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146-504: The Godfather is a 1972 American epic gangster film directed by Francis Ford Coppola , who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo , based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel . The film stars an ensemble cast including Marlon Brando , Al Pacino , James Caan , Richard Castellano , Robert Duvall , Sterling Hayden , John Marley , Richard Conte and Diane Keaton . It is the first installment in The Godfather trilogy , chronicling

292-689: A Bronx restaurant; after retrieving a handgun planted in the bathroom by Clemenza, he shoots both men dead. Despite a clampdown by the authorities for the killing of a police captain, the Five Families erupt in open warfare. Michael takes refuge in Sicily and Fredo , Vito's second son, is sheltered by Moe Greene in Las Vegas. In Sicily, Michael meets and marries a local woman, Apollonia . Sonny publicly attacks and threatens Carlo for physically abusing Connie. When he abuses her again, Sonny speeds to their home but

438-413: A Marine who has thus far stayed out of the family business, introduces his girlfriend, Kay Adams , to his family at the reception. Johnny Fontane, a popular singer and Vito's godson , seeks Vito's help in securing a movie role. Vito sends his consigliere , Tom Hagen , to persuade studio president Jack Woltz to offer Johnny the part. Woltz refuses Hagen's request at first, but soon complies after finding

584-516: A "yellow tone". The scenes in Sicily were shot to display the countryside and "display a more romantic land," giving these scenes a "softer, more romantic" feel than the New York scenes. One of the film's most shocking moments involved an actual severed horse's head. The filming location for this scene is contested, as some sources indicate it was filmed at the Beverly Estate , while others indicate it

730-473: A Time in America . Peter Bogdanovich was then approached but he also declined the offer because he was not interested in the mafia. In addition, Peter Yates , Richard Brooks , Arthur Penn , Franklin J. Schaffner , Costa-Gavras , and Otto Preminger were all offered the position and declined. Evans' chief assistant Peter Bart suggested Francis Ford Coppola , as a director of Italian ancestry who would work for

876-479: A book where he tore pages out of Puzo's book and pasted them into his book. There, he made notes about each of the book's fifty scenes, which related to major themes prevalent in the scene, whether the scene should be included in the film, along with ideas and concepts that could be used when filming to make the film true to Italian culture. The two remained in contact while they wrote their respective screenplays and made decisions on what to include and what to remove for

1022-518: A corrupt NYPD captain on Sollozzo's payroll, breaks Michael's jaw before more Corleone button men arrive. As Vito Corleone recuperates, Sollozzo requests that Michael broker a truce, but acting boss Sonny, suspecting a trap, refuses and demands the other Mafia families hand over Sollozzo to the Corleone family or else face war. Michael volunteers to meet Sollozzo in a public place and kill him and McCluskey. Hagen warns that killing McCluskey would violate

1168-428: A crime boss, who then arranged for news articles to be published that claimed Coppola was unaware of Ruddy giving Martino the part. Damone eventually dropped the role because he did not want to provoke the mob, in addition to the salary being too low. Ultimately, although Frank Sinatra threatened to bar him from Las Vegas if he took the role, the part of Johnny Fontane was given to Martino. Coppola cast Diane Keaton for

1314-469: A dinner where each actor and actress had to assume character for its duration. Filming was scheduled to begin on March 29, 1971, with the scene between Michael Corleone and Kay Adams as they leave Best & Co. in New York City after shopping for Christmas gifts. The weather on March 23 predicted snow flurries, which caused Ruddy to move the filming date forward; snow did not materialize and a snow machine

1460-403: A film everyone agrees   ... is unquestionably great". Ebert added it to his canon of great movies, writing that "a strange thing happed as I watched the restored version: Familiar as I am with Robert Duvall, when he first appeared on the screen I found myself thinking, 'There's Tom Hagen.' Coppola went to Italy to find Nino Rota , composer of many Fellini films, to score the picture. Hearing

1606-465: A foundation named after his father. A decade earlier, he had given custody of his two children to Kay, who has since remarried. He sells his gambling interests to other Mafia families and reorganizes his vast legitimate business holdings as the "Corleone Group". The Holy See has named him a Commander of the Order of Saint Sebastian for his charitable works and large donations to Catholic institutions. At

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1752-413: A handgun that Corleone caporegime Peter Clemenza ( Richard Castellano ) had planted beforehand in the bathroom and kills Sollozzo and McCluskey by shooting them at point-blank range. This ignites the New York underworld's first Mafia war in a decade. Michael escapes to Sicily and spends two years under Corleone ally Don Tommasino's ( Corrado Gaipa ) protection. Michael falls in love with and marries

1898-462: A historical or a mythical event and add an extravagant setting, lavish costumes, an expansive musical score , and an ensemble cast , which would make them extremely expensive to produce. The most common subjects of epic films are royalty and important figures from various periods in world history. The term "epic" originally came from the poetic genre exemplified by such works as the Epic of Gilgamesh and

2044-403: A literary scout for the company contacted then Paramount Vice President of Production Peter Bart about Puzo's unfinished sixty-page manuscript titled Mafia . Bart believed the work was "much beyond a Mafia story" and offered Puzo a $ 12,500 option for the work, with an option for $ 80,000 if the finished work were to be made into a film. Despite Puzo's agent telling him to turn down the offer, Puzo

2190-558: A long-standing Mafia rule not to kill police officers, and says it would incite deadly backlash from rival Mafia families and law enforcement. Michael argues they can publicly expose McCluskey as a corrupt cop involved in the drug trade and serving as Sollozzo's bodyguard, contending that McCluskey has crossed into their world and is fair game. Sonny agrees and approves the hit. After careful preparation, Michael meets with Sollozzo and McCluskey at an Italian restaurant in The Bronx . He retrieves

2336-546: A low sum and budget after the poor performance of his latest film The Rain People . Coppola initially turned down the job because he found Puzo's novel sleazy and sensationalist, describing it as "pretty cheap stuff". At the time Coppola's studio, American Zoetrope , owed over $ 400,000 to Warner Bros. for budget overruns with the film THX 1138 and when coupled with his poor financial standing, along with advice from friends and family, Coppola reversed his initial decision and took

2482-412: A lower salary and put up a bond to ensure he would not cause any delays in production. Brando earned $ 1.6 million from a net participation deal. From the start of production, Coppola wanted Robert Duvall to play the part of Tom Hagen. After screen testing several other actors, Coppola eventually got his wish and Duvall was awarded the part. Al Martino , a then famed singer in nightclubs, was notified of

2628-572: A massive scale. Biographical films may be less lavish versions of this genre. They often have a Roadshow theatrical release and are often shot on 70 mm film . Many writers may refer to any film that is "long" (over two hours) as an epic, making the definition epic a matter of dispute, and raise questions as to whether it is a "genre" at all. As Roger Ebert put it, in his "Great Movies" article on Lawrence of Arabia : The word epic in recent years has become synonymous with big-budget B picture . What you realize watching Lawrence of Arabia

