User reviews

It's hard to even describe how much I enjoyed The Offer. All I know is I wasn't expecting that. It's easily one of the most surprising shows I've ever seem. I'm not saying it the best I've ever seem just surprised by how much I liked it. After reading all the great reviews I thought it would be good but this show is beyond just good. I couldn't get enough. I binged the entire series over a weekend and was sad when it was over. The writing is as good as a tv show gets, the acting is great, and every episode is entertaining enough to hold your attention throughout the series. I'm a huge Godfather fan but you don't have to like or even know anything about it to enjoy this. It's just a little more interesting if you do. If you're looking for a new show to watch or binge then look no further. I promise you won't be disappointed!

I didn't really know what to expect from The Offer. Even though I love The Godfather as much as everyone else, I wasn't all the interested on how the film was made. I was wrong! After reading all the great reviews and seeing the great cast I thought I'd give it a chance. I'm absolutely blown away by how much I like this show. You don't have to be a fan of The Godfather or have even seen it to enjoy this show. It's not the best series I've ever seen but it's still a really good and interesting series. Miles Teller, Giovanni Robison, Matthew Goode and the rest of this fantastic cast all do an amazing job. If you have reservations like I did on how good a show about a a movie getting made can be...don't! I absolutely recommend this show!

Matthew Goode as Bob Evans is some wonderful casting and he has the persona and voice down pat. If you are interested in how movies are made and who the people are behind them you'll find this fascinating. If you aren't, you won't.

This is a show about the making of a movie, but it's so very much more. It's about the people who birthed "The Godfather", and the extreme adversity which hindered the creation of this immortal film. I watched the first 5 episodes in a day.

We follow an amateur producer, Albert Ruddy (Miles Teller), with minimal experience on the Hollywood scene, but he is a force, a powerhouse with a vision. His primary role with Paramount is to make this "mafia" movie that it seems nobody (who was anybody) wants on the screen. There is a lot of pressure from Frank Sinatra, the government, the Italians, and others to halt the making of this film in its tracks. At any given time any or all of these powerful entities are fighting for any hint of this movie to be eradicated from existence - never to be conceived, and promptly to be forgotten. But Mr. Ruddy's persistence and sheer will are what eventually lead to the realization of the greatest, or at least one of the top five greatest films of all time. Miles Teller as an actor proves in this that he is literally capable of anything, and his inexhaustible skills are apparent. Bravo. 10/10. Award-worthy.

The over-indulgent and bloated executives at an ailing Paramount allow Ruddy to assemble what appears to be a bunch of aspiring indigents...novices so to speak; to piece together a fragmented but potentially splendorous film. This is their story.

Ruddy's persistence and focus alone is what brought this dream to fruition, but he needed direction, vision, and inspiration as well. A woman named Bettye McCart (Juno Temple), bulldozes her way into his good graces, and basically takes the assistant position. She senses his brilliance and unequaled drive immediately, and with her own seemingly limitless knowledge of "the biz", she is able to enhance his effectiveness. Ms. Temple gives a stellar performance. 9.0/10

Ruddy meets an alluring woman named Francoise Glazer (Nora Arnezeder), who wishes to share his aspirations, and they quickly fall in love. Kudos to Arnezeder's portrayal of this character, as I found her to be startlingly irresistible. Although her screen time was fairly minimal, her character was quite refined - yet another brilliant performance. 8.7/10

The executives at Paramount, Matthew Goode as Robert Evans, and Burn Gorman as Charles Bluhdorn are the most profound embodiment of uptight intensity that I've witnessed in a number of years. I'm reminded of some of the great Jack Nicholson roles. Gorman has a very bizarre tone unrivaled by most, and I found myself strangely drawn to his antics. 9.7/10. And Evans, the way he shows anger, disgust, and approval all in the same expression - is quite convincing, and fascinating. 9.3/10.

The writer of the novel "The Godfather", Mario Puzo, was also invited to write the screenplay for the movie, because Paramount had a limited budget. Oh how fate smiled upon these circumstances, because Puzo (Patrick Gallo) went on to write one of the greatest screenplays of all time. And Patrick Gallo engineered nothing short of a brilliance. I am amazed at all the great performances in this series, it's totally mind-boggling. 9.2/10

Guess what? There's still more...

