Month: June 2011

The Rocco Chronicles…..Chapter 2

I did a more than fair amount of research about dog breeds before I ever got Rocco. I am smart enough to know that there are important differences. I know one really should match their lifestyle to a particular breed. Fortunately for me the very kind of dog I wanted fit almost perfectly into my life. Pugs are great apartment dogs and relatively low maintenance. The only drawback is the copious volume of shedding, which I don’t like but I’ve learned to just deal.

Anyway, one thing about my lifestyle is that I am a homebody. I go to work, I come home. Occasionally I have to do necessary things like grocery shopping or other errands. Sometimes I may get crazy and visit to the bookstore at the mall, go out to eat with my Dad, or see a movie at the local Cineplex. That’s pretty much it. I used to be quite involved with the church of my boyhood, but I am currently taking a hiatus from organized religion so I don’t even leave the abode for that stuff anymore. Therefore I spend a lot of time hanging out with Rocco. And the interesting thing is that there are two Roccos.

Because I probably don’t take him out & about as much as I should Rocco gets v-e-r-y excited on the rare occasions when he is around other folks. He’s extremely friendly. We were outside my apartment building once and a stranger asked me if Rocco would bite and I said “No. He may lick you to death but he doesn’t bite.” Another time he honest to goodness was quite ready to hop into one of my neighbors’ vehicle with him. My Dad is my most frequent visitor and Rocco flips out for his Papaw. Bounces off the walls.

But then there is the other Rocco…the one that only I see. As much as Rocco gets excited when my father comes over, Dad probably isn’t even to his truck yet when he leaves before Rocco is laying on my lap asleep. He is a very gentle, very easy going dog…when he’s just hanging with me. I absolutely adore looking at the cute little face when he gets sleepy…seeing those big eyes get heavy as he tries valiantly to stay awake. And for some reason I find it hilarious that he yawns just like a human.

I can’t help but wonder as he lay on my lap snoring even louder than I do what he is dreaming about. I am not sure he has ever seen a cat, so I don’t think he’s chasing kitties in his dreams. I’d lean toward something food related. I also wonder what he’s thinking when he’s sitting there listening to me talk. Yes, I talk to my dog. Maybe I need a girlfriend worse than I thought, but that’s beside the point. Rocco has a great poker face. I can’t tell if he is actually enjoying listening to me drone on about my day or if he is thinking about his breeder and his Momma and wondering how in the hell he ended up with this freaky dude that won’t shut up. I’d like to think that he is the happiest, most content puppy on the planet, but sometimes he does look at me sort of quizzically, as if he’s waiting on the SWAT Team to free him from his captor.

Basically what it boils down to is this: Rocco sleeps, eats & drinks, goes potty, licks anything & everything, and lays on my lap “listening” and saving me a fortune in therapy bills. No job. No societal expectations. No moral dilemmas. No decisions. No financial burdens. No putting up with people’s BS (except mine). It’s a dog’s life, and it seems like a pretty sweet deal.

Winning & Musing…..Volume 4.11

Who would have ever believed that in midsummer the Pittsburgh Pirates would be about the only thing I wouldn’t feel negatively about??

Tiger Woods is finished. Atleast that is my opinion. Oh sure, he’ll win a few more tournaments and maybe even a couple more majors. But those majors will be of the “feel good” “one last hurrah” variety, like Jack Nicklaus’ Masters victory in 1986 at the age of 46, long after most thought he was done as a competitive golfer. I don’t think Woods will surpass or even tie Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles. Not only is Tiger’s body beginning to betray him (as it does all of us eventually), but I just don’t think it’s reasonable to believe that he can ever regain the mental toughness and dominant intimidation factor that were key elements in his decade of supremacy.

Surely no NFL team will be desperate enough to sign RB Tiki Barber, who is 36 years old, has been out of the game for 5 years, and wasn’t exactly Mr. Popularity in the lockerroom. There are plenty of younger, fresher legs out there, especially for a backup role.

