The Godfather (1972)

An organized crime dynasty's aging patriarch transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

Mario Puzo (screenplay by), Francis Ford Coppola (screenplay by)

Stars:

Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan

Top Rated Movies #2 | Won 3 Oscars. Another 29 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marlon Brando	...	Don Vito Corleone
Al Pacino	...	Michael Corleone
James Caan	...	Sonny Corleone
Richard S. Castellano	...	Clemenza (as Richard Castellano)
Robert Duvall	...	Tom Hagen
Sterling Hayden	...	Capt. McCluskey
John Marley	...	Jack Woltz
Richard Conte	...	Barzini
Al Lettieri	...	Sollozzo
Diane Keaton	...	Kay Adams
Abe Vigoda	...	Tessio
Talia Shire	...	Connie
Gianni Russo	...	Carlo
John Cazale	...	Fredo
Rudy Bond	...	Cuneo

Storyline

The Godfather "Don" Vito Corleone is the head of the Corleone mafia family in New York. He is at the event of his daughter's wedding. Michael, Vito's youngest son and a decorated WW II Marine is also present at the wedding. Michael seems to be uninterested in being a part of the family business. Vito is a powerful man, and is kind to all those who give him respect but is ruthless against those who do not. But when a powerful and treacherous rival wants to sell drugs and needs the Don's influence for the same, Vito refuses to do it. What follows is a clash between Vito's fading old values and the new ways which may cause Michael to do the thing he was most reluctant in doing and wage a mob war against all the other mafia families which could tear the Corleone family apart.

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Plot Keywords:

crime family | mafia | patriarch | organized crime | rise to power | 

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Taglines:

An offer you can't refuse.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The church baptism scene was filmed in two locations on Staten Island, NY. The interior scenes were filmed inside of St Patrick's church in the Richmond Town section. The exterior scene was shot at The Old Church of St. Joachim and St. Anne on the grounds of Mount Lorretto in the Pleasant Plains section of Staten Island. This church burned down in 1973 and a new church was rebuilt in its place in 1976 using the old facade.

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Goofs

The car Michael and Apollonia drive is a right-hand drive, whereas Italy drives on the right and you would expect vehicles to be left-hand drive. However Italian car manufacturers Alfa-Romeo and Lancia continued to produce cars with right hand drive for sale in Italy until the 1950s.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bonasera: I believe in America. America has made my fortune. And I raised my daughter in the American fashion. I gave her freedom but I taught her never to dishonor her family. She found a "boy friend," not an Italian. She went to the movies with him. She stayed out late. I didn't protest. Two months ago he took her for a drive, with another boy friend. They made her drink whiskey and then they tried to take advantage of her. She resisted. She kept her honor. So they beat her. Like an animal...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

In the Blu-Ray version, the 2002 Paramount logo is used and tinted in sepia.

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Alternate Versions

The original UK cinema version suffered minor BBFC cuts to the killing of Santino 'Sonny' Corleone with edits to gunshot closeups and his body being kicked in the head. All later releases were uncut.

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Connections

Referenced in Ratz: The Godfathers (2003)

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Soundtracks

Manhattan Serenade
(1928)
Music by Louis Alter
Performed by Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra (uncredited)

User Reviews

The world inside the underworld!

The godfather trilogy is an exclusive set of movies that will continue to live with humanity, every generation will see them to say, "Oh that was 10 out of 10." If you watch them you will know that the world that lives inside the underworld is same as the one we live in except that people in underworld are so smart, in fact smartness is the only thing that can keep them there. Don Vito Caroleone's early life shown in part-II is very well done to show the Don in making, how a kid who couldn't even tell his name went on becoming a underworld don who keep most senators, judges and lawyers in his pocket. Meeting of don with the so call five families are among most impressive scenes.

A saga that goes on for 9 continuous hours takes you around various walks in life of Mike (Don's younger son who become Don later), his school days, love life, personal life, family life, business life, political life and religious life. How all of these different roles Mike plays in his life and how intertwined these are.

I enjoyed watching these movies so much, I wish I had seen them much before then I did. Its amazing to see how the Part-III was made 18 years later the part-I was made and everything looks so continuous if watch them together.

I need not say much! The Godfather father trilogy been around for a while and everyone knows that they are great set of movies, its just the matter of when you actually get to see them.

Watch them! Kudos to Francis Ford Coppola! -Vishy

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Twitter

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian Latin

Release Date:

24 March 1972 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mario Puzo's The Godfather

Filming Locations:

NY Eye and Ear Infirmary, 2nd Avenue & East 13th Street, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$302,393, 19 March 1972

Gross USA:

$134,966,411

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$246,120,986

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Alfran Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

175 min

Sound Mix:

DTS (re-release) Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1