In nomine patris

The Godfather

(1972)

What's to be said that hasn't been said better? Maybe this: at Connie's wedding, when Michael tells Kay about his father's facilitation of Johnny Fontaine's escape from his contract with the bandleader, is there maybe more perverse pride in the story than conviction in "That's my family, Kay; that's not me"? In other words, is it a story of an idealist's corruption by a system or one of a scion just waiting for his moment?

The new restoration, by the way, is worth getting even if you already have the film on DVD; turns out it's supposed to be murky only in some scenes, not in every scene.