As the others have said, there is great writing, great directing and great acting. Great attention was given to the tiniest, teensiest detail. However, for me, my favorite is Sicily. I think that GF was the first time that Americans were exposed to Sicily. I feel that Sicily and all its beauty and sad history was not just a backdrop, but almost a character in the movie. Sicily and Sicilians, even the dialect, were portrayed in an honest and fair light. Just compare it to the disaster that was made of The Sicilian, a book that had just as much potential as GF to be a great film.