The Godfather Part 1 (45th Anniversary) / Le Parrain Partie 1 (45ieme Anniversaire) (Languages: English & French / Subtitles: English/ French/ Spanish & Portuguese) [Blu-ray]

Generally acknowledged as a bona fide classic/ this Francis Ford Coppola film is one of those rare experiences that feels perfectly right from beginning to end--almost as if everyone involved had been born to participate in it. Based on Mario Puzo's bestselling novel about a Mafia dynasty/ Coppola's Godfather extracted and enhanced the most universal themes of immigrant experience in America: the plotting-out of hopes and dreams for one's successors/ the raising of children to carry on the good work/ etc. In the midst of generational strife during the Vietnam years/ the film somehow struck a chord with a nation fascinated by the metamorphosis of a rebellious son (Al Pacino) into the keeper of his father's dream. Marlon Brando played against Puzo's own conception of patriarch Vito Corleone/ and time has certainly proven the actor correct. The rest of the cast/ particularly James Caan/ John Cazale/ and Robert Duvall as the rest of Vito's male brood--all coping with how to take the mantle of responsibility from their father--is seamless and wonderful. --Tom Keogh --This text refers to the Blu-ray edition.