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I continually fail to understand why The Godfather is hailed as "The Greatest Movie of All Time". I've seen it twice--a second time just to make sure--and I have to tell you that I sat there in a stupor, bored out of my mind. And I'm not a teenager raised on MTV; I'm in my 30s and am absolutely devoted to movies--I've seen as many classics (American & foreign) that I can get my hands on. But, for me, The Godfather ranks alongside Singin' in the Rain as the most overrated films of all time.

Singin' in the Rain, at least, I get (it's just my intense dislike for Donald O'Connor that makes me dislike this film). But The Godfather? It's just a bland epic about a bunch of moronic gangsters, with Marlon Brando giving a campy performance, and riddled with repulsive violence. Give me a break. The fact that this movie is so "beloved" has had the direct result that nowadays we got absurdly worse and worse films every year, created by clueless filmmakers.

I remember distinctly the first time I saw "The Godfather". I was a child and it was being shown on broadcast television. Granted, neither of theses are optimal conditions for rendering an informed opinion but I remember being struck with how unremarkable- in fact how boring I found the film. I was particularly surprised by this, as there had been a great fanfare over the broadcast. I chalked this up to my own immaturity and thought no more of it.

The second time I saw the film was in college. My friend had a brother who was quite a film enthusiast and he, like many others, counted "The Godfather" as the finest film. One evening my friend and I watched the film. The viewing once again left me unimpressed. I feigned an enthusiasm for the film that I did not feel, as it seemed the popular, and even the intellectual expectation. Once again I associated my dislike for the movie with a failing in myself. I apparently did not appreciate a "good movie" when I saw one.

Since that time I have seen many films, from many directors, from many countries, in many languages, and with varying budgets from independent offerings to mainstream Hollywood fare. I certainly do not consider myself to be an expert but feel myself to be an informed member of an audience. Armed with my experience I recently viewed "The Godfather" again to expunge my previous failures and to gleefully join the ranks of Godfather sycophants. Well, I think you know the outcome. As they say in baseball, three strikes and you're out.

I find the film to be completely un-redeeming in every way. I do not have space to address the film systematically or technically so I will speak to my central grievance- the story is hollow. There is no moral center.

I do not demand that a movie have morality. I do not demand that a film even have a point. I can take a film at its face value for what it is. A slapstick comedy is foolish and an action flick is mindless, I do not ask that they be a different movie- only that they meet the narrow definition to which they aspire. The problem is that "The Godfather" aspires to be a great drama and that aspiration comes with high expectations.

Gratuitous violence is expected in big-budget action flicks, amorality can be understood in the quiet desperation of an independent film's philosophy, and self-indulgence is to be expected in the over-the-top musical extravaganza. However, violence, amorality, and self-indulgence in a film that portrays itself as mainstream drama or even tragedy are reprehensible. This is not art- it is base voyeurism at its worst. We are standing in the bailey at New Castle or at the Coliseum watching with leering stares at the baseness and depravity of man. This film is not a criticism of man's foul nature, as in the above referenced independent film; it is a celebration of it. Anyone who claims otherwise deludes himself.

Thus conceived I can appreciate `The Godfather' as a film oddity, a curious victory of the popularity of evil men. But to say that it is a great film is scandalous, and to say that it is the greatest film is blasphemous. To say that the highest achievement of man in film is a celebration of cruelty, deception, and greed is a statement that many should reconsider.

I find it interesting that many of those who claim "The Godfather" as their favorite film, or the best film of all time can count their viewings of the film on one hand. In fact, I myself (who thinks unfavorably of the film) have given the film more attention then many of the "fans" I know. A friend of mine who professes to like the film recently returned the box-set DVD "Godfather" collection that he received for Christmas. As he put it, he loved the film but when was he ever going to watch it? That is faint praise indeed for the "greatest film of all time".

I am sure there are those who genuinely enjoy the film, but you could say that about any movie. I would advise those who fawn over this film so to ask themselves if their enthusiasm comes from within or from a modern mythology. "The Godfather" is a paper tiger.

This movie has to be THE MOST OVERRATED MOVIE OF ALL TIME. i don't understand why everyone raves about this movie. it's boring, the acting is shallow and weak, the whole premise is annoying, and i had to fight off sleep 3 times to finish this "movie". This movie has two layers. Boring, barely audible speech, and explosions. I didn't think it to be possible, but even the EXPLOSIONS were boring. Where does the fascination for this movie come from? Marlon Brando may have been a good early actor, but this "i'll make him an offer he can't refuse" old man voice is so irritating i almost threw the DVD out the window, however, the movie ended up numbing all my extremities so that it was impossible to move as i had no choice but to sit on in horror. I'm sorry i ever wasted my time on this piece of garbage. With a weak premise, ludicrous character designs, and a plot that could cure insomnia, Godfather sleeps with the fishes, with a 1 out of 10.

