Two weddings and a funeral. And a baptism.

Why did I watch it?

It’s another frequent fixture in those ‘greatest films of all times’ list I hadn’t seen.

Did it meet expectations?

Well there were horses heads in people’s beds.

There are the expectations that go with ‘cinema classic’ and then there are the expectations that go with how much can you enjoy a film where the protagonists are all amoral hoodlums. My experience fell somewhere in between – it’s an impressive piece of film making, with classy performances from Marlon Brando and a very youthful Al Pacino – but the most engaged I felt was during the Sicily interlude where there was some jolly nice scenery.

Mia Farrow’s accidental straying into mafia life is an interesting story line that seems to have potential beyond that realised in the movie. I liked the movie enough to plan to give the sequel a go, so we shall see…

You should watch it if…

• It makes you an offer you can’t refuse.

You shouldn’t watch it if…

• You are unable to kindle an interest in the familial engagements of a bunch of narcissistic psychopaths

Next up: Sin City (2005)