2774-535: A note left on the dashboard which essentially said, "shut down the movie—or else." However, it was revealed in August 1971 that Ruddy personally met with Colombo family head Joseph Colombo, Columbo's son Anthony and about 1,500 delegates of Columbo's Italian-American Civil Rights League when he was developing the film, with the first meeting being held on February 25, 1971. Ruddy would also hold numerous meetings with Anthony Colombo. These meetings led to Ruddy agreeing to base

2920-504: A partnership with Fulgencio Batista allowing them to operate casinos in Cuba without interference in exchange for generous payments to the Cuban government. Michael sends his bodyguard to eliminate Roth on New Year's Eve , but Cuban soldiers kill the bodyguard during the attempt. That same night, Fredo unintentionally reveals that he was the mole within the family; Michael confronts Fredo and gives him

3066-643: A percentage of the film's profits, to work on the screenplay for the film. Working from the book, Coppola wanted to have the themes of culture, character, power, and family at the forefront of the film, whereas Puzo wanted to retain aspects from his novel and his initial draft of 150 pages was finished on August 10, 1970. After Coppola was hired as director, both Puzo and Coppola worked on the screenplay, but separately. Puzo worked on his draft in Los Angeles, while Coppola wrote his version in San Francisco . Coppola created

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3212-760: A popular actor, either Warren Beatty or Robert Redford . Producer Robert Evans wanted Ryan O'Neal to receive the role, owing in part to his recent success in Love Story . Pacino was Coppola's favorite for the role as he could picture him roaming the Sicilian countryside, and wanted an unknown actor who looked like an Italian-American. However, Paramount executives found Pacino to be too short to play Michael. Dustin Hoffman , Martin Sheen , Dean Stockwell , and James Caan also auditioned. Keaton read with both Caan and Sheen. Burt Reynolds

3358-461: A really good movie squeezed from a bestseller. The decision to shoot everything in period decor (the middle and late 1940s) was crucial; if they'd tried to save money by bring everything up to date, as they'd originally planned, the movie simply wouldn't have worked. But it's uncannily successful as a period piece, filled with sleek, bulging limousines and postwar fedoras. Coppola and his cinematographer, Gordon Willis, also do some interesting things with

3504-500: A world of crime and violence. Michael asks her to reconsider, but Kay reveals she aborted their unborn son because she refused to bring another of his children into the world. Enraged, Michael hits Kay in the face and severs ties with her, taking custody of Anthony and Mary. Following their mother's death, and at Connie's behest, Michael seemingly forgives Fredo, but it is actually a ploy to draw him in closer in order to have him killed. Soon after, Neri murders Fredo on Michael's orders. At

3650-648: A young local woman named Apollonia Vitelli ( Simonetta Stefanelli ). Back in the United States, Sonny is murdered. After Michael is notified of Sonny's murder, he and Apollonia prepare to move to Siracusa , but she is killed by a car bomb meant for Michael, proving the other Mafia families know where he is hiding. Michael returns to the United States in 1950 and assumes Sonny's role as Vito's heir apparent. After Vito's suspicions are confirmed that Don Emilio Barzini ( Richard Conte ), his main rival in New York City ,

3796-400: Is a fictional character and the protagonist of Mario Puzo 's 1969 novel The Godfather . In the three Godfather films , directed by Francis Ford Coppola , Michael was portrayed by Al Pacino , for which he was twice-nominated for Academy Awards . Michael is the youngest son of Vito Corleone , a Sicilian immigrant who builds a Mafia empire. Upon his father's death, Michael succeeds him as

3942-456: Is ambushed and murdered by gangsters at a highway toll booth. Apollonia is killed shortly thereafter by a car bomb intended for Michael. Devastated by Sonny's death and tired of war, Vito sets a meeting with the Five Families. He assures them that he will withdraw his opposition to their narcotics business and forgo avenging Sonny's murder. His safety guaranteed, Michael returns home to enter

4088-408: Is based on Mario Puzo 's The Godfather , which remained on The New York Times Best Seller list for 67 weeks and sold over nine million copies in two years. Published in 1969, it became the best selling published work in history for several years. Burt Lancaster and Danny Thomas both expressed interest adapting the book. Paramount Pictures originally found out about Puzo's novel in 1967 when

4234-624: Is critically wounded in an assassination attempt by drug kingpin Virgil Sollozzo ( Al Lettieri ), pushing a reluctant Michael into the Mafia world he has avoided for so long. Arriving at the hospital, he finds his bedridden father unprotected from potential attack. While awaiting Corleone reinforcements, Michael prevents a second assassination attempt on Vito by Sollozzo, then affirms his loyalty to his father. Captain Mark McCluskey ( Sterling Hayden ),

4380-453: Is frequently seen drinking water in the first two films—subtle hints that he is a diabetic. ) With Michael still bedridden, Connie gives Vincent consent to assassinate Zasa. Disguised as an NYPD mounted officer, Vincent kills Zasa in the middle of an Italian street festival. Michael is infuriated upon learning of the hit, and demands that no similar orders be issued while he is alive. Michael returns to Sicily for Anthony's operatic debut at

4526-443: Is in the room. Kay asks Michael if he ordered Carlo's death and is relieved when he denies responsibility. As she leaves, capos enter the office and pay reverence to Michael as "Don Corleone". Other actors playing smaller roles in the Sicilian sequence are Simonetta Stefanelli as Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone , Angelo Infanti as Fabrizio, Corrado Gaipa as Don Tommasino, Franco Citti as Calò and Saro Urzì as Vitelli. The film

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4672-401: Is not a "wartime consigliere". Michael travels to Las Vegas to buy out Greene's stake in the family's casinos and is dismayed to see that Fredo is more loyal to Greene than to his own family. In 1955, Vito dies of a heart attack while playing with Michael's son Anthony . At Vito's funeral, Tessio asks Michael to meet with Barzini, signaling his betrayal. The meeting is set for the same day as

4818-564: Is popular melodrama, but it expresses a new tragic realism." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times praised the casting by Coppola and Ruddy: "As the Irish cop, for example, they simply slide in Sterling Hayden and let the character go about his business." He wrote that "Coppola has found a style and a visual look for all this material so that The Godfather becomes something of a rarity:

4964-587: Is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made , as well as a landmark of the gangster genre. It was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 1990, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and is ranked the second-greatest film in American cinema (behind Citizen Kane ) by the American Film Institute . It

5110-479: Is that the word epic refers not to the cost or the elaborate production, but to the size of the ideas and vision. Werner Herzog's Aguirre: The Wrath of God didn't cost as much as the catering in Pearl Harbor , but it is an epic, and Pearl Harbor is not. The epic is among the oldest of film genres, with one early notable example being Giovanni Pastrone 's Cabiria , a two-and-a-half hour silent film about

5256-423: Is the mastermind of his shooting and Sonny's murder, he and Michael begin a secret, complex plot to wipe out the other New York Dons. They deliberately allow their rivals to whittle away at Corleone interests to lull them into inaction. Meanwhile, Michael convinces his father that it is time to remove the family from crime. More than a year following his return, Michael reunites with Kay and they marry. He promises her

