The Godfather (film)
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| The Godfather | |
|---|---|
| |
| Film information | |
| Directed by | Francis Ford Coppola |
| Produced by | Albert S. Ruddy |
| Written by | Francis Ford Coppola Mario Puzo |
| Starring | Marlon Brando Al Pacino James Caan Robert Duvall Richard Castellano Diane Keaton Abe Vigoda Talia Shire John Cazale |
| Music by | Nino Rota |
| Cinematography | Gordon Willis |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 24, 1972 |
| Running time | 175 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English and Italian |
| Budget | $6,200,000[1] |
| Timeline | 1945-1955 |
| Followed by | The Godfather Part II |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
- For the novel, see The Godfather (novel).
The Godfather is a 1972 American gangster film based on the novel of the same name by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay by Puzo and Coppola. The story spans ten years from 1945 to 1955 and chronicles the fictional Italian American Corleone family.
The Godfather received Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor, and for Best Adapted Screenplay, and has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. In addition, it is ranked second, behind Citizen Kane, on the AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) list by the American Film Institute.[2]
Contents |
Synopsis
Edit
Added by Sonny BlackIn late August 1945,[1][3] Don Vito Corleone's daughter Connie's wedding to Carlo Rizzi is held at the Corleone compound in Long Beach, New York. Don Corleone, known to his friends and associates as "Godfather", and his consigliere Tom Hagen, are preoccupied with hearing requests from friends and associates. A Sicilian can never refuse a favor on his daughter's wedding day.
Meanwhile, the Don's youngest son Michael, who has returned from World War II service as a highly decorated war hero, tells his girlfriend Kay Adams anecdotes about his father's criminal life, reassuring her that he is not like his family. One such anecdote involves Luca Brasi, a violent enforcer who is also present. With Brasi's help, the Don strongarmed a bandleader into releasing singer Johnny Fontane, Vito's godson, from a contract. Brasi is taken in to see the Don, who thanks him for his large sum of money for Connie's purse.
Added by Sonny BlackJohnny arrives at the wedding and serenades the crowd. He has come from Hollywood to ask the Godfather's help in getting a movie role that will revitalize his flagging career. Jack Woltz, the head of the studio, will not give Fontane the part, but Don Corleone explains to Johnny that he is going to make him an offer he can't refuse. Hagen is dispatched to California to fix the problem, but Woltz angrily tells him that he will never cast Fontane in the role, which he is perfect for, because Fontane "ruined" a starlet that Woltz favored. The next morning, Woltz wakes up to find the bloody severed head of his prize horse, Khartoum, in the bed with him.
Upon Hagen's return, the family meets with heroin dealer Virgil Sollozzo, who has influence with the rival Tattaglia family. He asks Don Corleone for political protection and financing to start the mass importation and distribution of heroin. Although Corleone stands to make a fortune from the deal, he refuses, saying the politicians on his payroll won't be willing to run interference for a drug dealer. The Don's oldest son and underboss, hotheaded Sonny, breaks ranks during the meeting and indirectly expresses interest in the deal. His father, angry at Sonny's dissension in front of a non-family member, later privately rebukes him. He then summons Luca Brasi to spy on Sollozzo. Brasi meets with Bruno Tattaglia, the Tattaglia family's underboss and the son of boss Phillip Tattaglia. Bruno introduces him to Sollozzo. However, they smell a rat and garrote Luca to death.
Added by Sonny BlackThe Don and his middle son, Fredo, get ready to head home. The Don's normal chauffeur, Paulie Gatto, called in sick. The Don is badly wounded during an assassination attempt, but survives. Sollozzo kidnaps Hagen and persuades him to offer Sonny the deal previously offered to his father. Sonny refuses to consider the deal, promising a war with the Tattaglias and Sollozzo. The Corleones now prepare for the likelihood of all-out warfare with the rest of the Five Families, who will unite against the Corleones.
Michael, who is recognized by the other Mafia families as a "civilian" in their conflict, visits his father in the hospital, but finds nobody guarding him. Realizing that his father is being set up to be killed, he moves him to another room, calls Sonny with a report, and goes outside to watch the door. After he has bluffed away some of Sollozzo's goons, police cars arrive with the corrupt Captain McCluskey, who breaks Michael's jaw with a single punch. Just then, Hagen shows up with "private detectives" licensed to carry guns to protect Don Corleone.
Following the attempt on his father's life at the Hospital, Sonny finds out that Paulie sold him out and has him killed. He also orders the death of Bruno Tattaglia, making the situation worse. Michael volunteers to kill Sollozzo and Captain McCluskey, who is acting as Sollozzo's bodyguard. Sonny and the other senior members of the Corleone family are initially amused by Michael's supposed naïveté and Sonny admonishes him for reacting too personally and emotionally. However, Michael convinces them that killing Sollozzo and McCluskey is in the family's interests. He also argues that while normally policemen are off limits, McCluskey has crossed into their world by serving as Sollozzo's bodyguard.