I follow recommendations on this site highly. I rented this movie and wanted my money back. Ever been to one of those parties with distant relatives where you don't know anyone there and just sit in the corner waiting for it to end? If so, you've seen 90% of this movie. Throw in a few good scenes that happen so far apart, you forget the last one by the time you see the next one. Might be worth watching once just to say you have, but you'll probably never watch it again. Definitely not "best movie ever material."

This movie is ridiculously overrated. It is merely a overly dramatized celluloid interpretation of life involved with the Italian Mafia. Yes, organized crime is a problem, but this movie is NOT all that amazing. There are entirely too many references to it in other movies, too many spoofs and too many quotes. It's a bad movie. Let it go. There is no real plot line and the bad accents were enough to give me a headache. This movie is mind numbingly boring. It feels as though I lose brain cells every time I am forced to watch this painfully shallow film. Most films following along a similar premise are horribly dull. Why does everyone rave about movies like this and Scarface? They are awful, overly exaggerated and generally badly constructed cinematic failures. A decent script and plot line were substituted for gratuitous blood, gore and explosions. A good movie starts with a good story and a good script, this lacks both. Every aspect of this movie was horribly boring. It does NOT deserve to be named "The Best Movie of All Time."

Does "Godfather" romanticize crime and criminals? Yes, it does. Take, for instance, the Godfather's name "Corleone" which translates as "Lionhearted," suggesting that the heroes are to be compared to Richard the Lionhearted, legendary chivalrous hero of the Crusades and friend to Robin Hood. There can be no doubt that author Mario Puzo and director Francis Ford Coppola have made romantic idols of the Corleones, as the film gilds them with mystery, honor and gallantry. But of what Holy Crusade are the Corleones the leaders? Seemingly a war for survival against vicious enemies who would destroy their gang. But why should we care what happens to a bunch of evil criminals?

"Godfather" is just as much interesting for what it fails to show the audience as what it does show. The film makers wrongly assume that the audience is sophisticated enough to infer the kind of lurid but educational scene that made such a great success of earlier gangster films, nitty gritty illustrations of the inside workings of organized crime: loan sharking, extortion and vice. "Godfather" for the most part ignores this subject matter, the everyday business of crime, in favor of what should be only the end part of its story: a war between gangs over control of the rackets. The drama is essentially without motivation. The movie is simply not interested in showing us much of the dirty business that is the reason for the war. That is because the heroes would seem much less chivalrous if their criminal enterprises were shown in any depth or with any real understanding. For most of its length, the movie plays as a revenge tragedy in which the gallant protagonists could be members of any great family (whether criminal or not) protecting their cherished honor.

Why did the film makers deliberately sanitize the criminal aspect of the Corleone family? Are they apologists for crime? I think they are. One confidence game employed by the film makers, which is also familiar among the annals of organized crime leaders, is a variation on the trick called "bait and switch." We expect a portrait of a ruthless and immoral criminal, instead we are made to believe in the essential moral rightness of Don Corleone when he condemns as a contemptible enemy the kind of criminal who trades in narcotics. In other words, we are lured into the theater with the promise of a true to life depiction of the actions of a bad guy, and then the film makers slyly pull a fast one and show us a good guy instead! (We are persuaded to ignore the fact that the Godfather is an extortionist and pimp – even worse we are asked to believe that extortion and pimping are not so bad, especially if practiced by an honorable guy like Don Corleone, who, whatever his failings, is much too decent to trade in narcotics.)

This jiggery pokery was so effective that around the time the movie and its sequel came out an ivy league educated friend of mine on his way to a brilliant career on Wall Street bitterly denounced a critic of "Godfather" for making the claim that Don Corleone was not entitled to be regarded as a great hero like President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, General Douglas MacArthur or Doctor Albert Schweitzer, who had received similarly adulatory treatment in film. My friend, having seen both Godfathers, was convinced that a Mafia leader might be just as honorable as the heroic portrait the movies presented.

So, I feel some need on this occasion to remind the public of what the Mafia does, even when they allegedly refuse to get involved in narcotics sales. The Mafia is mainly in the business of Vice. It feeds off the weaknesses of a mass of little people who are corruptible, who are vulnerable to the appeal of easy sex, cheap thrills, quick money and quick fixes of their problems. These little people pay for their vices all their lives, much more than they can afford to pay, and end up ruined for the greater glory of the Mafia. Most racket crime is not glorious; it is petty and mean and easily committed by anyone who has less courage or daring than the average person. But it's easy to understand why the film makers left this out of the movie. It would be kind of absurd to call a scuzzy dirtbag by the name "Lionheart."

I saw this movie when it first came out in the movie theaters. It was the first movie I seriously considered walking out of. Up to that point in my life I had never fidgeted so much in a movie. I blame the director - his pacing was so ponderous that the story seemed to go on and on and I could hardly wait for it to be over. The whole Godfather series is vastly overrated.