A melancholy farewell to Lorenzo Charles, a starting forward on the 1983 NC St. Wolfpack national champion basketball team. It was Charles who threw in the winning dunk allowing the Pack to pull off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament history over the Hakeem Olajuwon/Clyde Drexler Houston Cougars, known as Phi Slamma Jamma. Charles died recently when the bus he was driving crashed. One can imagine Coach Jim Valvano frantically running around The Pearly Gates ready to give Lorenzo Charles a big ol’ hug.

I am smart enough to realize that the NFL lockout is more complex than multimillionaires arguing with billionaires, but ultimately that is how most fans look at the whole thing. As of this moment there seems to be cautious optimism that a deal will be done within a couple weeks that will allow the season to begin on time and things to proceed as usual. I sincerely hope that is the case. Make it happen NFL…players, owners, Commandant Goodell…all of you.

Congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks, the new NBA Champions. I didn’t really have a dog in the fight, as I have never had a favorite NBA team. However, it gave me immense pleasure to see Lebron James choke like an illiterate redneck in a spelling bee. He and his buddies thought they could put together what amounted to an All-Star team and just waltz their way to a title, but the Mavericks proved that, no matter how much the NBA tries to market individual players, basketball is still a team sport. “King” James (King of what exactly??) was exposed as an overrated superstar who is a superior athlete but not a particularly great basketball player.

FYI…the Frank McCourt that is on the verge of losing ownership of the LA Dodgers is not the same Frank McCourt that was the author of the Pulitzer Prize winning memoir Angela’s Ashes. The author died in 2009.

It’s July and my Pittsburgh Pirates are in 3rd place and only 3 games out of the top spot in their division. I am not optimistic enough to think their position will improve or even stay as good as it is, but for the first time in much more than a decade I sense real progress with this team and see a glimmer of hope that a long term nucleus is in place and bright things may be on the horizon.

Maybe Terrell Owens makes a comeback, maybe he doesn’t. I couldn’t possibly care less. Owens’ “Look at Me!!” schtick and his penchant for being a locker room cancer, throwing teammates under the bus, and being a huge headache for coaches far exceeded his talent several years ago. I wouldn’t sign him to my team with a gun to my head. But agent Drew Rosenhaus is a complete moron if he thinks anyone with a brain is going to buy the PR campaign that a 37 year old wide receiver can fully recover from reconstructive knee surgery in less than 5 months. Rosenhaus is the kind of slicked back, smooth talking slimeball that gives agents a bad reputation. Even televangelists and hookers probably feel the need to take a shower after seeing Rosenhaus on TV.

Don’t you just love former NFL coach and current ESPN analyst Herm Edwards?? He can give me a pep talk anytime he wants.

 

Jim Tressel and the Ohio State faithful should have asked West Virginia Mountaineer fans about prima donna QB Terrelle Pryor. A few years ago, when former Mountaineer coach Rich Fraudriguez made his ignominious exit from The Mountain State to what he thought were greener pastures at Michigan (he was wrong), rumor had it that the last thing he did was call a certain QB he had been trying to recruit in order to convince him to follow the blazing trail to Ann Arbor. Even as the Mountaineer faithful were spewing hate-filled venom at the turncoat native son there were whispers that steering Pryor away from our beautiful state may be a blessing in disguise. Even at that point in time the youngster had proven himself to be a selfish diva who had completely bought into his own hype. Now, a few years later, Terrelle Pryor has left the Buckeyes early, brought shame upon the program, and cost Coach Tressel his job. I don’t believe Tressel is blameless. I think he got caught up in the machine like so many do, where the pressure to win outweighs all common sense and consumes a person’s dignity, honor, and integrity. I also realize that the issue is systemic in Columbus (as it most likely is at more big time athletic programs than we realize) and that a lot of players over several years were violating rules. But right or wrong I put most of the burden concerning the current mess squarely on the shoulders of Terrelle Pryor. If there is any justice he will never have much of a pro career and 20 years from now he’ll be making $8/hr. unloading freight at Sam’s Club at 2am. I have no sympathy or patience for ghetto punks who think the world owes them something just because they can run fast or do cool things with an inflated rubber ball.

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100 Favorite Movies – The Complete List

As a coda to the Top 100 Favorite Movies series this is the complete list. All commentaries on each particular movie can be found in the vault. Once again thanks for reading!!