Added by Sonny BlackA meeting between Michael and Sollozzo, with McCluskey attending, at a restaurant, is arranged, ostensibly to discuss peace. Michael excuses himself to go to the restroom, retrieves a planted revolver, and assassinates Sollozzo and McCluskey with near-point-blank-range shots to the head. To avoid arrest for the murders, Michael is sent to Sicily, where he lives under the protection of the local Mafia chieftain, Don Tommasino, a longtime friend of the Corleones. While there, he falls in love, then marries a local girl, Apollonia, who is subsequently murdered during an attempt on Michael's life.
Meanwhile, back in New York, Don Corleone returns home from the hospital and is distraught to learn that Michael was the one who killed Sollozzo and McCluskey. Some months later, Sonny severely beats Carlo for hitting Connie. The next time Carlo beats her, Sonny drives off alone to find him and kill him. On the way, he is ambushed and shot many times till he dies
Added by Sonny BlackInstead of seeking revenge for Sonny's killing, Don Corleone meets with the heads of the Five Families to arrange an end to the war. Not only is it draining all of their assets and threatening their survival, but ending the conflict is the only way that Michael can return home safely. Reversing his previous decision, Vito agrees that the Corleone family will provide political protection for Phillip Tattaglia's traffic in heroin. At the meeting, Don Corleone realizes that Don Barzini, not Tattaglia, was responsible for the mob war.
With his safety guaranteed, Michael returns from Sicily. More than a year later, he reunites with Kay, telling her that he wants to marry her. To Kay's shock, Michael reveals that he is now working for his father, and is being groomed to succeed his father. However, he intends to make the family completely legitimate in five years.
Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio, the Corleone family's longtime caporegimes, complain that they are being pushed around by the Barzini family and ask permission to strike back. However, Michael, now operating head of the family, persuades them to wait. He has removed Hagen as consigliere, and the semi-retired Don is now serving as an informal adviser. Michael plans to move the family operations to Nevada and after that, Clemenza and Tessio may break away to go on their own. Michael further promises that Connie's husband, Carlo, is going to be his right hand in Nevada, while Hagen will be the family's Las Vegas lawyer.
Michael goes to Las Vegas on business and is greeted by Fredo, who has been living there for the last six years and has become a power in his own right. At a hotel-casino partly financed by the Corleones, Michael explains to Johnny that the family needs his help in persuading Johnny's friends in show business to sign long-term contracts to appear at the casino. In a meeting with the hotel's manager, former enforcer Moe Greene, Michael offers to buy out Greene but is rudely rebuffed. Greene believes the Corleones are weak and that he can secure a better deal from Barzini. Fredo opposes the buyout, to Michael's dismay.
Michael returns home. In a private meeting, Vito explains his expectation that the family's enemies will attempt to kill Michael by using a trusted associate to arrange a meeting as a pretext for assassination. Shortly afterwards, Don Vito dies of a heart attack while playing with his young grandson, Anthony, in his tomato garden.
During the funeral, Tessio conveys a proposal for a meeting with Barzini, which identifies him as the traitor that Vito was expecting. A few weeks later, Michael decides to "settle all family business" in brutal fashion. He orders the murders of Greene, Tattaglia, Barzini, Victor Stracci, and Carmine Cuneo, all to take place during the baptism of Connie's and Carlo's second son, for whom he will be godfather. After the baptism, Tessio and Hagen get ready to go to Brooklyn when several button men surround Tessio. Realizing that Michael knows about his betrayal, Tessio unsuccessfully begs to be spared, and is taken to his death. Hours later, Michael confronts Carlo and tricks him into admitting that he was involved in Sonny's death. Michael informs Carlo that his punishment is to be excluded from the family business and hands him a plane ticket to exile in Nevada. Carlo gets into a car to go to the airport, and is strangled by Clemenza.
Added by Sonny BlackLater, Connie confronts Michael, accusing him of Carlo's murder. Kay questions Michael about Connie's accusation, but he refuses to answer. She insists, and Michael lies, assuring his wife that he had no role in Carlo's death. Kay is relieved by his denial. Soon afterward, Clemenza and new capos Rocco Lampone and Al Neri meet with Michael. Clemenza greets Michael as "Don Corleone," and he and Lampone kiss Michael's hand. Kay watches while fixing drinks, and realizes that Connie was telling the truth all along--and that Michael has indeed become the new Don Corleone. As Kay looks on in horror, Neri closes the door.
