50 Greatest Movie Scenes Ever
6. Baptism - The Godfather
There are so many scenes from The Godfather Parts I and II that could be considered cinema’s greatest, but undoubtedly the series’ most pivotal one occurs towards the end of the first film, as Michael Corleone attends the baptism of his sister Connie’s baby.
By this point, Michael’s journey was almost complete. His father, Don Vito, had passed away, and he’d already begun to assume control of the family business. It is in this moment, however, where Michael’s transformation crystallises, as he commands the Corleone Capos to eliminate New York’s Five Families, as well as a rather unfortunate Moe Greene, who dies on the masseuse table in the Vegas strip.
It’s cold, heartless and ruthless - words no one would’ve used to describe Michael at the start of the picture - but it’s also artful, in a way.
There’s a dissonance at play that really conveys Michael’s transformation too. As he proclaims to renounce Satan in the church, his lieutenants ruthlessly gun down rival after rival - most of them unarmed. There’s a literal quality that also ties it altogether, as Michael becomes Connie’s Godfather, and with it, the head of the Corleone Crime Family.
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