 

 

1       The Godfather

“I’m with you now. I’m with you.”

 

2       Forrest Gump

“Have you found Jesus yet, Gump?”…”I didn’t know I was supposed to be looking for him, sir.”

 

3       Field of Dreams 

“You know we just don’t recognize the most significant moments of our lives while they’re happening. Back then I thought, well, there’ll be other days. I didn’t realize that that was the only day.”

 

4       It’s a Wonderful Life

“Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole.”

 

5       A Christmas Story

“Frah-gee-lay. It must be Italian!”…”I think that says ‘fragile’ honey.”…”Oh, yeah.”

6    National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

“You want to hurry this up, Clark? I’m freezing my baguettes off.”

 

7       Apollo 13

“Failure is not an option.”

 

8       The Star Wars Trilogy

“May The Force be with you.”

 

9       Die Hard

“Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker!”

 

10     The Godfather Part II

“Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.”

 

11     The Passion of the Christ

“Take this and drink. This is My blood, spilled for you and for many. Do this in memory of Me.”

 

12     Home Alone

“He’s a kid. Kids are stupid.”

 

13     National Lampoon’s Vacation

“This is a damn fine automobile if you want my honest opinion. I owe it to myself to tell you that if you’re taking the tribe cross-country this is the automobile you should be using, the Wagon Queen Family Truckster. You think you hate it now, but wait ‘til you drive it.”

 

14     Planes, Trains, & Automobiles

“Those aren’t PILLOWS!!”

 

15     Office Space

“Ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that’s on the worst day of my life.”

 

16     The Polar Express

“At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell. But as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Though I have grown old, the bell still rings for me. As it does for all who truly believe.”

 

17     Bull Durham

“Man that ball got outta here in a hurry. I mean anything travels that far oughta have a damn stewardess on it, don’t you think?”

 

18     Dead Poets Society

“They’re not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you, their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? – – Carpe – – hear it? – – Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.”

 

19     The Fugitive

“I’m either lying or I’m gonna shoot you, what do you think?”

 

20     Grease

“Tell me ’bout it…Stud”

 

21     Casablanca

“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.”

 

22     Jaws

“The thing about a shark is he’s got lifeless eyes. Black eyes. Like a doll’s eyes.”

 

23     A Christmas Carol

“Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were all my business.”

 

24     Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

“To the last, I will grapple with thee! From Hell’s heart, I stab at thee! For hate’s sake, I spit my last breath at thee!”

 

25     The Lethal Weapon Series

“I’m too old for this shit.”

 

26     The Blues Brothers

“We’re on a mission from God.”

 

27     Ocean’s Eleven

“You’d need at least a dozen guys doing a combination of cons. Off the top of my head, I’d say you’re looking at a Boesky, a Jim Brown, a Miss Daisy, two Jethros and a Leon Spinks, not to mention the biggest Ella Fitzgerald ever.”

 

28     The Ref

“You know what I’m going to get you next Christmas, Mom? A big wooden cross, so that every time you feel unappreciated for your sacrifices, you can climb on up and nail yourself to it.”

 

29     Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

 

30     Rocky

“I was nobody. But that don’t matter either, you know? ‘Cause I was thinkin’, it really don’t matter if I lose this fight.  ‘Cause all I wanna do is go the distance. If I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I’m still standin’, I’m gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren’t just another bum from the neighborhood.”

 

31     The Perfect Storm
“She’s not gonna let us out.”

 

32     The Back to the Future Trilogy

“And that’s when you came up with the idea for the Flux Capacitor, which is what makes time travel possible.”

33     Titanic

“God Himself could not sink this ship.”

 

34     A Shot in the Dark

“I believe everything and I believe nothing. I suspect everyone and I suspect no one.”

 

35     Scent of a Woman

“There is nothing like the sight of an amputated spirit. There is no prosthetic for that.”

 

36     Halloween

“I realized that what was living behind that boy’s eyes was purely and simply evil.”

 

37     Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

“There’s nobody dumb enough to knock off a toy store on Christmas Eve.”