5402-420: Is their informal adopted brother. In his novel The Godfather , Mario Puzo introduces Michael with the following physical description: “He did not have the heavy, Cupid -shaped face of [his siblings], and his jet black hair was straight rather than curly. His skin was a clear olive-brown that would have been called beautiful in a girl. He was handsome in a delicate way.” Later in the novel, Puzo writes, “Michael

5548-456: The Corleone family under patriarch Vito Corleone (Brando) from 1945 to 1955. It focuses on the transformation of his youngest son, Michael Corleone (Pacino), from reluctant family outsider to ruthless mafia boss . Paramount Pictures obtained the rights to the novel for $ 80,000, before it gained popularity. Studio executives had trouble finding a director; the first few candidates turned down

5694-510: The Loew's State Theatre on March 14, 1972, and was widely released in the United States on March 24, 1972. It was the highest-grossing film of 1972 , and was for a time the highest-grossing film ever made , earning between $ 250 and $ 291 million at the box office. The film was acclaimed by critics and audiences, who praised its performances—particularly those of Brando and Pacino—direction, screenplay, story, cinematography, editing, score and portrayal of

5840-554: The Punic Wars , which laid the groundwork for the subsequent silent epics of D. W. Griffith . The genre reached a peak of popularity in the early 1960s, when Hollywood frequently collaborated with foreign film studios (such as Rome's Cinecittà ) to use relatively exotic locations in Spain, Morocco and elsewhere for the production of epic films such as El Cid (1961) or Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The genre soon spread to other regions of

5986-514: The Teatro Massimo . Suspecting that Altobello may make another attempt on his life, he has Vincent infiltrate Altobello's regime under the pretense of defecting. Michael and Kay tour Sicily together, during which Michael asks for Kay's forgiveness. Kay admits she will always love him, and they begin to rekindle their relationship. Meanwhile, the Immobiliare deal has stalled, supposedly because

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6132-711: The United States Marine Corps the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor . During World War II , he fights in the Pacific War , and is wounded in battle. For his bravery, he received a battlefield commission to the rank of Lieutenant , and was awarded the Silver Star and the Navy Cross . He was discharged as a Captain after V-J Day in the fall of 1945. His heroics during the war were featured in Life magazine. During

6278-406: The don of the Corleone crime family . In June 2003, Michael Corleone was recognized as the 11th most iconic villain in film history by the American Film Institute , although some critics consider him to be a tragic hero . The British film magazine Empire selected Michael Corleone as the 11th greatest movie character, with Pacino's performance as Michael Corleone widely regarded as one of

6424-545: The highest net earner . Profits were so high for The Godfather that earnings for Gulf & Western Industries, Inc. , which owned Paramount, jumped from 77 cents per share to $ 3.30 a share for the year, according to a Los Angeles Times article, dated December 13, 1972. Re-released eight more times since 1997, it has grossed between $ 250 million and $ 291 million in worldwide box office receipts, and adjusted for ticket price inflation in North America, ranks among

6570-624: The "epic" film, encompassing such examples as Ben-Hur , Gone with the Wind and more recently, 300 and the Star Wars films [...] none of these comes from literary epics per se , and there is little that links them with one another. Among those who espouse film genre studies, epic is one of the most despised and ignored genres". Finally, although the American Movie Channel formally defines epic films as historical films, they nonetheless state

6716-688: The Church provides an opportunity to take over the large property company, Immobiliare . He is already its largest shareholder, and offers to buy the Vatican's 25 percent share, which will give him controlling interest . He also takes in Sonny's illegitimate son Vincent Mancini ( Andy Garcia ), a soldier in Zasa's crew, as his protégé. Nevertheless, Michael is distressed by Vincent's fiery temper, and disapproves of his romance with Michael's daughter, Mary ( Sofia Coppola ). On

6862-437: The Corleone family as the nation's most powerful crime family and establishes a reputation as being even more cunning and ruthless than his father. A few days later, Connie furiously accuses Michael of murdering Carlo. When challenged by Kay, Michael denies having ordered Carlo's murder. Kay, initially believing Michael, later observes him receiving his capos . Clemenza addresses Michael as "Don Corleone" and kisses his hand in

7008-516: The Corleone family will be completely legitimate in five years. Within three years, they have two children, Anthony and Mary . Vito semi-retires in 1954, and Michael becomes operating head of the family. He offers to buy out casino owner Moe Greene 's ( Alex Rocco ) stake in the Las Vegas casino that the Corleones bankrolled, intending to move the family to Nevada as part of his effort to legitimize

7154-501: The Corleone house, nearly killing Michael and Kay. Michael suspects Roth ordered the hit, and believes a mole within the Corleone family aided him. To uncover Roth's involvement, Michael maintains their business relationship, and orders Pentangeli to settle a dispute with Roth's business partners, the Rosato Brothers. When Pentangeli meets with them, they try to kill him, but he survives. Michael, Roth, and Fredo travel to Cuba to forge

7300-461: The Corleone interests; Greene refuses to sell. Corleone family caporegimes Salvatore Tessio ( Abe Vigoda ) and Clemenza request permission to begin operating their own families in Corleone territory. Michael, with Vito's support, advises them to be patient and wait until the move to Las Vegas is completed. Tessio and Clemenza agree, but are clearly dissatisfied. In 1955, Vito warns Michael that Barzini will likely attempt to assassinate Michael under

7446-797: The Marines. Only Fredo supports Michael's decision. When Vito arrives off-screen, everyone goes to greet him except Michael, who sits alone. The film closes with Michael sitting alone in the Corleones' Lake Tahoe compound. The Godfather Part III is set in 1979 and 1980. Michael has moved back to New York, abandoned the Nevada estate, and taken great strides to remove the family from crime. He turns over his New York criminal interests to longtime enforcer Joey Zasa ( Joe Mantegna ). Ridden with guilt over his ruthless rise to power, particularly his order to kill Fredo, Michael uses his great wealth to rehabilitate his reputation through numerous acts of charity, administered by

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7592-491: The Pacino-Brando garden scene. Despite finishing the third draft, some scenes in the film were still not written yet and were written during production. The Italian-American Civil Rights League , led by mobster Joseph Colombo , maintained that the film emphasized stereotypes about Italian-Americans, and wanted all uses of the words " mafia " and " Cosa Nostra " to be removed from the script. The league also requested that all

7738-592: The Sicilian " kiss of death ". During the New Year's Eve festivities, victorious rebel forces enter Havana , forcing Batista into exile and ruining Michael's plans. Fredo, afraid of his brother, runs off, while Roth escapes to Miami . Meanwhile, Pentangeli, believing Michael had ordered a hit on him, prepares to testify against him in the Senate's investigation of organized crime . However, Michael has Pentangeli's brother Vincenzo ( Salvatore Po ) brought from Sicily. Just prior to

