Trivia

According to Richard S. Castellano, he defended Gordon Willis during a disagreement Willis was having with Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola got revenge on Castellano by making him do twenty takes of the shots of Clemenza walking up four flights of stairs.

Marlon Brando wanted to make Don Corleone "look like a bulldog," so he stuffed his cheeks with cotton wool for the audition. For the actual filming, he wore a mouthpiece made by a dentist. This appliance is on display in the American Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York.

There was intense friction between Francis Ford Coppola and Paramount Pictures, in which Paramount Pictures frequently tried to have Coppola replaced, citing his inability to stay on schedule, unnecessary expenses, and production and casting errors (Coppola actually completed the film ahead of schedule and under budget).

Marlon Brando did not memorize most of his lines and read from cue cards during most of the film.

Animal rights activists protested the horse's head scene. Francis Ford Coppola told Variety, "There were many people killed in that movie, but everyone worries about the horse. It was the same on the set. When the head arrived, it upset many crew members who are animal lovers, who like little doggies. What they don't know is that we got the head from a pet food manufacturer who slaughters two hundred horses a day just to feed those little doggies."

Whenever oranges appear in the film, they foreshadow death or a near death involving the Corleone family.

Orson Welles lobbied to get the part of Don Vito Corleone, even offering to lose a good deal of weight in order to get the role. Francis Ford Coppola, a Welles fan, had to turn him down because he already had Marlon Brando in mind for the role and felt Welles wouldn't be right for it.

The scene in which Enzo comes to visit Vito Corleone in the hospital was shot in reverse, with the outside sequence shot first. Gabriele Torrei (Enzo) had never acted in front of a camera before, and his nervous shaking, after the car drives away, was real.

According to Al Pacino, the tears in Marlon Brando's eyes were real, in the hospital scene when Michael pledges himself to his father.

The early buzz on this movie was so positive that a sequel was planned before the film was even finished filming.

Al Pacino boycotted the Academy Awards ceremony, angry that he was nominated for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role Oscar, noting that his character had more screentime than his co-star, Best Actor winner Marlon Brando.

John Cazale (Fredo) appeared in five feature-length movies. All five films were released during the New Hollywood era in the 1970s and each one was nominated for Best Picture. Additionally, all five were selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Don Vito Corleone's distinctive voice was based on real-life mobster Frank Costello. Marlon Brando had seen him on television during the Estes Kefauver hearings in 1951, and imitated his husky whisper in the film.

According to Francis Ford Coppola, the film took 62 days to shoot.

George Lucas put together the "Mattress Sequence" (the montage of crime scene photos and headlines about the war between the five families) as a favor to Francis Ford Coppola for helping him fund American Graffiti (1973). He asked not to be credited. Lucas used photos from real crime scenes. The one pictured is Frank Nitti (aka "The Enforcer"), Al Capone's right-hand man who had not been murdered, but actually shot himself. During the scene, Coppola's father, Carmine, is the piano player.

Gianni Russo used his organized crime connections to secure the role of Carlo Rizzi, going so far as to get a camera crew to film his own audition and send it to the producers. However, Marlon Brando was initially against having Russo, who had never acted before, in the film. This made Russo furious, and he went to threaten Brando. However, this reckless act proved to be a blessing in disguise, because Brando thought Russo was acting, and was convinced he would be good for the role.

Despite lead billing, Marlon Brando's total screentime is less than one hour.

One of the reasons why Francis Ford Coppola finally agreed to direct the film was because he was in debt to Warner Brothers, following $400,000 budget overruns on George Lucas's THX 1138 (1971). Lucas urged him to take the job.

Al Pacino, James Caan, and Diane Keaton were all paid $35,000 for their work on the film.

Francis Ford Coppola was reluctant to let his sister, Talia Shire, audition for the role of Connie. He felt she was too pretty for the part, and did not want to be accused of nepotism. Only at Mario Puzo's request did Shire get a chance to audition.

Francis Ford Coppola worked with relatives in this film, (making it a family film in many contexts). In chronological order of appearance: his sister, Talia Shire, portrayed Connie Corleone throughout the saga, his mother, Italia Coppola, served as an extra in the restaurant meeting, his father, Carmine Coppola, was the piano player in the Mattress sequence and, he composed the music, his sons Gian-Carlo Coppola and Roman Coppola, can be seen as extras in the scene where Sonny beats up Carlo, and he is at the funeral, and his daughter, Sofia Coppola, is the baby, Michael Rizzi, in the baptism (she was three weeks old at the time of shooting).

Francis Ford Coppola held improvisational rehearsal sessions that simply consisted of the main cast sitting down in character for a family meal. The actors and actresses couldn't break character, which Coppola saw as a way for the cast to organically establish the family roles seen in the final film.

