I am a serial hater through and through. No matter how big the hype is (“Game Of Thrones”), how long (“Supernatural”) or short (“Chernobyl”) a series is: compared to movies, I rarely get carried away by an extra large investment of time. Because when I start a series, I want to finish it. And then the whole enterprise quickly eats up a lot, a lot of time, which I could have spent on a lot of different movies. To dare to take this step, you need the famous spark that jumps over. The only aspect that arouses such great curiosity in me that I can only satisfy in one way: by watching the series.
When one of my favorite directors is working on a series (“Gangs Of London”) or one of my fondest childhood cinematic memories is being reborn (“Cobra Kai”), I have no choice but to give it a shot. Or when it comes to making a classic that is celebrated by many cinematographers as the greatest film of all time – as in “The Offer”.
“The Offer” shows the totally crazy origin story of “The godfather“ and how, against all odds, the mob epic came about in the first place and eventually became the mega hit that saved Paramount from bankruptcy. After the format started on Paramount+ in the US in April 2022, in Germany we had to wait until December and the corresponding launch of the streaming platform here. Finally Now it’s finally here, “The Offer” is finally (!) also available in Germany.
» “The Offering” at Paramount+ on Amazon Prime Video*
“The Offer” can be seen exclusively on Paramount’s internal streaming platform – although that’s only partially true. Because you can also watch the series via Amazon Prime Video, where Paramount+ is available as a channel. You can either test it completely free for seven days and then simply cancel again or you can book it for 7.99 euros/month (the subscription can be canceled monthly).
» Paramount+ on Amazon Prime Video*
From experience I can say: based on the addiction potential, a week can be enough to get through with “The Offer”. However, it makes sense to catch up on some of the cult classics that are the subject of the series and are also available on Paramount+ – from “Love Story” to “Paper Moon” to “Chinatown”. On the platform you will of course also find “The Godfather”, “The Godfather II” and “The Godfather III”, which are also currently available on Prime Video – the latter even in the version “The Godfather, Epilogue: The Death of Michaël Corleone “.
“The offer”: cinema meets mafia
Series creator Michael Tolkin tells the incredible but true story of “The Godfather” – and how Mario Puzo’s best-selling novel became not only one of the biggest hits of a Hollywood era, but also one of the most famous films in the history.
» The novel “The Godfather” by Mario Puzo on Amazon*
The Paramount Studios led by Robert Evans (Matthew Goode) secure the rights to the film adaptation, but when no one suspects the problems the project would bring. That’s what Albert S. Ruddy (Miles Teller) has to take care of, whose area of responsibility soon extends beyond that of a normal producer. He not only hires Francis Ford Coppola (Dan Fogler) as a director and arranges movie permits and acting contracts, but also meddles with the unscrupulous mafioso Joe Colombo (Giovanni Ribisi) and the Italian-American population. And Colombo has a clear goal in mind: to prevent The Godfather from ever being filmed and his kind being dragged through the mud.
A true story …
… narrates “The Offer” – based on the experiences of Albert S. Ruddy. And therein lies pretty much the only catch the “Godfather” making-of series has in store for me. It sometimes feels stronger, sometimes less, as if a kind of veil of self-worship hangs over “The Offer”. Then we see the story through the eyes of Albert S. Ruddy – and he was the producer not only of “The Godfather” but also of “The Offer”.
In any case, I was able to handle it much better than expected. On the one hand, most true stories that end up in the cinema are based on the stories and memories of individual people – which are dramatized and exaggerated in the film adaptation. On the other hand, it is just an incredible joy to immerse yourself in the Hollywood world of the early 70s.
“The Offer” is great fun and an absolute must for movie fans
Have you always wanted to know which actors from “The Godfather” also roamed the world of gangsters in real life – and which scenes in the cinema milestone were not played at all, but are deadly serious? Then there is no escaping “The Offer” (or the making-of book “Leave The Gun, Take The Cannoli”*). Here you will not only find a lot of exciting background information about what is considered by many to be the “greatest movie of all time”, but you will also learn a lot about the dream factory and how the Hollywood machinery of the past worked.
With “The Offer” you get a film-historical nerd festival and at the same time intensive gangster cinema. Because, as mentioned, the series is not just about a typical career from book bestseller to blockbuster. Because the New York underworld got involved in the Hollywood project and eventually even had a say in whether and in what form “The Godfather” can be realized at all (did you notice that the word “Mafia” in the film does not happen not once? ), “The Offer” itself is gangster cinema to some extent. And as such, as gripping as it is entertaining.
“The Offer” is as entertaining as a (movie) history lesson can be, which is due in no small part to the staging of Dexter Fletcher and Co. The producer of “Bohemian Rhapsody” and director of “Eddie The Eagle” and “Rocketman” has proven himself a master at recreating the past with incredible ease. His supposedly dry, sometimes even melancholy history lessons turn into entertaining, charming time travel that gets under your skin at the right moments, but is above all a lot of fun. The same applies to the offer.
The cast, who are in a good mood and almost without exception fit their iconic roles perfectly, have a large share in the high fun factor. Led by Miles Teller, who hasn’t had to prove anything to anyone since “Whiplash” anyway and who also led one of the cinema highlights of the year in 2022 (“Top Gun: Maverick”), about “Fantastic Beasts” star Dan Fogler, who undoubtedly has the perfect cast for the role of directorial legend Francis Ford Coppola, right down to Giovanni Ribisi (“Avatar 1+2”), who is so upset in the role of the bloated Italo gangster with balding hair, the first-class cast, up to and including the supporting roles, Ensemble manages to convince almost across the board.
Only Justin Chambers as Marlon Brando comes across as a bit strange here and there, although he admittedly had the most difficult job of all.
The secret stars of “The Offer” are undoubtedly Matthew Goode and Juno Temple. Goode stars as Paramount boss Robert Evans, taking over virtually every scene where the coke hitmaker’s genius with the right nose for a good story emerges. And Juno Temple you take the tough and humble assistant through and through anyway – like a rock in Ruddy’s branding, without whom he probably would have lost the “godfather” several times forever, you can only take her character to heart anyway.