7884-580: The Sicilian towns featured in the film. The opening wedding scene was shot in a Staten Island neighborhood using almost 750 locals as extras. The house used as the Corleone household and the wedding location was at 110 Longfellow Avenue in the Todt Hill neighborhood of Staten Island. The wall around the Corleone compound was made from styrofoam . Scenes set in and around the Corleone olive oil business were filmed on Mott Street . After filming had ended on August 7, post-production efforts were focused on trimming

8030-514: The Tattaglias on an espionage mission. Brasi is garroted to death during the initial meeting. Later, enforcers gun down Vito and coerce Hagen into a meeting. With Vito's first-born Sonny now in command, Sollozzo pressures Hagen to persuade Sonny to accept the narcotics deal. Vito survives the shooting and is visited in the hospital by Michael, who finds him unprotected after NYPD officers on Sollozzo's payroll clear out Vito's guards. Michael thwarts

8176-612: The US and Canada during its initial release, increasing its earnings to $ 85.7 million through a reissue in 1973, and including a limited re-release in 1997, it ultimately earned an equivalent exhibition gross of $ 135 million, with a production cost of $ 6.5 million. It displaced Gone with the Wind to claim the record as the top rentals earner, a position it would retain until the release of Jaws in 1975. The film repeated its native success overseas, earning in total an unprecedented $ 142 million in worldwide theatrical rentals, to become

8322-609: The United States , the film had grossed $ 101 million, the fastest film to reach that milestone. Some news articles at the time proclaimed it was the first film to gross $ 100 million in North America, but such accounts are erroneous; this record belongs to The Sound of Music , released in 1965. It remained at number one in the US for another five weeks to bring its total to 23 consecutive weeks at number one before being unseated by Butterflies Are Free for one week before becoming number one for another three weeks. The film eventually earned $ 81.5 million in theatrical rentals in

8468-580: The Wind is the highest-grossing film ever, with two other romantic epics ( Titanic and Doctor Zhivago ) also featuring among the global top ten. So far the most Academy Awards ever won by a single film stands at eleven. This feat has only been achieved by three films: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), all of which are above three hours long and considered epic films. The previous record holder

8614-469: The actors, and screen tests. The Godfather DVD Collection was released on October 9, 2001, in a package that contained all three films—each with a commentary track by Coppola—and a bonus disc containing The Godfather Family: A Look Inside . The DVD also held a Corleone family tree, a "Godfather" timeline, and footage of the Academy Award acceptance speeches. During the film's original theatrical release,

8760-435: The attempt on his father's life but is beaten by corrupt police captain Mark McCluskey. After the attempted hit at the hospital, Sonny retaliates with a hit on Bruno Tattaglia. Sollozzo and McCluskey request to meet with Michael and settle the dispute. Michael feigns interest and agrees to meet, but hatches a plan with Sonny and Corleone capo Clemenza to kill them and go into hiding. Michael meets Sollozzo and McCluskey at

8906-551: The baptism of Connie's baby. While Michael stands at the altar as the child's godfather, Corleone hitmen murder the dons of the Five Families, in addition to Greene for not selling his hotel and Tessio for betraying Michael. Michael extracts Carlo's confession for his involvement in Sonny's murder. He assures Carlo that he is being exiled, not murdered. However, Clemenza strangles Carlo in a car moments after his confession. Connie confronts Michael about his involvement in Carlo's death while Kay

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9052-422: The baptism scene. The world premiere for The Godfather took place at Loews's State Theatre in New York City on Tuesday, March 14, 1972, almost three months after the planned release date of Christmas Day in 1971, with profits from the premiere donated to The Boys Club of New York. Before the film premiered, the film had already made $ 15 million from advance rentals from over 400 theaters. The following day,

9198-526: The basis of their enormous scope and the sweeping panorama of their settings such as How the West Was Won or East of Eden that do not have the typical substance of classical epics but are directed in an epic style. When described as "epic" because of content, an epic movie is often set during a time of war or other societal crisis, while usually covering a longer span of time sometimes throughout entire generations coming and passing away, in terms of both

9344-443: The ceremony, Michael and Kay have an uneasy reunion after nine years. Kay supports their son Anthony's (Franc D'Ambrosio) ambition to reject the "family business" and become an opera singer, and tells Michael that both she and Anthony know the truth about Fredo's death. Michael had previously wanted Anthony to either finish law school or join the family business, but now consents to Anthony going his own way. Michael's new connection to

9490-422: The character Johnny Fontane by a friend who read the novel and felt Martino represented the character of Johnny Fontane. Martino then contacted producer Albert S. Ruddy , who gave him the part. However, Martino was stripped of the part after Coppola became director and then awarded the role to singer Vic Damone . According to Martino, after being stripped of the role, he went to Russell Bufalino , his godfather and

9636-457: The character of Michael Corleone too focused on revenge. In addition, Sarris stated that Richard Castellano , Robert Duvall , and James Caan were good in their respective roles. Pauline Kael of The New Yorker wrote that Coppola "has stayed very close to the book's greased-lightning sensationalism and yet has made a movie with the spaciousness and strength that popular novels such as Dickens ' used to have." She concluded that " The Godfather

9782-439: The color photography. The early scenes have a reddish-brown tint, slightly overexposed and feeling like nothing so much as a 1946 newspaper rotogravure supplement." Ebert named The Godfather the best film of 1972. The Chicago Tribune ' s Gene Siskel gave the film four out of four, commenting that it was "very good". Desson Howe of The Washington Post called the film a "jewel" and wrote that Coppola deserves most of

9928-567: The conspirators) has hired an assassin named Mosca ( Mario Donatone ) to kill him. Mosca murders Tommasino, and Michael vows before his old friend's casket to sin no more. Vincent reports that Lucchesi, working with Altobello, is behind the assassination attempts on Michael. Weary of the bloody, lonely life of a Don, Michael retires, making Vincent his successor, but not before giving him permission to retaliate. In return, Vincent agrees to end his relationship with Mary. That night, Michael, reconciled with Kay and Anthony, watches his son's performance in

10074-502: The core". Paramount's latest mafia movie, The Brotherhood , had done very poorly at the box office; Evans believed that the reason for its failure was its almost complete lack of cast members or creative personnel of Italian descent (the director Martin Ritt and star Kirk Douglas were not Italian). Sergio Leone was Paramount's first choice to direct the film. Leone turned down the option, in order to work on his own gangster film Once Upon

10220-476: The credit for the film. Writing for The New York Times , Vincent Canby felt that Coppola had created one of the "most brutal and moving chronicles of American life" and went on to say that it "transcends its immediate milieu and genre". Director Stanley Kubrick thought the film had the best cast ever and could be the best movie ever made. Director Steven Spielberg listed it among his favorite films. Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic wrote negatively of

10366-489: The critically ill Pope Paul VI must personally approve it. Michael learns that the Immobiliare deal is an elaborate swindle concocted by Immobiliare chairman Licio Lucchesi ( Enzo Robutti ), who schemed with Vatican Bank head Archbishop Gilday ( Donal Donnelly ) and accountant Frederick Keinszig ( Helmut Berger ) to embezzle a fortune from the Vatican Bank, using Michael's "investment" to cover their tracks. Hoping to salvage