In many of the Sicily scenes, Michael wipes his nose with a handkerchief. The novel explains that McCluskey's punch did damage to his sinuses.

A young Sylvester Stallone auditioned for the roles of Paulie Gatto and Carlo Rizzi, but was not cast for either. Stallone instead decided to try his hand at writing, first completing the screenplay for the modestly successful The Lords of Flatbush (1974). He would later get his break in Rocky (1976), alongside Talia Shire, who portrayed Connie Corleone in this film.

James Caan originally heard the phrase "bada-bing!" from his acquaintance, the real-life mobster Carmine Persico, and improvised its use in the film.

Radio personality Howard Stern has said that he would gladly have any cast member of this film as his guest, and they can show up at his studio unannounced. Though over the years, cast members such as Robert Duvall and James Caan were pre-scheduled guests, his "just show up" policy was never taken up until Gianni Russo arrived one day. Stern immediately had him escorted into his studio, even though he was in the midst of other guests at the time, and interviewed him.

Paramount was in severe financial trouble in the early 1970s, and really needed a big hit. They specifically asked Francis Ford Coppola to make the film more explicitly violent.

Gordon Willis was forced to use overhead lighting for Marlon Brando's scenes, because of his make-up. He decided to extend it throughout, which is one reason the movie is so dark.

When Vito Corleone has his brush with death, there is a poster of Jake LaMotta hanging on a building wall behind the fruit vendor. Robert De Niro won an Oscar for playing both of those characters on film. In addition, the final scene of Raging Bull (1980) features De Niro, as LaMotta, repeating Marlon Brando's monologue from the end of On the Waterfront (1954). That role, like this one, earned Brando an Oscar.

Michael's speech to Apollonia's father was originally written to be in Sicilian, as it was in the novel. Al Pacino, however, did not speak Sicilian fluently, and could not learn such a lengthy speech. Francis Ford Coppola re-wrote the scene at the last minute to have Michael speak English, and have Fabrizio translate for him.

Mafia crime boss Joe Colombo and his organization, The Italian-American Civil Rights League, started a campaign to stop the film from being made. According to Robert Evans in his autobiography, Colombo called his house and threatened him and his family. Paramount Pictures received many letters during pre-production from Italian-Americans, including politicians, decrying the film as anti-Italian. They threatened to protest and disrupt filming. Producer Al Ruddy met with Colombo, who demanded that the terms "Mafia" and "Cosa Nostra" not be used in the film. Ruddy gave them the right to review the script and make changes. He also agreed to hire League members (mobsters) as extras and advisers. The angry letters ceased after this agreement was made. Paramount Pictures owner Charlie Bluhdorn read about the agreement in The New York Times, and was so outraged, that he fired Ruddy and shut down production, but Evans convinced Bluhdorn that the agreement was beneficial for the film, and Ruddy was rehired.

George Lucas used photos from real crime scenes in the Mattress Sequence. One of the most prominent photos shows two cops kneeling beside what looks like a man sleeping on the ground with his head propped up against a fence. That man is "The Enforcer" Frank Nitti, Al Capone's right-hand man who had, in fact, committed suicide with a gunshot to the head.

Francis Ford Coppola originally planned to open the film with the wedding, immediately introducing all the characters. Then a friend pointed out how interestingly he had written the opening scene of Patton (1970). Coppola then re-wrote the opening with the Bonasera scene.

Francis Ford Coppola didn't care for the horse head scene in the novel, but recognized that it was too iconic to delete.

The only comment Robert Duvall made about his performance was that he wished "they would have made a better hairpiece" for his character.

Jewish actors James Caan and Abe Vigoda portrayed Italian characters (Santino Corleone and Salvatore Tessio), while Italian Alex Rocco portrayed a Jewish character (Moe Greene).

According to Al Ruddy, Marlon Brando "loved the people on Mott Street and they loved him". An enormous crowd gathered to witness the scene of the Don's attempted assassination. When he collapsed, those assembled gasped, then cheered wildly. Reports suggest that the scene had to be re-shot numerous times, as the audience couldn't control their applause at Brando's performance. When it was completed, Brando bowed to a cheering crowd.

The scene where Michael visits his father in the hospital was scheduled to be Marlon Brando's first. However, he missed his plane, and arrived on-set at 2 p.m., much too late to film a scene, with two or three hours of face make-up prep alone. According to Robert Evans, when Paramount Pictures sent Brando a check for $12,000 for looping the film, Brando called to inform them that they had given him $4,000 too much, because of his missed day, and asked where to send it back.

