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The Godfather Part II is an American 1974 crime drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script co-written with Mario Puzo. The film is both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather, chronicling the story of the Corleone family following the events of the first film while also depicting the rise to power of the young Vito Corleone. The film stars Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, John Cazale, and Talia Shire. New cast members include Robert De Niro, Michael V. Gazzo and Lee Strasberg.
The Godfather Part II was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won six, including Best Picture[1] and Best Supporting Actor for Robert De Niro, and it has been selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry.
Plot
The Godfather Part II presents two parallel storylines. One involves Mafia chief Michael Corleone following the events of the first movie from 1958 to 1959; the other is a series of flashbacks following his father, Vito Corleone, from his childhood in Sicily (1901) to his founding of the criminal Corleone Family in New York City while still a young man (1917–1925).
In 1901, in the town of Corleone in Sicily, at the funeral procession for young Vito's father, Antonio Andolini, who had been ordered killed by the local Mafia chieftain, Don Ciccio. During the procession, Vito's older brother Paolo is also murdered because he swore revenge on the Don. Vito's mother goes to Ciccio to beg him to let young Vito live. When he refuses, she holds a knife to his throat, sacrificing herself to allow Vito to escape, and Ciccio's gunmen shoot her. They scour the town for Vito, warning the sleeping townsfolk that they will regret harboring the boy. With the aid of a few of the townspeople, Vito finds his way by ship to New York. Arriving at Ellis Island, an immigration agent, mishearing Vito's hometown of Corleone as his surname, registers him as "Vito Corleone".
In 1958, Michael Corleone, Godfather of the Corleone Family, deals with various business and family problems at his Lake Tahoe, Nevada compound during an elaborate party celebrating his son's First Communion. He meets with Nevada Senator Pat Geary, who despises the Corleones, but has shown up with his wife to accept a large endowment to the state university. Senator Geary demands a grossly exaggerated price for a new gaming license and a monthly payment of 5% of the gross profits from all of the Corleone Family's Nevada gaming interests, to which Michael responds with a counter-offer of "nothing ... not even the fee for the gaming license, which I would appreciate if you would put up personally."
Michael also deals with his sister Connie, who, although recently divorced, is planning to marry a man with no obvious means of support, and of whom Michael disapproves. He also talks with Johnny Ola, the right hand man of Jewish gangster Hyman Roth, who is supporting Michael's move into the gambling industry. Finally, Michael meets with Frank "Five Angels" Pentangeli, who took over Corleone caporegime Peter Clemenza's territory after his death, and now has problems with the Rosato Brothers, who are backed by Roth. Michael refuses to allow Pentangeli to kill the Rosatos, due to his desire to prevent interruption of his business with Roth. Pentangeli leaves abruptly, after telling Michael "your father did business with Hyman Roth, your father respected Hyman Roth, but your father never trusted Hyman Roth."
Later that night, an assassination attempt is made on Michael, which he survives when his wife Kay notices the bedroom window drapes are inexplicably open. Afterwards, Michael tells Tom Hagen that the hit was made with the help of someone close, and that he must leave, entrusting Hagen to protect his family.
In 1917, the 25-year-old Vito Corleone, now married with one son, works in a New York grocery store with his close friend Genco Abbandando. The neighborhood is controlled by a blackhander, Don Fanucci, who extorts protection payments from local businesses. One night, Vito's neighbor Clemenza asks him to hide a stash of guns for him, and later, to repay the favor, takes him to a fancy apartment where they commit their first crime together, stealing an expensive rug.
Michael meets with Hyman Roth in his home near Miami, tells Roth that he believes Frank Pentangeli was responsible for the assassination attempt, and that Pentangeli will pay for it. Traveling to Brooklyn, Michael lets Pentangeli know that Roth was actually behind it, and that Michael has a plan to deal with Roth, but needs Frankie to cooperate with the Rosato Brothers in order to put Roth off guard. When Pentangeli goes to meet with the Rosatos, he is told "Michael Corleone says hello", as he is garrotted; but the attempted murder is accidentally interrupted by a policeman. Pentangeli is left for dead, and his bodyguard, Willi Cicci, is wounded by gunfire.
In Nevada, Tom Hagen is called to a brothel run by Fredo, where Senator Geary is implicated in the death of a prostitute. Tom offers to take care of the problem in return for "friendship" between the Senator and the Corleone Family. It has been suggested that the entire event was staged by the Corleone Family in order to gain leverage with Geary and force his cooperation.
Meanwhile, Michael meets Roth in Havana, Cuba at the time when dictator Fulgencio Batista is soliciting American investment, and guerrillas are trying to bring down the government. At a birthday party for Roth, Michael – having earlier witnessed a rebel deliberately killing himself and an army officer with a hand grenade – mentions that there is a possibility that the rebels might win, making their business dealings in Cuba problematic. The comment prompts Roth to remark, privately, that Michael has not delivered the two million dollars to seal their partnership.
Fredo, carrying the promised money, arrives in Havana and meets Michael. Michael mentions Hyman Roth and Johnny Ola to him, but Fredo says he has never met them. Michael confides to his brother that it was Roth who tried to kill him, and that he plans to try again. Michael assures Fredo that he has already made his move, and that "Hyman Roth will never see the New Year."
Instead of turning over the money, Michael asks Roth who gave the order to have Frank Pentangeli killed. Roth avoids the question, instead speaking angrily of the murder of his old friend and ally Moe Greene, which Michael had orchestrated (as depicted at the end of the first film), saying, "I didn't ask who gave the order, because it had nothing to do with business!"
Michael asks Fredo, who knows Havana well, to show Senator Geary and other important American officials and businessmen a good time, during which Fredo pretends to not know Johnny Ola. Soon after, at a sex show, a drunk Fredo comments loudly that he learned about the place from Johnny Ola, contradicting what he told Michael twice earlier, that he didn't know Roth or Ola. Michael now realizes that the traitor in the Corleone Family is his own brother, and dispatches his bodyguard back to their hotel to kill Roth. There, Johnny Ola is strangled, but Roth, whose health is failing, is taken to a hospital before he can be assassinated. Michael's bodyguard follows, but is shot by police while trying to smother Roth with a pillow.
At Batista's New Year's Eve party, at the stroke of midnight, Michael grasps Fredo tightly by the head and kisses him, telling him "I know it was you Fredo; you broke my heart." Batista announces he is stepping down due to unexpected gains by the rebels. The guests flee as the guerrillas pour into the city. Fredo runs away from Michael, despite Michael's pleas that he is still his brother and that the only way out is with him.
Michael returns to Las Vegas, where Hagen tells him that Roth escaped Cuba after suffering a stroke and is recovering in Miami, that Michael's bodyguard is dead, and that Fredo is likely hiding in New York. Hagen also informs Michael that Kay had a miscarriage while he was away, which causes Michael to lose his usually calm and collected demeanor.
In New York, in 1921, Don Fanucci is now aware of the partnership between Vito, Clemenza and Sal Tessio, and demands that they "wet his beak." Clemenza and Tessio agree to pay, but Vito is reluctant and asks his friends to leave everything in his hands to convince Fanucci to accept less money, telling his friends "I'll make him an offer he don't refuse". Vito manages to get Fanucci to take only one sixth of what he had demanded. Immediately afterwards, during a neighborhood festa, Vito kills Fanucci and takes his money back.
Michael returns to his compound in Lake Tahoe, where he wanders the house in silent contemplation. He sees Kay (whom he has prevented from leaving the compound for her own safety) in the bedroom, but does not approach her. In Washington, D.C., a Senate committee, of which Senator Geary is a member, is conducting an investigation into the Corleone Family. They question disaffected "soldier" Willi Cicci, but he cannot implicate Michael, because he never received any direct orders from him.
With Fanucci now gone, Vito earns the respect of the neighborhood and begins to intercede in local disputes, operating out of the storefront of his Genco Olive Oil Company, named after his good friend Genco Abbandando.
Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) appears before the United States Senate committee, with his wife Kay (Diane Keaton) in the background.
When Michael appears before the committee, Senator Geary makes a big show of supporting Italian-Americans and then excuses himself from the proceedings. Michael makes a statement challenging the committee to produce a witness to corroborate the charges against him. The hearing ends with the Chairman promising a witness who will do exactly that.