CastEdit
Behind the scenesEdit
The beginningsEdit
The making of The Godfather had an inauspicious start. Paramount had already tried and failed to get a big success in crime genre with its previous release The Brotherhood which was also a gangster movie performing below expectations at the box office. Hence going for another movie was looked upon as a financial risk at that time. But on the other hand Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather was a huge success and Paramount thought that it could build on the novel's popularity. So in 1970, Paramount announced that the movie would be made, but to be on the safe side, the budget was initially set low at $2 to $3 million.[3]
But troubles were just starting to escalate at that point. News of the film enraged a powerful civil rights organization named the Italian-American Civil Rights League. It was headed by a real life mobster and crime boss Joe Colombo. The league's mission was to challenge the stereotype that all Italian-Americans involved themselves in organized crime. Members of the league began protesting against the making of the film on the streets. Paramount began to receive threats from the mob. Sinister phone calls were made to producer Albert Ruddy threatening his life. The head of the production Robert Evans and his wife were also threatened. Attempts to shoot the film on the streets of Little Italy were severely hindered by the mob. In one particular instance a cinemobile used by the production staff was stolen from the shooting location.
Left with no choice producer Ruddy tried to negotiate with the league. He set up a meeting with Joe Colombo at a hotel in Manhattan. There he expected to meet some guys of the league and settle the differences with them. But instead he was led to a giant ballroom with about 600 members of the league waiting for him. He tried to explain to them and clarify that the movie would not be a cliche that would depict all Italian-Americans as gangsters. Rather they would show a balanced perspective of the crime world. This was also necessary for the film so that it would have a broad appeal to the audience like the novel on which it was based. To confirm Ruddy's claims Joe Colombo demanded a private meeting to read the script. So another meeting was held between Joe Colombo and producer Albert Ruddy in which Ruddy provided Joe to have a look at the film's script. As the script was long, Joe Colombo did not read all of the script. Rather he offered a deal to Ruddy that the word "Mafia" should not be used anywhere in the film's script and only then would the league allow the shooting of the film to go on. Ruddy agreed and the deal was struck. Originally there was just one place where the word 'mafia' was mentioned in the film's script which was later omitted as per the deal. After this, permission was given by the league and shooting of the film finally began in the premises of Little Italy and other sites in New York City.[1][3]
Coppola and ParamountEdit
Francis Ford Coppola was not the first choice to direct. Italian director Sergio Leone was offered the job first, but he declined in order to direct his own gangster opus, Once Upon a Time in America, which focused on Jewish-American gangsters.[4] Peter Bogdanovich was then approached but he also declined the offer and made What's Up, Doc? instead. According to Robert Evans, head of Paramount Pictures at the time, Coppola also did not initially want to direct the film because he feared it would glorify the Mafia and violence, and thus reflect poorly on his Sicilian and Italian heritage; on the other hand, Evans specifically wanted an Italian-American to direct the film because his research had shown that previous films about the Mafia that were directed by non-Italians had fared dismally at the box office, and he wanted to, in his own words, "smell the spaghetti". When Coppola hit upon the idea of making it a metaphor for American capitalism, however, he eagerly agreed to take the helm.[5] At the time, Coppola had directed eight previous films, the most notable of which was the film version of the stage musical Finian's Rainbow — although he had also received an Academy Award for co-writing Patton in 1970.[6] Coppola was in debt to Warner Bros. for $400,000 following budget overruns on George Lucas's THX 1138, which Coppola had produced, and he took The Godfather on Lucas's advice.[7]
There was intense friction between Coppola and Paramount, and several times Coppola was almost replaced. Paramount maintains that its skepticism was due to a rocky start to production, though Coppola believes that the first week went extremely well. The studio thought that Coppola failed to stay on schedule, frequently made production and casting errors, and insisted on unnecessary expenses, and two top producers unsuccessfully tried to convince another filmmaker to take Coppola's place. The producers scapegoated the other filmmaker when their attempt to fire Coppola became known. Because the producers told him that the other filmmaker had attempted a coup, Coppola says he was shadowed by a replacement director, who was ready to take over if Coppola was fired, but despite such intense pressure, he managed to defend his decisions and avoid being replaced.[8]
Paramount was in financial trouble at the time of production and was desperate for a "big hit" to boost business, hence the pressure Coppola faced during filming. They wanted The Godfather to appeal to a wide audience and threatened Coppola with a "violence coach" to make the film more exciting. Coppola added a few more violent scenes to keep the studio happy. The scene in which Connie breaks dishes after finding out that her husband is cheating was added for this reason.[8]
CastingEdit
Coppola's casting choices were unpopular with studio executives at Paramount Pictures, particularly Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone. Coppola's first two choices for the role were both Brando and Laurence Olivier, but Olivier's agent refused the role saying 'Lord Olivier is not taking any jobs. He's very sick. He's gonna die soon and he's not interested.' (Olivier lived 18 years after the refusal.) Paramount, which wanted Ernest Borgnine, originally refused to allow Coppola to cast Brando in the role, citing difficulties Brando had on recent film sets. One studio executive proposed Danny Thomas for the role citing the fact that Don Corleone was a strong "family man". At one point, Coppola was told by the then-president of Paramount that "Marlon Brando will never appear in this motion picture". After pleading with the executives, Coppola was allowed to cast Brando only if he appeared in the film for much less salary than his previous films, perform a screen-test, and put up a bond saying that he would not cause a delay in the production (as he had done on previous film sets).[9] Coppola chose Brando over Ernest Borgnine on the basis of Brando's screen test, which also won over the Paramount leadership. Brando later won an Academy Award for his portrayal, which he refused to accept.