All of the actors who played Marlon Brando's sons (Robert Duvall, John Cazale, James Caan, and Al Pacino) were only between six and sixteen years younger than Brando, and Caan's character, Santino, is supposed to be older than Pacino's character, Michael. Caan and Pacino are the same age, being born only one month apart in 1940.

During the 45th Anniversary reunion in 2017, Al Pacino, to Diane Keaton's amusement, revealed that during the filming of the wedding scene, they both "got back" as it was "chaos", and he thought that the film would not do so well. He stated: "we started drinking and we were just talking about 'where do we go from here? We're done. It's the worst film ever made.'"

Although the dark photography of Gordon Willis was eventually copied by many other films, when the developed film came back from the lab, Paramount Pictures executives thought the look was a mistake. They ordered a different look, but Willis and Francis Ford Coppola refused.

There are approximately sixty-one scenes in the film that feature people eating and drinking, or just food.

James Caan hung out with various disreputable characters, in order to better understand the underworld lifestyle.

Originally, Francis Ford Coppola was against directing the film, as he felt it glorified the Mafia and violence, and it would reflect poorly on his Italian-Sicilian heritage. However, he eagerly took the job, once he thought of making it an allegory of American capitalism.

For the long exterior shots of Tom entering the studio lot, and Tom and Jack Woltz walking around the grounds, the second unit filmed extras with wigs and hats in order to avoid having to pay Robert Duvall and John Marley.

The film makes use of a variety of Italian words: Paulie says "sfortunato", which means "unlucky guy". Michael explains that Tom is a "consigliere", or counselor. Vito calls Johnny Fontane a "finocchio", an offensive term for a homosexual. Sonny refers to Paulie as a "stronzo", a term equivalent to "asshole". Carlo and Connie both say "vaffanculo" during their fight, which means "fuck you". Don Zaluchi says the sale of drugs to children is an "infamia", or an infamy. Both Don Corleones use the word "pezzo novanta", which means ".90 caliber", or more accurately, an idiom meaning "big shot".

During filming, Francis Ford Coppola complained about the station wagon that picked him up, so he and Robert Evans made a bet that if the film made $50 million, Paramount Pictures would spring for a new car. As the film's grosses climbed, Coppola and George Lucas went car shopping, and bought a Mercedes Benz 600 stretch limousine, instructing the salesman to send the bill to Paramount Pictures. The car appears in the opening scene of American Graffiti (1973).

Marlon Brando wanted Al Martino replaced, as he felt the singer's acting was wooden.

The only scene that Marlon Brando shared with Diane Keaton in the film was the scene with the family photo taken at Connie's wedding.

When Sonny beats up Carlo, a truck in the background and a wooden box on the sidewalk are strategically placed to hide anachronistic objects in the background.

Francis Ford Coppola had a background in theater, and used it to prepare the script. He would take pages out of the book and paste them into a notebook, which gave him enough room to make detailed notes on the scenes he wanted to use, what he had to do to make them work, and what pitfalls to avoid. (One example: "Italians who-a talk-a like-a dis.")

The meeting between the heads of the Mafioso was filmed in the boardroom of the Penn-Central Railroad. This explains the train mural seen behind Don Barzini (Richard Conte).

The name of the traditional Sicilian hat (worn, for instance, by Michael's bodyguards) is "coppola".

Mario Puzo gave Vito's eldest son the nickname of "Sonny" after the nickname given to the son of Al Capone. The similarities end there. Sonny Capone did not enter his father's business.

Robert Duvall received $36,000 for eight weeks work.

When writing the novel, Mario Puzo either directly or indirectly borrowed ideas from real-life Mafia stories. Specifically, he borrowed a lot of from the life of New York City gangster "Crazy" Joe Gallo, including the dynamics of he and his brothers. In the movie, Sonny is the "hot head" (Like Crazy Joe), Michael is the thoughtful and intelligent one (Like Larry Gallo), and Fredo is the dimwit (Like Michael Gallo). Also, terms like "Sleeping with the fishes" and "Hitting the mattresses" came from the lives of the Gallos. An associate of the Gallos was killed while on a fishing trip with friends, and the Gallos were sent a fish wrapped in a box just as when Sonny gets Luca Brasi's bulletproof vest with a fish. When the Gallos revolted against their boss, Joe Profaci, they went to war and rented apartments stocked with mattresses. In real-life, after Joe Gallo saw the movie, he actually considered suing Mario Puzo and Paramount Pictures for ripping off details of his life for their story. However, this never came to pass, as "Crazy" Joe Gallo was murdered on April 7, 1972, almost a full month after the movie's New York City premiere.

