Francis Ford Coppola's epic film The Godfather has been celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, a frightening thought as I can recall queuing up to see it at a Bangkok cinema all those years ago. It was 1972, in the days long before multiplex cinemas emerged in Bangkok, so when a big film came out there would be massive queues at the theatre showing the blockbuster.
There was also an army of annoying ticket touts demanding outrageous prices. By the time you had sweated your way into the cinema you were just thankful to be in the air conditioning. The actual film was almost a bonus.
I've seen The Godfather on TV several times since and it has held up remarkably well. It was amazing what they achieved on a relatively small budget. But with a line-up of actors such as Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, James Caan and Robert Duval, anything was possible. Caan sadly died earlier this month aged 82.
