Here's a point. The Godfather I and II have stood the test of time as legit masterpiece, both from a critic and fan's point of view. It is arguably the greatest American movie ever in part because those that critique films for a living and those that teach filmmaking and movie history often put it on that high a pedestal. Hell, go to IMDB where us laymen film fans hang out. Right now, based upon the hundreds of thousands of fans who have voted, Godfather I and II rank #2 and #3 of all time on a website that should certainly skew towards more modern films. And yet those two movies from the early 70s are near the top which is where they have for the most part remained ever since IMDB put out its initial Top 250. Other flicks

:cough:: Lord of the Rings trilogy::cough:

come and go but Godfather remains. So before you start comparing Godfather to Titanic, let's wait to see where Titanic stands with the masses 20 years from now (based on how quickly Titanic has slid in people's esteem I'm guessing it won't be all that great).
Oh, did I forget to mention that Godfather was #1 as well on AFI's Top 100 Movies of all time? Where there's smoke there is certainly some fire.
Same goes for Matrix. Look, I love the Matrix but it is nowhere near Godfather. Not in writing, acting, directing or cultural influence. The Godfather from all reports was a cultural phenom amongst the American public in a manner that the Matrix could only be in Neo's dreams.But its all subjective I suppose. I mean there are some people who would insist that Justin Beiber is the most talented performer ever. How would you make them think differently? Why would you want to?