Tom Hagen and Michael discuss the problem. They have found out that Frank Pentangeli is the witness who will testify against him, and observe that Roth's strategy to destroy Michael is well planned. Michael's brother Fredo has been found and persuaded to return to Nevada, and in a private meeting he explains to Michael his betrayal: upset about being passed over to head the Family in favor of Michael, he wants respect and his due. He helped Roth, thinking there would be something in it for him, but he swears he didn't know they wanted to kill Michael. He also tells Michael that the Senate Committee's chief counsel is on Roth's payroll. Michael then tells Fredo: "You're nothing to me now. Not a brother, not a friend, nothing", and privately instructs Al Neri that nothing is to happen to Fredo while their mother is still alive; the understanding is that Fredo will be killed after her death.
Frank Pentangeli has made a deal with the FBI to testify against Michael, believing he was the one who organized the attempt on his life. At the hearing in which Pentangeli is to testify, Michael arrives accompanied by Pentangeli's brother Vincenzo, brought in from Sicily. Vincenzo is a Sicilian mafia cheftain who upholds the mafia code of honor, Omerta. Pentangeli, not wanting to break this code of honor in front of his brother, claims that he just told the FBI what they wanted to hear, and makes no direct statements about Michael, the Corleone family, or his time served as a Corleone capo. With no witness to testify against Michael, the committee adjourns, with Hagen, acting as Michael's lawyer, loudly demanding an apology.
At a hotel room afterwards, Kay tries to leave Michael and take their children with her. Michael at first tries to mollify her, but loses his temper and hits her when she coldly reveals to him that her recent "miscarriage" was actually an abortion to avoid bringing another son into Michael's criminal family.
In 1925, Vito visits Sicily for the first time since leaving for America 24 years earlier. He is introduced to the elderly Don Ciccio by Don Tommasino (who initially helped Vito escape to America) as the man who imports their olive oil to America, and who wants his blessing. When Ciccio asks Vito who his father was, Vito says, "My father's name was Antonio Andolini, and this is for you!" He then plunges a large knife into the old man's stomach and carves it open, thereby avenging the deaths of his father, mother and brother. In the ensuing gun battle, Tommasino is shot, confining him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Carmella Corleone, Vito's widow and the mother of his children, dies, and the whole Corleone family reunites at the funeral. Michael is still shunning Fredo, who is miserable and depressed, but relents when Connie implores him to forgive his brother. Michael and Fredo embrace, but at the same time Michael signals to his capo Al Neri that Fredo's protection from harm, in effect while their mother lived, is now over.
Michael, Tom Hagen, Al Neri, and Rocco Lampone discuss their final dealings with Hyman Roth, who has been unsuccessfully seeking asylum from various countries, and was even refused entry to Israel as a returning Jew. Michael rejects Hagen's advice that the Corleone Family's position is secure, and killing Roth and the Rosato brothers for revenge is an unnecessary risk. Later, Hagen pays a visit to Frank Pentangeli on a military base and suggests that he take his own life in return for having his family taken care of.
With the help of Connie, Kay visits her children, but cannot bear to leave them and stays too long. When Michael arrives, he closes the door in her face.
The film reaches its climax in a montage of assassinations and death, reminiscent of the end of The Godfather:
* As he arrives at Miami to be taken into custody, Hyman Roth is killed by Rocco Lampone disguised as a journalist, who is immediately shot dead in turn.
* Frank Pentangeli is found dead in his bathtub by two FBI agents, having followed Hagen's instructions and committed suicide, slashing his wrists while taking a bath.
* Finally, Fredo is murdered by Al Neri while they are fishing on Lake Tahoe, as Fredo is saying a Hail Mary to help him catch a fish.
The penultimate scene takes place as a flashback to 1941, as the Corleone family is preparing a surprise birthday party for Vito. Sonny introduces Carlo Rizzi, Connie's future husband and eventual betrayer of Sonny, to his family. Sal Tessio comes in with the cake, and they all talk about the recent attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Michael shocks everybody by announcing that he has just enlisted in the United States Marines. Sonny angrily ridicules Michael's choice, while Tom Hagen mentions how his father has great expectations for Michael, and has pulled a lot of strings to get Michael a draft deferment. Ironically, Fredo is the only one who supports his brother's decision. When Vito arrives (offscreen), all but Michael leave to greet him.
The film ends with a final flashback depicting Vito and a young Michael leaving Corleone by train, and Michael sitting in the Lake Tahoe compound, silent and alone.
Cast
* Al Pacino as Don Michael Corleone
* Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen
* Robert De Niro as Young Vito Corleone
* Diane Keaton as Kay Corleone
* John Cazale as Fredo Corleone
* Talia Shire as Connie Corleone
* Lee Strasberg as Hyman Roth
* Michael V. Gazzo as Frankie Pentangeli
* Morgana King as Mama Carmella Corleone
* G.D. Spradlin as Senator Pat Geary
* Richard Bright as Al Neri
* Marianna Hill as Deanna Corleone
* Gastone Moschin as Don Fanucci
* Troy Donahue as Merle Johnson
* Dominic Chianese as Johnny Ola
* B. Kirby, Jr. as Young Peter Clemenza
* Frank Sivero as Young Genco Abbandando
* James Caan as Sonny Corleone (cameo)
* Abe Vigoda as Salvatore Tessio (cameo)
* Gianni Russo as Carlo Rizzi (cameo)
* Giuseppe Sillato as Don Francesco Ciccio
* Roman Coppola as Young Santino Corleone
* John Megna as Young Hyman Roth
* Julian Voloshin as Sam Roth
* Larry Guardino as Vito's Uncle
* Danny Aiello as Tony Rosato
* John Aprea as Young Sal Tessio
* Leopoldo Trieste as Signor Roberto (landlord)
Casting notes
* James Caan agreed to reprise the role of Sonny in the birthday flashback sequence on the condition that for the single scene he be paid the same amount he received for the entire last film. He got his wish. Marlon Brando was also asked to return for the brief but important birthday flashback sequence, but the actor felt mistreated by the board at Paramount, and refused to appear for a single day's shooting. Coppola rewrote the scene that same day. Richard Castellano, who portrayed Pete Clemenza in the first film, also declined to return, as Castellano and the producers could not reach agreement on Castellano's demands that he be allowed to write the character's dialogue in the film. Clemenza's role was subsequently filled by his successor, Frank Pentangeli.
* Troy Donahue, in a small role as Connie's boyfriend, plays a character named Merle Johnson: Merle Johnson is Troy Donahue's birth name.
* Dominic Chianese, notable for his role as Uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano in The Sopranos, plays the role of Johnny Ola in his film debut.
* Two actors who appear in the film played different character roles in other Godfather films; Carmine Caridi, who plays Carmine Rosato, also went on to play crime boss Albert Volpe in The Godfather Part III, and Frank Sivero, who plays a young Genco Abbandando, also plays a bystander to the fight between Sonny Corleone and Carlo Rizzi in The Godfather.
* Among the Senators in the hearing committee are film producer/director Roger Corman, writer/producer William Bowers, producer Phil Feldman, and science-fiction writer Richard Matheson.
Production
The Godfather Part II was shot between October 1, 1973 a June 19, 1974, the last major American motion picture to be filmed in Technicolor. The scenes that took place in Cuba were shot in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.[2] Charles Bluhdorn, whose Gulf+Western conglomerate owned Paramount, felt strongly about developing the Dominican Republic as a movie-making site.
The Lake Tahoe house and grounds portrayed in the film are Fleur du Lac, the summer estate of Henry J. Kaiser on the California side of the lake. The only structures used in the movie that still remain are the complex of old native stone boathouses with their wrought iron gates. Although Fleur du Lac is private property and no one is allowed ashore there, the boathouses and multi-million dollar condominiums may be viewed from the lake.
George Lucas commented on the film after its five-hour long preview, telling Coppola: "You have two films. Take one away, it doesn't work."
In the director's commentary on the DVD edition of the film (released in 2002), Coppola states that this film was the first major motion picture to use "Part II" in its title. Paramount was initially opposed to his decision to name the movie The Godfather Part II. According to Coppola, the studio's objection stemmed from the belief that audiences would be reluctant to see a film with such a title, as the audience would supposedly believe that, having already seen The Godfather, there was little reason to see an addition to the original story. The success of The Godfather Part II began the Hollywood tradition of numbered sequels.
