Groucho meets Brando? It's possible with The Godfather, Jaws and The Marx Brothers

It is very rare that I watch five movies and don't get one bad seed. But, there is always a first time. I really enjoyed all five of the movies, and they range from drama to thriller to comedy, from the early years of cinema to the big bad '70s. These movies reaffirmed my faith in the lists I've been using (it's easy to get skeptical after some of the lulus I've seen). Whether you have seen these movies before or are looking for a hidden gem like the Marx Brothers, there's something to watch. 

7/5/15 The Godfather, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, 1972 #2 AFI, National Film Registry


7/10/15 Godfather, Part II, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Art Direction, 1974 #32 AFI, National Film Registry

Writing a review for The Godfather films seems kind of redundant since they are two of the best known films in American cinema as noted by their Oscar wins, places on the American Film Institute list for the top 100 films and on the National Film Registry for films of cultural, historical or aesthetic significance. So, what can little ol' me possibly tell you? I have no idea. If you have lived under a rock for the past 43 years, here is a very high level synopsis: the first Godfather movie focuses on the Corleone family headed by Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando); Don Corleone is old-fashioned by some standards - he doesn't want to get into the drug trade, he believes very strongly in the traditions of the 'family', but understands that business is business. He is advised by his oldest son, Sonny (James Caan) and his adopted son, Tom (Robert Duvall); his youngest son Michael (Al Pacino) is just home from the Second World War (this film is set between 1945-1955) John Cazale plays the middle son, Fredo. If you're a regular reader (all three of you), then you know I cannot stand it when movies go over two hours, so they better be good. Honestly, if a movie is good and sucks me in, then I usually don't even notice the time, a long bad movie is painful and gets noted as such - the reason I am telling you this is because The Godfather is almost three hours long and The Godfather, part II is almost three and a half hours long and I didn't mind one bit. The storytelling is as fluid and fast-paced as Don Corleone is thoughtful and deliberate in his orders to his men. The actors are stellar, and Pacino's performance is even more amazing when you think this is one of his earliest films and the studio didn't want him. The two films show the transformation of Michael from war hero to the leader of the Corleone family and a man who gives orders to kill. The Godfather, part II is almost like two movies in one, and this was the one thing that annoyed me; the movie starts out with Michael and his family, now living in Nevada involved in the casinos, but then the story line changes to Sicily at the end of the 19th century and the Andolini family. We learn that Andolini is the original family name of Vito Corleone; Vito is forced to flee Sicily to escape the local godfather. We see an older Vito, now played by a really young Robert DeNiro and most of this story is in Italian. DeNiro won an Oscar for his role for playing a young Vito (Brando won Best Actor for playing an older Vito). I really did like these two movies so this next comment is an observation, I guess, and that is that there are two main female characters (three if you count Vito's wife, but I don't) Kay, played by Diane Keaton and Connie played by Talia Shire. Both of these characters are one-dimensional, and maybe I'm just negative, but if you were to predict that Diane Keaton would be considered one of the great American actresses based on these performances, I would have said you were on an illegal substance. Talia Shire...I just don't get, I didn't get her in the Rocky franchise and I don't get her here: she's shrill, whiny, and just like an extra thumb (how she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress in The Godfather, part II I will never ever know; as it happens Ingrid Bergman won for her role in Murder on the Orient Express). This really is a male-dominated film, but there needed to be some maternal figures, I suppose. Other than that, I have no complaints about either film. The idea of The Godfather is some embedded in the American psyche, with phrases like "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse" without even knowing the origin. Yours truly was in a very adapted, paraphrased version of The Godfather in fourth grade, and I had not even seen the film, I'm not sure that it's appropriate for fourth graders. So, there you go. Set aside a cold weekend in December and watch both movies back to back, you won't regret it. Maybe have a nice spaghetti dinner with some cannoli for dessert.