Probably my favorite actor in this series is Dan Fogler who portrays Francis Ford Coppola. If Coppola's true nature is similar to what Fogler has illustrated - then I am in love with this man!! What a fascinating and thoroughly compelling director and person Fogler renders for us. The provocative style and essence of Coppola - sheer BRILLIANCE. I feel like I keep repeating that word. The way he fashions The Godfather, primarily sharing a co-vision with Puzo, it's so tangible and full of emotional depth. 10/10. Award-worthy.

Giovanni Ribisi as Joe Colombo (real mafia mob boss), is a very chummy sort of scary guy. You really want to like him, but we are reminded from time to time that he is indeed a real gangster, a true thug. Ribisi captures the essence of being a lovable bad guy. I have the faint impression that he wanted to be Marlon Brando (many similarities to Don Corleone), but was probably informed that it was too small a part. All said - 8.8/10

Colin Hanks as Barry Lapidus (another angry and impatient man) 8.5/10. I am surprised he had one of the very lesser roles in this, being such an accomplished actor himself.

Do you have to love The Godfather to love this show? I don't know, I love the Godfather, so I might be biased. However, my love for The Godfather notwithstanding, this is (and likely will remain) the #1 show of 2022 (for me). I find it difficult to imagine anything will surpass it. Everything is 10/10: writing, directing, pacing, cinematography, acting, dialogue.

Thats all...There is a helleva lot of mediocre shows out there...This ones a gem, even if you aren't a Godfather aficionado this is just one great, incredible and best of all TRUE story. Its very well acted (especially the guy who plays Al Pacino) and I cant stand waiting for a week to catch the next episode (5 so far, 6 tomorrow). A total treat. A great show about making a classic movie, the kind that were made when Hollywood actually cared about its audience.

I got sucked in with The Offer. Incredible sets and definitely period correct. Yes there's some exaggerated performances, and it's bloated as Hell with subplots, and I don't know why, but that's what makes The Offer fun. I'm hooked, flaws and all. I love period pieces, I'm a movie and a Godfather lover from way back.

I know there's some whining, rich painfully out-of-touch with reality Hollywood folks (I've heard it all a million times), name-dropping, and talking about they knew the real people portrayed in this series, saying this not how it happened, blah, blah, blah, and who think they know it all...they're annoying. No one ever said this series was a Ken Burns documentary. Get over yourselves. But for the rest of us who love period pieces, sometimes you just want to time travel for some escapist fun. So take the bad reviews with a grain of salt, because some of these professional movie critics, know the rich people complaining and want to stay in their good graces.

Miles Teller is superb as Al Ruddy and Juno Temple nails per part as his trusted sidekick/secretary/friend/shrink. And though. Giovanni Ribisi is getting dragged for his portrayal of an Italian crime boss, I think he's perfect in that role. And Matthew Goode as Robert Evans is hilarious, and from what I've heard, he's also spot-on. There is no bad casting in The Offer and it harkens back to an era of pure hedonistic pleasure, early 70s fashion and a studio system that had no real vision and The Godfather scared them because it stepped outside of the norm.

This series is done with so much love and reverence for the film that it's impossible not to like if you loved The Godfather, and who doesn't like that movie?

After a single episode, I was all in. It's the perfect mix of great acting, good story, and a fun script. I was dubious about this when I saw the trailer, but my doubts were gone almost from the beginning of episode one. The movie was larger than life, so a series about how the film came to be was definitely worth a shot.

I may come back and change this initial euphoria, but for now, this is one of the best things I've seen in a long while. I mean, come on! It's a series about the making of the most epic gangster movie and one of the best films ever made, and it has gangsters in it. What more could anyone want?

The scenes with Coppola and Mario Puzo are genius. They both make the process of writing look exciting, positively thrilling like I've never seen before.