Additional/deleted scenes
For both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, many scenes that were shot were not shown in the original theatrical run but were included in the television adaptation The Godfather Saga (1977) and the home video releases The Godfather Epic (1981) and The Godfather Trilogy (1992). To date, there has not been a single release that contains all of this footage together in one collection. There is also a series of flashbacks in the film. A limited time-reduced version of The Godfather Part II was later released because of its runtime. The shorter version was 2hr 7min 56sec rather than the original 3hr 20min 45sec version.[citation needed]
Reception
The Godfather Part II ranks among the most critically and artistically successful film sequels in movie history, and is the most honored. Many critics praise it as equal, or even superior, to the original film (although it is almost always placed below the original on lists of "greatest" movies). The film received a "98%" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film also regularly ranks independently on many "greatest movies" lists.
The Godfather Part II is ranked as the #1 greatest movie of all time in TV Guide's "50 Best Movies of all time", and it is ranked at #7 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the "100 Greatest Movies of All Time". The film is also featured on movie critic Leonard Maltin's list of the "100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century", as well as Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list. It was also featured on Sight and Sound's list of the ten greatest films of all time in 1992 and 2002.
Like the film itself, Al Pacino's performance became legendary. The general public and many movie critics have praised Pacino's performance in Part II as perhaps his best, and in fact one of the best performances of all time by any actor. Many critics have criticized the Academy Awards for not awarding Pacino the Academy Award for Best Actor (Art Carney won instead, for his role in Harry and Tonto). In 2006, Premiere Magazine issued "The 100 Greatest Performances of all Time", ranking Pacino's performance at #20.[3]
Awards and honors
Academy Awards record [4]
1. Best Supporting Actor, Robert De Niro
2. Best Art Direction, Dean Tavoularis, Angelo P. Graham, George R. Nelson
3. Best Director, Francis Ford Coppola
4. Best Original Score, Nino Rota, Carmine Coppola
5. Best Picture, Francis Ford Coppola, Gray Frederickson, Fred Roos
6. Best Adapted Screenplay, Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo
BAFTA Awards record
1. Best Actor, Al Pacino
Between The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, Coppola directed The Conversation, which was released in 1974 and was also nominated for Best Picture. This resulted in Coppola being the second director in Hollywood history to have two films released in the same year nominated for Best Picture. (The first was Alfred Hitchcock in 1941 with Foreign Correspondent and Rebecca, which won. This achievement was matched by Herbert Ross in 1977 with The Goodbye Girl and The Turning Point and again with Steven Soderbergh in 2000, when the films Erin Brockovich and Traffic were both nominated for Best Picture.)
American Film Institute recognition
* 1998 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies #32
* 2003 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains:
o Michael Corleone - Villain #11
* 2005 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes:
o "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer," #58
* 2007 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) #32
* 2008 AFI's 10 Top 10 #3 Gangster film
wikipedia
French postcard by A.N., Paris, no. 594. Photo: G.L. Manuel Frères.
Frédéric Duvallès (1884-1971) was a popular French comedian who knew a rich career in French sound cinema of the 1930s and 1950s. Examples are L'héritier du Bal Tabarin (Jean Kemm, 1933), Train de plaisir (Léo Joannon, 1936), and Vacances payées (Maurice Cammage, 1938), in all three he had the lead. All in all, he acted in some 46 films.
French postcard for the Cinema Victor-Hugo, Photo: Pathé-Natan. Frédéric Duvallès and Jacqueline Francell in Tout pour rien/All for nothing (René Pujol, 1933). An honest but naive young man (Duvallès) is manipulated by a gang of crooks (led by Pierre Alcover) who use him to cover their misdeeds. They hire him as the manager of a big dime store called 'Tout pour rien' (All for nothing) with a fantastic wage until the police start to chase him. His honesty will be rewarded though and he will find the way to the heart of his beloved (Francell), despite the opposition of her proud mother (Françoise Rosay).
The address on the back of the card given for the cinema, Avenue Victor Hugo, corner rue la Pompe, is a bit odd, as the former cinema was on the other side of the street, at 65, rue St. Didier. The Modernist style cinema, commissioned by Pathé-Natan, opened in 1931. The exterior was designed by the architects Jean Charavel et Marcel Melendès, the auditorium by Eugène Bruyneel, the leading architect at Pathé-Cinéma. It was a typical second-run cinema, which showed films after they had been shown at the first-night cinemas on the Grands Boulevards or the Champs-Elysées. In 1970 it was completely remodeled and in 1986 it closed down. The building is still there. See salles-cinema.com/anciens-cinemas/pathe-victor-hugo
Frédéric Duvallès (1884-1971) was a popular French comedian who knew a rich career in French sound cinema of the 1930s and 1950s. Examples are L'héritier du Bal Tabarin (Jean Kemm, 1933), Tout pour rien (René Pujol, 1933), Train de plaisir (Léo Joannon, 1936), and Vacances payées (Maurice Cammage, 1938), in all four he had the lead. Small and thin, Duvallès has a versatile physique and could play both valets and authorities such as bailiffs and priests. All in all, he acted in some 46 films.
During the 1930s and 1940s, Jacqueline Francell (1908-1962) was a popular star of the French operetta. She also appeared in operas at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and in 1930, she created the role of Princess Blanche-Aline in Les Aventures du roi Pausole by Arthur Honegger. She also starred in a dozen films between 1931 and 1944.
Duvall Bridge links the North Tract to the Central Tract at the Refuge. The bridge has been rebuilt several times over its nearly 200 year history due to flooding of the Patuxent River. Patuxent Research Refuge, border of Anne Arundel & Prince George's Counties, Maryland.
Duvall - Carnation Police Department, Washington. Check out the homepage for the AJM STUDIOS Northwest Police Department! Visit the Northwest Law Enforcement Association. Visit the Northwest Law Enforcement Association Homepage. 2012.
French postcard in the Les Grandes Vedettes series by Radiogravures A. Breger Frères, Paris. Photo: Pathé-Natan.
Frédéric Duvallès (1884-1971) was a popular French comedian who knew a rich career in French sound cinema of the 1930s and 1950s. Examples are L'héritier du Bal Tabarin (Jean Kemm, 1933), Train de plaisir (Léo Joannon, 1936), and Vacances payées (Maurice Cammage, 1938), in all three he had the lead. Small and thin, Duvallès has a versatile physique and could play both valets and authorities such as bailiffs and priests. All in all, he acted in some 46 films.
Frédéric Duvallès was born Charles Frédéric Coffinieres in Paris in 1884. He was often credited as Duvallès. His father was a lawyer. Frédéric moved from Paris to Marseille, for his stage debut at the Théâtre du Gymnase, in 1908. He went on tour around the world. During WW I, he showed remarkable bravery which earned him the Croix de Guerre and the Military medal and he was named Officer of the Legion of Honor. After the war, he acted on the stage of the Palais-Royal. During the interwar period, he played supporting roles in plays by Labiche, Feydeau, and others. He made his film debut in the comedy La merveilleuse journée/The Wonderful Day (Yves Mirande, Robert Wyler, 1932) in which he co-starred with André Alerme, Florelle, and Milly Mathis. It was a remake of the silent film, La merveilleuse journée/The Wonderful Day (René Barberis, 1929) and both were based on a play by Yves Mirande. He appeared opposite Elvira Popescu and André Lefaur in the comedy Dora Nelson (René Guissart, 1935). In the comedy Le roi/The King (Pierre Colombier, 1936) starring Victor Francen and Raimu, he had only a supporting part. Then he had the lead in the romantic comedy Train de plaisir/Excursion Train (Léo Joannon, 1936), with Germaine Roger. Fernandel was his co-star in Tricoche et Cacolet/Tricoche and Cacolet (Pierre Colombier, 1938).