The slow camera movement that opens the film, which starts with a close-up of Bonasera's face and ends up behind Vito's head, takes more than two minutes to complete. This was created with a recently invented computer-timed lens, which could be programmed to zoom for specific time increments. There are actually very few zoom shots in the picture, as Francis Ford Coppola and Gordon Willis eschewed them for dramatic effect.

According to Alex Rocco, he originally auditioned for the role of Al Neri, but Francis Ford Coppola insisted that he play Moe Greene instead. Rocco, an Italian-American, felt that he would not be able to play a person of Jewish descent. According to Rocco, Coppola told him, "'The Italians do this', and he punches his fingers up. 'And the Jews do this", and his hand's extended, the palm flat. Greatest piece of direction I ever got. I've been playing Jews ever since."

The film takes place from 1945 to 1955.

One of Marlon Brando's first scenes was the meeting with Sollozzo at his office. Paramount Pictures executives were not impressed with his acting in that scene, and complained to Francis Ford Coppola about it. However, when he asked if they wanted him to re-shoot the scene, they declined. Coppola feared that he was about to be fired, but also knew that he would not be fired until the weekend. It being a Wednesday, he knew he had time to recover. He identified fourteen crew members; including his original assistant director and his original editor, Aram Avakian (who was revealed to be the "ring leader" - this was corroborated by Robert Duvall) , whom he thought might have been reporting on him to the studio, and fired them. With new crew members, he re-shot the scene.

The baptism scene was filmed in two churches. The interior shots were filmed at St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in New York City, and the exterior shots were filmed at the Mount Loretto Church in Pleasant Plains, Staten Island.

The scene between Tom and Sollozzo was shot in an abandoned diner. The snowstorm when they exit the diner was real.

Al Pacino made just $35,000 for starring in the film (the same as James Caan and Diane Keaton and $1,000 less than Robert Duvall). However, having made runaway hits Scarecrow (1973) and Serpico (1973), Pacino managed to command a $600,000 salary for The Godfather: Part II (1974), as well as a 10% cut of the movie's adjusted-gross income.

Robert Evans apparently screened the films about gangsters that Paramount Pictures had released before he arrived at the studio, including The Brotherhood (1968). He noticed that most of the films were unsuccessful, and also that they had not been written nor directed by Italian-Americans, and said that he hired Francis Ford Coppola in part, because he wanted to "smell the spaghetti".

In the novel, Don Cuneo's first name is Ottileo, but in the film he was known as Carmine Cuneo, an homage to Carmine Coppola.

James Caan credits the stage persona of "insult comic" Don Rickles for inspiring his characterization of Santino Corleone.

Al Pacino really had his jaw wired shut for the first part of the shoot after Michael is punched in the face.

In the novel, Bonasera (Salvatore Corsitto) is the last person who is allowed to see Don Corleone (Marlon Brando), while Nazorine, The Baker (Vito Scotti), was first. The change to Bonasera being first for the film was to show the way that Nazorine requests a favor is the more appropriate and to suggest that Nazorine heard about Bonasera's lack of respect.

In 1990, this film was selected for the National Film Registry, Library of Congress.

Ernest Borgnine, Edward G. Robinson, Orson Welles, Danny Thomas, Richard Conte, Anthony Quinn, Don Ameche, and George C. Scott were considered by Paramount Pictures for the role of Vito Corleone. Burt Lancaster wanted the role, but was never considered. When Paramount considered casting Italian Producer Carlo Ponti, Director Francis Ford Coppola objected, as Vito had lived in America since childhood, and thus wouldn't speak with Ponti's Italian accent. When asked for his opinion by the Paramount brass, Coppola said he wanted to cast either Laurence Olivier or Marlon Brando as the Don. In a September and October 2003 "Cigar Aficionado" Magazine cover story, Coppola said, "I wanted either an Italian-American or an actor who's so great that he can portray an Italian-American. So, they said, 'Who do you suggest?' I said, 'Lookit, I don't know, but who are the two greatest actors in the world? Laurence Olivier and Marlon Brando. Well, Laurence Olivier is English. He looked just like Vito Genovese. His face is great.' I said, 'I could see Olivier playing the guy, and putting it on.' Brando is my hero of heroes. I'd do anything to just meet him. But he's forty-seven, he's a young, good-looking guy. So, we first inquired about Olivier and they said, 'Olivier is not taking any jobs. He's very sick. He's gonna die soon and he's not interested.' So, I said, 'Why don't we reach out for Brando?'" Frank Sinatra, despite his reported distaste for the novel and opposition to the film, had discussions with Coppola about playing the role himself and at one point, actually offered his services. Coppola, however, was adamant in his conviction that Brando take the role instead. This would be the third time Brando performed in a part sought by Sinatra, after playing Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront (1954), and Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls (1955). Brando's previous film, Burn! (1969), had been a terrible flop, and he could not get work in American pictures, being considered by many producers as "washed up". Paramount Pictures executives initially would offer Marlon Brando only union scale for the role of Don Corleone. Finally, the studio relented and paid Brando three hundred thousand dollars, according to Coppola's account. In his autobiography The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002), Robert Evans claims that Brando was paid fifty thousand dollars, plus points, and sold back his points to Paramount before the release of the picture for an additional one hundred thousand dollars, because he had female-related money troubles. Realizing the film was going to be a huge hit, Paramount Pictures was happy to oblige. This financial fleecing of Brando, according to Evans, is the reason he refused to do publicity for the picture, or appear in The Godfather: Part II (1974).

In the scene in Jack Woltz's bedroom with the bloody horse head, there is an Oscar statue sitting on his bedside table.

In the original novel, the sequence of Don Corleone granting people requests on his daughter's wedding day is extended, and has more people asking for favors. Interestingly, one of the people seeking an audience with the Don, looking for money to run a pizza restaurant, has the surname of Coppola.

This is the fourth of five films as of 2014 in which three actors were competing for the same Oscar for the same film, which were Al Pacino, James Caan, and Robert Duvall. The other films were: Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), in which Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, and Franchot Tone competed for Best Actor, On the Waterfront (1954), in which Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, and Rod Steiger competed for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Tom Jones (1963), in which Diane Cilento, Edith Evans, and Joyce Redman competed for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and The Godfather: Part II (1974), in which Robert De Niro, Michael V. Gazzo, and Lee Strasberg competed for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (which De Niro won).

According to Francis Ford Coppola, Marlon Brando considered Salvatore Corsitto's performance to be the best in the film, because it was the most genuine.

According to associate producer Gary Fredrickson, Lenny Montana (Luca Brasi) had worked as a Mafia bodyguard, and had also bragged to Frederickson about working for the Mafia as an arsonist.

Diane Keaton based much of her portrayal of Kay Adams on Francis Ford Coppola's wife, Eleanor Coppola.

Production began on March 29, 1971, but Marlon Brando worked on the film for thirty-five days between April 12 and May 28, so he could honor his commitment to Last Tango in Paris (1972).

The film took seventy-seven days to shoot, six days less than the original schedule of eighty-three days.

Francis Ford Coppola cast Diane Keaton for the role of Kay Adams, due to her reputation for being eccentric.

Elvis Presley, an avid fan of the book, auditioned for the role of Tom Hagen, though he really wanted to play Vito Corleone.

This was Richard Conte's final American studio film before his death on April 15, 1975 at the age of 65.

The first of four successive years that Al Pacino was nominated for an acting Academy Award. A Best Supporting Actor nomination for this film was followed by Best Actor nominations for Serpico (1973), The Godfather: Part II (1974) and Dog Day Afternoon (1975).

Abe Vigoda got the part of Tessio by answering an open casting call and beat out hundreds of other actors.

The casting of Richard Conte was an idea by the mother of Martin Scorsese, who asked Francis Ford Coppola if he could be in the movie.

Mia Farrow auditioned for the part of Kay.

Michael and Kay reconcile in 1951. This is judging by the fact that in The Godfather: Part II (1974), Kay refers to his promise to make the family legitimate, stating that it was seven years ago.

Robert Evans hated Nino Rota's original stab at the score. Francis Ford Coppola threatened to quit over this, until Evans backed down.

The Corleones are based on the Borgias, a Spanish family that emigrated to Rome in fifteenth century Europe. The patriarch, Rodrigo, became Pope Alexander VI. Rome at that time, like New York City in the 1940s, had five powerful families. The other families in Rome were the Colonna family, the Medici family, the Orsini family, and the Sforza family. The real New York City families were the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese families.

Fred Roos cast John Cazale after seeing him in an off-Broadway play called "Life", which co-starred Richard Dreyfuss (who invited Roos). Roos recalled, "We were looking for a Fredo at that time, and I had no idea who John Cazale was. He knocked me out. First chance I got, I brought him in and I said, 'Francis, this is Fredo, we don't need to look any further, this is him'".

In the scene where Carlo is beaten by Sonny, a poster bearing the name "Thomas Dewey" can be seen on a wall. Thomas E. Dewey was first the appointed Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and later elected District Attorney of New York County in 1937. Dewey successfully pursued gangsters in both jobs. He was elected Governor of New York in 1942, and was serving as Governor during the period portrayed in this film. Dewey lost the elections for President of the United States in 1944 and 1948.

