Either-Or: Godfather vs. Scarface
Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 10:00 am
They're not comparable films. You might as well compare Rashomon with Kill Bill.
I enjoy Scarface more. Over the top? Of course it's over the top! It is intentional.
The bath scene where Pacino espouses his views on capitalism and pelicans (or is it flamingoes?) is hilarious. And, to be frank, I prefer the ostentatious simplicity of Scarface's immigrant violent rise to wealth and descent into decadence than the dubious values that The Godfather hints at with the nostalgia around Brando. (Coppola did seem himself as Michael, after all - he felt he was selling out by making the film. The ending, which is great, seems to affirm this.)
I still love The Godfather, I just don't feel a need to denigrate the trashier film to bolster my appreciation.
On the dubious values thing (they're criminals, extortionists and murders, but at least they have code, so it's sort of ok...).The Godfather Part II is one of my all-time favourites. It loses the sentimentality that the first one occasionally fell into.
I enjoy Scarface more. Over the top? Of course it's over the top! It is intentional.
The bath scene where Pacino espouses his views on capitalism and pelicans (or is it flamingoes?) is hilarious. And, to be frank, I prefer the ostentatious simplicity of Scarface's immigrant violent rise to wealth and descent into decadence than the dubious values that The Godfather hints at with the nostalgia around Brando. (Coppola did seem himself as Michael, after all - he felt he was selling out by making the film. The ending, which is great, seems to affirm this.)
I still love The Godfather, I just don't feel a need to denigrate the trashier film to bolster my appreciation.
On the dubious values thing (they're criminals, extortionists and murders, but at least they have code, so it's sort of ok...).The Godfather Part II is one of my all-time favourites. It loses the sentimentality that the first one occasionally fell into.