The Only 10 Movies That Are About As Good as 'The Godfather'

These Are the Only 10 Movies That Are About As Good as 'The Godfather' Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone in The GodfatherImage via Paramount Pictures By  Jeremy Urquhart Published 1 minute ago Jeremy has more than 2100 published articles on Collider to his name, and has been writing for the site since February 2022. He's an omnivore when it comes to his movie-watching diet, so will gladly watch and write about almost anything, from old Godzilla films to gangster flicks to samurai movies to classic musicals to the French New Wave to the MCU... well, maybe not the Disney+ shows. His favorite directors include Martin Scorsese, Sergio Leone, Akira Kurosawa, Quentin Tarantino, Werner Herzog, John Woo, Bob Fosse, Fritz Lang, Guillermo del Toro, and Yoji Yamada. He's also very proud of the fact that he's seen every single Nicolas Cage movie released before 2022, even though doing so often felt like a tremendous waste of time. He's plagued by the question of whether or not The Room is genuinely terrible or some kind of accidental masterpiece, and has been for more than 12 years (and a similar number of viewings). When he's not writing lists - and the occasional feature article - for Collider, he also likes to upload film reviews to his Letterboxd profile (username: Jeremy Urquhart) and Instagram account. He is also currently in the process of trying to become a Stephen King expert by reading all 2397 novels written by the author.  Sign in to your Collider account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

The Godfather is one of those easy titles you can turn to if you're put on the spot, and someone’s like, “Quick, what’s the best movie of all time?” You can tell them it came out in 1972, was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and had a remarkable cast that included Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan, and Diane Keaton. Or, you can try and think of something else.

It’s a ridiculous situation to be in, and also, maybe the idea of calling any movie the best of all time (calling a movie your personal favorite is different) is a bit ridiculous itself. But if The Godfather was as good as it gets, then these movies all come close, and… well, maybe it’s just an excuse to talk about a handful of cinematic masterpieces, all as essential – or close enough to it – as that previously rambled about 1972 classic.

10 'Apocalypse Now' (1979)

Martin Sheen as Capt. Benjamin L. Willard, with only his head sticking out of a pond with mud on his face in Apocalypse NowImage via United Artists

After The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola went on to have a pretty great 1970s, at least if you judge the decade by the quality of the films he put out. His final film of the decade, Apocalypse Now, was apparently far from pretty great to actually make, but the film was completed and ended up being an absolute masterpiece, and perhaps the gold standard for epics about the Vietnam War, too.

That conflict is a backdrop throughout the film, and important for much of it, but there’s a further/deeper exploration of human nature and the psychological toll of warfare more generally that ends up being especially affecting here. Apocalypse Now is uniquely nightmarish and unlike anything else, even though plenty of other war movies have themselves been intense and frightening. It’s just that none have been intense and frightening in quite this way, nor on such a scale.

9 '12 Angry Men' (1957)

Image via United Artists

You'll never guess how many men there are in 12 Angry Men, nor their disposition. Turns out they're confined to a jury room for the whole movie on account of being jury members who've just sat through a murder trial. At the outset, 11 want to return a guilty verdict for the accused, but the one remaining man (hell, call him the least angry of the bunch, maybe) holds out, and starts to explain why he has doubts.

Laying out just what goes down here might make 12 Angry Men sound a bit dull, but it’s genuinely riveting, and an all-timer of a drama film.

And reasonable doubt is something that can get someone acquitted, so the discussion ends up being one that will decide the fate of a young man who’s been on trial for one of the most serious crimes an individual can commit. Laying it out like that might make 12 Angry Men sound a bit dull, but it’s genuinely riveting, and an all-timer of a drama that does so much with – at least seemingly – so little.

8 'The Shawshank Redemption' (1994)

Morgan Freeman as Red sitting in the courtyard and looking to the side in The Shawshank Redemption.Image via Columbia Pictures

To break it down to its bare essentials, The Shawshank Redemption is a movie about not giving up hope, even when everything is entirely unfair and it feels like the world’s out to get you. It’s about a prisoner at a high-security facility making friends (and some enemies) with the other prisoners there, all of whom have differing outlooks on life and various regrets about what they did pre-prison.

But the main character maintains his innocence and seems similarly determined to get out, whether that’s through the judicial system or, if need be, a good old prison escape. The Shawshank Redemption was adapted from a Stephen King story (one of his non-horror ones), and is easily one of the greatest of all King adaptations, and one of three movies that demonstrate Frank Darabont’s skill at adapting the stories by this particular author.

7 'Ikiru' (1952)

Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru (1952) starring Takashi ShimuraImage via Toho

The premise of Ikiru involves a middle-aged man learning that he’s got very little time left to live, and so he reacts with despair before deciding to do something good before he goes. He works as a bureaucrat and, after a life spent in a soul-crushing system that’s set up to delay things as much as possible, he takes a stand and decides to actively help build a playground that’s been long planned and asked for, but constantly pushed back when it comes to the actual construction.

It's a movie that probably sounds small, but it’s the kind of thing you can easily apply to your own life, and Ikiru does undeniably succeed at getting you to think about mortality, legacy, and the idea of a good life. It’s heavy, but it’s also done in a sensitive and honest/open way, standing as easily the most engaging Akira Kurosawa film that doesn’t have anything by way of action, adventure, crime, or thriller elements. It’s just a drama, and one of the all-time great ones.