10512-509: The deal, Michael seeks Don Tommasino's assistance. He directs Michael to Cardinal Lamberto ( Raf Vallone ), the future Pope John Paul I . With Lamberto's prodding, Michael makes his first confession in 30 years, tearfully breaking down as he admits to ordering Fredo's murder. Lamberto tells Michael he deserves to suffer for his terrible sins, but that there is hope for his redemption. John Paul I dies soon after being elected pope, poisoned by Gilday. Michael learns that Altobello (in league with

10658-407: The decisions he had made. Coppola was aware that Evans had asked Elia Kazan to take over directing the film because he feared that Coppola was too inexperienced to cope with the increased size of the production. Coppola was also convinced that the film editor, Aram Avakian , and the assistant director, Steve Kestner, were conspiring to get him fired. Avakian complained to Evans that he could not edit

10804-449: The epic film may be combined with the genre of science-fiction and cite Star Wars as an example. Stylistically, films classed as epic usually employ spectacular settings and specially designed costumes, often accompanied by a sweeping musical score, and an ensemble cast of bankable stars . Epics are usually among the most expensive of films to produce. They often use on-location filming, authentic period costumes , and action scenes on

10950-426: The epic is often credited to their ability to appeal to a wide audience. Several of the highest-grossing films of all-time have been epics. James Cameron 's 1997 film Titanic , which is cited as helping to revive the genre, grossed $ 1.8 billion at cinemas worldwide to become the highest-grossing film—a record it held for twelve years. If inflation is taken into account, then the historical romantic epic Gone with

11096-402: The events depicted and the running time of the film. Such films usually have a historical setting, although speculative fiction (i.e. fantasy or science fiction ) settings have become common in recent decades. The central conflict of the film is usually seen as having far-reaching effects, often changing the course of history. The main characters' actions are often central to the resolution of

11242-462: The fact and Evans eventually conceded, allowing Pacino to have the role of Michael as long as Caan played Sonny. Evans preferred Caan over Caridi because Caan was seven inches shorter than Caridi, which was much closer to Pacino's height. Despite agreeing to play Michael Corleone, Pacino was contracted to star in MGM's The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight , but the two studios agreed on a settlement and Pacino

11388-435: The failure of The Brotherhood , other recent films that were produced or co-produced by Paramount had greatly exceeded their budgets: Darling Lili , Paint Your Wagon , and Waterloo . The budget for the film was originally $ 2.5 million but as the book grew in popularity Coppola argued for and ultimately received a larger budget. Paramount executives wanted the movie to be set in contemporary Kansas City and shot in

11534-492: The family business and marry Kay. Kay gives birth to two children in the early 1950s. With his father nearing the end of his life and Fredo not suited to lead, Michael assumes the position of head of the Corleone family. Vito reveals to Michael that it was Don Barzini who ordered the hit on Sonny and warns him that Barzini would try to kill him at a meeting organized by a traitorous Corleone capo . With Vito's support, Michael relegates Hagen to managing operations in Las Vegas as he

11680-537: The family in favor of Michael, and that he withheld key information about the Senate investigation. Michael disowns Fredo and tells his personal assassin Al Neri ( Richard Bright ) that nothing is to happen to his brother while their mother is alive — the implication being that Neri is to kill Fredo after she dies. Meanwhile, Kay decides to leave Michael and take their children with her, believing Michael will always live in

11826-489: The family's operations in New York, Clemenza having died a few years before. While Michael's many enemies and growing obsession with revenge keep him tethered to the criminal underworld, he still plans to finally legitimize the family by negotiating with Hyman Roth ( Lee Strasberg ), his father's former business partner, over controlling casino operations in Cuba . Hours after Anthony's First Communion party, assassins open fire on

11972-460: The film aired on Saturday, November 16, 1974, and the second half two days later. The television airings attracted a large audience with an average Nielsen rating of 38.2 and audience share of 59% making it the eighth most-watched film on television, with the broadcast of the second half getting the third-best rating for a film on TV behind Airport and Love Story with a rating of 39.4 and 57% share. The broadcast helped generate anticipation for

12118-450: The film and took some parts from his 1958 Fortunella film score, in order to create an Italian feel and evoke the tragedy within the film. Paramount executive Evans found the score to be too "highbrow" and did not want to use it; however, it was used after Coppola managed to get Evans to agree. Coppola believed that Rota's musical piece gave the film even more of an Italian feel. Coppola's father, Carmine , created some additional music for

12264-559: The film in a contemporary review, claiming that Pacino "rattles around in a part too demanding for him", while also criticizing Brando's make-up and Rota's score. Previous mafia films had looked at the gangs from the perspective of an outraged outsider. In contrast, The Godfather presents the gangster's perspective of the Mafia as a response to corrupt society. Although the Corleone family is presented as immensely rich and powerful, no scenes depict prostitution, gambling, loan sharking or other forms of racketeering. George De Stefano argues that

12410-573: The film on individuals and assuring that it would not defame or stereotype Italians. It was even reported that Anthony Colombo eventually made Ruddy an honorary captain of the League. Puzo was first to show interest in having Marlon Brando portray Don Vito Corleone by sending a letter to Brando in which he stated Brando was the "only actor who can play the Godfather". Despite Puzo's wishes, the executives at Paramount were against having Brando, partly because of

12556-732: The film opened in five theaters in New York (Loew's State I and II , Orpheum, Cine and Tower East). Next was the Imperial Theatre in Toronto on March 17 and then Los Angeles at two theaters on March 22. The Godfather was released on March 24, 1972, throughout the rest of the United States reaching 316 theaters five days later. The television rights were sold for a record $ 10 million to NBC for one showing over two nights. The theatrical version of The Godfather debuted on American network television on NBC with only minor edits. The first half of

12702-436: The film to a manageable length. In addition, producers and director were still including and removing different scenes from the end product, along with trimming certain sequences. In September, the first rough cut of the film was viewed. Many of the scenes removed from the film were centered around Sonny, which did not advance the plot. By November, Coppola and Ruddy finished the semi-final cut. Debates over personnel involved with

12848-454: The film's cinematographer Willis participating in the restoration. Work began in November 2006 by repairing the negatives so they could go through a digital scanner to produce high-resolution 4K files. If a negative were damaged and discolored, work was done digitally to restore it to its original look. After a year and a half of working on the restoration, the project was complete. Paramount called

12994-488: The film, particularly the music played by the band during the opening wedding scene. Incidental music includes " C'è la luna mezzo mare ", Cherubino's aria, "Non so più cosa son", from Mozart 's Le Nozze di Figaro and "Brindisi", from Verdi ’s La traviata . There was a soundtrack released for the film in 1972 in vinyl form by Paramount Records , on CD in 1991 by Geffen Records , and digitally by Geffen on August 18, 2005. The album contains over 31 minutes of music that

13140-406: The final editing remained even 25 years after the release of the film. The film was shown to Paramount staff and exhibitors in late December 1971 and January 1972. Coppola hired Italian composer Nino Rota to create the underscore for the film, including " Love Theme from The Godfather ". For the score, Rota was to relate to the situations and characters in the film. Rota synthesized new music for