One complaint, and it's major. There are WAY too many scenes shot in almost complete darkness. I am so fed up with this technique and for the life of me, I don't understand why directors think shooting in the dark is so cool. Just about every scene is shot in candlelight, an unlit room with light shining through a curtained window, a club or office as dark as a cave with visibility at about ten feet. If there is daylight, it's only to show characters walking into ill-lit rooms, or shadows playing a prominent role. Puzo and his wife sit in a dark kitchen. Couldn't he pay the electric bill? Turn on a light!

When Puzo sees the line at the bookstore the lighting was so bad that I could barely see anyone. Wasn't the whole point of the scene to show a mob? It was like people hiding in the dark. Why was this scene at night? It was a book signing. You can sign a book during the daylight hours and viewers might be able to see something instead of squinting at the screen.

If it were available, I would have watched the entire series in one night. This could be the best thing ever on TV. I almost want to tell viewers to wait until it's all available before beginning the series so as not to have the anguish of waiting for the next installment in what could be the best TV series ever-no kidding

If you would have told me beforehand that Giovani Ribisi plays Joe Colombo, I would have laughed, or at least been a bit skeptical. He's a stroke of pure brilliance in a series that is loaded with talent and great performances. I had a difficult time recognizing many of the actors because they were so far from anything they'd done before.

Another complaint I have is that we have to wait around until the end of June to see this through to the conclusion. I want it now! This reminds me of a true story. Back in about 1989, a group of friends were sitting in my living room ready to go out for the night when The Godfather came on the TV on some network station. We all promised that we'd go out after watching a few scenes. I mean, we'd all seen it a million times already. Well over an hour later, when Michael goes into the bathroom and comes out with the pistol, there was a message on the screen: To Be Continued Tomorrow.

We all said to heck with that, and someone went out to the video store to rent a copy so we could finish watching it for the 1,000,001 time. I don't remember what happened after that, but we probably went out to a bar and talked about the movie for the millionth time. The moral to this story is don't jerk people around by making them wait. Just hand over the product like they do at Netflix.

Can't believe how goo this is. There's is not one aspect of this series that is off the mark. The production, the acting, the dialog, the pace, drama, humor, tension, on and on there are no faults here. Very entertaining from beginning to end. Every episode is better that the prior one hands down.

This is now my favorite show. I think it helps to have seen The Godfather, be a fan and have interest in the circumstances in which the movie was made. I think those who think this is boring may have no such interest. With that out of the way, this show is awesome. Ive been having a hard time with cheap biopics made these days with the fake wigs and actors that don't even look like the people they portray. Such bombs are Winning Times and First Lady.

The Offer looks genuine and the actors are all awesome and established. Try to find a photo of the real Mario Puzo and compare him to the actor. They look like brothers. Same with the Francis Ford Coppola character. I had no problem being fully immersed in the story. The first episode set things up real nice and I can't wait to watch more.

I like movies in general but somehow "The Godfather" has eluded me. Maybe it's the lengthy running time, dark lighting, or gangster shenanigans, but it is just something I haven't sought out to sit and watch. Now I hear about a TV series called "The Offer," its critical acclaim and high ratings, so I get intrigued, especially when I learn that the subject matter is about the making of "The Godfather." Is it a documentary? Why is the rating so high? I give the first episode a whirl and quickly realize it's a dramatization of events in the making of this classic movie, of course. As the series progresses, because it is so exquisitely made, I become more and more interested in the actual movie and so I finally give it a watch. All this time, I have been missing out on the burgeoning talents of Al Pacino in the early days, the artistic storytelling, and all the drama from everyone involved. "The Offer" does great service to viewers like me, and without it, I would have been deprived of this classic cinematic experience.

Why not everyone's talking about this, Cinephiles it's about how they made one of your beloved movies. An incredible series that is surely to get its due credit with times. Loved it.

A series about the making of The Godfather by its producer Al Ruddy's perspective. Undoubtedly took many artistic liberties to tell the amazing true story, so many of the things I have seen, & read over the years, that gave credit to Coppola, this series gives those credits to Ruddy. Balances fact and fiction in such a lovable way. The real-life Mafia struggles juxtaposed against the backdrop of the film & it's making is really intriguing to watch. Acting performances are mind blowing! Matthew Goode, Juno Temple, Burn Gorman are obviously excellent, steals every scene but Miles Teller has really grown on me since Whiplash to this as Ruddy. The next big thing.. A Must Watch, if you love The Godfather Trilogy...