Then followed a long intermission in Frédéric Duvallès's film career. He returned to the screen in the comedy Folie douce, (Jean-Paul Paulin, 1951) with Lisette Jambel and Louis de Funès in a supporting part. Then he appeared in the hit comedy Le Portrait de son père/His Father's Portrait (André Berthomieu, 1953) starring Jean Richard and Brigitte Bardot. The film recorded 1,643,820 admissions. He co-starred with Kean Tissier in the comedy Quand te tues-tu?/When Do You Commit Suicide? (Émile Couzinet, 1953), a remake of the 1931 film of the same title. One of his best-known films is Jean Renoir's Elena et les Hommes/Elena and Her Men (Jean Renoir, 1956), starring Ingrid Bergman and Jean Marais. Duvallès played a supporting part. Another supporting role followed in the Operetta Love in À la Jamaïque/Jamaica (André Berthomieu, 1957) starring Luis Mariano and Jane Sourza. He also appeared in the Louis de Funès comedy Ni vu, ni connu/Neither Seen Nor Recognized (Yves Robert, 1958). He also played in the French-Italian-German thriller La chambre ardente/The Burning Court (Julien Duvivier, 1962). He played a weird old man who is a student of the black arts and lives in an ancient, cursed castle. He is visited by a group of people, including Nadja Tiller and Jean-Claude Brialy, but soon people in the group start being killed off. His final film was the Spanish-French musical La casta Susana/Chaste Susan (Luis César Amadori, 1963). Frédéric Duvallès passed away in Paris in 1971. He was 86. He rests in the cemetery of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine.
Sources: Donatienne Roby (CinéArtistes - French), Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
French postcard in the 'Nos artistes dans leur loge' series, no. 181. Photo: Comoedia, Paris.
Frédéric Duvallès (1884-1971) was a popular French comedian who knew a rich career in French sound cinema of the 1930s and 1950s. Examples are L'héritier du Bal Tabarin (Jean Kemm, 1933), Train de plaisir (Léo Joannon, 1936), and Vacances payées (Maurice Cammage, 1938), in all three he had the lead. All in all, he acted in some 46 films.
This is a picture of Duvall Bridge Road which is part of the historic Telegraph Road on the North Tract of the Patuxent Research Refuge near Fort Meade, Maryland.
Duvall - Carnation Police Department, Washington. Check out the homepage for the AJM STUDIOS Northwest Police Department! Visit the Northwest Law Enforcement Association. Visit the Northwest Law Enforcement Association Homepage. 2012.
Duvall Police Department, Washington. Check out the new homepage for the AJM STUDIOS Northwest Police Department! Visit the Northwest Law Enforcement Association. 2011.
© All Right Reserved
Duvall - Carnation Police Department, Washington. Check out the homepage for the AJM STUDIOS Northwest Police Department! Visit the Northwest Law Enforcement Association. Visit the Northwest Law Enforcement Association Homepage. 2012.
Duvall Police Department, Washington. Check out the new homepage for the AJM STUDIOS Northwest Police Department! Visit the Northwest Law Enforcement Association. 2011.
© All Right Reserved
This big machine is laying down the new asphalt where one lane of SR 203 was recently ripped up for an emergency repair. Getting closer to re-opening SR 203 between Duvall and Carnation!
godfather,
Plot
In late summer 1945, guests are gathered for the wedding reception of Don Vito Corleone's daughter Connie and Carlo Rizzi. Vito (Marlon Brando), the head of the Corleone Mafia family – who is known to friends and associates as "Godfather" – and Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), the Corleone family lawyer and consigliere (counselor), are hearing requests for favors because "no Sicilian can refuse a request on his daughter's wedding day". Meanwhile, the Don's youngest son Michael (Al Pacino), a decorated Marine war hero returning from World War II service, tells his girlfriend Kay Adams (Diane Keaton) anecdotes about his family, attempting to inform her about his father's criminal life; he reassures her that he is different from his family.
Among the guests at the celebration is the famous singer Johnny Fontane (Al Martino), Corleone's godson, who has come from Hollywood to petition Vito's help in landing a movie role that will revitalize his flagging career. Jack Woltz (John Marley), the head of the studio, denies Fontane the part, but Don Corleone explains to Johnny: "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." Hagen is dispatched to California to fix the problem, but Woltz angrily tells him that he will never cast Fontane in the role, for which he is perfect and will make him an even bigger star, because Fontane seduced and "ruined" a starlet that Woltz favored. Woltz is then persuaded in what is perhaps one of the most notorious scenes in movie history. He wakes up early, and feels something wet in his bed. He pulls back the sheets, and finds himself in a pool of blood with the severed head of his prized $600,000 stud horse in the bed with him, and screams in horror.[5]
Upon Hagen's return, the family meets with Virgil "The Turk" Sollozzo (Al Lettieri), who is being backed by the rival Tattaglia family. He asks Don Corleone for financing, and political and legal protection for importing and distributing heroin. Despite the huge profit to be made, Corleone refuses, explaining that his political influence would be jeopardized by a move into the narcotics trade. The Don's eldest son, hotheaded Sonny (James Caan), who had earlier urged the family to enter into the narcotics trade, breaks ranks during the meeting and questions Sollozzo's assurances as to the Corleone Family's investment being guaranteed by the Tattaglia Family. His father, angry at Sonny's dissension in a non-family member's presence, privately rebukes him later. Don Corleone then dispatches Luca Brasi (Lenny Montana) to infiltrate Sollozzo's organization and report back with information.
Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone, the Godfather.
Soon after his meeting with Sollozzo, Don Corleone is gunned down in an assassination attempt, and it is not immediately known whether he has survived. Meanwhile, Sollozzo and the Tattaglias kill Luca Brasi. Sollozzo abducts Tom Hagen and persuades him to offer Sonny the deal previously offered to his father. Enraged, Sonny refuses to consider it and issues an ultimatum to the Tattaglias – turn over Sollozzo or face war. They refuse, and instead send Sonny "a Sicilian message," in the form of a fresh fish wrapped in Luca Brasi's bullet-proof vest, to tell the Corleones that Luca Brasi is dead.
Michael, whom the other Mafia families consider a "civilian" uninvolved in mob business, visits his father at the small private hospital. He is shocked to find that no one is guarding him. Realizing that his father is again being set up to be killed, he calls Sonny for help, moves his father to another room, and goes outside to watch the entrance. Michael enlists help from Enzo the baker, who has come to the hospital to pay his respects. Together, they bluff away Sollozzo's men as they drive by. Police cars soon appear with the corrupt Captain McCluskey, who breaks Michael's jaw when he insinuates that Sollozzo paid McCluskey to set up his father. Just then, Hagen arrives with "private detectives" licensed to carry guns to protect Don Corleone, and he takes Michael home. Sonny responds by having Bruno Tattaglia, son and underboss of Don Phillip Tattaglia (Victor Rendina), killed.
Following the attempt on the Don's life at the hospital, Sollozzo requests a meeting with the Corleones, which Captain McCluskey will attend as Sollozzo's bodyguard. When Michael volunteers to kill both men during the meeting, Sonny and the other senior Family members are amused; however, Michael convinces them that he is serious and that killing Sollozzo and McCluskey is in the family's interest: "It's not personal. It's strictly business." Although police officers are usually off limits for hits, Michael argues that since McCluskey is corrupt and has illegal dealings with Sollozzo, he is fair game.
Before the meeting in an Italian restaurant, McCluskey frisks Michael for weapons and finds him clean. Michael excuses himself to go to the bathroom where he retrieves a planted revolver, and returning to the table, he fatally shoots Sollozzo, then McCluskey. Michael is sent to hide in Sicily, while the Corleone family prepares for all-out warfare with the Five Families who are united against the Corleones, as well as a general clampdown on the mob by the police and government authorities.
Back in New York City, Don Corleone returns home from the hospital and is distraught to learn that it was Michael who killed Sollozzo and McCluskey. Some months later, in 1948, Sonny severely beats Carlo Rizzi for brutalizing the pregnant Connie, and threatens to kill him if he ever abuses his sister again. An angry Carlo responds by plotting with Tattaglia and Don Emilio Barzini (Richard Conte), the Corleones' chief rivals, to have Sonny killed. Carlo again beats Connie in order to lure Sonny out. Furious, Sonny drives off alone to fulfill his threat. On the way, he is ambushed at a toll booth and shot to death in his car. The radio broadcast of Bobby Thomson's home run to win the National League pennant was playing in the tollbooth as the shooting began (though the scene takes place in 1948, not 1951).
Rather than seek revenge for Sonny's killing, Don Corleone meets with the heads of the Five Families to negotiate a cease-fire. Not only is it draining all their assets and threatening their survival, but ending the conflict is the only way that Michael can return home safely. Reversing his previous decision, Vito agrees that the Corleone family will provide political protection for Tattaglia's traffic in heroin, as long as it is controlled and not sold to children. At the meeting, Don Corleone deduces that Don Barzini, not Tattaglia, was ultimately behind the mob war and Sonny's death.