 

38     Best in Show

“We have so much in common, we both love soup and snow peas, we love the outdoors, and talking and not talking. We could not talk or talk forever and still find things to not talk about.”

 

39     The Shawshank Redemption

“Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.”

 

40     Cast  Away

“I’ll be right back.”

 

41     Jerry Maguire

“You had me at ‘Hello’.”

 

42     Rear Window

“We’ve become a race of Peeping Toms. What people ought to do is get outside their own house and look in for a change. Yes sir. How’s that for a bit of homespun philosophy?”

 

43     Mrs. Doubtfire

“He was quite fond of the drink. It was the drink that killed him…”How awful, he was an alcoholic?”…”No, he was hit by a Guinness truck, so it was quite literally the drink that killed him.”

 

44     Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

“Computer! Computer? Hello, computer.”…”Just use the keyboard.”…”Keyboard. How quaint.”

 

45     Sleepless in Seattle

“Shall we??”

 

46     When Harry Met Sally

“I’ll have what she’s having.”

 

47     Elf

“This place reminds me of Santa’s workshop. Except it smells like mushrooms and everyone looks like they want to hurt me.”

 

48     You’ve Got Mail

“The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don’t know what the hell they’re doing or who on earth they are, can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self.”

 

49     Miracle on 34th Street

“Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to.”

 

50     Little Miss Sunshine

“Nietzsche? So you stopped talking because of Friedrich Nietzsche? Far out.”

 

51     Father of the Bride I & II

“He’s like you, Dad! Except he’s brilliant.”

 

52     Die Hard with a Vengeance

“Look around man. All the cops are into something. It’s Christmas, you could steal City Hall.”

 

53     Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

“You have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon.”

 

54     Swingers

“Vegas baby! Vegas!!”

 

55     Saturday Night Fever

“You know how many times someone told me I was good in my life? Two! Twice! Two times! This raise today, and dancing…dancin’ at the disco!”

 

56     Batman

“You ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?”

 

57     This Is Spinal Tap

“It’s such a fine line between stupid and clever.”

 

58     American Beauty

“I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me, but it’s hard to stay mad when there’s so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing it all at once, and it’s too much. My heart fills up like a balloon that’s about to burst. And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it. And then it flows through me like rain. And I can’t feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life.”

 

59     Vertigo

“I have acrophobia which gives me vertigo and I get dizzy. Boy, what a moment to find out I had it!”

 

60     Hoosiers

“You know, a basketball hero around here is treated like a god. How can he ever find out what he can really do? I don’t want this to be the high point of his life. I’ve seen them, the real sad ones. They sit around the rest of their lives talking about the glory days when they were seventeen years old.”

 

61     Silence of the Lambs

“A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.”

 

62     Meet the Parents

“Shut your pie hole and listen to me when I say that I am finished with the checking-of-the-bags conversation!”

 

63     Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

“You think I’m licked. You all think I’m licked. Well, I’m not licked, and I’m gonna stay right here and fight for this lost cause.”

 

64     Raging Bull

“I’m gonna win. There’s no way I’m goin’ down. I don’t go down for nobody.”

 

65     Airplane!

“Surely you can’t be serious?”…”I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.”

 

66     The Frat Pack 3 Pak (Anchorman, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Wedding Crashers)

“Stay classy San Diego”

 

67     Ocean’s Thirteen

“He owns all of the air south of Beijing…”The air?”…”Let me put it to you this way – try building something taller than three stories in the Tiangjin province, and see if his name comes up.”

 

68     The Greatest Show on Earth

“The circus is a massive machine whose very life depends on discipline and motion and speed. A mechanized army on wheels that rolls over any obstacle in its path, that meets calamity again and again, but always comes up smiling. A place where disaster and tragedy stalk the big top, haunt the backyard, and ride the circus train. Where death is constantly watching for one frayed rope, one weak link, or one trace of fear. A fierce, primitive fighting force that smashes relentlessly forward against impossible odds. That is the circus.”

 

69     The Shrek Trilogy

“Once upon a time, there was a lovely princess. But she had an enchantment upon her of a fearful sort, which could only be broken by true love’s first kiss.”

