Comments on Mystery Man on Film: Rediscovering "The Godfather"

MM, if you think they look beautiful on Blu-Ray, y...

2008-10-12T21:15:00.000-04:00

MM, if you think they look beautiful on Blu-Ray, you should've seen them at Manhattan's Film Forum a few weeks ago. I went to one of their Part I/Part II marathons, and it was worth taking the personal day.

Though Part II really does not hold up. The first one is Greek Tragedy; the second is melodrama.

wey - amen.deaf - Hehehe... What did you think abo...

2008-10-10T23:36:00.000-04:00

wey - amen.

deaf - Hehehe... What did you think about the film?

Josh - Bwwah ha ha ha!

ON THE ORANGES - Because it's cool! Because it's fun! Because it's a way of thinking when you're writing a story, trying to make the most of every single detail. You gotta make every word, every detail count.

Anon - my dear friend, why are we so bitter? "I absolutely hate films of the '70s." "I hate directors." "Pardon Me While I Complain a Bit" "I am, by nature, a complainer. It’s a personality flaw, I know." Why? I want to see you happy!

Mr. Nighttime - Thanks so much.

Purple - Yeah, Evans told him to come back with a longer movie! Imagine that? I seriously question whether we'll see anything this great in our lifetime. Thanks for the comment.

-MM

I had always wondered what the Godfather films wou...

2008-10-10T23:26:00.000-04:00

I had always wondered what the Godfather films would have looked like if they had actually been shot in the 3-strip Technicolor format instead of the process being used for the prints. Regardless, the Technicolor process used for the prints has generally been regarded as the reason why The Godfather movies had such great blacks, color and contrast.

I always liked Robert Evans take on Coppola's first cut of "The Godfather." Evans told Coppola, "Where the hell is movie you shot?"

Evans forced Coppola to re-cut the movie to what we know today.

It's sad to know that there most likely will never be movies as good as the first two Godfather movies ever again.

Okay, now you have gone and done it. Now I have to...

2008-10-10T15:57:00.000-04:00

Okay, now you have gone and done it. Now I have to go and put this into my Netflix queue, along with GF Part II. I just finished seeing "Goodfellas" (Special Edition) for the first time in a long time, and had forgotten what a marvel that was.

I was reading a comment on Rotten Tomatoes recently that said "The Godfather is a stylized version of the Mafia, but Goodfellas shows the Mob as it really was."

I think that is a pretty good evaluation, but it doesn't take away the power of both Godfather I and II, and what troubles me sometimes is that people try to make too much of a comparison between GF and Goddfellas. They are two totally different approaches to the same subject, that being organized crime. Each satisfies totally, and each gives us a glimpse into a world that most of us would rather avoid.

Glad I stopped by, and I think I will do so more often. Very nice analysis on your part.

Why is it smart to add symbolism into a screenplay...

2008-10-10T15:09:00.000-04:00

Why is it smart to add symbolism into a screenplay? I think it's all subliminal, whether it registers or not, you may see the oranges and immediately recognise the situation. You see Michael Corleone sat in a chair and it reminds you of Vito's office. I know when I recognise an object or shot's significance the tension racks up. In No Country For Old Men we know the significance of Chigurh's last scene because he buys a shirt. That's one item which links a scene with limited dialogue to a whole character arc.

Actually, it was Dennis Hopper who confronted that...

2008-10-09T16:53:00.000-04:00

Actually, it was Dennis Hopper who confronted that old director, not Jack Nicholson. Hopper was off his rocker, according to the book. Jack never did such thing.

You're quoting Hopper.

Personally, I love a lot of the films of the 70s (Godfather I & II being just two of them, in addition to TAXIDRIVER, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, BULLIT, THE FRENCH CONNECTION, BONNIE & CLYDE, ENTER THE DRAGON, first Bond movies) and the 60s, I really do. I don't love all of them (EASY RIDER being just one) but I do like a lot.

And STAR WARS was made in 77, I should add, and still very much worshiped today.

In terms of how many of them are still directing, I'd say that it's been forty or fifty years since then . . . there are not many directors from any era who are still working consistently forty or fifty years after they peaked, which tells us how special the ones who have, still are.

Spielberg, of course, is one. Clint Eastwood (whose directorial debut, Play Misty For Me, was in the 70s) is another. Scorsese just one a best director Oscar a couple years ago, and that film made money, regarding of what people think of it, it was popular. And he's still directing.

So I guess I disagree. I like, if not love, many of those films.

But I love films from may era. I'm a huge fan of THE BREAKFAST CLUB from the 80s. I love FIGHT CLUB from 99.

Actually, 99 was a good year for film, too.

Anyway, I've digressed. I've read the book many times, and I love a lot of the films of that era.

"Thanks to The Godfather, it’s a habit of mine to ...

2008-10-09T16:25:00.000-04:00

"Thanks to The Godfather, it’s a habit of mine to incorporate rich symbolism into my own stories."

I've always been confused by the whole orange=death thing. Why is this impressive? Every time someone dies, there's an orange around. Is that it? How is that deep? I must be missing something.

JJ: Easy Riders, Raging Bulls is well written and expertly researched, but I absolutely hate films of the '70s. Of all the great filmmakers mentioned in there, only one, Spielberg, is still making movies worth talking about.

Mostly, the book is about old people crying for their lost youth. "Kids these days!" and all that.

My favorite part is, early on, Jack Nicholson confronts an old director (I can't recall who) and basically tells him, "You're washed up, man! Your time is over. We're gonna be making movies our way, now!"

Several hundred pages later, sometime in the '90s, Nicholson bags on modern movies, essentially saying, "They don't make movies like they used to."

Neither Nicholson nor Peter Biskin seem to realize that Nicholson has become the establishment he once despised.

Love this movie, as you well know, and if you have...

2008-10-09T13:07:00.000-04:00

Love this movie, as you well know, and if you haven't read EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS for the backdrop of the making of it(and a load of other films of the 60s and 70s), do it do it do it!

But I'd bet hard money you've read that book already, hehheheh.

Great book.

great post.

And I rode on an elevator with Abe Vagoda once, few years back . . . took all my willpower not to grab his hand and ask him, "is there nothing you can do, y'know, for old time's sake?"

yeah it's a good movie but lots of my friends HATE...

2008-10-09T10:23:00.000-04:00

yeah it's a good movie but lots of my friends HATE the Godfather.

anyway I'm sick of technology always evolving. I just got a new DVD player a while ago and now I need a goddamned Blu-Ray player? give me a break.

I Love BLU RAY!!! lol. There is even a significant...

2008-10-09T07:05:00.000-04:00

I Love BLU RAY!!! lol. There is even a significant difference to watching a blu ray of a movie and then watching the hd version of it over free to air