In Sicily, Michael patiently waits out his exile, protected by Don Tommasino, an old family friend. Michael aimlessly wanders the countryside, accompanied by his ever-present bodyguards, Calo and Fabrizio. In a small village, Michael meets and falls in love with Apollonia Vitelli (Simonetta Stefanelli), the beautiful young daughter of a bar owner. They are soon married, but the wedding reveals Michael's presence to Corleone enemies. As the couple is about to be moved to a safer location, Apollonia is killed when their car is bombed; Michael, who barely escapes alive, spotted Fabrizio hurriedly leaving the grounds mere seconds before the explosion, implicating him in the assassination plot.
With his safety guaranteed, Michael returns home. More than a year later, he reunites with his former girlfriend Kay after a total of four years, three in Italy, and one in America. He tells her he wants them to be married. Although Kay is hurt that he waited so long to contact her, she accepts his proposal. With the Don semi-retired, Sonny dead, and middle brother Fredo (John Cazale) considered incapable of running the family business, Michael is now in charge; he promises Kay he will make the family business completely legitimate within five years.
Peter Clemenza (Richard S. Castellano) and Salvatore Tessio (Abe Vigoda), two Corleone Family caporegimes (captains) complain that they are being pushed around by the Barzini Family and ask permission to strike back, but Michael denies the request. He plans to move the family operations to Nevada and after that, Clemenza and Tessio may break away to form their own families. Michael further promises Connie's husband, Carlo, that he will be his right hand man in Nevada. Tom Hagen has been removed as consigliere and is now merely the family's lawyer, with Vito serving as consigliere. Privately, Hagen complains about his change in status, and also questions Michael about a new regime of "soldiers" secretly being built under Rocco Lampone (Tom Rosqui). Don Vito explains to Hagen that Michael is acting on his advice.
In Las Vegas Michael meets with casino boss Moe Greene (Alex Rocco). Michael offers to buy out Greene but is rudely rebuffed. Greene believes the Corleones are weak and that he can secure a better deal from Barzini. As Moe and Michael heatedly negotiate, Fredo sides with Moe. Afterward, Michael warns Fredo to never again "take sides with anyone against the family."
Michael returns home. In a private moment, Vito explains his expectation that the Family's enemies will attempt to murder Michael by using a trusted associate to arrange a meeting as a pretext for assassination. Vito also reveals that he had never intended a life of crime for Michael, hoping that his youngest son would hold legitimate power as a senator or governor. Shortly after, Vito suffers a fatal heart attack while playing with his young grandson Anthony in his tomato garden. At the burial, Tessio conveys a proposal for a meeting with Barzini, which identifies Tessio as the traitor that Vito was expecting.
Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen (left) and Al Pacino as Michael Corleone (right)
Michael arranges for a series of murders to occur simultaneously while he is standing godfather to Connie's and Carlo's newborn son at the church.
* Don Stracci is gunned down along with his men in an elevator by Clemenza.
* Moe Greene is shot through the eye by an unknown assassin while having a massage.
* Don Cuneo is trapped in a revolving door and shot dead by Willi Cicci.
* Don Tattaglia is assassinated in his bed, along with a prostitute, by Rocco Lampone and an unknown associate.
* Don Barzini, along with his bodyguard and driver, are shot by Al Neri, disguised in his old police uniform.
After the baptism, Tessio believes he and Hagen are on their way to the meeting between Michael and Barzini that he has arranged. Instead, he is surrounded by Willi Cicci and other button men as Hagen steps away. Realizing that Michael has uncovered his betrayal, Tessio tells Hagen that he always respected Michael, and that his disloyalty "was only business." He asks if Tom can get him off for "old times' sake," but Tom says he cannot. Meanwhile, Michael confronts Carlo about Sonny's murder and forces him to admit his role in setting up the ambush. Michael assures Carlo he will not be killed, that his punishment is exclusion from all family business. He hands Carlo a plane ticket to exile in Las Vegas. However, when Carlo gets into a car headed for the airport, he is garroted to death by Clemenza, on Michael's orders.
Later, a hysterical Connie confronts Michael, accusing him of murdering Carlo. Kay questions Michael about Connie's accusation, but he refuses to answer, reminding her to never ask him about his business. She insists, and Michael lies, reassuring his wife that he played no role in Carlo's death. Kay believes him and is relieved. The film ends with Clemenza and new caporegimes Rocco Lampone and Al Neri paying their respects to Michael. Clemenza kisses Michael's hand and greets him as "Don Corleone." As Kay watches, the door is closed. Michael is the new Godfather.
[edit] Differences from the novel
One of the primary parts of Puzo's novel which was not used for the movie was the flashback story of Vito Corleone's earlier life, including the circumstances of his emigration to America, his early family life, his murder of Don Fanucci, and his rise in importance in the Mafia, all of which were later used in The Godfather Part II.
Many subplots were trimmed in the transition from the printed page to the screen, including: singer Johnny Fontane's misfortunes with women and his problems with his voice; a teenaged Sonny's impulsive dabbling in street crime and his utterly lacking the tact and coolheadedness possessed in such abundance by his father; Sonny's mistress, Lucy Mancini's new-found love in Dr. Jules Segal (a character entirely missing from the film), who not only assists in surgically repairing Lucy's vaginal malformation (a condition that allowed her to tolerate Sonny's excessively large penis) but he refers Michael to the surgeon who repairs Michael's facial disfigurement (resulting from Capt. McCluskey smashing his jaw), and also operated on Johnny Fontane's vocal cords, thus restoring his singing voice; Jack Woltz's increasing pedophilia; Kay Adams's home life and her brief separation from Michael; Luca Brasi's demonic past; the Corleone family's victorious rise to power in earlier New York gang wars in which Don Corleone survives a previous assassination attempt and Al Capone sends triggermen from Chicago in an unsuccessful attempt to aid a rival gang; disgraced former police officer Al Neri's recruitment as a Corleone hit man, Don Corleone's ingenious plan to bring Michael out of exile in Sicily; the detailed savage attack on the two men who assaulted the undertaker Bonasera's daughter, which was led by Paulie Gatto and involved retainer thugs (which was only alluded to in the film).
According to the book, Michael's reason to Sonny for his new-found aggression is, "They made it personal when they shot Pop. It is not business, it's personal"; but in the movie, he states his father's motto, "It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business".
Additionally, the novel states that Lucy Mancini was not pregnant by Sonny when she moved to Las Vegas, thus leaving no room for her son, Vincent Mancini of The Godfather Part III. Puzo wrote the screenplays of all three movies, so he was obviously aware of this contradiction. It could be reconciled by saying that she was simply lying to Tom Hagen in the novel.
Connie's confrontation with Michael over Carlo's death is also portrayed somewhat differently. Although she is initially distraught, accusing Michael of executing her husband as revenge for Sonny's brutal murder, in the book she apologizes to Michael a few days later, claiming she was mistaken, apparently glad to be rid of the abusive Carlo and that Sonny has been avenged. She also marries again less than a year later.
Characters with smaller roles in the film than in the novel include Johnny Fontane, Lucy Mancini, Rocco Lampone, and Al Neri (the last two are reduced to non-speaking roles). Characters dropped in the film adaptation besides Dr. Segal include Vito's terminally-ill consigliere, Genco Abbandando (only spoken of, he appears in a deleted scene featured in The Godfather Saga; he first appears on film in The Godfather II) and Dr. Taza from Sicily. Also, in the book, Michael and Kay have two sons, but in the movies they have a son and a daughter.
The novel and film also differ on the fates of Michael's bodyguards in Sicily, Fabrizio and Calo. The film has them both surviving (Calo, in fact, appears in the third installment). In the book, however, it is implied that Calo dies along with Apollonia in the car explosion, and Fabrizio, implicated as an accomplice in the bombing, is shot and killed as one more victim in the famous "baptism scene" after he is tracked down running a pizza parlor in Buffalo. Fabrizio's murder was deleted from the film but publicity photos of the scene exist.[6] (He is later killed in a completely different scene in The Godfather Saga which was deleted from The Godfather Part II).
