The Godfather is one of the greatest American films of all time, and in many ways it represents the best of the New Hollywood movement that flourished roughly from the 1960′s into the early 1980′s. The film included all of the greed, violence and lust for power that earlier films like Little Caesar (1931) and Scarface (1932) had established as defining tropes in the gangster genre. But director Francis Ford Coppola expanded his movie’s themes to tell the story of a family and — ultimately — of America itself. Over the course of his Godfather Trilogy the story of Corleone family is one of love and loyalty as well as brutality and vengeance. Coppola’s original movie turns 45 this year. Celebrating half a century of The Godfather here’s a deep dive documentary about the making of the trilogy…

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Little Big Man, The Godfather, The Exorcist, Taxi Driver, Scanners, Amadeus — the makeup and practical effects of master artist Dick Smith have made some of American cinema’s scenes, characters and stories come to life with thrilling realism and to chilling affect. Smith started out in TV, but his work in film literally created modern make-up as we know it.

I had Smith’s monster makeup kit when I was a kid and the man gave me a lifelong passion for movie monsters and the craft behind their becoming. Continuing our spooky October posts, here’s a neat little interview with Smith, discussing his storied career and sharing the secrets behind his most memorable monsters and characters.

We lost Smith earlier this year, but his movies will live forever…

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Marlon Brando may have been the best American actor ever. He was a star of the stage before becoming a cinema idol, bridging a career between the two with his performance as Stanley Kowalski in both the Broadway production and the Warner Brothers film of A Streetcar Named Desire — both directed by Elia Kazan.

The actor was famously cantankerous and contradictory, becoming as well-known for his seeming-laziness and infamous pranks as he was for his unforgettable performances in films like The Godfather, Last Tango in Paris and Apocalypse Now.

While he was often flippant about Hollywood and his enormous dramatic gifts, Brando was an energetic civil rights activist, lending his fame, influence and voice to the Black Panthers and the American Indian Movement, and making films like A Dry White Season which addressed Apartheid in South Africa.

This is our tenth year without the star who died in 2004. During the 1970′s, Brando made some of his most important films — he also died in nearly all of them. Check out this reel of his best final scenes from this important era…

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