I confess, I've never liked this movie as much as I want to, or feel I "should." I can see all the reasons people love it, I can recognize its qualities, and for some reason it's never really worked for me. I can't put my finger on it. I've seen it twice, I think, in an actual theater in an effort to right this wrong.

I think the acting is fantastic. I love the golden glow of the cinematography. I like the story of a young man's gradual corruption. I can see where the making of it is explicitly *not* meant to glorify mob violence. And yet... somehow, my feelings while watching it don't do that. I can't get into Michael's headspace, though I think he's so close to a character I could really, really get into--his decline just doesn't ring for me. And when I watch it, the violence still feels like glorification. Intellectually, I know it isn't. But I don't feel it.

So I feel very disconnected from this film, all the more so because it is such a favorite (it's #2 on this list now, whereas the first time it was made it was behind Casablanca). It's one of the great American epics and I just can't feel it, no matter how many times I watch it.

I look forward to other thoughts, so I can learn about how other people see it, and I think it, and peoples' reactions, are really interesting. I just wish I felt more about it.