The book's ending differs from the movie: whereas in the film Kay suddenly realizes that Michael has become "like his family", the drama is toned down in the book. She leaves Michael and goes to stay with her parents. When Tom Hagen visits her there, he lets her in on family secrets for which, according to him, he would be killed should Michael find out what he has revealed. This is then followed by Kay's visit to the church, where she prays for her husband's soul.
[edit] Cast
* Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone – the boss (the "Don") of the Corleone family, Formerly known as Vito Andolini. He is the father of Sonny, Fredo, Michael and Connie and adoptive father to Tom Hagen. Husband of Carmella Corleone. A native Sicilian.
* Al Pacino as Michael Corleone – the Don's and Carmella's youngest son, recently returned from military service following the end of World War II. The only college-educated member of the family, he initially wants nothing to do with the Corleone family business. His evolution from doe-eyed outsider to ruthless boss is the key plotline of the film.
* James Caan as Santino "Sonny" Corleone – Vito's and Carmella's hot-headed eldest son; he is being groomed to succeed his father as head of the Corleone family. He is the family's underboss.
* Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen – an informally adopted son of Vito and Carmella Corleone, he is also the family lawyer and the new consigliere (counselor). He is not Sicilian, but German-Irish.
* Diane Keaton as Kay Adams – Michael's girlfriend and, ultimately, his wife and mother to his children.
* John Cazale as Fredo Corleone – the middle son of Vito and Carmella Corleone. Fredo is not very bright and appears to be the weakest of the Corleone brothers.
* Talia Shire as Constanzia "Connie" Corleone – Vito's and Carmella's youngest child and only daughter. She marries Carlo Rizzi.
* Richard S. Castellano as Peter "Pete" Clemenza – a caporegime for the Corleone family.
* Abe Vigoda as Salvatore "Sal" Tessio – a caporegime for the Corleone Family.
* Al Lettieri as Virgil "The Turk" Sollozzo – a heroin dealer associated with the Tattaglia family.
* Gianni Russo as Carlo Rizzi – Connie's husband. Becomes an associate of the Corleone family, and ultimately betrays Sonny to the Barzini family.
* Sterling Hayden as Captain Mark McCluskey – a corrupt police captain on Sollozzo's payroll.
* Lenny Montana as Luca Brasi – an enforcer utilized by Vito Corleone.
* Richard Conte as Emilio Barzini– Don of the Barzini family.
* Al Martino as Johnny Fontane – a world-famous popular singer and godson of Vito.
* John Marley as Jack Woltz – a powerful Hollywood producer.
* Alex Rocco as Moe Greene – a longtime associate of the Corleone family who owns a Las Vegas hotel.
* Morgana King as Carmella Corleone – Vito's wife and mother of Sonny, Fredo, Michael and Connie, and adoptive mother to Tom Hagen.
* John Martino as Paulie Gatto – A "button man" (soldier/hit man) under Capo Pete Clemenza and Vito's driver.
* Victor Rendina as Philip Tattaglia– Don of the Tattaglia family.
* Simonetta Stefanelli as Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone – A stunningly beautiful young girl Michael meets and marries while in Sicily.
* Louis Guss as Don Zaluchi – Don of the Zaluchi family of Detroit.
* Tom Rosqui as Rocco Lampone – a soldier under Clemenza who eventually becomes a caporegime in the Corleone family.
* Joe Spinell as Willi Cicci – a soldier in the Corleone family.
* Richard Bright as Al Neri – Michael Corleone's bodyguard. He eventually becomes a caporegime.
* Julie Gregg as Sandra Corleone – wife of Sonny.
[edit] Production
[edit] Coppola and Paramount
Francis Ford Coppola was not the first choice to direct. At least two other directors were approached first. Italian director Sergio Leone was offered the job, but he declined in order to direct his own gangster opus, Once Upon a Time in America, which focused on Jewish-American gangsters.[7] According to Robert Evans, head of Paramount Pictures at the time, Coppola also did not initially want to direct the film because he feared it would glorify the Mafia and violence, and thus reflect poorly on his Sicilian and Italian heritage; on the other hand, Evans specifically wanted an Italian-American to direct the film because his research had shown that previous films about the Mafia that were directed by non-Italians had fared dismally at the box office, and he wanted to, in his own words, "smell the spaghetti". When Coppola hit upon the idea of making it a metaphor for American capitalism, however, he eagerly agreed to take the helm.[8] At the time, Coppola had directed eight previous films, the most notable of which was the film version of the stage musical Finian's Rainbow — although he had also received an Academy Award for co-writing Patton in 1970.[9] Coppola was in debt to Warner Bros. for $400,000 following budget overruns on George Lucas's THX 1138, which Coppola had produced, and he took The Godfather on Lucas's advice.[10]
There was intense friction between Coppola and the studio, Paramount Pictures, and several times Coppola was almost replaced. Paramount maintains that its skepticism was due to a rocky start to production, though Coppola believes that the first week went extremely well. Paramount thought that Coppola failed to stay on schedule, frequently made production and casting errors, and insisted on unnecessary expenses. Coppola says he was shadowed by a replacement director, who was ready to take over if Coppola was fired, but despite such intense pressure, Coppola managed to defend his decisions and avoid being replaced.[11]
Paramount was in financial troubles at the time of production and so was desperate for a "Big Hit" to boost business, hence the pressure Coppola faced during filming. They wanted The Godfather to appeal to a wide audience and threatened Coppola with a "Violence coach" to make the film more exciting. Coppola added a few more violent scenes to keep the studio happy. The scene where Connie breaks crockery after finding out that her husband is playing around, was added for this reason.[11]
[edit] Casting
Coppola's casting choices were unpopular with studio executives at Paramount Pictures, particularly Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone. Paramount, which wanted Laurence Olivier (who could not take the part owing to health problems), originally refused to allow Coppola to cast Brando in the role, citing difficulties Brando had on recent film sets. One studio executive proposed Danny Thomas for the role citing the fact that Don Corleone was a strong "family man." At one point, Coppola was told by the then-president of Paramount that "Marlon Brando will never appear in this motion picture". After pleading with the executives, Coppola was allowed to cast Brando only if he appeared in the film for much less salary than his previous films, perform a screen-test, and put up a bond saying that he would not cause a delay in the production (as he had done on previous film sets).[12] Coppola chose Brando over Ernest Borgnine on the basis of Brando's screen test, which also won over the Paramount leadership. Brando later won an Academy Award for his portrayal, which he refused to accept.
The studio originally wanted Robert Redford or Ryan O'Neal to play Michael Corleone, but Coppola wanted an unknown who looked like an Italian-American, whom he found in Al Pacino.[11] Pacino was not well known at the time, having appeared in only two minor films, and the studio did not consider him right for the part,[12] in part because of his height. Pacino was given the role only after Coppola threatened to quit the production. Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Warren Beatty, Martin Sheen,[12] and James Caan also auditioned.[12]
Among those who auditioned for other parts were Bruce Dern, Paul Newman and Steve McQueen, who were considered for the role of Tom Hagen that eventually went to Robert Duvall. Sylvester Stallone auditioned for Carlo Rizzi and Paulie Gatto, Anthony Perkins for Sonny, and Mia Farrow auditioned for Kay. William Devane was seen for the role of Moe Greene. Mario Adorf was approached for a role as well. A then-unknown Robert De Niro auditioned for the roles of Michael, Sonny, Carlo and Paulie Gatto. He was cast as Paulie, but Coppola arranged a "trade" with The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight to get Al Pacino from that film. De Niro later played the young Vito Corleone in Part II, winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the role.
To some extent, The Godfather was a family affair for Francis Ford Coppola. Carmine Coppola, his father, who had a distinguished career as a composer, conductor and arranger, wrote additional music for the film and appeared in a bit part as a piano player, and Carmine's wife Italia Coppola was an extra. The director's sister Talia Shire was cast as Connie, and his infant daughter, Sofia, played Connie's and Carlo's newborn son, Michael Francis Rizzi, in the climactic baptism scene near the movie's end.[13] Coppola also cast his sons as Frank and Andrew Hagen, the two sons of Tom Hagen. They are seen in the Sonny-Carlo streetfight scene and behind Al Pacino and Robert Duvall during the funeral scene.