 

70     The Glenn Miller Story

“Maybe it’s good and maybe it ain’t, but it’s radical!”

 

71     The Patriot

“Before this war is over, I’m going to kill you.”

 

72     American Pie

“I got some scotch”…”Single malt?”…”Aged eighteen years. The way I like it.”

 

73     North by Northwest

“That’s funny, that plane’s dustin’ crops where there ain’t no crops.”

 

74     Glengarry Glen Ross

“Put that coffee down. Coffee is for closers only.”

 

75     Goodbye Mr. Chips

“I thought I heard you saying it was a pity… pity I never had any children. But you’re wrong. I have. Thousands of them. Thousands of them… and all boys.”

 

76     Twelve Angry Men

“We have a reasonable doubt, and that’s something that’s very valuable in our system.”

 

77     Rocky II

“Yo Adrian!! I did it!!”

 

78     The Godfather Part III

“Just when I thought I was out they pull me back in!!”

 

79     Saving Private Ryan

“James… earn this. Earn it.”

 

80     Big

“There are a million reasons for me to go home but there is only one reason for me to stay.”

 

81     Trapped in Paradise

“Hey! That’s Timmy’s sleigh!”

 

82     Top Gun

“I feel the need…the need for speed!!”

 

83     Dirty Dancing

“Nobody puts Baby in a corner!!”

 

84     Apocalypse Now

“I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn’t find one of ’em, not one stinkin’ dink body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like…victory.”

 

85     Brat Pack 3 Pak (The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, St. Elmo’s Fire)

I always preferred to hang out with the outcasts, ’cause they were cooler; they had better taste in music, for one thing, I guess because they had more time to develop one with the lack of social interaction they had. – John Hughes

 

86     Tin Cup

“Sex and golf are the two things you can enjoy even if you’re not good at them.”

 

87     The Big Chill

“A long time ago we knew each other for a short period of time; you don’t know anything about me. It was easy back then. It’s not surprising our friendship could survive that. It’s only out there in the real world that it gets tough.”

 

88     Seabiscuit

“You don’t throw away your life just ’cause it’s banged up a little bit.”

 

89     The Wizard of Oz

“There’s no place like home.”

 

90     The Birdcage

“I’m the Vice President of the Coalition for Moral Order! My co-founder has just died in the bed of an underage black whore!”

 

91     Pride of the Yankees

“Is it three strikes, Doc?”…”You want it straight?”…”Yeah.”…”It’s three strikes.”

 

92     The Ten Commandments

“Let my people go!”

 

93     Honeymoon in Vegas

“We’re the Flying Elvises. Utah chapter.”

 

94     Hook

“Your children love you, they want to play with you. How long do you think that lasts? We have a few special years with our children, when they’re the ones that want us around. After that you’re going to be running after them for a bit of attention. It’s so fast Peter. Just a few years, and it’s over. And you are not being careful. And you are missing it.”

 

95     Uncle Buck

“I don’t have a college degree. I don’t even have a job. But I know a good kid when I see one. Because they’re all good kids, until dried-out, brain-dead skags like you drag them down and convince them they’re no good.”

 

96     School of Rock

“Dude, I service society by rocking, OK? I’m out there on the front lines liberating people with my music!”

 

97     Risky Business

“Every now and then say, ‘What the fuck.’ ‘What the fuck’ gives you freedom. Freedom brings opportunity. Opportunity makes your future.”

 

98     Fast Times at Ridgemont High

“All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I’m fine.”

 

99     E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial

“E.T. phone home”

 

100   Caddyshack

“It’s in the HOLE!!”

 

 

 

 

 

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100 Favorite Movies…..#1

Your Humble Potentate of Profundity has been very sick. I have been battling a kidney infection and probably waited a few too many days to go to the doctor. When one has been involved with the medical establishment as much as I have over the course of these 38 years the compulsion to shake things off and treat one’s self with over-the-counter remedies is overwhelming but not always wise. At any rate, I am happily on the mend and slowly but surely beginning to regain a sense of normalcy, which means the desire to write is coming back as well. The truth is I have probably a half dozen things in the hopper but just haven’t had the energy or mental acuity to make it happen. That ends now.