The series of murders committed during the film starts and ends with a strangulation.

The film begins and ends with important events in the life of Connie Corleone. It starts with her wedding, has its climax at her daughter's baptism, and ends with her confronting Michael about her husband's murder. Yet she has few scenes in the rest of the film.

Frank Albanese, who played Uncle Pat Blundetto in The Sopranos (1999) and the smiling lawyer for a young Henry Hill in Goodfellas (1990), was one of the two hitmen (with a machine gun) who jumps into the bedroom, rubbing out one of the Dons with his mistress, while Michael eliminates the other Dons during the baptismal scene.

Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro are the only two actors to ever win separate Oscars for playing the exact same character. Brando won Best Actor for The Godfather (1972) and De Niro won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The Godfather: Part II (1974), both in the role of Vito Corleone. (Coincidentally, neither actor was present to accept the award.) However, Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix both won Oscars for playing two different versions of the same character in two separate movies. Ledger won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for playing The Joker in The Dark Knight (2008), and Phoenix won Best Actor for playing The Joker in Joker (2019).

The opening scene with Bonasera's request arguably foreshadows the rest of the film. Bonasera is a law-abiding man who wants nothing to do with organized crime, but has to turn to Don Corleone when he is denied justice for the sexual assault on his daughter. Similarly, Michael is a law-abiding war hero who wants nothing to do with the family business, but it forced to take part when his father is nearly assassinated.

When Michael and Kay are having dinner together, the song on the radio is Irving Berlin's "All of My Life".

While filming in Little Italy, Marlon Brando developed a taste for the spicy squid with hot sauce from Vincent's. In the scene where Vito leans over Sonny's dead body, Brando is holding a carton of the delicacy out of range.

During the famous restaurant scene in which Michael Corleone shoots Sollozzo and Captain McCluskey, the screeching sound of an elevated train can be heard throughout the sequence. The sound effect was added in post-production by Francis Ford Coppola and film editor Walter Murch in order to heighten the scene's tension. Unbeknownst to them, there is an actual set of elevated train tracks right in front of the filming location, 3531 White Plains Road in the Bronx.

On August 3, 2009, the British Daily Telegraph newspaper described the film as "a vision of the hollowness of American capitalism, and its effect on the family, like Death of a Salesman with spaghetti and a criminal empire."

Cinematographer Gordon Willis initially turned down the opportunity to work on the film, because the production seemed "chaotic" to him. After Willis later accepted the offer, he and Francis Ford Coppola agreed to not use any modern filming devices, helicopters, or zoom lenses. Willis chose to use top-light in the majority of the scenes due to Marlon Brando's eye make-up. He made use of shadows throughout the film and applied sepia tones to several scenes. Willis and Coppola agreed to interplay light and dark scenes throughout the film.

In the novel and the shooting script, Luca Brasi's death is a flashback.

Exterior shots of the Woltz estate are actually Harold Lloyd's house. Interior scenes were shot at the Guggenheim estate in Long Island. Guards had to be hired for the priceless art, and the bed was a rental.

Public Enemy sampled the line, "They're animals anyway, so let them lose their souls" for their song "1 Million Bottlebags" on their 1991 album "Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black".

Burt Reynolds was considered for the part of Sonny Corleone by Coppola, but Marlon Brando refused to work with him, considering him a second-rate actor. Also, there was supposed animosity dating back to when Reynolds did an episode of The Twilight Zone (1959) years earlier, in which he spoofed Brando's persona. Brando reportedly was not amused by the episode, and had never liked Reynolds since.

Screenwriter Robert Towne did uncredited work on the script, particularly on the garden scene between Vito and Michael.

The Corleone house was constructed for the film to include two stories, complete with a living room, dining room, full kitchen, panelled study, and a foyer with stairs leading to the bedroom.

In the scene where Clemenza, Rocco and Paulie Gato drive through New York, stock footage from the early 1940s is used, as the production staff could not recreate main thoroughfares and skyscrapers from a bygone era. When the shots the script demanded were found, the staff just needed to find a car that matched the model and duplicate its license plate.

The immortal line: "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse " makes it into each Godfather movie in some way or another.

Of the cast, there's several groups of actors and actresses who share a birthday: Al Pacino and Talia Shire (April 25), Diane Keaton and Robert Duvall (January 5), James Caan and Sterling Hayden (March 26), and Abe Vigoda, Saro Urzì and Al Lettieri (February 24). Dominic Chianese, who appeared in The Godfather: Part II (1974), also has a birthday on February 24.

Francis Ford Coppola wanted to cast Timothy Carey, but Carey turned the part down, so he could film a television pilot.