[edit] Star salaries
Al Pacino, James Caan and Diane Keaton each received $35,000 for their work on The Godfather, and Robert Duvall got $36,000 for eight weeks of work. Marlon Brando, on the other hand, was paid $50,000 for six weeks and weekly expenses of $1,000, plus 5% of the film, capped at $1.5 million. Brando later sold his points back to Paramount for $300,000.[14]
[edit] Filming
Most of the principal photography took place from 29 March 1971 to 6 August 1971, although a scene with Pacino and Keaton was shot in the autumn — there were a total of 77 days of shooting, fewer than the 83 for which the production had budgeted.
One of the movie's most shocking moments involved the real severed head of a horse. Animal rights groups protested the inclusion of the scene. Coppola later stated that the horse's head was delivered to him from a dog food company; a horse had not been killed specifically for the movie. This scene was shot in Port Washington, New York.[11][12]
In the novel, Jack Woltz, the movie producer whose horse's head is put in his bed, is also shown to be a pedophile as Tom Hagen sees a young girl (presumably one of Woltz's child stars) crying while walking out of Woltz's room. This scene was cut from the theatrical release but can be found on the DVD (though Woltz can still briefly be seen kissing the girl on the cheek in his studio in the film).
The shooting of Moe Green through the eye was inspired by the death of gangster Bugsy Siegel. To achieve the effect, actor Alex Rocco's glasses had two tubes hidden in their frames. One had blood in it, and the other had a BB and compressed air. When the gun was shot, the compressed air shot the BB through the glasses, shattering them from the inside. The other tube then released the blood.[citation needed]
The equally startling scene of McClusky's shooting was accomplished by building up a fake forehead on top of actor Sterling Hayden. A gap was cut in the center, filled with fake blood, and capped off with a plug of prosthetic flesh. During filming, the plug was quickly yanked out with monofilament fishing line, making a bloody hole suddenly appear in Hayden's head.
The opening scene of The Godfather is a long, slow zoom, starting with a close-up of the undertaker, Bonasera, who is petitioning Don Corleone, and ending with the Godfather, seen from behind, framing the scene. This zoom, which lasts for about three minutes, was shot with a computer-controlled zoom lens designed by Tony Karp.[15] The lens was also used in the making of Silent Running.[16]
[edit] Locations
Locations[17] around New York City and its environs were used for the film, including the then-closed flagship store of Best & Company on Fifth Avenue, which was dressed up and used for the scene in which Pacino and Keaton are Christmas shopping. At least one location in Los Angeles was used also (for the exterior of Woltz's mansion), for which neither Robert Duvall nor John Marley was available; in some shots, it is possible to see that extras are standing in for the two actors. A scene with Pacino and Keaton was filmed in the town of Ross, California. The Sicilian towns of Savoca and Forza d'Agrò outside of Taormina were also used for exterior locations. Interiors were shot at Filmways Studio in New York.
A side entrance to Bellevue Hospital was used for Michael's confrontation with police Captain McCluskey.[18] As of 2007, the steps and gate to the hospital were still there but victim to neglect.
The hospital interiors, when Michael visits his father there, were filmed at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary on 14th Street, in Manhattan, New York City.
The scene in which Don Barzini was assassinated was filmed on the steps of the New York State Supreme Court building on Foley Square in Manhattan, New York City.[19]
Two churches were used to film the baptism scene. The interior shots were filmed at Old St. Patrick's in New York. For the baptism, Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 was used, as were other Bach works for the pipe organ. The exterior scenes following the baptism were filmed at Mount Loretto Church in Pleasant Plains on Staten Island, New York. In 1973 much of Mount Loretto Church was destroyed in a fire. Only the façade and steeple of the original church remained, and were later incorporated into a new structure that was built to replace the structure destroyed in the fire.
The funeral scene was filmed at Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, Queens.[20]
[edit] Critical reception
The film is greatly respected among international critics and the public and is routinely listed as one of the greatest films ever made.[21] Rotten Tomatoes reported that 100% of 61 reviews were positive[22] and Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received a perfect average score of 100, based on 14 reviews.[23] It was voted greatest film of all time by Entertainment Weekly,[24] and is now ranked as the second greatest film in American cinematic history – behind Citizen Kane by the American Film Institute.[4] In the 2002 Sight & Sound poll of international critics, The Godfather (along with The Godfather Part II) was ranked as the fourth best film of all time.[25] Both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II were selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1990 and 1993, respectively, while The Godfather Part III was not.
The soundtrack's main theme by Nino Rota was also critically acclaimed; the main theme ("Speak Softly Love") is well-known and widely used. (See Score Controversy)
Stanley Kubrick believed that The Godfather was possibly the greatest movie ever made, and without question the best cast.[26]
[edit] Awards and honours
Academy Awards
1. Best Actor, Marlon Brando
2. Best Picture, Albert S. Ruddy
3. Best Adapted Screenplay, Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola
Golden Globe Awards
1. Best Picture - Drama
2. Best Director, Francis Ford Coppola
3. Best Actor - Drama, Marlon Brando
4. Best Original Score, Nino Rota
5. Best Screenplay, Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola
BAFTA Awards
1. Best Music, Nino Rota
Love Theme From The Godfather
Play sound
The famous theme, composed by Larry Kusic and Nino Rota.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
The Godfather won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Writing (adapted screenplay) for Francis Coppola and Mario Puzo, and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Marlon Brando, who declined to collect the award and sent Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather to the Oscars in his place to explain his reasons.[27] The film had been nominated for eight other Academy Awards.
The film won five Golden Globes, one Grammy, and numerous other awards.
[edit] Score controversy
Nino Rota's score was removed at the last minute from the list of 1973 Academy Award nominees when it was discovered that he had used the theme in Eduardo De Filippo's 1958 comedy Fortunella. Although in the earlier film the theme was played in a brisk, staccato and comedic style, the melody was the same as the love theme from The Godfather, and for that reason was deemed ineligible for an Oscar.[28] Despite this, The Godfather Part II won a 1974 Oscar for best original score, although it featured the same love theme that made the 1972 score ineligible.
[edit] Current rankings
* The film is ranked as #1 on Metacritic's top 100 list,[29] and in the top 10 on Rotten Tomatoes' all-time best list.[30]
* In 2002, The Godfather and The Godfather Part II reached #2 in Channel 4's "100 Greatest Films" poll.[31]
* Entertainment Weekly named The Godfather the greatest film ever made.[24]
* The Godfather was voted in at #1 in Empire Magazine's "500 Greatest Films Ever" poll in November 2008.[32]
[edit] American Film Institute
* 1998 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies #3
* 2001 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills #11
* 2005 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes:
o "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse," #2
* 2005 AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores #5
* 2007 AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) #2
* 2008 AFI's 10 Top 10 #1 Gangster film
[edit] Cinematic influence
Although many films about gangsters had been made before The Godfather, Coppola's sympathetic treatment of the Corleone family and their associates, and his portrayal of mobsters as characters of considerable psychological depth and complexity[33] was hardly usual in the genre. This was even more the case with The Godfather Part II, and the success of those two films, critically, artistically and financially, opened the doors for more and varied depictions of mobster life, including films such as Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas and TV series such as David Chase's The Sopranos.
The image of the Mafia as being a feudal organization with the Don being both the protector of the small fry and the collector of obligations from them to repay his services, which The Godfather helped to popularize, is now an easily recognizable cultural trope, as is that of the Don's family as a "royal family". (This has spread into the real world as well – cf. John Gotti – the "Dapper Don", and his celebritized family.) This portrayal stands in contrast to the more sordid reality of lower level Mafia "familial" entanglements, as depicted in various post-Godfather Mafia fare, such as Scorsese's Mean Streets and Casino, and also to the grittier hard-boiled pre-Godfather films.
In the 1999 film Analyze This, which starred Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal, many references are made both directly and indirectly to the Godfather. One dream scene is almost a shot by shot replica of the attempted assassination of Vito Corleone (Crystal playing the Don and De Niro playing Fredo). In the 1990 comedy The Freshman, Marlon Brando plays a role reminiscent of Don Corleone. And one of those most unlikely homages to this film came in 2004, when the PG-rated, animated family film Shark Tale was released with a storyline that nodded at this and other movies about the Mafia.
The 2005 Indian film Sarkar and many others, made by Ram Gopal Varma, with Amitabh Bachan in the lead role as a "Don" and his son Abhishek Bachan as the equivalent of Michael, is modeled on The Godfather with due credits appearing at the beginning of the film.
[edit] Adaptations
[edit] Chronological versions
Main article: The Godfather Saga
In 1975, Coppola edited The Godfather and The Godfather Part II together for TV, putting the scenes in chronological order and adding some previously unseen footage, but also toning down the violence, sex, and profanity. It is rated TV-14. This version of the story was called The Godfather Saga. In 1981, Paramount released the Godfather Epic box set which combined parts I & II in chronological order, again with additional scenes not shown in theaters. In 1992, Coppola would again re-edit all three Godfather movies (The Godfather, The Godfather Part II and The Godfather Part III) in chronological order dubbed The Godfather Trilogy 1901-1980. It was released on VHS and laserdisc in 1993 but has yet (as of 2008) to appear on DVD. The total run time for this version is 583 minutes (9 hours, 43 minutes). This version spanned five VHS tapes and incorporated new previously deleted scenes that had not been seen in The Godfather Saga. This set also included a sixth VHS tape: "The Godfather Family: A Look Inside" a making-of documentary.
[edit] Additional scenes
Main article: The Godfather Additional Scenes
None of these releases contains all the additional scenes in one package. The Saga contains scenes not in the Epic or Trilogy, the Epic contains scenes not in the Saga or Trilogy, and the Trilogy contains scenes not in the Saga or the Epic. Fans have longed for a complete release of the entire series,[citation needed] though Francis Ford Coppola has stated that the films were meant to be seen in their original form and has not agreed (as of 2008) to a chronological release.
[edit] 2001 DVD release
The Godfather was released on DVD for the first time on 9 October 2001 as part of a DVD package called The Godfather DVD Collection.[34] The collection contained all three films with commentary from Francis Ford Coppola and a bonus disc that featured a 73-minute documentary from 1991 titled The Godfather Family: A Look Inside, plus a 1971 documentary. The package also contained deleted footage, including the additional scenes originally contained in The Godfather Saga; "Francis Coppola's Notebook" a look inside a notebook the director kept with him at all times during the production of the film; rehearsal footage; and video segments on Gordon Willis's cinematography, Nino Rota's and Carmine Coppola's music, Francis Ford Coppola, locations and Mario Puzo's screenplays. The DVD also held a Corleone family tree, a "Godfather" timeline, and footage of the Academy Award acceptance speeches.[35]
The restoration was confirmed by Francis Ford Coppola during a question-and-answer session for The Godfather Part III, when he said that he had just seen the new transfer and it was "terrific".
[edit] The Coppola Restoration
After a careful restoration of the aging first two movies, The Godfather movies were released on Blu-ray and DVD on 23 September 2008 under the title The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration. The work was done by Robert A. Harris of the Film Preserve. The Blu-ray box set (four discs) includes high-definition extra features on the restoration and film. They are included on disc 5 of the DVD box set (five discs).
Other extras are ported over from Paramount's 2001 DVD release. There are slight differences between the repurposed extras on the DVD and Blu-ray sets, with the HD box having more content.[36]
Paramount lists the new (HD) extra features as:
* Godfather World
* The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't
* …when the shooting stopped
* Emulsional Rescue Revealing The Godfather
* The Godfather on the Red Carpet
* Four Short Films on The Godfather
* The Godfather vs. The Godfather, Part II
* Cannoli
* Riffing on the Riffing
* Clemenza
The new DVD boxset was released on 2 June 2008 in Europe.[37] It has been rerated as a "15" by the BBFC.[38] It is unclear whether a chronological box set will be released.
* Coppola restoration on Blu-ray (2008): End credit theme music (Godfather Part II) is missing the final (approx. 10 second) chord from film proper. This missing chord would be located immediately before the restoration credit music begins. Robert A. Harris has not publicly commented about this.
[edit] In popular culture
The Godfather along with the other films in the trilogy, had a strong impact on the public at large. Don Vito's line "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse" was voted as the second most memorable line in cinema history in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes by the American Film Institute.[39]
Reports from Mafia trials and confessions suggest that Mafia families began a "real-life" tradition of paying respect to the family Don by kissing his ring, in imitation of the ending scene of the movie.[citation needed] There is no evidence of this custom being mentioned before the movie.
The scene in which a delivery is made of a pair of pants and bullet proof vest wrapped around a fish is explained to be an old Sicilian message, "Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes". This expression has made it into widespread American parlance.
An indication of the continuing influence of The Godfather and its sequels can be gleaned from the many references to it which have appeared in every medium of popular culture in the decades since the film's initial release. That these homages, quotations, visual references, satires and parodies continue to pop up even now shows clearly the film's enduring impact. In the television show The Sopranos, Tony Soprano's topless bar is named Bada Bing after the line in The Godfather when Sonny says, "You've gotta get up close like this and bada-bing! You blow their brains all over your nice Ivy League suit."
In addition, the 1997 Welsh film Twin Town (dir. Kevin Allen) set in Swansea features a scene in which a severed dog's head is discovered in its owner's bed, just as Jack Woltz finds the head of his prize stud in his bed. Another homage to the famous decapitated horse scene was a 2008 Audi commercial for their new R8 model, first aired during Super Bowl XLII, in which the grill of a rival luxury car is discovered in the oil-soaked bed. In the television show Arrested Development, the scene is parodied when Michael Bluth discovers the handlebars of his bike in his bed. Yes Dear episode "On Your Mark Get Set Mow" ends with a mower steering wheel being found in Greg's bed, as a warning from other mowers. In The Simpsons episode "Lisa's Pony," Homer buys Lisa a pony and leaves it in her bed as a surprise. In the morning Lisa notices something in her bed, removes the blanket to reveal the horse (only his head is showing) which prompts Lisa to scream in shock. In the Simpsons, there is also another allusion to the horse's head scene in the episode "Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?"; Homer has given a bad review to Luigi's Eatery and Luigi delivers a horse's head to Homer's bed, but Homer eats the head and gives it a bad review. The scene is also imitated in The King of Queens when Arthur wakes up and finds his bed soaked in Clam Soup. At the very end of the episode "Fun It" of That '70s Show, Jackie wakes up in her bed, which is covered in ketchup, next to the severed head of Fatso the Clown. The Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode "The Dabba Don" not only replicates the head-in-the-bed scene (the heads of various cartoon characters are found in Harvey Birdman's bed) but also lampoons the famous ring-kissing scene and the baptismal murders sequence.[40] Even in children's shows, such as Rugrats, the twins Phil and Lil Deville wake up and find the head of a stuffed horse in their crib. In the 2008 Simpsons episode, "The Burns and the Bees", the episode concludes with Mr. Burns being evicted from The Billionaire's Retreat for being four million dollars short, asking if he can be "let off the hook, for old times sake", echoing a line by Abe Vigoda's 'Sal' Tessio at Don Vito Corleone's home after the baptism of Michael Corleone's godson.
In another Simpsons episode "All's Fair in Oven War", the final scene in which the hillbillies ambush James Caan at the toll-station is a spoof of the scene in which Sonny Corleone is killed.
In the Family Guy episode "The Griffin Family History", the family are near death from drowning, and Peter says "I did not care for the Godfather". He is immediately criticized by the rest of the family, who say "Marlon Brando. Al Pacino. Robert De Niro. Robert Duvall. It can't get much better than that."
[edit] Video game
Main article: The Godfather: The Game
In March 2006, a video game version of The Godfather was released by Electronic Arts. Before his death, Marlon Brando provided voice work for Vito; however, owing to poor sound quality from Brando's failing health, a sound-alike's voice had to be used instead. James Caan, Robert Duvall and Abe Vigoda lent their voices and likenesses as well, and several other Godfather cast members had their likeness in the game. However, Al Pacino's likeness and voice (Michael Corleone) was not in the game as Al Pacino sold his likeness and voice exclusively for use in the Scarface video game. Francis Ford Coppola said in April 2005 that he was not informed and did not approve of Paramount allowing the game's production, and openly criticized the move.[41]
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A quick picture in the hurry of soundchecks !
THE FREAKSVILLE FAMILY FROM BELGIUM COMES TO LONDON !
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Duvall Police Department, Washington. Check out the new homepage for the AJM STUDIOS Northwest Police Department! Visit the Northwest Law Enforcement Association. 2011.
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