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100-522: Under the name Scott David (his son's name), he cowrote "As If I Didn't Know" with Larry Kusik , a top-10 hit for Adam Wade in 1961. Samuels also wrote " The Shelter of Your Arms ", a top-20 hit for Sammy Davis Jr. in 1964. Jerrold Laurence Samuels was born in Manhattan and was raised in the Bronx . He played the piano and wrote music throughout his childhood, and began his recording career in 1956 when he cut

200-689: 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

300-413: 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

400-509: 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 was filmed at Sands Point Preserve on Long Island. Coppola received some criticism for the scene, although the head

500-427: 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 a "yellow tone". The scenes in Sicily were shot to display the countryside and "display a more romantic land," giving these scenes

600-601: A director of Italian ancestry who would work for 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

700-505: A hospital in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania , on March 10, 2023, at the age of 84. Larry Kusik Larry Kusik (also known as Larry Kusic ) is a lyricist . He is perhaps best known for writing the lyrics for the tune " Speak Softly Love ", the love theme from the 1972 film The Godfather . He has also written lyrics to many other movie themes, including "A Time for Us" from the 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet , Murder on

800-475: 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 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

900-406: 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

1000-399: 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

1100-461: 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

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1200-586: A singer and agent who booked various performers in the Delaware Valley . In 1984, he founded the Jerry Samuels Agency, and later operated it with his second wife, Bobbie. They retired in 2021. In February 2022, Needlejuice Records teased the release of "an album that's 50 years old". The following year, they revealed that it was Samuels' long-lost second studio album, For God's Sake, Stop the Feces! The album

1300-486: 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 the offer, he and Coppola agreed to not use any modern filming devices, helicopters, or zoom lenses. Willis and Coppola chose to use

1400-489: 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

1500-456: 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

1600-413: 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

1700-496: 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

1800-401: 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

1900-565: 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:

2000-407: Is presented as immensely rich and powerful, no scenes depict prostitution, gambling, loan sharking or other forms of racketeering. George De Stefano argues that 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

2100-588: 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

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2200-458: 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

2300-566: 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

2400-548: 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

2500-495: 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 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

2600-501: The Orient Express , Mommie Dearest , "Love Said Goodbye" from the 1974 film The Godfather Part II and Serpico . Along with composer Paul Evans , he wrote the song "Live Young" for the spring break film Palm Springs Weekend . His nephew is musician and producer Lenny Kaye . This article about an American songwriter is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . The Godfather The Godfather

2700-514: 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

2800-667: 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

2900-615: 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

3000-472: 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,

3100-492: 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

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3200-599: 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

3300-484: 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,

3400-459: 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

3500-531: The charts, reaching the top ten nationally in just its third week on the Billboard Hot 100 . It peaked at #3 and sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc . In the Cash Box Top 100 the record even climbed to No. 1 for one week in its second week on the charts. The success of the single inspired a Warner Bros. album of the same name in 1966 (reissued by Rhino in 1985), most of which continued

3600-442: 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

3700-481: 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

3800-409: 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

3900-442: 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

4000-543: 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

4100-463: The film "ethnic to 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

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4200-462: 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

4300-454: 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

4400-404: 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 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"

4500-448: 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

4600-743: 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

4700-441: 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

4800-437: 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 the picture. Several smaller roles, like Luca Brasi , were cast after

4900-433: 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 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

5000-459: 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

5100-425: 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 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

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5200-494: 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

5300-559: 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

5400-528: 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 a dinner where each actor and actress had to assume character for its duration. Filming

5500-412: 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

5600-513: 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

5700-513: 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

5800-427: 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

5900-646: The mental illness theme, for example: "Bats in My Belfry" and "I Live in a Split Level Head", the latter of which features different vocal parts in each stereo speaker. A second single of two recordings from that album went relatively unnoticed. His manager was Leonard Stogel . In the following years, Samuels would occasionally revisit the Napoleon XIV character to record other songs, usually comedy records with an insanity theme. His songs were often played on Dr. Demento 's radio show. In his later years, Samuels worked as

6000-481: 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 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

6100-427: 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 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

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6200-434: 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

6300-456: The notebook he had created over the final draft of the screenplay. Screenwriter Robert Towne did uncredited work on the script, particularly on 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

6400-400: 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

6500-447: The option, in order to work on his own gangster film Once Upon 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

6600-411: 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

6700-413: 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 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

6800-411: 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

6900-408: 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 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

7000-490: 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 was signed by Paramount three weeks before shooting began. Robert De Niro originally

7100-463: 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 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

7200-533: 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 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

7300-511: 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

7400-425: 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

7500-564: The screenplay, but separately. Puzo worked on his draft in Los Angeles, while Coppola wrote his version in San Francisco . Coppola created 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

7600-450: 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

7700-725: The single "Puppy Love" for the Vik Records subsidiary of RCA Victor Records . Samuels was an acclaimed songwriter during the early 1960s. Under the name Scott David (his son's name), he cowrote "As If I Didn't Know" with Larry Kusik , a top-10 hit for Adam Wade in 1961. Samuels also wrote " The Shelter of Your Arms ", a top-20 hit for Sammy Davis Jr. in 1964. In 1966, Samuels concocted " They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa! " while working at Associated Recording Studios in New York. The public found out his true identity when Cousin Brucie of WABC revealed his name. The record quickly climbed

7800-440: 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

7900-553: 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

8000-508: 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

8100-481: 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

8200-532: 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

8300-556: 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 was offered the role of Michael, but Brando threatened to quit if Reynolds

8400-502: 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

8500-534: Was also in a relationship with Petra Vesters from 1973 to 1987. He had a son from his first marriage and another from his relationship with Vesters. Another son predeceased him. Samuels was a longtime resident of the Oxford Circle neighborhood of Philadelphia, though he moved to an assisted living facility in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania , after retiring. Samuels died from complications of Parkinson's disease dementia at

8600-411: 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

8700-522: 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 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

8800-431: 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

8900-498: 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 ,

9000-576: 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

9100-480: 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 was given the role of Gatto. Coppola gave several roles in

9200-491: 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 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

9300-448: 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 the fact and Evans eventually conceded, allowing Pacino to have

9400-591: 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 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

9500-573: 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 the Sicilian towns featured in

9600-537: 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 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

9700-490: Was recorded between April 1968 and December 1970, but was rejected by Warner Bros. due to its macabre content; notably, the eighth track, "Rape", which provides a detailed account of a sexual assault , and the fourteenth, "The Note", which portrays a man writing a suicide note . Stop the Feces was released on April 20, 2023, one month after Samuels died. Samuels was married twice: first to Rosemary Djivre, divorcing in 1968, and then to Bobbie Simon from 1996 until his death. He

9800-418: 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 was used. Principal filming in New York continued until July 2, 1971. Coppola asked for

9900-413: 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 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

10000-483: 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

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