A promotional board game titled "The Godfather Game" was released in 1971.

Film debut for Joe Spinell, in the uncredited role of Willi Cicci.

Robert Evans originally wanted Henry Mancini to do the music.

Frank Sivero appears as an extra in the scene where Sonny beats up Carlo Rizzi. He would later appear in The Godfather: Part II (1974) as Genco Abbandando.

Two nights after the hospital exterior scenes were shot, Francis Ford Coppola won an Oscar for co-writing Patton (1970), but he did not attend the ceremony.

The film cast includes seven Oscar winners: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Sofia Coppola, Carmine Coppola, and Gray Frederickson; and five Oscar nominees: Talia Shire, James Caan, John Marley, Richard S. Castellano, and Roman Coppola.

Visitors to the set often assumed Abe Vigoda was a Mafioso.

Francis Ford Coppola's mother Italia Coppola had a scene as a Genco Olive Oil Company switchboard operator, but it ended up on the cutting room floor.

In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the number two Greatest Movie of All Time, after Citizen Kane (1941).

A diary about the film's production, "The Godfather Journal" by Ira Zuckerman, was published as a mass market paperback by Manor in 1972.

Before the sit-down meeting, and before the journey in the car to "New Jersey", the group meets in front of a restaurant called Dempsey's Manassa Restaurant. Jack Dempsey, the "Manassa Mauler" was born in Manassa, Colorado, lending the town's name and part of his nickname to the restaurant.

David Carradine and Dean Stockwell screentested for the role of Michael Corleone.

The Lumen Martin Winter mural of Empire Express 999 seen during the meeting of the five families in the old New York Central Rail Road boardroom had been in the possession of The Pennsylvania State Historical and Museum Commission. In the fall of 2014, it was deaccessioned by the commission, and put up for auction. It was purchased by an avid fan of the movie, and is now in his private residence.

The Woltz International Pictures lot is actually Paramount's lot in Hollywood. This was not production designer Dean Tavoularis' choice, he detested the look of it, and even suggested the Warner Brothers lot as an alternative, but it was used for budgetary reasons. It was also the location for the Paramount Pictures backlot scenes in Sunset Blvd. (1950).

Voted number one on Empire's 500 Greatest Movies of All Time (September 2008).

Olivia Hussey was considered by casting director Fred Roos for the role of Apollonia. Francis Ford Coppola originally wanted Stefania Sandrelli, but she turned it down.

Peter Donat, Martin Sheen, Roy Thinnes, Barry Primus, Robert Vaughn, Richard Mulligan, Keir Dullea, Dean Stockwell, Jack Nicholson, and James Caan were considered for the role of Tom Hagen. John Cassavetes and Peter Falk also sought the role. Of those actors, only Donat ultimately appeared in The Godfather: Part II (1974), in the role of Questadt.

The earliest known Hollywood reference to a mob boss being called a godfather was in Pocketful of Miracles (1961), where Dave the Dude (Glenn Ford) is said to have a lot of experience as a godfather. This reference even predates Joe Valachi's use of the term in his U.S. Senate testimony in 1963.

Vito addresses Tom as Consigliere, pronouncing the g. His native language was Italian, so he should know the g is silent.

Sir Laurence Olivier was originally offered to play Vito Corleone. Unfortunately, due to his failing health, he had to decline, leading to Marlon Brando being cast.

Voted number three on AFI's 100 Greatest Movies.

If you look carefully on the store window behind Don Corleone as he is buying the oranges (just before the approach of the gunmen), you'll see a yellow boxing flyer advertising a boxing match featuring Jake LaMotta. Ironically, Robert De Niro, who portrays the young Don Corleone in The Godfather: Part II (1974), also portrayed LaMotta in Raging Bull (1980).

James Caan was felt by some to be miscast, as he did not "look Italian".

Michael and Kay are seeing The Bells of St. Mary's at Radio City Music Hall while Don Corleone is shot. Contemporary newspaper ads show that is in fact the movie that was playing there during the Christmas 1945 season.

This is the second Best Picture Oscar winner in which Marlon Brando won the Academy Award for Best Actor, also in which three of Brando's co-stars were nominated for Best Supporting Actor but none of whom received the award. The first film was On the Waterfront (1954). Coincidentally, the story of both films is about organized crime set in the New York City-Hoboken area. A key difference between the two however is that Brando's character (Terry Malloy) in the earlier film fights against organized crime. Whereas in the latter film, Brando's character (Vito Corleone) is the head of a major organized crime family.

