Heady, scalding adaptation of Mario Puzo's bestselling book about Italian Mafia family as seen through many years time. Flawless production design and palpably tense, prickly atmosphere are two of the picture's many riches, and indeed Marlon Brando's performance as the family patriarch is an incredible characterization, though several of the other characters don't always come off and the repellent violence is occasionally presented in a ham-fisted manner (with too much wicked glee behind the bloodshed). Francis Ford Coppola directed the proceedings like someone who has lived and breathed this material, and he doesn't allow his love for movie-making magic to cloud the realism of this family's dark dealings, but he perhaps allowed the cast too much free reign and some sequences tend to ramble. Won Oscars for Brando as Best Actor (he refused it), Coppola and Mario Puzo for their adapted screenplay and for Best Picture. Followed by two Coppola-directed sequels in 1974 and 1990. *** from ****