Family Business Except Michael Corleone example essay topic

I chose to do my project on The Godfather trilogy by Francis Ford Coppola. The Godfather trilogy is a three part gangster epic. The first two films in the trilogy are regarded as some of the best films ever created. All other gangster movies are judged by its standards.

The Godfather trilogy redefined and revolutionized the gangster genre. It is the film in which all other gangster standards are set. The story follows the shady life of a major mob family known as the Corleones. They are the powerhouse mob family of New York City.

As the plot generates it tells how the Corleone family came about and the gritty business of mob life. The trilogy stars Marlon Brando as the first Godfather who's name was Don Vito Corleone. Al Pacino starred as Don Vito Corleone's son Michael Corleone. He succeeded his father as The Godfather when he died in the end of the first part.

The first part in the trilogy starts off with Don Vito Corleones daughter getting married. This is when Coppola introduces The Godfather character as he meets with clients and friends who come to him to solve their problems. The Godfather uses extreme measures with no boundaries to help out these people. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when they teach a film producer a lesson he will never forget. He was supposed to land a starring role for a friend of the Corleone family but refused. So one of The Godfathers thugs cut off the head of the producers $600,000 prize horse and puts it in the producers bed when he is asleep.

The producer awakes terrified as he feels the pool of blood sticking to his body. This is what happens when you don't do things the Corleone way. The Godfathers business is ran by his family. All of his sons work for him in the family business except Michael Corleone who was away at war. When Michael came back he wanted to stay clear of his corrupt family ways but was forced to get back in when there was an assassination attempt on his father.

Michaels return coincides with the beginning of a war between the main families about whether or not to deal drugs. Don Vito Corleone hated the idea of selling drugs and wanted to continue his gambling ways to make money. When the other families heard this they tried to kill him. The attempt failed and Michael felt it was his duty to stand by his father and his family and help in any means necessary. Michael Corleone then became a vital part in the family business from then on. For the first time in the film Michael steps into the family business and offers to kill two men involved in the attempted murder of his father.

This is a very important scene in the trilogy because Michael transforms himself from a law abiding war veteran to a key player in the mob life of the Corleones. After he does this he has to go away for two years to Italy. While he is away his brother Sonny is murdered by a rival family. This is another one of my favorite scenes because Sonny gets shot about 100 times with a automatic machine gun. Michael is forced to come back to America when he hears the news of his brothers death. He returns a completely different man with plans to lead the family business and he has this confidence in him that he lacked before.

From this point, Michael is now the big boss of the family and reigns as the godfather now. One of the best scenes I have scene in a film is the baptism scene. Coppola uses the parallel time filming technique perfectly. On one half of the spectrum Michael is becoming godfather to his daughters son. On the other hand he is carrying out the assassinations of rival family leaders.

Michaels men fire upon these men as he tells the priest he believes and gives all his faith to Jesus Christ. The two parallels are just completely opposite and yet Coppola works it to perfection. I love the way Coppola interconnects the two without missing a beat. Near the conclusion of The Godfather Part 1 Don Vito Corleone dies while playing with his grandson. This is an important scene in the movie because it is when Michael officially becomes The Godfather and leader of the Corleone family. I think that this is the best movie in the trilogy because it is not as confusing as the second and there is the most action in this movie.

I also think that Marlon Brando is a sensational actor and his voice just makes you think of the mafia. I like how Coppola has Michaels face fading away into a black background as the movie ends showing that he is the new don. When as in the beginning of the movie he had Don Vito's face showing his importance. Just little touches like this make this movie a classic.

The second movie in the trilogy was hailed by critics to be superior to The Godfather Part 1. This movie won 6 academy awards including best picture. This movie is regarded as the finest sequel ever made. The Godfather Part 2 continues the story of the Corleone family and how the family came to be. Part 2 is divided into 2 main parts, the story of young Vito Corleone and the rise of power of Michael Corleone as head of the family. It shows flashbacks of Michaels father, Vito, as a boy and then as a young man.

Vito immigrates to Italy, alone, to escape a hit on his family. It shows Vito come to power and the ruthless acts of cruelty which it took to get there. The people he kills deserve to be killed unlike the people Michael kills. This movie shows how much a person can change when they get a little bit of power. In the beginning of the first movie Michael wanted nothing to do of his family business.

He turns into a greedy ruler who ruins both his life and those of the people around him. Michael loses all emotions except those of hatred for his enemies. He is completely overtaken by evil, from the war hero he was in the past. Michael expands his families business to Nevada, Florida, and Havana taking out all competition on the way.

In the end of the movie it shows how Michael ruins the lives of the people around him when his wife has an abortion because it was a boy and she didn't want the family business to continue. The plot of this movie was very complex to me because of the parallel storylines. It was very confusing but a nice touch by Coppola. Critics rated this movie better than the first Godfather but I thought The Godfather Part 1 was more exciting. The third movie in the trilogy takes place 20 years after part 2. Michael is in bad health and is grieving after he murders his brother Fre do.

Michael is trying to make the family business legit and donates a large amount of money to the church. Michael is then honored by the pope and this shows that he is trying to better his life. Michael has 2 children Anthony and Mary who stay clear of the family life of crime. Michael teaches his nephew Vincent the family business and wants him to take it over when he dies. Michaels children say they will never have anything to do with the family business whatsoever. Michael sold all of this casinos and laundered his money through the Vatican.

In doing this he attempted to buy a European company. Mob people force the return of Michael back to the ugliness of mafia life. Vincent almost starts a mob war because of his harsh temper that he cant control. His bad temper is shown when Michael tells him to make peace with a colleague and instead tries to bite his ear off. Another example of this is shown when he kills the two men who were trying to kill them when all they had was a knife. This was one of my favorite parts in the movie.

Vincent could ruin the family business with his bad temper and I don't see why Michael is training him to be the next godfather. This movie is said to be the worst part in the trilogy but I like it more than the second part. All of the critics hailed the first 2 parts as classics and this one as just a good movie. No gangster movie has ever lived up to the lofty standards set by these films and I doubt there ever will be a superior mob movie.