Sympathy For The Godfather

Garnering Sympathy for Criminal Characters
Today, most individuals are used to the modern Ratings system and enjoy very little censorship in movies. However, it did not always used to be this way. Starting in the 1930's, movies were required to follow a strict set of rules and morals called the Motion Picture Production Code. When the Production Code was abandoned in the 1970's, directors gained more freedom than ever when making movies ("Hollywood Censored: The Production Code."). One film that came during this time is The Godfather, based on the novel by Mario Puzo, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, and Diane Keaton. The Godfather tells the story of a family involved in the mafia. The head of the family, Don Vito Corleone, is known as "Godfather." Throughout the film, the audience sees a mob war being fought between the
One example of this is when Michael kills Sollozzo and the police captain in order to get revenge for the attempted assassination of his father (The Godfather). Although Michael murdered them, it is hard for the audience to feel anything but sympathy for him because he did it out of his love for his father. Another example from the film is when Connie, Don Vito's daughter, is abused by her husband, Carlo. Sonny beats Carlo and threatens to kill him if he touches Connie again (The Godfather). When it happens again, "Sonny is incensed and leaves to get revenge on Carlo - the 'Sonofabitch,' but he blunders into a trap that costs him his life" ("The Godfather (1972)."). On his way to make sure Carlo pays for what he did, Sonny is assassinated by a rival. Although Sonny was involved in criminal business, the audience feels nothing but sympathy for him because he was killed trying to protect his