The studio originally wanted Robert Redford or Ryan O'Neal to play Michael Corleone, but Coppola wanted an unknown who looked like an Italian-American, whom he found in Al Pacino.[8] Pacino was not well known at the time, having appeared in only two minor films, and the studio did not consider him right for the part,[9] in part because of his height. Pacino was given the role only after Coppola threatened to quit the production. Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Warren Beatty, Martin Sheen and James Caan also auditioned.[9]
Among those who auditioned for other parts were Bruce Dern, Paul Newman and Steve McQueen, who were considered for the role of Tom Hagen that eventually went to Robert Duvall. Sylvester Stallone auditioned for Carlo Rizzi and Paulie Gatto, Anthony Perkins for Sonny, and Mia Farrow auditioned for Kay. William Devane was seen for the role of Moe Greene. Mario Adorf was approached for a role as well. A then-unknown Robert De Niro auditioned for the roles of Michael, Sonny, Carlo and Paulie Gatto. He was cast as Paulie, but Coppola arranged a "trade" with The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight to get Al Pacino from that film. De Niro later played the young Vito Corleone in Part II, winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the role.
To some extent, The Godfather was a family affair for Francis Ford Coppola. Carmine Coppola, his father, who had a distinguished career as a composer, conductor and arranger, wrote additional music for the film and appeared in a bit part as a piano player, and Carmine's wife, Italia Coppola, was an extra. The director's sister, Talia Shire, was cast as Connie Corleone, and his infant daughter, Sofia, played Connie's and Carlo's newborn son, Michael Francis Rizzi, in the climactic baptism scene near the movie's end.[10] Coppola also cast his sons as Frank and Andrew Hagen, the two sons of Tom Hagen. They are seen in the Sonny-Carlo streetfight scene and behind Al Pacino and Robert Duvall during the funeral scene.
Star salariesEdit
Al Pacino, James Caan and Diane Keaton each received $35,000 for their work on The Godfather, and Robert Duvall got $36,000 for eight weeks of work. Marlon Brando, on the other hand, was paid $50,000 for six weeks and weekly expenses of $1,000, plus 5% of the film, capped at $1.5 million. Brando later sold his points back to Paramount for $300,000.[11]
FilmingEdit
Most of the principal photography took place from March 29, 1971 to August 6, 1971, although a scene with Pacino and Keaton was shot in the autumn — there were a total of 77 days of shooting, fewer than the 83 for which the production had budgeted.[1]
One of the movie's most shocking moments involved the real severed head of a horse. Animal rights groups protested the inclusion of the scene. Coppola later stated that the horse's head was delivered to him from a dog food company; a horse had not been killed specifically for the movie. This scene was shot in Port Washington, New York.[8][9]
In the novel, Jack Woltz, the movie producer whose horse's head is put in his bed, is also shown to be a pedophile as Tom Hagen sees a young girl (presumably one of Woltz's child stars) crying while walking out of Woltz's room. This scene was cut from the theatrical release but can be found on the DVD (though Woltz can still briefly be seen kissing the girl on the cheek in his studio in the film).
The shooting of Moe Green through the eye was inspired by the death of gangster Bugsy Siegel. To achieve the effect, actor Alex Rocco's glasses had two tubes hidden in their frames. One had fake blood in it, and the other had a BB gun and compressed air. When the gun was shot, the compressed air shot the BB through the glasses, shattering them from the inside. The other tube then released the fake blood.[3][12]
The equally startling scene of McCluskey's shooting was accomplished by building up a fake forehead on top of actor Sterling Hayden. A gap was cut in the center, filled with fake blood, and capped off with a plug of prosthetic flesh. During filming, the plug was quickly yanked out with monofilament fishing line, making a bloody hole suddenly appear in Hayden's head.[3]
The opening scene of The Godfather is a long, slow zoom, starting with a close-up of the undertaker, Bonasera, who is petitioning Don Corleone, and ending with the Godfather, seen from behind, framing the scene. This zoom, which lasts for about three minutes, was shot with a computer-controlled zoom lens designed by Tony Karp.[13] The lens was also used in the making of Silent Running.[14]
The scene with Michael driving with McCluskey and Sollozzo avoided the use of back-projection because of cost. Technicians moved lights behind the car to create the illusion.[3]
Vito Corleone's cat in the opening scene used to hang around the studio, and was simply dropped in Brando's lap by director Francis Ford Coppola at the last minute.[1][3]
LocationsEdit
Locations around New York City and its environs were used for the film, including the then-closed flagship store of Best & Company on Fifth Avenue, which was dressed up and used for the scene in which Pacino and Keaton are Christmas shopping. At least one location in Los Angeles was used also (for the exterior of Woltz's mansion), for which neither Robert Duvall nor John Marley were available; in some shots, it is possible to see that extras are standing in for the two actors. A scene with Pacino and Keaton was filmed in the town of Ross, California. The Sicilian towns of Savoca and Forza d'Agrò outside of Taormina were also used for exterior locations. Interiors were shot at Filmways Studio in New York.[1][3]
A side entrance to Bellevue Hospital was used for Michael's confrontation with police Captain McCluskey. As of 2007, the steps and gate to the hospital were still there but victim to neglect.
