The Godfather

The Godfather is considered by many to be a classic and one of the greatest movies of all time.  While there are a few classics that I personally have a hard time enjoying, the Godfather was not one of them.  I have heard more about this movie than almost any other and naturally I went in with high expectations.  Amazingly I was not disappointed.  To me the best thing about the Godfather was that it focused on developing a good well though out and detailed plot and characters rather than focusing on large special effect filled battle scenes like many modern movies tend to do.  I enjoyed both gladiator and brave heart but both of them used more than their fair share of action and special effects, unlike the Godfather. 
One of the coolest parts of the movie was that it was told from inside the family rather than by a bystander or other character. Remarkably it is still possible to relate to some of the characters as they are portrayed as much more than simple criminals.  In fact, the criminal aspect of Vito Corleone is merely a small piece of his character and his primary concern is for his family. 
While Vito himself may not be the most honest or moral people in the world he is the lesser of two evils when pitted against the other heads of the mafia.  While there is no doubt that he was not a great person I could not help but feel sad when he died.  As I stated before when I think of Vito I think of him more as a caring father or grandfather and as the "Godfather" only as a secondary role.  While I do think he was in a sense almost "evil" I do not think that the world was better without him.  I think the world would be better without the mafia but I think that Vito himself would only be replaced by someone more ruthless and cold. 
Despite being criminals the Corleones were a very close and devoted family which is an honarable quality and something less common today.
All in all I do think that the Godfather deserves its spot as a classic and has definitely made my top 10 movies of all time, probably even my top 5.