What a great way to celebrate the 51st anniversary of The Godfather, released on this day 1972.

This is well done, a lot of history here to discover. I gotta admit Fogler brings it as Francis Ford. Get past the first half of the first episode and it starts getting good.

The unfortunate part of this project is that they speak of it in hindsight. And much of it from producer Albert S. Ruddy's recollection. A similar tale had been told by Robert Evans. And Peter Bart. And Francis Ford. And so forth. So there is a nagging feeling that we are being told the tale from an unreliable narrator. That said, this is so caricature-driven. It may as well be a MAD magazine version of it. And perhaps that is their intention. The thing is, most people who are interested in the making of "The Godfather" likely heard or know more than the people involved. The ones who "lived it", to be honest, can only paint themselves out to be the hero of the story. Witness the pilot episode where Ruddy pitches "Hogan's Heroes" to Paramount executives only to have it become a smash hit. Then having the sand to go down to Mexico to leverage Robert Redford to be in some schlock motorcycle movie. Sure it's all true. Sure it's not as golden hued dreamy as this project would have you believe.

Then there's Francis Coppola. As re-creations go, they're kind enough to paint him out to be more flower child then blustery know-it-all. Listen to any commentary track on his movies to hear how he claims everything he does is genius. As does Robert Evans in his book (about himself) "The Kid Stays In The Picture" Does it surprise you these men have died lonely?

Any way, this is a little depressing. This is really a biopic of a few things...Mafia in Hollywood, Albert Ruddy, "The Godfather" and so forth. Unfortunately, that means the focus is spread too thin.

A few laughable moments...Frank Sinatra threatening Mario Puzo is laughably bad. Doesn't look or sound like Frank in the least.

Juno Temple as Bettye McCartt. How was it that she was privy to all this information and have men actually listen to her? I'm sure this is history re-writing itself for Ruddy to seem progressive.

Obnoxious blow hards who spend their days playing make believe may only be interested to fans of the film. Otherwise, it may be confusing. Or a lackluster version of "The Last Tycoon"

I'll keep this short and sweet. Being a huge fan of The Godfather I already had insight into a lot of the mayhem that went into making this masterpiece. I mean the powers that be did everything they could to keep it from happening, and yet, through a lot miracles it made it through the fire. I'm 3 episodes in and am getting to see several of those instances play out, as well as getting better insight into them with a more nuanced play of the facts.

Having seen a professional reviewer take a dump on it somewhere else I tell you pay no mind. I've learned to stop relying on paid critics. Too often they have an agenda, and in this day and age I'm tired of the agendas when it comes to my entertainment, aren't you? Give this one a watch. It's a beautiful thing seeing what went into one of the greatest movies ever made.

Outstanding casting for this series! Writing scores with unexpectedly strong female characters. The creatives on this series deserve accolades for creating something different from other streaming series. I would put this in the same outstanding quality category as the current Julia on HBOMax.

Do not start watching this show unless you have time to watch the whole thing in one go! You will, and I repeat, you will be craving for the next episode, and then the next, and the next...until the show is over and you are left emotionally drained, covered in chips crumbs and peanut shells, lying on your couch bloated from all the coca-cola or beer you drank watching this, while your spouse is walking out the door after handing you the divorce papers as this was the final straw. This show is roughly two times better than you actually expect it to be while you're reading this reviews and trying to make a decision if you should be watching this or not. I expected a decent show, more of a documentary style, but what I got in return was an intense and very entertaining emotional drama that left me on awe.

This series is about so many things, mostly about an American Dreamer making a movie, in a sort of perverted way, about the American Dream. Miles Teller as producer Al Ruddy, gets early advice to not let anything get in the way of his movie. It's advice he takes seriously and there are at least a dozen times The Godfather would have been shelved had any other producer in his or her right mind been at the wheel. To say The Godfather encountered obstacles would be the understatement of the century. Many of them are so comical, and the solutions to crushing said obstacles knocked me off my chair more than once.