Let me just start by saying that I am 50% Italian. I have nothing against Mafia movies. In fact, I have nothing against ANY type of movie. But, to say that this is the best movie of all time is simply insane.

I saw absolutely nothing special. I kind of enjoyed the performances of Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, and James Caan... but besides that, there is not one really exceptional feature in sight. And the fact that it is one hour too long only brought down my enjoyment. It's not the worst film of all time... but not the best either.

One of the most boring movies I have ever watched. It felt like a Lifetime movie except for the angry wife seeking revenge it is angry men seeking revenge. The movie starts out with no back story to introduce the characters, who they are, where they are in life and a why to it all while introducing their goals or life plans. As the story progresses the characters do not grow as humans and develop more depth, to the contrary they go in the opposite direction they become less mature and even less human. They lose any depth they had and seem to be motivated entirely by revenge and greed. It is not an antihero story where the main character's motives and means is questionable but ultimately relatable and you feel if you were in the position you might or at least would be tempted to do the same, it's more of a childish jerk story where they seem to be very childish meaning impulsive, over reacting and not thought out well in terms of long term consequences. It is an incredibly slow moving movie and I just finished the movie not a full 15 minutes ago and if you were to show me a picture of a character and ask me who it is, I don't think I could tell you because the writing is so sloppy that you don't build a connection with the characters that make you care about what happens to them, as I was watching the film I was hoping for murders because it would have added some action to an incredibly slow film and because it would mean the end was nearing.

This movie continues to be praised, but when I rented it I only made it through 45 minutes before I stopped the video. There aren't many movies that are so bad I don't watch the whole thing, but "The Godfather" is that bad. I don't care how much other people may like it. I still say it sucks,sucks,sucks,sucks,sucks,sucks,sucks...

Over the years, I had heard a lot about this movie but, for some reason, had never seen it. About two years ago, I found myself with a free evening and began searching for a movie to watch online. I ran across The Godfather and thought all right, I'll finally get to see this masterpiece!

Although I began watching it with high expectations, they were gone within about 20 minutes. I found it to be boring to the extreme and almost turned it off on several occasions, but I decided to stick with it in the hope that it would improve. Unfortunately, it didn't. By the time that it had ended, I was actually mad that I had wasted over two hours of my life watching it.

I realize that I'm in the extreme minority, but I absolutely did not like this movie at all.

If there was a zero out of 10, that's what I'd give it.

I know so many people hear the movie title, "The Godfather" and automatically feel like praising that movie, that whole trilogy, to the high heavens. Well, I don't care if it was made well...apart from how it was made, the movie was bad and I'm still upset that my philosophy teacher made me suffer through the whole trilogy. Boring...slow...just plain snooze-ville.

I'm probably going to have an angry mob coming after me for speaking of the movie this way, but it's my opinion...and I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling this way.

No.1 Movie of all time? I think that's what ruined it for me, I sat down expecting to watch the most spectacular cinematic experience of my life - but instead I ended up sitting rather bored for the good part of 3hours.

Everything about it just lacked in moving me, the vengeance was untouched, parts of the story seemed to obvious and other parts just left untouched. Thoroughly this was the most disappointing film I've ever seen, not the worst, just the most disappointing. I'm not trying to change anyone's thoughts on the film or make out the film is bad - just in case anyone gets the impression.

Thanks

Finally took the time to give myself a real treat and watch this film again after about 20 years as I remembered it as a supremely good film. I have watched many movies from all over the world during the years and have developed a keen eye for good film making, so wanted to review one of the "greats".

After having watched it again, I have no choice but to face the fact that this film is indeed very poor film making and I have to admit that I feel embarrassed that I once actually considered this a good film!

The biggest gripe I have with this film is the unbelievably poor and unconvincing acting, devoid of any emotional depth whatsoever. Everybody is sterile and no-one is worth caring even the least bit about.

Secondly, almost every opportunity for character dynamics and development is missed. The only character that is developed is Michael Corleone's and even that character is changing from one extreme to the other, in an instant, with no transition whatsoever. The result is characters as mere moronic caricatures to the point of absurdity. A staggering waste of talent.

To top it off, the storyline is thin and highly predictable, simply an unforgivable waste of potential.

The organized crime genre of films have always fascinated me and continue to do so. With so many truly great films in this genre, don't waste your time on this one. The Godfather is one of the very worst.

forced to sit through this шit so many times by idiots extolling its virtues. i wish it was never made. I'm sick of mafia films and this dross started it all, moody, violent, miserable, and as intelligent as football and drinking. too many idiots today actually believe they are mafia because they sell some pot, or bought a dog that they beat until it turned nasty. grow up and bin this film. wooden acting throughout this title has set the bar for gangster films, and of course gangsters are not known for flair or intelligence when a beating or a bullet appears to cure all ills. the film is not a pleasure to watch, nor could i be less interested in the story of this mediocre family squabble. OK so this is my least favourite genre but it set that level. i urge anyone who hates this film to review it here and bring it down in the rankings to a reasonable 1-3 because the 10/10 that thousands of morons gave this is unreal.