13286-402: The final version. A second draft was completed on March 1, 1971, and was 173 pages long. The final screenplay was finished on March 29, 1971, and wound up being 163 pages long, 40 pages over what Paramount had asked for. When filming, Coppola referred to the notebook he had created over the final draft of the screenplay. Screenwriter Robert Towne did uncredited work on the script, particularly on

13432-505: The finished product The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration and released it to the public on September 23, 2008, on both DVD and Blu-ray Disc . Dave Kehr of The New York Times believed the restoration brought back the "golden glow of their original theatrical screenings". As a whole, the restoration of the film was well received by critics and Coppola. The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration contains several new special features that play in high definition, (including additional scenes, behind

13578-419: The greatest performances in cinematic history. Born on March 23, 1920, to Mafia don Vito Corleone ( Marlon Brando ) and his wife Carmela ( Morgana King ), Michael has two older brothers, Santino "Sonny" Corleone ( James Caan ) and Frederico "Fredo" Corleone ( John Cazale ), and a younger sister, Constanzia "Connie" Corleone ( Talia Shire ). The family consigliere , Tom Hagen ( Robert Duvall ),

13724-433: The hearing, Vincenzo and Frank exchange glances. Understanding the threat, Pentangeli recants his earlier sworn statements, throwing the hearings into chaos and effectively destroying the government's case against Michael. Fredo confesses to Michael that Roth's right-hand man, Johnny Ola ( Dominic Chianese ), had promised to reward him for information about Michael. Fredo also says that he resents being "passed over" to head

13870-454: The job. Coppola was officially announced as director of the film on September 28, 1970. Coppola agreed to receive $ 125,000 and six percent of the gross rentals. Coppola later found a deeper theme for the material and decided that the film should not be about organized crime but a family chronicle, a metaphor for capitalism in America. Before The Godfather was in production, Paramount had been going through an unsuccessful period. In addition to

14016-486: The legendary exploits of the novel's main character, Salvatore Guiliano (In the novel, the spelling of Salvatore Giuliano 's name was intentionally changed by Puzo to "Guiliano".), and is eager to meet him, but Giuliano is murdered before the meeting can take place. Michael appears in Mark Winegardner 's sequel novels The Godfather Returns and The Godfather's Revenge . In Godfather Returns , set roughly during

14162-427: The mafia. The Godfather launched the successful careers of Coppola, Pacino and other relative newcomers in the cast and crew. At the 45th Academy Awards , the film won Best Picture , Best Actor (Brando) and Best Adapted Screenplay (for Puzo and Coppola). In addition, the seven other Oscar nominations included Pacino, Caan and Duvall, all for Best Supporting Actor , and Coppola for Best Director . The Godfather

14308-448: The money earned from the premiere be donated to the league's fund to build a new hospital. Coppola claimed that Puzo's screenplay only contained two instances of the word "mafia" being used, while "Cosa Nostra" was not used at all. They were removed and replaced with other terms, without compromising the story. The league eventually gave its support for the script. Earlier, the windows of producer Albert S. Ruddy 's car had been shot out with

14454-432: The movie transcend expectations, it established new benchmarks for American cinema." Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , has assigned the film a score of 100 out of 100 based on 16 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". The Village Voice ' s Andrew Sarris believed Marlon Brando portrayed Vito Corleone well and that his character dominated each scene it appeared in, but felt Puzo and Coppola had

14600-528: The night Michael announces he is dissolving his gambling empire, Zasa wipes out most of The Commission in a helicopter attack in Atlantic City . Michael escapes with help from Vincent and Neri. Michael realizes that his old friend Don Altobello ( Eli Wallach ) is the brains behind the attempt on his life. Traumatized by the attack, Michael suffers a diabetic stroke , briefly incapacitating him. (Francis Ford Coppola reveals in his audio commentary that Michael

14746-411: The novel for the price of $ 80,000, with aims to have the film released on Christmas Day in 1971. On March 23, 1970, Albert S. Ruddy was officially announced as the film's producer, in part because studio executives were impressed with his interview and because he was known for bringing his films in under budget. Evans wanted the picture to be directed by an Italian American to make the film "ethnic to

14892-425: The offer, he and Coppola agreed to not use any modern filming devices, helicopters, or zoom lenses. Willis and Coppola chose to use a "tableau format" of filming to make it seem like a painting. He made use of shadows and low light levels throughout the film to show psychological developments. Willis and Coppola agreed to interplay light and dark scenes throughout the film. Willis underexposed the film in order to create

15038-406: The opera Cavalleria Rusticana . Meanwhile, Vincent has Lucchesi, Gilday, and Keinszig murdered, while Connie murders Altobello with a poisoned cannoli . After the performance, Mosca shoots Michael, wounding him, and a second bullet hits Mary, killing her. Mary's death breaks Michael's spirit, and he screams in agony over her body. In an epilogue scene set in 1997, an elderly Michael dies alone in

15184-458: The original negatives were worn down due to the reel being printed so much to meet demand. In addition, the duplicate negative was lost in Paramount archives. In 2006 Coppola contacted Steven Spielberg —whose studio DreamWorks had recently been bought out by Paramount—about restoring The Godfather . Robert A. Harris was hired to oversee the restoration of The Godfather and its two sequels, with

15330-445: The other New York Mafia heads: Barzini, Philip Tattaglia ( Victor Rendina ), Carmine Cuneo ( Rudy Bond ), and Victor Stracci (Don Costello), as well as Greene. The plot unfolds on the same day Michael stands as godfather to Connie's newborn son, Michael Francis Rizzi. Later the same day, he has Tessio and Carlo Rizzi ( Gianni Russo ), Connie's abusive husband who conspired in Sonny's murder, executed. In one stroke, Michael re-establishes

15476-512: The part. Bluhdorn proposed Charles Bronson for the role. Others considered were George C. Scott , Richard Conte , Anthony Quinn and Orson Welles . Welles was Paramount's preferred choice for the role. After months of debate between Coppola and Paramount over Brando, the two finalists for the role were Borgnine and Brando; Paramount president Stanley Jaffe required Brando to perform a screen test. Coppola did not want to offend Brando and stated that he needed to test equipment in order to set up

15622-510: The picture. Several smaller roles, like Luca Brasi , were cast after the filming had started. Ruddy's casting choices would earn him more approval from the Italian-American Civil Rights League , with Anthony Colombo reported to have made Ruddy a league captain after the meeting where the film's bit players and extras were chosen. Before the filming began, the cast received a two-week period for rehearsal, which included

15768-482: The poor performance of his recent films and also his short temper. Brando was hesitant about getting back into acting, but his secretary Alice Marchak persuaded him to audition. Coppola favored Brando or Laurence Olivier for the role, but Olivier's agent refused the role claiming Olivier was sick; however, Olivier went on to star in Sleuth later that year. Evans pushed for either Carlo Ponti or Ernest Borgnine to receive

