando), and Best Adapted Screenplay, the top-grossing film of the year and a $134 million box-office hit.
"The Godfather" is certainly one of those films whose reputation -- staggeringly massive reputation -- precedes it. That reputation can cloud the viewing of "The Godfather," much as knowing about "Citizen Kane" can influence the viewing of Orson Welles' film.
We watched "The Godfather" last night on DVD, and I tried to see it in a fresh light. I tried to imagine I was watching the film for the first time.
A few observations:
* It is an entertaining film.
Much like "Shichinin no Samurai (Seven Samurai)," the film's story moves along at such a clip that the movie's great length seems to slip away.
* Where did they get all of those great Italian-American actors?
Of course, the primary cast of this film is top-notch. How about the lesser roles?
Would this film seem so well-made if not for Al Lettieri playing Virgil "The Turk" Sollozzo, or John Martino playing Paulie Gatto, or Tony Giorgio playing Bruno Tattaglia? My favorite of the more minor cast members might be Lettieri as Sollozzo: He seems so menacing.
* Francis Ford Coppola was a purposeful director who let the camera do much of the work.
There are some great uses of framing in this film, particularly when Michael Corleone takes the initiative to kill Sollozzo (and the great Sterling Hayden as McCluskey) and after Michael returns from Sicily. Coppola frames Michael in such a way that the viewer sees him in the center of this world. It reflects the position Al Pacino's character is assuming during the course of the film.
I am thinking of spending my lunch hours this week watching "The Godfather" with Coppola's audio commentary. I will watch 45 minutes or so each lunch hour. I bet my appreciation for the film will continue to grow.