1)
The Godfather was never meant to be
an important film. There was no expectation for it to be a hit. When Francis
Ford Coppola was given the job of directing, his body of work was less than
impressive. A couple dirty movies, some cheap horror flicks, and then he made a
leap forward with his 1967 UCLA M.F.A. thesis film, You’re a Big Boy Now, which was nominated for a Palme d’Or and a
Golden Globe. His prestige in the film industry got a huge boost when he won an
Academy Award for co-writing 1970’s Patton.
With The Godfather, Coppola made sure
the film could be called his own. He co-wrote the script with the source
novel’s author, Mario Puzo. The story put to screen had the Corleone crime
family at the forefront, telling their story rather than focusing on law
enforcement. Audiences thus got an isolated examination of an organized crime
family, and the family alone. Coppola and Puzo never show us the ‘crime’
aspect, only the family. We’re never shown any innocent victims to the crimes
that most surely make up their family’s strength. Any bodily harm or murder a
member of the Corleone family commits is provoked and justified to the
audience. The way these criminals are shown make them look noble, courageous, and
honorable. Traits not typically given to the mafia. To really draw empathy and
attraction to the Corleone family, Coppola cast dynamic leads. As the patriarch
of the family, Coppola wanted screen veteran Marlon Brando. Though Brando had
great success in the 50s, the 60s were not a good decade for him. He was
“considered box office poison” (Flashback,
p. 371) by studios, but Coppola got his way. For the other roles, he cast
relative unknowns in order to “guarantee a sense of authenticity” (p. 372).
This decision blew up the careers of Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, John Cazale,
James Caan, Talia Shire, and so many others. Audiences took to these actors and
the characters they portrayed because the film humanized them to such a great
degree. You see the father-son, brother, brother-sister relationship played
out, something audiences can relate to. The
Godfather II follows this up with an even closer look at these
relationships that make up the heart of this franchise. This is the strength of
Coppola’s masterpiece: family matters above crime matters.
2)
Article URL: http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/03/godfather200903
This
Vanity Fair article is a great read for fans of The Godfather such as myself.
It gives a lot of great details about the production of the film and dishes on
little-known facts from behind-the-scenes. Here is one line from the article
that immediately stood out to me as both an effective introduction and summation:
“The
magic (of The Godfather) was the lucky result mainly of a series of
accidents—Coppola’s vision of the perfect cast and crew; misunderstandings
between the director and the executives; the strange camaraderie that grew
between the moviemakers and the Mob; and a number of priceless ad-libs by actors
that turned what was supposed to have been a low-budget movie into a
masterpiece.”
The
article is packed with facts that, for someone like me who’s seen The Godfather
over 10 times, make the movie even more fascinating. All the ad-libbing from
the actors that this article mentions really surprised me. “Take the cannoli”
from Clemenza, “bada-bing” from Sonny, Don Corleone slapping Johnny after his
“act like a man” line, Luca’s “masculine child” bit: all of these, among
others, were either improvised or accidental. The iconic character of Vito
Corleone as crafted by Marlon Brando was actually inspired by co-star Al
Lettieri, who played Solozzo. Brando had already met Lettieri while preparing
for On the Waterfront and got most of
his inspiration for his “I could have been a contender” scene from him. Lettieri
invited Brando to a relative’s house during preparation for The Godfather and that relative happened
to be a mob member. In addition, Coppola sent Brando tapes from the organized
crime Kefauver Committee hearings so Brando could hear how actual mafia figures
talked and he developed his memorable voice. The entirety of this Variety
article is filled with information like this including reactions from the cast
on the film’s legacy and Coppola’s own indifference to the film when it finally
released. “I had been so conditioned to think the film was bad,” he
said, “too dark, too long, too boring, that I didn’t think it would have any
success.” How incredibly wrong he was.