15914-411: The position before Coppola signed on to direct the film but disagreement followed over casting several characters, in particular Vito (Brando) and Michael (Pacino). Filming took place primarily in locations around New York City and Sicily , and it was completed ahead of schedule. The score was composed principally by Nino Rota , with additional pieces by Carmine Coppola . The Godfather premiered at

16060-473: The pretense of negotiating peace between the families, using a disloyal contact within the Corleone regime. Whoever approaches Michael about the meeting, Vito explains, will be the traitor within the family. Shortly thereafter, Vito dies of a heart attack while playing with his grandson Anthony in his tomato garden. At Vito's funeral, Tessio tells Michael that Barzini wants to arrange a meeting, confirming Vito's prediction. Michael sets his plan in motion to murder

16206-442: The role of Kay Adams owing to her reputation for being eccentric . John Cazale was given the part of Fredo Corleone after Coppola saw him perform in an Off Broadway production. Gianni Russo was given the role of Carlo Rizzi after he was asked to perform a screen test in which he acted out the fight between Rizzi and Connie. Nearing the start of filming on March 29, Michael Corleone had yet to be cast. Paramount executives wanted

16352-443: The sadness and nostalgia of the movie's main theme, I realized what the music was telling us: Things would have turned out better if only they had listened to the Godfather." The Godfather was nominated for seven awards at the 30th Golden Globe Awards : Best Picture – Drama , James Caan for Best Supporting Actor , Al Pacino and Marlon Brando for Best Actor – Drama , Best Score , Best Director , and Best Screenplay . When

16498-507: The same courtyard where he married Apollonia. In the December 2020 release of The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone , a recut of the third film, the final scene is re-edited to portray Michael sitting alone in the courtyard without him dying. Michael is a secondary character in Puzo's novel The Sicilian , which takes place during his first exile in Sicily. He learns from Clemenza about

16644-409: The same manner that he did with Michael's father. Kay realizes Connie's accusations were true, and that Michael has become a powerful Don becoming his father's successor in every way. In the novel, Kay leaves Michael, but Hagen persuades her to return. The Godfather Part II is set in 1958 and 1959. The Corleone family has relocated to Nevada, while capo Frank Pentangeli ( Michael V. Gazzo ) runs

16790-419: The same time, Michael sends Hagen to persuade Pentangeli to commit suicide to spare his family, and has caporegime Rocco Lampone ( Tom Rosqui ) kill a heavily guarded Roth at Idlewild Airport upon his return to the US. The film ends as Michael recalls a surprise birthday party for his father on December 7, 1941. In a flashback scene, Michael informs the family that he has dropped out of college to enlist in

16936-557: The scenes correctly because Coppola was not shooting enough footage. Evans was satisfied with the footage being sent to the West Coast—in which there was also the scene of Michael's double murder in the Bronx restaurant—and authorized Coppola to fire them both. Coppola later explained, "Like the godfather, I fired people as a preemptory strike. The people who were angling the most to have me fired, I had fired." Brando threatened to quit if Coppola

17082-423: The scenes footage, etc.). Paramount Pictures restored and remastered The Godfather , The Godfather Part II , and The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone (a re-edited cut of the third film) for a limited theatrical run and home media release on Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the premiere of The Godfather . The disc editions were released on March 22, 2022. The Godfather

17228-419: The screen test at Brando's California residence. For make-up, Brando stuck cotton balls in his cheeks, put shoe polish in his hair to darken it, and rolled his collar. Coppola placed Brando's audition tape in the middle of the videos of the audition tapes as the Paramount executives watched them. The executives were impressed with Brando's efforts and allowed Coppola to cast Brando for the role if Brando accepted

17374-512: The setting of a criminal counterculture allows for unapologetic gender stereotyping (such as when Vito tells a weepy Johnny Fontane to "act like a man") and is an important part of the film's appeal. Remarking on the fortieth anniversary of the film's release, film critic John Podhoretz praised The Godfather as "arguably the great American work of popular art" and "the summa of all great moviemaking before it". Two years before, Roger Ebert had written in his journal that it "comes closest to being

17520-450: The severed head of his prized stud horse in his bed. As Christmas approaches, drug baron Virgil "The Turk" Sollozzo asks Vito to invest in his narcotics business and for police protection. Vito declines, citing that involvement in narcotics would alienate his political connections. Suspicious of Sollozzo's partnership with the Tattaglia crime family, Vito sends his enforcer Luca Brasi to

17666-399: The societal conflict. In its classification of films by genre, the American Film Institute limits the genre to historical films such as Ben-Hur . However, film scholars such as Constantine Santas are willing to extend the label to science-fiction films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars . Lynn Ramey suggests that "Surely one of the hardest film genres to define is that of

17812-437: The story of the first two films in chronological order, again with additional scenes, but not redacted for broadcast sensibilities. The Godfather Trilogy was released in 1992, in which the films are fundamentally in chronological order. The Godfather Family: A Look Inside was a 73-minute documentary released in 1991. Directed by Jeff Warner, the film featured some behind the scenes content from all three films, interviews with

17958-542: The studio backlot in order to cut down on costs. Coppola objected and wanted to set the movie in the same time period as the novel, the 1940s and 1950s; Coppola's reasons included Michael Corleone's spell in the wartime Marine Corps, the emergence of corporate America, and America in the years after World War II. The novel was becoming increasingly successful and so Coppola's wishes were eventually granted. The studio heads subsequently let Coppola film on location in New York City and Sicily. Gulf+Western executive Charles Bluhdorn

18104-422: The time of Godfather Part II , Michael battles with a new rival, disgruntled Corleone capo Nick Geraci, while attempting to legitimize the family. In The Godfather's Revenge , set a few years after the second film, he moves to protect his criminal empire against Geraci and the machinations of a powerful political dynasty, while dealing with the collapse of his marriage and his guilt over having Fredo murdered. In

18250-506: The top 25 highest-grossing films . The Godfather has received overwhelming critical acclaim and is seen as one of the greatest and most influential films of all time , particularly of the gangster genre. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes , the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 151 reviews, with an average rating of 9.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "One of Hollywood's greatest critical and commercial successes, The Godfather gets everything right; not only did

18396-479: The upcoming sequel. The next year, Coppola created The Godfather Saga expressly for American television in a release that combined The Godfather and The Godfather Part II with unused footage from those two films in a chronological telling that toned down the violent, sexual, and profane material for its NBC debut on November 18, 1977. In 1981, Paramount released the Godfather Epic boxed set, which also told

18542-432: The waning weeks of Summer 1945, Michael is discharged from the Marines, unaware that Vito secretly arranged for his discharge, using his political influence. Michael returns home to attend his sister Connie's wedding ant the end of August accompanied by Kay Adams ( Diane Keaton ), his college sweetheart. Michael stays for a few weeks, intending to re-enter college without telling his family. Just before Christmas 1945, Vito