The hospital interiors, when Michael visits his father there, were filmed at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary on 14th Street, in Manhattan, New York City.
The location of the meeting of the Dons was filmed at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. However, the interior shooting location of the meeting was the Boardroom of the Penn Central Railroad in Grand Central Terminal, 32nd floor.[12]
The scene in which Don Barzini was assassinated was filmed on the steps of the New York State Supreme Court building on Foley Square in Manhattan, New York City.
The wedding scene (and the Corleone family compound) was shot on Longfellow Road in the Emerson Hill section of Staten Island. The numerous Tudor homes on the block gave the impression that they were part of the same compound. Paramount built a Plexiglas "stone wall" which traversed the street — the same wall where Sonny smashed the camera.
The wedding scenes were filmed on an open backyard lot which is still intact today. Many of the extras were local Italian-Americans who were asked by Francis Ford Copolla to drink homemade wine, enjoy the traditional Italian food, and participate in the scene as though it were an actual wedding. Food was catered by "Demyans" restaurant (which is no longer in existence). The wedding cake was prepared by a bakery on Port Richmond Avenue.
Two churches were used to film the baptism scene. The interior shots were filmed at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in New York. For the baptism, Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 was used, as were other Bach works for the pipe organ. The exterior scenes following the baptism were filmed at The Church of St. Joachim and St. Anne in the Pleasant Plains section of Staten Island, New York. In 1973 much of the church was destroyed in a fire. Only the façade and steeple of the original church remained, and were later incorporated into a new structure .
The funeral scene was filmed at Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, Queens.[12]
Differences from the novelEdit
One of the primary parts of Puzo's novel which was not used for the movie was the flashback story of Vito Corleone's earlier life, including the circumstances of his emigration to America, his early family life, his murder of Don Fanucci, and his rise in importance in the Mafia, all of which were later used in The Godfather Part II.
Many subplots were trimmed in the transition from the printed page to the screen, including:
- singer Johnny Fontane's misfortunes with women and his problems with his voice (Johnny is a major character in the book);
- a teenaged Sonny's impulsive dabbling in street crime and his utterly lacking the tact and coolheadedness possessed in such abundance by his father;
- Sonny's mistress, Lucy Mancini, was a substantial character in the novel, but only appears briefly in the film. Additionally, the novel states that Lucy Mancini was not pregnant by Sonny when she moved to Las Vegas, thus leaving no room for her son, Vincent Mancini of The Godfather Part III.
- Dr. Jules Segal, who was excised entirely from the film.
- Jack Woltz's pedophilia, although in scenes shown in The Godfather Saga, the pedophilia is explicitly shown and mentioned by Hagen to Don Corleone;
- Kay Adams' home life and her brief separation from Michael;
- Luca Brasi's demonic past;
- the Corleone family's victorious rise to power in earlier New York gang wars in which Don Corleone survives a previous assassination attempt and Al Capone sends triggermen from Chicago in an unsuccessful attempt to aid a rival gang;
- disgraced former police officer Al Neri's recruitment as a Corleone hit man;
- Don Corleone's ingenious plan to bring Michael out of exile in Sicily;
- the detailed savage attack on the two men who assaulted the undertaker Bonasera's daughter, which was led by Paulie Gatto and involved retainer thugs (which was only alluded to in the film).
Connie's confrontation with Michael over Carlo's death is also portrayed somewhat differently. Although she is initially distraught, accusing Michael of executing her husband as revenge for Sonny's brutal murder, in the book she apologizes to Michael a few days later, claiming she was mistaken, apparently glad to be rid of the abusive Carlo and that Sonny has been avenged. She also marries again less than a year later.
Characters with smaller roles in the film than in the novel include Johnny Fontane, Lucy Mancini, Rocco Lampone, and Al Neri (the last two are reduced to non-speaking roles). Characters dropped in the film adaptation besides Dr. Segal include Vito's terminally-ill consigliere, Genco Abbandando (only spoken of, he appears in a deleted scene featured in The Godfather Saga; he first appears on film in The Godfather II), family friend Nino Valenti, and Dr. Taza from Sicily. Also, in the book, Michael and Kay have two sons, but in the movies they have a son and a daughter.
