The Godfather: Wed 4 Aug. 2.15pm

"Coppola's expert direction, and outstanding performances from Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, lift this story about machirating Mafia men into the epic class, alternation violence and domestic sentiment to keep the ironies flowing."

Sight and Sound.

Covering about a decade from the end of World War II to the mid 1950s, the Mafia is used as a metaphor for America: it conducts business like any major American corporation, but exaggerating the separation of business and personal ethics. Coppola perceives that the same confusion of values is characteristic of a whole generation of Americans. Watch for the sub-theme of sexual bias built into American society - the film constantly emphasises the priority given to the men in the Corleone family.

One of the most brutal and moving chronicles of American life ever designed within the limits of popular entertainment.

Starring: Marlon Brando, AI Pacino, James Caan.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola.