The Godfather is considered by many movie critics and fans of cinema to be one of or if not the best film of all time. There are many reasons why people believe this and I am one of those people. The Godfather is a masterpiece of cinema and there are many reasons why.
The Godfather is about the Corleone crime family and how they deal with other crime families. This film is about betrayal, family, friends, love and loyalty. It follows Vito Corleone 'The Godfather' and Michael Corleone his son. The first half of the movie is at Vito's daughter's wedding and this characterises the majority of the main cast. The film picks up from there, but I will not spoil it because it is one of the best cinematic experience someone can have. The story in The Godfather is one of the best ever and it well-told. This is through its perfect cinematography, symbolism, foreshadowing, characterisation and acting. The story is a perfect blend of these factors.
The symbolism and foreshadowing in The Godfather can be easily missed but when you notice it, in a way it blows your mind. The 2 most memorable moments of foreshadowing for me was when one of the Corleone members was talking about and horses and there was a painted wall of swimming fishes. The cinematography is perfect and makes you feel what Coppola makes you want to feel. The pacing perfectly gives you a sense of time and weight to interactions between characters. The performances by Al Pacino, Marlin Brando and all the other actors is outstanding and it feels realistic to the plot. The characterisation of everyone in the movie and all the arcs are fantastic. If a character has flaws they either evolve and survive their situation, but if they don't give into their flaws, such as reacting on angry instinct, they will die. All these factors create a perfect culmination of a movie.
The Godfather is both a classic film and a masterpiece. The factors I stated above is why it is considered a cinematic masterpiece. The Godfather has no flaws whatsoever and if it does they are very minor and I was not able to identify them.
The Godfather is a must watch and is a movie that defines cinema.