The novel and film also differ on the fates of Michael's bodyguards in Sicily, Fabrizio and Calo. The film has them both surviving (Calo, in fact, appears in the third installment). In the book, however, it is stated that Calo dies along with Apollonia in the car explosion, and Fabrizio, implicated as an accomplice in the bombing, is shot and killed as one more victim in the famous "baptism scene" after he is tracked down running a pizza parlor in Buffalo. Fabrizio's murder was deleted from the film but publicity photos of the scene exist.[15] (He is later killed in a completely different scene in The Godfather Saga which was deleted from The Godfather Part II.)
The book's ending differs from the movie: whereas in the film Kay suddenly realizes that Michael has become "like his family", the drama is toned down in the book. She leaves Michael and goes to stay with her parents. When Tom Hagen visits her there, he lets her in on family secrets for which, according to him, he would be killed should Michael find out what he has revealed. Kay returns to Michael in an uneasy compromise; she loves him, holds herself apart from the details of his work and attends Catholic mass daily with Mama Corleone to pray for Michael's soul, just as Mama had done for Vito.
Critical receptionEdit
The film is greatly respected among international critics and the public and is routinely listed as one of the greatest films ever made.[16] It was voted greatest film of all time by Entertainment Weekly,[17] and is now ranked as the second greatest film in American cinematic history – behind Citizen Kane – by the American Film Institute.[2] In the 2002 Sight & Sound poll of international critics, The Godfather (along with The Godfather Part II) was ranked as the fourth best film of all time.[18] Both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II were selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1990 and 1993, respectively.
The soundtrack's main theme by Nino Rota was also critically acclaimed; the main theme ("Speak Softly Love") is well-known and widely used.
Director Stanley Kubrick believed that The Godfather was possibly the greatest movie ever made, and had without question the best cast.[19]
Previous gangster movies had looked at the gangs from the perspective of an outraged outsider.[20] In contrast, The Godfather presents the gangster's perspective of the Mafia as a response to corrupt society.[20] Although the Corleone family is presented as immensely rich and powerful, no scenes depicte prostitution, gambling, loan sharking or other forms of racketeering.[21] The setting of a criminal counterculture allows for unapologetic gender stereotyping, considered an important part of the film's appeal.[21] ("You can act like a man!", Don Vito tells a weepy Johnny Fontane.)[21]
Real-life gangsters responded enthusiastically to the film, with many of them feeling it was a portrayal of how they were supposed to act.[22] Sammy Gravano, the former Underboss in the Gambino crime family,[23] stated: "I left the movie stunned... I mean I floated out of the theater. Maybe it was fiction, but for me, then, that was our life. It was incredible. I remember talking to a multitude of guys, made guys, who felt exactly the same way." According to Anthony Fiato after seeing the film, Patriarca crime family members Paulie Intiso and Nicky Giso altered their speech patterns closer to that of Vito Corleone's.[24] Intiso would frequently swear and use poor grammar; but after the movie came out, he started to articulate and philosophize more.[24]
Joe Bonanno, former boss of the Bonanno crime family, explains in his autobiography, A Man of Honor, the extraordinary response to the work: "This work of fiction is not really about organized crime or about gangsterism. The true theme has to do with family pride and personal honor. That’s what made The Godfather so popular. It portrayed people with a strong sense of kinship to survive in a cruel world."
Awards and honorsEdit
The Godfather won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Writing (adapted screenplay) for Francis Coppola and Mario Puzo, and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Marlon Brando, who declined to collect the award and sent Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather to the Oscars in his place to explain his reasons.[25] The film had been nominated for eight other Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Al Pacino, James Caan, and Robert Duvall, Best Director, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Mixing. The film also had a Best Original Score nomination but was disqualified when found out that Nino Rota used another score.
The film won five Golden Globes, one Grammy Award, and numerous other awards.
Score controversyEdit
Nino Rota's score was removed at the last minute from the list of 1973 Academy Award nominees when it was discovered that he had used the theme in Eduardo De Filippo's 1958 comedy Fortunella. Although in the earlier film the theme was played in a brisk, staccato and comedic style, the melody was the same as the love theme from The Godfather, and for that reason was deemed ineligible for an Oscar.[26] Despite this, The Godfather Part II won a 1974 Oscar for best original score, although it featured the same love theme that made the 1972 score ineligible.