 

I can think of no better way to get back in the saddle than by finally, at long last, finishing The Top 100 Favorite Movies series with the top of the heap, the cream of the crop, A number 1.

 

I began this endeavor with a short intro on April 11, 2009 in which I stated my belief that “greatness takes time”. The funny thing is, out of all the films in this list the #1 spot belongs to the one movie to which my logic probably never applied. Its gravitas and superiority have been recognized almost since the day of its release and a tremendous reputation has just grown over the past four decades. I have seen it called “the perfect movie”, amongst a plethora of other accolades and complimentary reviews. When I take into consideration my own tastes…the penchant for comedy, a general aversion to violence, and gravitation toward lighter fare…I am, quite frankly, shocked that I ever fell in love with this movie. I lay all the blame on my Dad, who had me watching our subject du jour from a very young age. So I suppose it is apropos that we reach the top of this very long trek just a few days after Father’s Day. Thanks Dad.

 

As if anyone who has been following this series has not seen it coming from miles away, it should surprise no one that the film in question is 1972’s Francis Ford Coppola/Mario Puzo magnum opus The Godfather.

 

The Godfather is similar, in a sense, to Field of Dreams, in that Field of Dreams is often lazily painted as “a baseball movie” when in fact it is so much more, while The Godfather is too easily pigeonholed as “a gangster movie” but is far more…far better…than that simplistic definition. And while some have been critical over the years that The Godfather glamourizes mob life, I couldn’t possibly disagree more. The truth is that Coppola glamourized movie making again, and the subject matter just so happened to involve The Mafia.

 

I cannot imagine that there are many amongst us that have not seen The Godfather. Maybe it isn’t necessarily your cup o’ tea, but you have seen it.  It is the story of the Corleone family in New York…patriarch and mob kingpin Vito (played by the legendary Marlon Brando), hothead oldest son Sonny (played by James Caan), dimwitted middle son Fredo, and youngest son Michael (played by Al Pacino), who has stayed out of the family business and served his country as a Marine in WWII. Vito also has a daughter, Connie (played by Talia Shire, better known as Adrian in the Rocky series), and an honorary son, his consigliere (counselor) Tom Hagen (played by Robert Duval). When Don Vito refuses to get into the narcotics business he is nearly killed, and not-ready-for-primetime Sonny takes control of The Family. Unfortunately he is murdered as well, which means that eventually Michael steps in and proves to be even more cool and calculating than his father.

 

Is there a lot of gunfire and bloodshed in The Godfather?? Yes, there is. But unlike so many movies today, the violence doesn’t seem to be superfluous. We understand why these murders are taking place and it all seems to fit well within the context of the story. And while I don’t agree with the sentiment that the movie glorifies the mob, I do think it looks at it in an unflinching, no holds barred, non-watered down manner, which I feel is the appropriate way to go. If the violent content had been sanitized or lightened up then I think that would have been more veneration of organized crime than anything. As it stands I do not know how anyone can watch The Godfather and say to themselves “Now THAT is what I want to do with my life!!”. I suppose maybe the haters think that the movie tries to justify the criminal activity of the Corleone family by painting them as honorable men who have their limits and are just trying to make their way in the world. I guess I can see a bit of logic in that, but even then one really needs to pay more attention. Vito Corleone is clearly conflicted, even though he says “I work my whole life, I don’t apologize, to take care of my family. And I refused to be a fool dancing on the strings held by all of those big shots. That’s my life, I don’t apologize for that.” We learn later on in Part 2 of the trilogy of Vito’s humble beginnings in Sicily, his arrival in America, and how he first got involved in La Famiglia. But he wanted more for his family…especially youngest son Michael. And the entire trilogy itself is in large part about the fall of Michael Corleone and his struggle to become “legitimate”. Far from glamourizing anything, The Godfather is a melancholy tale of bad choices, wrong turns, and flawed logic mixed with good intentions. However, it is just so well written and well-acted that somehow it ends up being an enthralling entertainment experience rather than a depressing one, like Leaving Las Vegas or anything starring David Arquette.

