• Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Lists
    • Yearly Top Tens
    • Trailers
Menu

World of Reel

Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number
Home
Screenshot 2025-07-10 141805.png
Michel Franco Has Already Shot His Next Film, Which He’s Currently Editing
IMG_6789.jpg
Ben Whishaw Joins Alex Garland’s ‘Elden Ring’ — A24’s Most Expensive Movie Ever?
Screenshot 2025-07-10 104202.png
Peter Jackson Says He's Working on Three Scripts: “No, I'm Not Retired"
Screenshot 2025-07-10 094044.png
Dean Cain Says James Gunn’s “Woke” Stance on “Immigrant” Superman is “Going to Hurt” Box-Office
Screenshot 2025-07-10 082600.png
Malik Hassan Sayeed is DP on Luca Guadagnino's ‘Artificial'
Featured
Capture.PNG
Aug 19, 2019
3-Hour ‘Midsommar' Director's Cut Screened in NYC
Aug 19, 2019

This year’s 12th edition of the Scary Movies festival at Film at Lincoln Center premiered Ari Aster’s extended version of “Midsommar” this past Saturday.

Aug 19, 2019

World of Reel

  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Lists
  • More
    • Yearly Top Tens
    • Trailers

Steven Spielberg Calls ‘The Godfather’ The “Greatest American Film Ever Made”

April 29, 2025 Jordan Ruimy

People have talked for ages about the Great American Novel—that one perfect book that captures the heart of the American experience. But when it comes to movies, it’s harder to pin down. Still, every now and then, a film comes along that feels like it touches something essential— one that speaks to the contradictions, and dreams of the American experience.

On Saturday, Steven Spielberg honored Francis Ford Coppola with the 50th AFI Life Achievement Award. He remembered watching an early cut of “Apocalypse Now”—five hours long—alongside other filmmakers. “When the film ended, you asked us to tell you what we saw, how we felt. You invited all of us in, so one by one, we told you where we were lost and where we were found, and I sat there in awe, learning that leaving yourself open and searching was, in fact, your superpower.”

Then Spielberg said something that landed many headlines: “‘The Godfather,’ for me, is the greatest American film ever made […] Francis took what came before and redefined the canon of American film.”

So, what is “The Greatest American Movie”? It’s an impossible question—but also a necessary one. It’s not about naming a favorite. Hollywood’s tried to make it a thousand times—sometimes by accident. Maybe it really is “The Godfather.” If there’s a more American myth than immigration, assimilation, capitalism, and corruption wrapped into one, I haven’t seen it. Coppola didn’t flinch. In his world, the American Dream is bought with blood. We watch Michael Corleone, once a moral center, become a man whose quiet is more terrifying than any act of violence.

Then again, I consider “The Godfather Part II” to be slightly superior to the original because it deepens the narrative by masterfully weaving two parallel storylines: Michael Corleone's descent into cold isolation as he consolidates power, and a young Vito Corleone's rise from immigrant poverty to respected crime boss, brilliantly portrayed by Robert De Niro. This dual timeline structure adds emotional and historical depth, showing how the American Dream is corrupted across generations.

Coppola’s classics would have to contend with Hitchcock‘s “Vertigo,” a masterpiece of psychological depth, innovative storytelling, and profound influence on the art of filmmaking. After all, what is essential cinema without obsession, identity, and illusion?

“Singin’ in the Rain” can be considered a strong contender because it encapsulates the spirit of Hollywood’s Golden Age, celebrates American optimism, and showcases the innovation of the film industry during a pivotal moment in history. While other films may offer deeper dramatic narratives, “Singin’ in the Rain” stands out as a joyful, technically masterful tribute to American filmmaking itself.

Of course, it’s hard not to mention “Citizen Kane.” How could we not? It’s the story of a man who gains everything but loses himself. Sure, it’s about newspapers, but it’s also about the mystery of the human soul. It mirrors a country obsessed with success, but always chasing some deeper meaning. Still, “Kane” keeps you at arm’s length—it’s brilliant, but guarded. It feels like a genius trying to shout down the world.

Then there’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.” No small towns. No speeches. But maybe it’s the Great American Movie just for sheer massive ambition, its leap into the unknown, and its reverence for the mystery of being alive. It doesn’t try to explain everything—it becomes the mystery. ‘2001’ blew past genre and touched something spiritual.

John Ford “The Searchers,” one of the greatest films ever made, encapsulates many of the themes central to the American experience: the frontier, racial tension, the quest for identity, and the uneasy transition from wilderness to civilization. Its influence on American cinema is profound, shaping the Western genre and inspiring filmmakers like Scorsese and Spielberg.

But then again, the Great American Movie doesn’t have to be epic. What about “Do the Right Thing”? One block in Brooklyn becomes the whole country—history, heat, race, anger, and fragile humanity. It ends in fire, not for show, but because it has to. You can also add into the equation a handful of 21st-century masterworks such as “Tree of Life,” “Mulholland Drive,” and “There Will Be Blood.

Then again, in 2025, it might be impossible to pin down "the great American movie" because of how vast, diverse, culturally wide-ranging each era has been; American cinema has evolved over the decades, from Westerns and noir to modern blockbusters and indie films, What resonates as deeply to one audience might feel exclusionary or irrelevant to another.

← ‘The Smashing Machine' Trailer ...Terrence Howard Refused to Play Marvin Gaye Over Gay Kiss: “I Would Cut My Lips Off” →

FOLLOW US!


Trending

Featured
Screenshot 2025-06-27 103702.png
‘Parasite' Tops NYT’s 100 Best Films of the 21st Century Poll [Updated]
Screenshot 2025-06-27 133955.png
James Cameron Calls ‘Oppenheimer’ a “Moral Cop-Out” for Not Showing Japanese Bombing Aftermath
Screenshot 2025-06-27 130059.png
‘Jane': Alfonso Cuarón's Philip K. Dick Biopic is Still Happening
Screenshot 2025-06-27 092658.png
Denis Villeneuve Will Only Direct One Bond Film, Without Final Cut
IMG_6364.jpg
Warner Bros. High on Michael Mann’s ‘Heat 2’ Script, Casting Officially Underway

Critics Polls

Featured
Capture.PNG
Critics Poll: ‘Vertigo’ Named Best Film of the 1950s, Over 120 Participants
B16BAC21-5652-44F6-9E83-A1A5C5DF61D7.jpeg
Critics Poll: Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ Tops Our 1960s Critics Poll
Capture.PNG
Critics Poll: ‘The Godfather’ Named Best Movie of the 1970s
public.jpeg
Critics Poll: ‘Do the Right Thing' Named Best Movie of the 1980s
Critics Poll: ‘Mulholland Drive' Named Best Film of the 2000s
g4.jpg
Critics' Poll: ‘Goodfellas' Named Best Movie of the 1990s
Critics Poll: ‘Mad Max: Fury Road' Named Best Movie of the 2010s
World of Reel tagline.PNG
 

Content

Contribute

Hire me

 

Support

Advertise

Donate

 

About

Team

Contact

Privacy Policy

Site designed by Jordan Ruimy © 2023