Current rankingsEdit
- The film is ranked as first on Metacritic's top 100 list,[27] and in the top 10 on Rotten Tomatoes' all-time best list (100% fresh).[28]
- In 2002, The Godfather and The Godfather Part II reached #2 in Channel 4's "100 Greatest Films" poll.[29]
- Entertainment Weekly named The Godfather the greatest film ever made.[17]
- The Godfather was voted in at #1 in Empire Magazine's "500 Greatest Films Ever" poll in November 2008.[30]
American Film InstituteEdit
- 1998 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies #3
- 2001 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills #11
- 2005 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes:
- "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse," #2
- 2005 AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores #5
- 2007 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) #2
- 2008 AFI's 10 Top 10 #1 gangster film
Cinematic influenceEdit
Although many films about gangsters had been made before The Godfather, Coppola's sympathetic treatment of the Corleone family and their associates, and his portrayal of mobsters as characters of considerable psychological depth and complexity[31] was hardly usual in the genre. This was even more the case with The Godfather Part II, and the success of those two films, critically, artistically and financially, opened the doors for more and varied depictions of mobster life, including films such as Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas and TV series such as David Chase's The Sopranos.
The image of the Mafia as being a feudal organization with the Don being both the protector of the small fry and the collector of obligations from them to repay his services, which The Godfather helped to popularize, is now an easily recognizable cultural trope, as is that of the Don's family as a "royal family". (This has spread into the real world as well - cf. John Gotti - the "Dapper Don", and his celebritized family.) This portrayal stands in contrast to the more sordid reality of lower level Mafia "familial" entanglements, as depicted in various post-Godfather Mafia fare, such as Scorsese's Mean Streets and Casino, and also to the grittier hard-boiled pre-Godfather films.
In the 1999 film Analyze This, which starred Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal, many references are made both directly and indirectly to the Godfather. One dream scene is almost a shot by shot replica of the attempted assassination of Vito Corleone (Crystal playing the Don and De Niro playing Fredo). In the 1990 comedy The Freshman, Marlon Brando plays a role reminiscent of Don Corleone. And one of those most unlikely homages to this film came in 2004, when the PG-rated, animated family film Shark Tale was released with a storyline that nodded at this and other movies about the Mafia. Similarly, Rugrats in Paris, based on a Nickelodeon children's show, began with an extended parody of The Godfather.
The 2005 Indian film Sarkar, directed by Ram Gopal Varma, with Amitabh Bachan in the lead role as a "Don" and his son Abhishek Bachchan as the equivalent of Michael, is modeled on The Godfather with due credits appearing at the beginning of the film.
In the DVD commentary for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas stated that the interwoven scenes of Darth Vader slaying Separatist leaders and Emperor Palpatine announcing the transformation of the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire was an homage to the christening and assassination sequence in The Godfather.
AdaptationsEdit
Chronological versionsEdit
In 1975, Coppola edited The Godfather and The Godfather Part II together for TV, putting the scenes in chronological order and adding some previously unseen footage, but also toning down the violence, sex, and profanity. It is rated TV-14. This version of the story was called The Godfather Saga. In 1981, Paramount released the Godfather Epic box set which combined parts I & II in chronological order, again with additional scenes not shown in theaters. In 1992, Coppola would again re-edit all three Godfather movies (The Godfather, The Godfather Part II and The Godfather Part III) in chronological order dubbed The Godfather Trilogy 1901-1980. It was released on VHS and laserdisc in 1993 but has yet to appear on DVD. The total run time for this version is 583 minutes (9 hours, 43 minutes). This version spanned five VHS tapes and incorporated new previously deleted scenes that had not been seen in The Godfather Saga. This set also included a sixth VHS tape: "The Godfather Family: A Look Inside" a making-of documentary.
Additional scenesEdit
None of these releases contains all the additional scenes in one package. The Saga contains scenes not in the Epic or Trilogy, the Epic contains scenes not in the Saga or Trilogy, and the Trilogy contains scenes not in the Saga or the Epic. Fans have longed for a complete release of the entire series[32] though Francis Ford Coppola has stated that the films were meant to be seen in their original form and has not agreed to a chronological release.
2001 DVD releaseEdit
The Godfather was released on DVD for the first time on October 9, 2001 as part of a DVD package called The Godfather DVD Collection.[33] The collection contained all three films with commentary from Francis Ford Coppola and a bonus disc that featured a 73-minute documentary from 1991 titled The Godfather Family: A Look Inside, plus a 1971 documentary. The package also contained deleted footage, including the additional scenes originally contained in The Godfather Saga; "Francis Coppola's Notebook" a look inside a notebook the director kept with him at all times during the production of the film; rehearsal footage; and video segments on Gordon Willis's cinematography, Nino Rota's and Carmine Coppola's music, Francis Ford Coppola, locations and Mario Puzo's screenplays. The DVD also held a Corleone family tree, a "Godfather" timeline, and footage of the Academy Award acceptance speeches.[34]
The restoration was confirmed by Francis Ford Coppola during a question-and-answer session for The Godfather Part III, when he said that he had just seen the new transfer and it was "terrific".