 

Even the supporting characters in The Godfather are a rich tapestry woven into the story in such a way that they are far from excessive. There’s Diane Keaton as Michael’s girlfriend/wife Kay, bitter film director Jack Woltz who wakes up with a shocking bedfellow, caporegimes Clemenza and Tessio (played by Abe Vigoda), Vegas impresario Moe Greene (a character based on real life gangster Bugsy Siegel), crooner Johnny Fontane (widely assumed to be based on Frank Sinatra), “Turk” Solozzo the drug dealer who begins the war between the families, infamous Corleone enforcer Luca Brasi, and Connie’s husband Carlo who is famously beaten to a pulp by Sonny and later eliminated on Michael’s orders. I could go on & on. No wonder it took Coppola nearly 3 hours to fit it all in. Oddly enough though, few people complain about the extensive length of the film. I suppose folks only do that when it’s not a very good movie.

 

Everything about The Godfather is nearly flawless. The music is minimal but vital. The cinematography is masterful. The acting…especially when one considers that Pacino & Keaton were complete unknowns, Duval & Caan were only slightly more experienced, and the studio wanted Danny Thomas instead of Marlon Brando…is superb. Coppola has a real eye for talent. There are so many scenes that are nothing short of legendary – The Baptism…the death of Sonny Corleone…the beating of Carlo by Sonny…”Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes”…Michael’s assassination of Solozzo & McCluskey…the horse’s head. There aren’t that many memorable scenes in the average lot of 10 movies nowadays, let alone just one. My own personal favorite is the hospital scene where Michael’s quick thinking saves his wounded father from being finished off and the prodigal son softly whispers to his father “I’m with you now”. It marks the turning point and the beginning of the ascent…or descent, depending on one’s perspective…of Michael Corleone.

 

There are actual management and philosophy courses taught at universities based on The Godfather. It is well known as a great source of wisdom for all types of life situations. “It’s not personal, just business.” “Never take sides against the family.” “Leave the gun, take the cannoli.” “Never let anyone outside the family know what you are thinking.” “Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.” “Women and children can be careless, but not men.” “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.” “Gambling…they consider a harmless vice. But drugs, that’s a dirty business.” “I have a sentimental weakness for my children and I spoil them. They talk when they should listen.” “In Sicily, women are more dangerous than shotguns.” “My father is no different than any powerful man, any man with power, like a president or senator. – Do you know how naive you sound, Michael? Presidents and senators don’t have men killed. – Oh. Who’s being naive??.” “I believe in America. America has made my fortune. And I raised my daughter in the American fashion. I gave her freedom but I taught her never to dishonor her family.” “A refusal is not the act of a friend. Certainly he can present a bill for such services; after all… we are not Communists.” “A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.” “A man in my position can’t afford to be made to look ridiculous.” “I don’t like violence. I’m a businessman. Blood is a big expense.” “We don’t discuss business at the dinner table.” Either Puzo or Coppola are geniuses. Maybe both. One thing is for sure though…The Godfather is that rare movie experience during which one can be entertained and educated.

 

I would be remiss if I did not mention that The Godfather is based on a book of the same name, the author being the aforementioned Mario Puzo. The book actually covers events in both of the first two Godfather films, and even expands on certain storylines such as Johnny Fontane’s career and connection to the Corleone family, Sonny’s sexual exploits, and Fredo’s adventures in Vegas. I very much enjoyed reading the book and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a great novel, but I cannot go so far as to say it is better than the movie. That is not so much an indictment of the book as it is a testament to the immense quality of the movie.

 

So now we come to the end of the journey. I hope my readers have enjoyed the trek through these 100 films and may even check out some that they haven’t had the pleasure of seeing. We all have our own trials to bear in life, and we cannot always escape from the real world. But every once in awhile I believe it necessary to temporarily get away from our daily aggravations and hardships. Whether it is a good book, a long hike, good music, or an entertaining movie, we need those little mini-vacations from stress & discord. These 100 movies always provide me with that much needed respite, and I hope a good portion of them may have made your lives a bit easier on occasion as well.

 

 

 

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