Defiance

1.  I really liked how the setting really made this movie feel real.  During most of the movie the setting was in the forest and it gave the movie a mood of secrecy and isolation.  The winter scenes that were shown made me want to get a blanket or stand near a fireplace because the characters looked like they were freezing to death.  I find it amazing the the Bielski brothers managed to take in all these Jewish refugees and were able to create a small community hidden in the woods.  I've never seen a WWII movie that ever showed Jewish people fighting against the Germans.  I never knew before that there was some kind of organized Jewish resistance force.  These Jews that followed the leadership of the Bielski brothers were Jews that wanted to be free and fight for that freedom.  These Jews would rather die in fighting against the Germans than being executed at a concentration camp.

2.  When Tuvia tells his followers that "our revenge is to live" he is implying that revenge can not be achieved through killing the Germans because it can not bring their lost family members back.  Tuvia says that if they survive it will bring shame upon the Nazis and gratitude to their own people. I believe that Humanity and Revenge can coexist, its just the way that revenge is carried out by those revenging.  Revenge is an act of humanity because at some point in our lives all of us feel the need to have revenge for something.  Revenge is part of humanity because it is felt by everyone who has lost something due to someone else.  In the film, the Bielski group captured a Nazi soldier and they took the soldier and beat him to death.  The Bielski Jews were saying, "this is for my parents", Or "this is for my husband", when they were beating the soldier to his death.  This is an example of how revenge is part of humanity in the movie.            

Godfather

1.  I thought that the Godfather was an excellent representation of early organized crime in the 1950s.  I actually liked how it started out in the beginning when Vito's daughter was getting married.  I like how the men talked business during formal events such as weddings and dinners in the movie.  Vito Corleone could grant his friends wishes because he had so many connections in New York.  If anybody failed or betrayed one of the families then they would be punished.  I learned through this movie that the business side of things have to be separate from personal things.  In the Godfather, both of those aspects got in the way of each other and created violence and hatred.

2.  Vito Corleone is the "moral" center of the story because he is the head of the Corleone family that makes everything fall into place for the family.  He is the one who had organized connections with police and judicial people behind his scheme.  He made things possible for his family.  I thought the way he died was unfortunate; it would have been better if he just died when he got shot.  I guess in the grand scheme of things, the death of Vito would make the world a better place but I believe it does not.  Vito desperately wanted to keep narcotics out of organized crime but other families thought it was an opportunity for bigger money.  Vito claimed that the reason for all this violence was the involvement of narcotics in the business.

3.  The main thing that is different from a "closed world" perspective is the relationships within the family and business partners.  Also, the connections that the families had with police and judicial officials was very clear.  From my perspective the movie isn't really a classic for me because I did not live during that time when organized crime was at its peak.  I might have a different opinion if I experienced hearing things on the news about organized crime and just being exposed to it from the "outside" world.