18688-525: The week in New York and $ 115,000 in Toronto for a first week gross of $ 568,800, which made it number one at the U.S. box office for the week. In its first five days of national release, it grossed $ 6.8 million, taking its gross up to $ 7,397,164. A week later its gross had reached $ 17,291,705 with the one week gross of around $ 10 million being an industry record. It grossed another $ 8.7 million by April 9 to take its gross to $ 26,000,815. After 18 weeks at number one in

18834-606: The winners were announced on January 28, 1973, the film had won the categories for: Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Actor – Drama (Brando), Best Original Score, and Best Picture – Drama. Rota's score was also nominated for Grammy Award for Best Original Score for a Motion Picture or TV Special at the 15th Grammy Awards . Rota was announced the winner of the category on March 3 at the Grammys' ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee . Epic film Epic historical films would usually take

18980-543: The works of the Trojan War Cycle . In classical literature, epics are considered works focused on deeds or journeys of heroes upon which the fate of many people depends. Similarly, films described as "epic" typically take a historical character, or a mythic heroic figure. Common subjects of epics are royalty , gladiators , great military leaders, or leading personalities from various periods in world history. However, there are some films described as "epic" almost solely on

19126-617: The world, such as India where it's flourishing Bollywood industry produced the landmark Mughal-E Azam (1960), which is widely considered as one of the greatest films of all time and a milestone in Asian epics. This boom period of international co-productions is generally considered to have ended with Cleopatra (1963), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) and Doctor Zhivago (1965). Nevertheless, films in this genre continued to appear, with one notable example being War and Peace , which

19272-423: Was Gone with the Wind (1939), also an epic, with ten awards. Michael Corleone Awards: [REDACTED] Navy Cross [REDACTED] Silver Star (Later upgraded to Navy Cross) [REDACTED] Navy and Marine Corps Medal [REDACTED] Purple Heart [REDACTED] Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal [REDACTED] European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal Michael Corleone

19418-497: Was a blockbuster , breaking many box office records to become the highest grossing film of 1972 . The film's opening day gross from five theaters was $ 57,829 with ticket prices increased from $ 3 to $ 3.50. Prices in New York increased further at the weekend to $ 4, and the number of showings increased from four times a day to seven times a day. The film grossed $ 61,615 in Toronto for the weekend and $ 240,780 in New York, for an opening weekend gross of $ 302,395. The film grossed $ 454,000 for

19564-665: Was a 1941 Lincoln Continental with holes drilled in it to resemble bullet holes. The scene took three days to film and cost over $ 100,000. Coppola's request to film on location was observed; approximately 90 percent was shot in New York City and its surrounding suburbs, using over 120 distinct locations. Several scenes were filmed at Filmways in East Harlem . The remaining portions were filmed in California, or in Sicily. The scenes set in Las Vegas were not shot on location because there were insufficient funds. Savoca and Forza d'Agrò were

19710-407: Was desperate for money and accepted the deal. Paramount's Robert Evans relates that, when they met in early 1968, he offered Puzo the deal after the author confided in him that he urgently needed $ 10,000 to pay off gambling debts. In March 1967, Paramount announced that they backed Puzo's upcoming work in the hopes of making a film. In 1969, Paramount confirmed their intentions to make a film out of

19856-467: Was filmed at Sands Point Preserve on Long Island. Coppola received some criticism for the scene, although the head was obtained from a dog-food company from a horse that was to be killed regardless of the film. On June 22, the scene where Sonny is killed was shot on a runway at Mitchel Field in Uniondale, where three tollbooths were built, along with guard rails, and billboards to set the scene. Sonny's car

20002-428: Was fired. Paramount 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 smashes crockery after finding out Carlo has been cheating was added for this reason. On April 14, 1970, it was revealed that Puzo was hired by Paramount for $ 100,000, along with

20148-497: Was followed by sequels The Godfather Part II (1974) and The Godfather Part III (1990). Pauline Kael wrote that "If ever there was a great example of how the best popular movies come out of a merger of commerce and art, The Godfather is it." In 1945, the New York City Corleone family don , Vito Corleone , listens to requests during his daughter Connie 's wedding to Carlo Rizzi . Vito's youngest son Michael ,

20294-573: Was frustrated with Coppola over the number of screen tests he had performed without finding a person to play the various roles. Production quickly fell behind because of Coppola's indecisiveness and conflicts with Paramount, which led to costs being around $ 40,000 per day. With costs rising, Paramount had the Vice President, Jack Ballard, keep a close eye on production expenses. While filming, Coppola stated that he felt he could be fired at any point as he knew Paramount executives were not happy with many of

20440-418: Was given the role of Gatto. Coppola gave several roles in the film to family members. He gave his sister, Talia Shire , the role of Connie Corleone. His daughter Sofia , then an infant, appeared as Michael Francis Rizzi, Connie's and Carlo's newborn son. Carmine Coppola , his father, appeared in the film as an extra playing a piano during a scene. Coppola's wife, mother, and two sons all appeared as extras in

20586-423: Was not tall or heavily built but his presence seemed to radiate danger.” Unlike his two older brothers, Michael wants nothing to do with the Corleone "family business", wanting instead to lead a more Americanized life . Vito does not want Michael to join the Corleone criminal empire either, hoping that his favorite son would go into politics. Michael was enrolled at Dartmouth College , but dropped out to enlist in

20732-455: Was offered the role of Michael, but Brando threatened to quit if Reynolds was hired. Reynolds declined the role. Jack Nicholson was also offered the role, but declined it as he felt that an Italian-American actor should play the role. Caan was well received by the Paramount executives and was given the part of Michael initially, while the role of Sonny Corleone was awarded to Carmine Caridi . Coppola still pushed for Pacino to play Michael after

20878-448: Was released in the former Soviet Union during 1967–1968. Epic films continue to be produced, although since the development of CGI they typically use computer effects instead of an actual cast of thousands. Since the 1950s, such films have regularly been shot with a wide aspect ratio for a more immersive and panoramic theatrical experience. Epic films were recognized in a montage at the 2006 Academy Awards . The enduring popularity of

21024-492: Was signed by Paramount three weeks before shooting began. Robert De Niro originally was given the part of Paulie Gatto. A spot in The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight opened up after Al Pacino quit the project in favor of The Godfather , which led De Niro to audition for the role and leave The Godfather after receiving the part. De Niro also cast for the role of Sonny Corleone. After De Niro quit, Johnny Martino

21170-478: Was used in the film, most of which was composed by Rota, along with a song from Coppola and one by Johnny Farrow and Marty Symes . AllMusic gave the album five out of five, with editor Zach Curd saying it is a "dark, looming, and elegant soundtrack". An editor for Filmtracks believed that Rota was successful in relating the music to the film's core aspects. Bach 's Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 532 and Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 are played during

21316-436: Was used. Principal filming in New York continued until July 2, 1971. Coppola asked for a three-week break before heading overseas to film in Sicily. Following the crew's departure for Sicily, Paramount announced that the release date would be moved to early 1972. Cinematographer Gordon Willis initially turned down the opportunity to film The Godfather because the production seemed "chaotic" to him. After Willis later accepted

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