‘The Godfather’ and the reasons why it has not aged 50 years after its premiere

Much has been said and written about ‘The Godfather’ and even so there are still reasons to continue analyzing the film that remains alive in the popular imagination. This has been demonstrated by ‘Ask for it with respect’, a publication by the Peruvian University of Applied Sciences that explores from different angles the film that reformulated the way in which the problems of its time were approached.

In conversation with Infobae, one of the book’s publishers, Cesar Pitahighlighted that it is a publication that is not strictly cinematographic, but rather a “transdisciplinary one that has sought a set of perspectives to understand why 50 years after its premiere there is still talk of a movie how is”. That is why the book has texts by authors of different ages, some who were born along with the film and others who enjoyed its premiere.

César Pita assures that ‘The Godfather’, like all artistic manifestations, is a product of its time and his comes from the days when gangsters hit the big screen in the early 1930s. The criminality generated by the effects of the Dry Law In the US, he looked for a space for denunciation in the cinema, although that did not end up happening when he presented friendly, human and even family characters.

It may interest you: Shooting, tortured children and a growing power: the female side of the mafia

“What ‘The Godfather’ does is a rereading of the gangster genre that changes as a result of the censorship code of the time and becomes more optimistic”. For this reason, at its premiere in 1972, it collected an entourage of followers who even managed to be moved by the members of the family. Corleone. “That is why sometimes people get confused and even feel sorry that Don Vito’s life is being attempted. Look at Michael who goes out of his way for his father and they think he can’t be that bad if he’s a good son. That is the magic of gangster cinema”, adds Pita.

If ‘The Godfather’ managed to turn the way the problems of his time were addressed, one wonders what are the films that do the same today. Despite the great offer in billboard and the extensive discussions that take place on social networks, César Pita views the films that are projected today with suspicion. “We are in a particular period in which it seems that there are questions, but there are not,” he says.

“The information overload that floods the social networks It is the product of a little reflexivity. We prefer to shout before rationalizing. Many times the territory of art becomes an area for shouting and not for displaying ideas. I don’t want to say that yelling is bad, it’s very good if you know who you’re yelling at”, he points out to highlight that although there are memorable and funny films, one wonders what they are questioning.

It may interest you: Al Pacino on “The Godfather”: “It has taken me a lifetime to accept it and move on”

When asking whether César Pita finds in Peruvian cinema a film that works with as much delicacy in its script, production and editing as ‘The Godfather’ did, he points out that in recent years our movie theaters have screened great Peruvian films. However, “the great problem of national cinema has been the lack of an audience and a particular circuit that allows building an audience.”

‘The Godfather’ is the origin of various debates and studies. ‘Ask for it with respect’ will surely not be the last product of this film; however, the crucial thing will be to feed a discussion that allows raising the quality of products that reach the screens.

‘Ask for it with respect’ will be presented on Friday, November 11 at the UPC in San Isidro. The event will be at 7:00 pm at Avenida Salaverry 2255, San Isidro.

KEEP READING