3) The most interesting parts
of the article were all the mentions of real life mafia interaction the cast
and crew had during production. The film actually had an impasse with the
Italian-American Civil Rights League, some members of which were genuine mafia
figures. Men like Joseph Colombo of the Colombo crime family. The League
objected to the film using the word ‘mafia,’ even though it was never once
mentioned in the script. Regardless, The
Godfather production team relented,
and the film had the League’s blessing. Following that, several mafia members
joined the film’s crew and obtained small roles. Brando received visits from
mobsters who wanted to give praise for his work. Gianni Russo, who played
Carlo, supposedly had ties to mafia bosses like Frank Costello, Carlo Gambino,
and later in life John Gotti. The actor who played Luca Brasi, Lenny Montana,
was the bodyguard of a young mafia don when he was cast for the role. “Coppola
fell in love with him immediately.” Robert Duvall, through a friend, studied
men running numbers in a Harlem luncheonette. The criminal lifestyle was not
viewed from afar, but up close for The
Godfather’s cast and crew. They spoke with mafia members, learned from
them; even befriended them. When the film premiered in New York, known mobsters
and affiliates were denied sale of tickets. When they complained to producers,
their defense was:
“When
they do a movie about the army, the generals are guests of honor, right? If
they do a movie about the navy, who’s sitting up front? The admirals. You’d
think we’d be guests of honor at this thing.”
That
is one of the best bits of the article right there. When the discerning mafia
community final saw the movie, thanks to a private screening, the response was overwhelmingly
positive. The Godfather was adopted
as the representative movie of the lifestyle. They started using the honorary
title of godfather and playing the film’s music at their weddings and baptisms.
Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, of the Gambino crime family, said The Godfather “made our life seem
honorable.” The film was embraced by mafiosos for the same reason general
audiences fell in love with it. Empathetic, noble, and stalwart characters.
People not typically associated with the criminal underworld. This is what
makes The Godfather stand out, and
the mafia knew it.
4)
When I’m asked what my favorite movie is, my answer is always: The Godfather I and II combined. Some
argue Part II is just as good a film, if not better, than the first. But
really, the first one is where it all started. The obviously more iconic,
legendary film. The world it created for moviegoers was unprecedented. Until
1972, most mob movies revolved around over-the-top street shootouts with the
cops with little in the way of character depth. Wise guys talking tough and
dames falling for their charms. There just wasn’t all that much substance.
Francis Ford Coppola’s interpretation of Mario Puzo’s vision sophisticated the genre
in a huge way. Intelligent dialogue, 3-dimensional characters, and an emphasis
on genuine storytelling made The
Godfather a legitimate drama as opposed to only being designated a genre
film. And yet, at the time of filming, no one was expecting anything particularly
good out of the film. Coppola scoffed at the idea that it would be considered a
masterpiece, saying, “I was not even confident it would be a mild
success.” He had to fight constantly with producer Robert Evans over the vision
of the film. One fight was over the lighting. At the time, movies were being
over-lit. The Godfather was filmed in
dim lighting abound with shadows and darkness. This new approach created a “new
standard in cinematography.” As for the content of the film, Coppola battled
with Evans over the final cut. Both men tell contradictory accounts. Evans says
he demanded Coppola make the movie longer and add more depth. Coppola says he
had to fight to keep a half-hour of film that Evans ordered to be cut.
Regardless, the finished product in no way feels incomplete or lacking. It’s an
epic filled with the kind of material that enters popular imagination in a way
that is seldom seen. It’s the natural result of something being incredibly original,
refreshing, and effective in its delivery. The
Godfather was a shock to moviegoers, as evidence by the fast box office
sales. It did more business in six months than “Gone with the Wind had
done in more than 30 years.” People were awed by the more realistic portrayal
of the mafia in America and fell in love with the Corleone family. Producer Al
Ruddy understands why The Godfather
resonated with audiences. “There’s one reason that movie is successful and one
reason only: it may be the greatest family movie ever made.” The members of the
family were brought to life with the skill of acting titans. Most notably
Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, father and son, whose work helped make the film
what it is. An excellent character study of a loving family, that just so
happens to also be a mafia family.
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