So for starters, this is storytelling at its finest, compelling, dramatic, wonderful contrasts between deadpan emotions of Miles Teller with the brilliance of Dan Fogler, who absolutely transforms into the great Coppola himself. Seriously, I thought they had found a way to go back in time and get the master director himself. Also remarkable is the hilarious (and I mean hilarious) Matthew Goode as Bob Evans. Patrick Gallo, as Mario Puzo, delivers superb chemistry with Fogler, and the two of them together as collaborators are one of the best acting duos you'll ever see.

As an early Pacino fan, I was especially impressed with the terrific nuances delivered by Anthony Ippolito, who really did his homework. I had forgotten how shy Pacino was in his early years, and Ippolito is just heartbreakingly wonderful as the insecure actor who gets the role of a lifetime.

But the performance to end all performances has to be Giovanni Ribisi who just blew me away in all of his scenes, which he aptly steals every time. He is SO FUNNY and so clever and just so brilliant. I had to rewind most of his scenes because they were just so darned entertaining.

Casting The Godfather was an extraordinary challenge, and thankfully for us, Coppola instinctively knew who would be great in these roles. Fortunately he had Ruddy as his partner to fight the good fight. Had these two not been unrelenting we would have had Robert Redford as Michael, who I am sure would have delivered (as a Northern Italian type) but that would have compromised the whole "Sicilian thing." In a remarkable twist, which is truly Hollywood history, Pacino is swapped with Robert De Niro (who takes Pacino's role in The Gang Can't Shoot Straight, which bombed). De Niro of course, would play Pacino's grandfather in The Godfather II.

Nice to see Eric Balfour (who is always fun) show up as Dean Tavoularis. And of course, the brilliant Justin Chambers who's Marlon Brando is show-stopping especially "the voice." Chambers, like Ippolito, pays close attention to the tiny nuances that bring their real-life counterparts to life in very, very impressive ways.

This is pure drama of course, because it's about the making of a film, but the comedy is equally brilliant. I'm sure I'll watch this again and again.

It's so good and well created that it doesn't matter if they got everything historically accurate or they adapted something for the story sake.

I will watch it again and again like The Godfather movies.

I can only say: Thank you for making this great story seen!!!

This is everything you could want in a miniseries. A great plot, an intelligent and witty script. And excellent performances. That is happens to be based on true events is, in a sense, irrelevant. You could enjoy this without ever having heard of "The Godfather" - though knowing much of the background to its production did add to my enjoyment.

Bottom line: this is an extremely well-made show that is a delight to watch.

This is a well made treat for all of us that love "The Godfather" movie.

It's also an extremely well made and entertaining show with loads of interesting hints of how famous scenes from the movie was invented. We get to follow both the movie producing and making process and at the same time we get to know about the mafia and their opposition against the movie.

We also get a series without the usual virtue signalling and PC-garbage that most productions have today.

It's not easy to make a show about one of the best books and movies ever made. But this show have put a lot of the lore and different facts about this in a show that is a joy to see.

I really look forward to the rest of this refreshing and interesting series.

Great: -- Mathhew Goode's acting. He was one of the only ones to actually nail down the old timey accent & mannerisms.

-- Godfather Cast: From a frighteningly similar Al Pacino to a wondrous Brando, it was spot on.

-- Giovanni Rivision did fantastic.

-- Pacing: I'm sure it took a helluva lot of liberties with timelines & events, but it kept the pace rolling well.

--Cinematography: A.

-- Plot/Topic: Kudos to whoever thought it'd be a great idea to showcase this. The hustle, passion & struggle depicted here was almost inspiring!

Miss: -- Juno Temple's character's constant need to bring in modernism/gender narratives etc was a bit off putting & served to drag you out of the time period. Her association with Ted Lasso, her poodle like expression & failure to completely drop her thick English accent didn't help.

-- I like Miles Teller but his acting was really wooden here. Maybe the guy he was playing was this way, I doubt it. He almost never showed any extreme emotion even when things seemed to wildly derail, from divorce to mob threats to professional assassination.

-- The guy who played Caesar. Is he related to Bobby Canavale? His acting was terrible.