6 'Cinema Paradiso' (1988)

Image via Titanus

Cinema Paradiso should be placed right at the top of your watchlist if you love movies about movies and still haven’t seen this particular one yet. Much of it plays out like a coming-of-age movie where a boy, without his father, has a mentor in the form of a grumpy old film projectionist, but a friendship slowly develops and, with it, a love of cinema.

The boy grows up, falls in and out of love, and then becomes a filmmaker, but finds himself drawn back to where he grew up, which ends up being an immensely bittersweet experience. The story isn't told in a strictly chronological order, but even saying everything that happens here narratively (rather than touching on many points) still wouldn’t undo the emotional impact of Cinema Paradiso. It’s a romance film, but in a different way from most movies about romance, and it undoubtedly has one of the greatest final scenes of all time.

5 'Casablanca' (1942)

Ilsa and Rick about to kiss in CasablancaImage via Warner Bros.

Speaking of movies that are romantic and bittersweet, here’s Casablanca, which is often seen as one of the best movies of its era, and also stands as one of those Best Picture winners from Oscar history where most people are like, “Yeah, you know, that kinda was the one that deserved it.” It was made while World War II was still ongoing, and World War II is important to the plot, but it’s not necessarily a war movie in a traditional sense.

There’s no real combat, but the war does challenge certain relationships people had or have, and in that sense, it’s a very honest and maybe even relatable look at war on a human/civilian level. Oh, yeah, and Casablanca is also extremely romantic, surprisingly funny when it wants to be, and also quite suspenseful, particularly during its final act. It has it all, and it’s had it all (in other words, it’s basically timeless) for 80+ years now.

4 'Seven Samurai' (1954)

If samurai films are martial arts films, then Seven Samurai is probably the best martial arts film ever made. And if you don’t want to classify it as such, then it’s got to be the best samurai movie ever made. It’s about the number of warriors you'd expect (another 12 Angry Men situation), all of them having to band together to plan a defense of a small town that’s set to be attacked by a group of bandits.

The structure is there and reliable, sure, but also, Seven Samurai was one of the earliest films to show how this kind of structure could work for an epic action movie. It’s one of the most forward-thinking films of its size ever made, and Kurosawa executed it all so flawlessly that Seven Samurai remains exciting and emotional all these decades later. It’s been hyped up a great deal in all that time, admittedly, but it really does live up to its gargantuan reputation.

3 'The Godfather Part II' (1974)

Michael Corleone holds Fredo by the face at a party and stares at him intently in The Godfather Part II, 1974.Image via Paramount Pictures

To return to what Francis Ford Coppola was doing/achieving back in the 1970s, here’s The Godfather Part II, which is the sequel to… well, you know. Actually, it’s mostly a sequel, but some of the best parts of The Godfather Part II also function as a prequel to The Godfather, with Robert De Niro playing the younger version of Vito (Marlon Brando’s character in the first movie), first coming to America and setting up his eventual family empire.

The rest of The Godfather Part II is a good deal bleaker, since Michael makes certain mistakes as the new head of the family, and things collapse slowly but surely. That makes this sequel a more devastating crime film than the already emotionally highly charged original, and though it’s hard to pick which one is better, it’s not difficult to state that, yes, both of the first two Godfather movies are remarkable, if not equally excellent.

2 'Tokyo Story' (1953)

Chieko Higashiyama and Chishû Ryû as Shukichi Hirayama and Tomi Hirayama in Tokyo Story, sitting side by sideImage via Shochiku

If you were to watch Ikiru and Tokyo Story together, as a double feature, you may not ever emotionally recover. The former is bittersweet, but with a surprising amount of bitter, while the latter just evokes absolute despondence. Both came out close to each other, and the two films obviously stand as classics of Japanese cinema, but while you should watch both, you should also watch the pair more than a little spaced out, just for some recovery time.

Getting older and having to think about death plays a role in Tokyo Story, too, but the focus here is on older characters, and much of it has to do with the ways they struggle to connect with their younger (and seemingly always busy) relatives. It’s a family drama that offers a good deal of calm before the storm, but there is a storm, and though it doesn’t rage aggressively, it rages for a while, and continues to rain down upon you even after the movie’s over. Tokyo Story is fantastic and doesn’t really leave you, once watched, which isn't something you can say about a huge number of films, even a good many genuinely solid ones.

1 'Goodfellas' (1990)

Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta and Robert De Niro huddled together in GoodfellasImage via Warner Bros. Pictures

And then to wrap up with a fantastic gangster movie that some might consider comparable to The Godfather, here’s Goodfellas, which was directed by Martin Scorsese and might well be his best movie (which is saying a lot). It feels grittier and maybe more grounded in its look at life in the mob, compared to The Godfather, largely because it spends time on people who are fairly low-ranking members, in the overall scheme of things.

Also, Goodfellas is more stylized and moves at an intentionally meaner pace, giving you very little by way of opportunities to catch your breath. You're thrown into a wild, chaotic, sometimes exciting, and sometimes despairing lifestyle, and the film is visceral enough that you almost feel you're living that for the 2.5 hours it goes for… 2.5 hours that absolutely fly by, of course. The editing here is out of this world good (thanks to frequent Scorsese collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker).

Like Follow Followed Goodfellas R Drama Crime Release Date September 19, 1990 Runtime 145 minutes Director Martin Scorsese Writers Martin Scorsese, Nicholas Pileggi

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• Ray Liotta Henry Hill
• Robert De Niro James Conway

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