The Godfather...who's the daddy :) - 5 star

 

I must admit I never read The Godfather in my younger days and what a treat I missed. The movie follows the novel very closely with great performances from James Cann as the somewhat unpredictable Sonny Corleone, Robert Duvall “a lawyer with a briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns”, and the unmissable Al Pacino as the quiet, softly spoken Michael his destiny to become the Don. To achieve this Michael proves that underneath his sober exterior is a latent and ruthless ability to decisively order executions in the name and preservation of the Corleone family.

I enjoyed the way Mario Puzo introduced minor characters and we follow their story none better than crooner Johnny Fontane played perfectly by Al Martino as the aging narcissist. The book is a delight and very easy read even a 600+ pages with some wonderful quotes and observations along the way…” a friend should always underestimate your virtues and an enemy overestimate your faults”....”The Don considered a use of threats the most foolish kind of exposure, the unleashing of anger without forethought as the most dangerous indulgence”.......”But great men are not born great, they grow great and so it was with Vito Corleone”....”He had long ago learned that society imposes insults that must be borne, comforted by the knowledge that in this world there comes a time when the most humble of men, if he keeps his eyes open, can take his revenge on the most powerful”..........A truly great read that the passing of time has done nothing to diminish. Highly, highly recommended.