I'm glad there are a few voices of dissent within all of the gushing

hype listed here. Do the fans of this movie rate "Citizen Kane" as

the 2nd best film of all time? Then maybe listen to the Beatles and

Elvis Presley as the greatest music of all time? Is America under

some kind of cultural mass-hypnosis?

Grossly overrated on all counts.

Overrated movie that romanticizes the mafia. Script is average, the performances and scenography are good, but they don't wash away the weak script. Don Vito Corleone is just a romanticized and unbelievable mob boss.

I honestly don't know what to say ... This has got to be the worst movie i've ever had the misfortune to watch and yet it's getting such good reviews. Why anyone would give it a rating above 5 is a mystery to me. Is almost everyone on IMDb just wannabe critics or is there actually something that i just missed while watching this? I found it a challenge just to get through the movie never mind enjoy it! My advice to anyone thinking of watching this - don't, it will only disappoint you. There is no real plot or storyline and the movie is very disengaging. Characters and events are boring to follow and personally I feel that there are plenty more movies more deserving of the credit this movie is given.

After hearing about this legendary film I decided it was about time I watched it....after about an hour I really wished I hadn't wasted the money renting it...after the movie finished I was bored. The film was nothing like I had expected and I don't know how it possibly made it as big as it has. It was quite well cast I love Diane Keaton but she's better in Woody Allen's comedy's than in this derivitive movie. You want a good gangster movie...watch Goodfella's...it actually has a good story, entertaining characters & violence and paints a much more realistic picture of the mob world of the era. I'm not even going to bother watching parts 2 or 3 of the godfather coz Marlon Brando ain't even in them so their ain't much point! I think I'll go watch Marlon Brando's greatest performance...Guy's N Doll's.

I'm voting and commenting about this film just to bring it down from its pedestal and invite everyone to do the same. I have nothing against Italians, the Mafia or any of the principals, but best film ever? Never. It was an entertaining film, which displayed some rather ridiculous acting, in a gross piece of defamation perpetrated on the Italians. I have nothing again violence and gore... even sex, on screen when appropriate, but this is a ludicrous consensus your readership has reached and it must be corrected.

The story is disjointed, the acting is terrible (especially Corleone who sounds like he's got a stick up his ass), the film is too long, the wedding scene is almost perpetual, which makes me ask, how did this get a 9.2? I'm shocked to be honest, what an awful, awful movie this is and I don't say that a lot about movies since I tend to appreciate what they are and what they are trying to convey, but this? This is an embarrassment and has to go down as the most overrated movie of all time in my book. There's no good acting performances in the movie, no memorable lines, no excitement, nothing. I'm genuinely disgusted that this movie has such high accolades because to me, it's crap. Absolute crap.

Brando's portrayal of Corleone has got to go down as one of the worst acting performances I've ever seen as well. The accent he uses is difficult to understand, the scene where he's shot in that assassination attempt is laughable as he over dramatizes the whole thing and his general acting performance and portrayal of Corleone, who is supposed to be a feared crime lord, is contrived and doesn't look believable. I'm honestly shocked that someone who is rated as one of the best actors who ever lived can perform this badly. This is the first film I've seen Brando in so I think it's unfair to judge his ability as an actor based on this poor performance, but my expectations will definitely be lowered when I watch another movie and see him as part of the cast.

The Godfather is a movie that just insists upon itself. From the very first scene, it insists upon itself. Every line of dialogue, every dramatic pause, every lingering shot-it all just insists upon itself. The cinematography? Insists upon itself. The characters? Insist upon themselves. The entire aura of the film? Pure insistence. It doesn't invite you in; it forces itself upon you, demanding admiration. But why? Because it insists upon itself. It's not subtle, it's not effortless-it's insistence, through and through. And that, quite frankly, is too much insistence for me. It insists upon itself.

Terrible, boring, slow, long, weird. It felt like it dragged on forever with scenes that were disgusting but not even scary or dramatic-just cheap shock for no reason. The whole thing felt pointless and empty, as if it had no story, no creativity. The characters were dull and uninteresting, with no real development or purpose. The acting was flat and uninspired, making it even more of a chore to watch. Visually, it was unremarkable, with no standout scenes or moments. The film seemed like it was trying too hard but failed to be memorable or meaningful in any way. It's also extremely overrated-people praise it faaaaaar more than it deserves, and I can't understand why. Just a complete waste of time that left me feeling frustrated and disappointed, totally not recommending it to anyone at all.