Looks really good. Lots of music, flashy period sets and pretty girls. Utterly heartless and plastic. It's like it's made by the people it portrays. There's no characters to care about just stiff cardboard cutouts of people that may or may not have existed. The mafia stuff is so genarilzed and poorly thought out it's laughable. I'm sure they had commission meetings with 50 other guys in the room where they announce to the room such and such's name, that he's a boss of such and such family and there involvement in the commission.

*If you liked the movie The Godfather.

The series is fantastic! If you've ever wondered how movies are actually produced or what goes into making a movie, you will be severely educated and entertained. I think the casting was great! It's answering a lot of unasked questions, but I love that!

My Review - The Offer

My Rating 10/10 Streaming on Paramount

I've read a few negative reviews concerning this series that I have to totally disagree with . Criticisms like " The splashy inside Hollywood drama on the making of The Godfather is a patchy, overlong series that is best when it sticks to the script" I'm sorry I don't agree at all and I'm the first person to complain if a series is overlong or padded out but compared to the fanciful and over done 2020 Ryan Murphy 7 part series Hollywood "The Offer " created by Michael Tolkin is a masterpiece and I think is the best television drama of the year .

I can't think of any other movie or series that documents a famous movie of the quality of The Godfather from book to World Premiere.

Being a keen cinephile I found The Offer gives a great insight into the different roles of movie makers from the Producers writers and Directors perspective to the non creative Studio financial accountant's who must be responsible for the nightmares experienced by the creative teams who are responsible for the movies we love.

The three primary actors are Matthew Goode as Studio Head Robert Evans he is so impressive in a high energy role like I've never seen him play before.

Dan Fogler as Francis Ford Coppola is also sensational as the Director who protects Mario Puzo's best seller like a beloved child never compromising on quality or the actors he wants to play the roles .

For me though the standout performance is Miles Teller as Producer of The Godfather Albert S. Ruddy he is sensational and deserves at least an Emmy nomination for his performance. His character is tough and complex trying to negotiate the Studio politics ,budget constraints plus intimidation and pressure from The Italian American community and the gangsters that rule it.

I read that the original actor cast to portray Albert S. Ruddy was Armie Hammer who left the series for unknown reasons I have a good idea why that was .

All I can say as much as I like Armie Hammer he would have been totally wrong in this series ,his matinee idol looks and acting style would have spoiled the series for me.

Juno Temple an actress I'm not to familiar with but will watch out for is also spectacular in her role as Bettye Mc Cartt the Production assistant and great support to jet boss Albert S, Ruddy .

The Offer is based on the experiences of Oscar winning Producer Albert S. Ruddy who in 1969 after the success of his first television sitcom Hogans Heroes approaches Robert Evans the head of Production at Paramount Studios in an effort to be taken on as a film Producer.

The first movie project he pitches is a new top selling novel titled The Godfather by once struggling author Mario Puzo .

Robert Evans is reluctant at first insisting his Studio hits like Love Story are what Paramount needs to balance the books.

However The Godfather is taken on by the studio with Albert S Ruddy as Producer and Francis Ford Coppola to Direct.

This is where the story really takes off when one of the actual Godfathers heading the notorious Italian American "Five Families " Joe Colombo puts the pressure on Robert Evans to stop the filming of The Godfather as if doesn't portray his Italian community favourably .

The heat is on especially when friend and ally of the 5 families pop idol Frank Sinatra points out the obvious similarities to the singer character in the book Johnny Fontaine believing probably correctly that it's based in him.

The Offer is such a great 50th Anniversary tribute to the movie The Godfather which is listed as the official 2nd most critically acclaimed film all time film and a movie that had a modest production budget by todays standards of USD 6,000,000 (estimated) earning a staggering USD 270,012,224 Worldwide.

Apart from the fine acting performances from the entire ensemble cast what impressed me most is the intelligence of the script and the expert Directing team. It's an achievement indeed and rare to have audiences impatiently eagerly awaiting each instalment in a mammoth ten part series ,especially this member of the audience.

Ps watch The Godfather movie after the series it's even more enjoyable than before.