7/11/15 Jaws, Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, Best Sound, 1975, #56 AFI, National Film Registry

I saw Jaws probably twenty-five years ago, maybe longer, and I didn't really like it; actually, I'm not sure how much I watched because I was probably hiding behind a pillow (movie sharks cannot hurt you if they cannot see you behind your pillow). Since Jaws is on the Oscar list as well as the American Film Institute and the National Film Registry, I figured I should re-watch it, just to be fair. And I have to say I really liked it; as other, real film critics have said, there are elements of Alfred Hitchock's style in this Steven Spielberg film, from some of the camera angles to the use of humor to the suspense (I have not brought myself to watch Psycho but perhaps I will now). Aside from the three main characters Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), Quint (Robert Shaw) and Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), the acting is really not so good, so I struggled a little through the first hour, but once the three men are out on the water, hunting the shark, it gets really good. Like the Godfather movies, most people probably know the plot of Jaws: Chief Brody is experiencing his first summer season on Amity Island, and he is tested right away by a hyper-territorial Great White shark who has taken to eating swimmers and summer frolickers. Unfortunately for Chief Brody, the mayor and other citizens are reluctant to close the beach. Brody brings in Matt Hooper, an oceanographer and an expert on sharks, and they team up with Quint, a World War II veteran and professional shark hunter to find the shark.  For me, that is where the movie shines and really got interesting. Even though you sort of know what is going to happen (it's hard to not to have some inkling, especially since this is the 40th anniversary of the movie's release), but it didn't matter, Spielberg does such a great job of setting the viewer up. These three men match wits with the shark, trying to trick it, outsmart it, and even outgun it, and it's just not that straightforward. Of course, you cannot write about Jaws without commenting on the iconic score by John Williams; even if you have not seen the movie, you are probably familiar with the "dun-dun-dun-dun" theme. John Williams is considered a master of scoring movies, and he won one of his many Oscars for the Jaws score. I never thought I would say this, but I would watch Jaws again, maybe skipping the early parts.


7/11/15 Duck Soup, 1933 #60 AFI, National Film Registry

7/11/15 A Night at the Opera, 1935 #85 AFI, National Film Registry

I'm a little embarrassed to say that I have never seen a Marx Brothers movie before; sure, I've seen the clips of Groucho walking around with his cigar and Harpo with his horns, but never a whole movie. What a treat! I can't say I laughed my head off (I'm not known for that anyway; they call me "Buzz" as in Buzzkill) but I did laugh, especially at Harpo. Groucho may be the most famous Marx Brother (there were five who performed), but Harpo, especially in A Night at the Opera, had some of the funniest scenes. Keep in mind, he did it all without saying a word, just a well-timed toot of the horn. I honestly don't know if the various plots are really that important, because to me, they were just the coat rack on which the jokes and gags were hung. Duck Soup for example, is set in the fictional country of Freedonia, soon to be governed by Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho). You might well imagine the hilarity that ensues. Chicolini and Pinky (Chico and Harpo, respectively) are spies for Sylvania, the country that is plotting a war on Freedonia. Firefly is aided by Lt. Bob Roland, his secretary (played by youngest brother Zeppo). Margarat Dumont is Mrs. Teasdale, playing straight man and foil to Firefly. There are jokes, music and silliness as Freedonia engages in battle.

Three of the Marx Brothers return in A Night at the Opera (Zeppo left to pursue a career in engineering), and glutton for punishment, Margaret Dumont returns as well. Groucho is Otis B. Driftwood, Mrs. Claypool's (Dumont) business manager; Driftwood is trying to get Mrs. Claypool to invest in an opera company. Fiorello (Chico) is the manager for a young opera singer, Ricardo Baroni; Tomasso (Harpo) is a friend of Fiorello and Baroni. Rosa Castaldi (Kitty Carlisle) is a soprano and falls in love with Baroni. Yes, there are a lot of people and a lot of things going on, and Wikipedia is mildly helpful. I found the exact details really don't matter that much; I just enjoyed the humor. I would like to see more Marx Brothers films, and if you have never seen one, I totally recommend Duck Soup or A Night at the Opera.