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This is the easy bracket side, my finalists are both in the other bracket. A film that has diminished with each viewing recently vs The Godfather.
As I click on the movie I vote for, I can't help but see Diane Keaton's heartbroken face watching the door close on her in those final moments of The Godfather. She understands the world she knows will be obliterated by the reigning king of this tournament of pop culture carnage.
Sadly for my vote, the door doesn't just close on Diane Keaton...but Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, James Caan and everyone else in the family.
I'm not interested in saying either is better than the other. Both contenders are brilliant in their own ways but I have to send my vote into seemingly infinite stargate with Dave. I love the Godfather and understand the respect it commands and deserves....my vote goes to the science fiction film that raises more questions than it answers. I close the door on the heartbroken Diane Keaton and turn around to face the monolith.
I want no inquiries made. I want no acts of vengeance. I want you to arrange a meeting with the heads of the Five Families. This war stops now.
Does anyone else think it fitting that we have four decades of American cinema represented in the final four? Space Odyssey in 1968, The Godfather in 1972, Empire Strikes Back in 1980, and Pulp Fiction in 1994. The film history nerd in me can imagine these framing a syllabus. Up to the challenge, Adam?
Both amazing movies. Let's look at the last fifteen minutes of each. In one, Michael is assuming the official title of Godfather in a private catholic service while his army performs a synchronized attack on all the competition, one of the most searing sequences in all of film history. In the other, an ancient man is eating soup, alone in a sparsely furnished bedroom. Tight matchup, but The Godfather's strong finish turns it it into a laugher.
Let's compare the two. One is the story of an all controlling, intimidating monster who wants to be respected in society. The other is The Godfather. The are both works of art but while I respect 2001, The Godfather is fresh to me every time I see it. Unlike Kubrick's masterpiece, The Godfather has a heart and a brain. It deserves to go all the way.
The Godfather wins this matchup in a triple overtime squeaker. Like Kubrick's 2001, The Godfather also examines the dawn of an age. But Coppola's focus is narrower...the aggressive rise of post-war American capitalism, the driven nature of its architects and their ambition to do better than the generation before (forgoing lawfulness, trust and humanity in the bargain). In that sense, it's a very relatable film whose lessons echo through the second half of the century, even to this very day. Jim Pallini Bethpage, NY
Let's not kid ourselves - this match-up determines the winner of the whole tournament. Let Michael Corleone be known not only as the head of the Mafia, but also the Filmspotting Madness champion.
This last year, I just saw 2001 on a huge screen. What an amazing experience, of a film that keeps getting better each time I watch it. I am so happy to see this film achieve final four status in Filmspotting Madness.
However, among the "greats" 2001 lacks in humanity, in power. As powerful as the waltz of space scene or the revelation of the Star Child scene are, they pale compared to the opening wedding of the Godfather, from the opening shot. I can't think of a better scene that introduces us to the main characters, society and structure that the rest of the series lives in. The cinematography and greetings are so warm, and intimate, but there is another level of menace. While I can see myself voting against The Godfather, not in opposition to the comparatively cold and measured 2001.
Kubrick's 2001 is the godfather to all modern sci-fi movies. Coppola's The Godfather has probably spawn no less than 2001 imitators. Let's call it a tie for cultural influence. My decision comes down to evaluating form vs. content. 2001 is a braver example of re-inventing the form than The Godfather is at being a masterclass in content. Sorry Corleone, but if I have my way, you'll be waking up next to an ape's head.
Although, admittedly, two of cinema's biggest hitters and greatest achievements, I still can't believe The Big Lebowski was ejected so early. My inner child tells me I don't like this game anymore. Filmspotting madness is a cruel mistress.
The last commenty was by me, forgot my name and location: Michael from Kiel, Germany
It's impossible to argue that one of these films is objectively better than the other. But gladly Filmspotting Madness is not about objectivity. My gut just tells me that I like 2001 better and so I voted this way. But it's also the smarter choice considering that the winner of Filmspotting Madness will be the only film that we can ever watch again. In my opinion The Godfather is a brilliant movie but it is not endlessly rewatchable. 2001 on the other hand is a film I could watch 1,000 times and still wouldn't understand what happens in the last fifteen minutes.
Why does everyone love gangster films so much? If the rest of the world had not constantly tried to remind me that The Godfather is the greatest film ever made, I would never have reached such a conclusion on my own. Heresy? Perhaps. I don't need the last surviving film to tell me a story about guns and gangsters, no matter how solid. I need something that reaches for the inexplicable and fills me with wonder. In other words, I need The Tree of Life. But since my number one film got monstered by a xenomorph, I'm voting for 2001. It's confounding and beautiful, and for all its imperfections it imprints itself upon you as only a great piece of art can. I know Don Corleone has probably already made HAL an offer he can't refuse, but my heart is firmly in space with Also sprach Zarathustra and the acid trip.