The Coppola RestorationEdit
After a careful restoration of the aging first two movies, The Godfather movies were released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 23, 2008 under the title The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration. The work was done by Robert A. Harris of the Film Preserve. The Blu-ray box set (four discs) includes high-definition extra features on the restoration and film. They are included on disc 5 of the DVD box set (five discs).
Other extras are ported over from Paramount's 2001 DVD release. There are differences between the repurposed extras on the DVD and Blu-ray sets, with the 2008 HD box sets (both Blu-ray and DVDs) having slightly more content than the previous 2001 DVD release.[35]
Paramount lists the new (HD) extra features as:
- Godfather World
- The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't
- ...when the shooting stopped
- Emulsional Rescue Revealing The Godfather
- The Godfather on the Red Carpet
- Four Short Films on The Godfather
- The Godfather vs. The Godfather, Part II
- Cannoli
- Riffing on the Riffing
- Clemenza
The new DVD boxset was released on June 2, 2008 in Europe.[36] It has been rerated as a "15" by the BBFC.[37] It is unclear whether a chronological box set will be released.
In the Coppola restoration on Blu-ray, the end credit theme music for The Godfather Part II is missing the final chord (approximately 10 seconds) from the film proper. This missing chord would be located immediately before the restoration credit music begins. Robert A. Harris has not publicly commented about this.
In popular cultureEdit
The Godfather along with the other films in the trilogy, had a strong impact on the public at large. Don Vito Corleone's line "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse" was voted as the second most memorable line in cinema history in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes by the American Film Institute.[38] The line actually originates in the French novel Le Père Goriot, by Honoré de Balzac, where Vautrin tells Eugène that he is "making him an offer that he cannot refuse".
An indication of the continuing influence of The Godfather and its sequels can be gleaned from the many references to it which have appeared in every medium of popular culture in the decades since the film's initial release. That these homages, quotations, visual references, satires and parodies continue to pop up even now shows clearly the film's enduring impact. In the television show The Sopranos, Tony Soprano's topless bar is named Bada Bing after the line in The Godfather when Sonny says, "You've gotta get up close like this and bada-bing! You blow their brains all over your nice Ivy League suit."
Several television shows have contained references to the film, including the 1997 British film Twin Town, Arrested Development, Yes Dear, Seinfeld, The King of Queens, Mr. Show with Bob and David, That '70s Show, and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, and even the popular kids' shows Hannah Montana, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Animaniacs and Rugrats.[39] The Simpsons in particular makes numerous references to The Godfather, including one scene in the episode "Strong Arms of the Ma" that parodies the Sonny-Carlo streetfight scene, with Marge Simpson beating a mugger in front of an animated version of the same New York streetscape, including using the lid of a trash can during the fight.
On the final season of Martin, Cole imitates the Godfather says "Martino, Gino, where the bambino?". The Warner Bros. animated show Animaniacs featured several segments called "Goodfeathers," with pigeons spoofing characters from various gangster films. One of the characters is "The Godpigeon", an obvious parody of Brando's portrayal of the Godfather; however, he speaks in complete gibberish.
John Belushi appeared in a Saturday Night Live sketch as Vito Corleone in a therapy session trying to properly express his inner feelings towards the Tattaglia Family, who, in addition to muscling in on his territory, "also, they shot my son Santino 56 times."
In You've Got Mail, Tom Hanks' character makes frequent use of quotes from The Godfather, positing:
- The Godfather is the I-ching. The Godfather is the sum of all wisdom. The Godfather is the answer to any question. What should I pack for my summer vacation? "Leave the gun, take the cannoli." What day of the week is it? "Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday." [40]
Video gameEdit
Main article: The Godfather: The Game
In March 2006, a video game version of The Godfather was released by Electronic Arts. Before his death, Marlon Brando provided voice work for Vito; however, owing to poor sound quality from Brando's failing health, only parts of the recordings could be used. A sound-alike's voice had to be used in the "missing parts". James Caan, Robert Duvall, and Abe Vigoda lent their voices and likenesses as well, and several other Godfather cast members had their likeness in the game. However, Al Pacino's likeness and voice (Michael Corleone) was not in the game as Al Pacino sold his likeness and voice exclusively for use in the Scarface: The World Is Yours video game. Francis Ford Coppola said in April 2005 that he was not informed and did not approve of Paramount allowing the game's production, and openly criticized the move.[41]
GalleryEdit
Notes and referencesEdit
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See alsoEdit
External linksEdit
The Godfather at the Internet Movie Database
- The Godfather - Official site from Paramount Pictures
- The Guardian - Mob mentality
- Fact and Fiction in The Godfather
- Vanity Fair - The Godfather Wars
- The Godfather Screenplay
- The Godfather film locations
- The Godfather transcript
- Gangster Bulletin Board
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