Ahh, how fitting that the real "Citizen Kane of movies", the Godfather, goes head-to-head with 2001, the movie that permanently banished that slightly lesser "Citizen Kane of movies", Citizen Kane. I think Filmspotting Madness has scrambled my brain...
I find myself voting for both of the Sci-Fi films for three reasons. In descending from three to one.
3. Escapism – Allow me to quote J.R.R. Tolkien here. “I have claimed that Escape is one of the main functions of fairy-stories, and since I do not disapprove of them, it is plain that I do not accept the tone of scorn or pity with which 'Escape' is now so often used. Why should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?”
2. Science fiction inspires, not just technology, but ways to think and live. Concerning technology, there are dozens if not hundreds of articles and interviews out there where inventors, science, NASA engineers and the like have talked about how they were inspired by science fiction. In the arena of inspiring ways to think and live look at the two sci-fi films left in Filmspotting Madness compared to the non-sci-fi films. 2001 is a deep, thought provoking film about the possibilities humankind has in the future.
The Empire Strikes Back ends with Luke being injured but survives because of the love of his friends Leia, Chewbacca, and the droids. Darth Vader has a shallow victory because tries to do it all on his own. Yes, the film ends with one of the good guys frozen in carbonite, but there is still hope that he too can be rescued. And Luke is able to step away from his father, who has gone down the dark path.
Now let’s look at the two non-sci-fi films in the Final Four. The Godfather ends with Michael being unable to rescue himself from his father’s dark path, in fact one could say that he embraces it. Pulp Fiction glorifies those who have gone down the dark path. Both Godfather and Pulp Fiction only points to future dark outcomes. Neither are inspiring.
1. Science fiction is able to talk about the present without being in the present. Sci-fi films have been about to address racism, public health issues, destruction of natural resources, the effects of war and conflict, and tyrannical governments when those topics were off limits. Science-fiction gives filmmakers and outlet to address sensitive subjects indirectly and yet can cause thought-provoking discussion. 2001 still provokes discussions about the future of humanity. Empire Strikes Back can be seen as a commentary on a political leader that is thirsty for power and control and that is still relevant today.
BLARGH!!
I'm voting for 2001 because of the two it's the one I'm more likely to finish the next day after I fall asleep watching.
Do I vote against The Godfather because it knocked out my all-time favorite movie, or do I vote for it so I can say at least Casablanca was beaten by the best?
I voted for Godfather, refreshed and vored for 2001, then refreshed and voted for 2001 again basically because in an apocolyptic future without movies, the one remaining film should represent the imagination and consideration of a possible future and a mythic past of life here on Earth. The alternative has a pretty small scope. People in the future might think we were all mobsters. ...do we still get books and stuff in this alternate reality? That might change my mind. Maybe I need to refresh again
2001 is my unambiguous number one film of all time, so this one is really easy. I have sometimes wondered if it has faded, but each time I've seen it, it's even better than I remembered. I first saw it in its original run, when I had to have been 8 or 9, and I saw it again in 70mm in the late 90's, plus other times including in a Kubrick film class. I also think that seeing the movie, then reading the book, and then seeing the movie again is a great order to do things.
I am surprised, but obviously very happy that it's gotten this far.
I'm with Chris Moody: these films should be the final, not one of these and... will it really be Empire Strikes Back? Oh, dear.
I have such love and admiration for both of these all-time greats that I almost don't care who wins. Almost. Ultimately, I have to go with The Godfather. Not only is it, in my opinion, the better movie, but if we're going to live in a world with only one movie left, I don't think it should be 2001. If seeing a movie meant that you had no choice but to make peace with Hal and the monolith, I think it would be only a matter of time before you'd lose touch with reality. The Godfather, on the other hand, is as re-watchable as they come.
This is the semi-final that in most universes could be the final.
My only fear is that ESB has such momentum that neither of these films stand a chance against it...
My choice for the overall would have been Godfather Pt2 (beating out Die Hard!). I can rewatch GF/GF2 pretty much anytime, all the time. 2001 is awesome and admirable, but I haven't rewatched it in years. Maybe it's too hard, maybe I'm afraid of it (do I not like it 'enough'?!), but while I admire it, I don't love it. I can't recall moments or scenes like I can with The Godfather.
Leave the gun, take the canoli.
This season of Filmspotting Madness has left me wandering in the desert, cowering at the thought of all my votes being cast aside in a barren wasteland of loneliness... that is, until the final four. In the NCAA bracket, my picks are usually long gone by this time, but three of my four finalists still remain in this tournament, and I am happy to vote against the one film I find most overrated above all others, The Godfather. I know I'm in the minority, but The Godfather's sprawling narrative never seemed to grab me like I guess It's supposed to. On the other hand, 2001 is a transcendent piece of art that I find myself glued to any time I come across it. Stanley Kubrick for the win.