Sidney J. Furie was originally in line to direct. Producer Al Ruddy had just come off Little Fauss and Big Halsy (1970) with Furie, and was handed the task of producing after that film had been brought in under budget and under schedule. Ruddy personally requested Furie to direct the picture, but Francis Ford Coppola's Italian heritage won the day.

Vic Damone was originally cast as Johnny Fontaine, but dropped out, ostensibly because he couldn't in good conscience play a character so anti-Italian-American. He later revealed it was because of the poor pay.

Francis Ford Coppola invited Italian superstar singer Mina to play Kay Adams. She turned down the offer as she was not interested in an acting career. The role ultimately went to Diane Keaton.

Contrary to the information in "Filming Locations," the scene where Don Corleone leaves the hospital in the ambulance is not the "new" Lincoln Hospital on 149 St. in the Bronx (opened in 1976). That scene was filmed at the old Lincoln Hospital which was at that time off of Southern Blvd at East 141 Street. The ramp where the ambulance is located was the entrance to the Emergency Room where ambulances would bring the patients (as they were the night they were setting up the shoot). The building is no longer there.

There is a commonly held myth that there can be only one actor from a movie nominated for the Best Lead Actor Oscar; and only one Best Lead Actress. Most producers, actors and people involved in the production movies only nominate one Lead per movie; because they think that's all they can nominate. Even though Al Pacino was arguably the lead character of the Godfather; his character is certainly as big as Marlon Brando's is; he was nominated in the supporting category and Brando was nominated for the lead; due to this longstanding tradition that there can only be one lead per movie. But this rule does not exist; is not true that you are not only limited to nominating only one lead per movie; and Terms of Endearment is proof of that. In 1983 after this movie came out both Debra Winger and Shirley Maclaine were nominated for the Best Lead Actress category; one of the rare times this has happened in cinema history.

Despite the fading light, Francis Ford Coppola was under orders from Paramount Pictures to keep shooting. The shot in which Michael appears to the right of Kay were all shot at night, with lamps blazing down to keep continuity with the bright sunlight of other shots.

Included among the American Film Institute's 1998 list of the Top 100 Greatest American Movies.

Apollonia is described by Fabrizio as looking more like Greek than Italian. Actually, her name means "Apollo's daughter". Apollo is the Greek god of the Sun and archery.

Bill Butler did some uncredited cinematography for the film, namely in the scenes shot in Los Angeles, as director of photography Gordon Willis was busy filming in the main locations in New York City.

It is possible that the dinner conversation between Tom Hagen and Jack Woltz occurs during Passover. This is evidenced by a tray of matzoh near Woltz's plate.

Voted number two on Empire Magazine's top 301 films of all time (July 2014).

Marlon Brando had to lose weight in order to play Don Vito Corleone.

The film is included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list.

Aram Avakian was originally hired as the film's editor, but was fired after disagreements with Coppola.

Ten percent of the film was shot on soundstages at Filmways Studio lot in New York City.

The first act ends at 00:45:15. The second act ends at 02:16:32.

The movie at Radio City Music Hall, that Michael Corleone & Kay Adams are coming out of when he reads the news about his father's assassination is The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), released February 26, 1946.

Clemenza's wife was played by Richard S. Castellano's real-life wife, Ardell Sheridan.

Rudy Vallee coveted the part of Tom Hagen, but was deemed too old.

James Caan and Alex Rocco appeared together in two additional films following this film. Those films were Slither (1973) and Freebie and the Bean (1974).

Ben Key and Eddy Westcott are both huge fans, and have even said in interviews that they based their characters in The Two Of Us (2018) on Al Pacino and Marlon Brando in this movie, respectively.

At the TriBeCa Film Festival screening of the movie and discussion afterwards on April 29, 2017, Francis Ford Coppola called the novel a "potboiler", and that one third of it had to do with Lucy Mancini's anatomy.

In the now famous line, Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes. In premonition, when Luca walks into the bar where he is killed, the window looking into the bar has fish and underwater scenery etched into the glass. Maybe the director is setting the audience for the famous line.

For much of the shoot Coppola was being terrorized by the studio; who was constantly threatening to replace him with his first unit director. At one point they told him if he said "Brando" again they would fire him.

In one scene Don Corleone (Marlon Brando) is walking by the fruit stand there is a poster promoting Jake LaMotta, who is portrayed by Robert De Niro in Raging Bull (1980). Robert De Niro goes on to portray a young Don Corleone in The Godfather II (1974).

The most troublesome scenes were shot on the very narrow Mott Street with sidewalks jammed with merchant's wares. This was where Don Corleone exits his olive oil factory and is gunned down.

Marlon Brando lived 32 years 14 weeks and one day after the release of The Godfather.

Included among the American Film Institute's 2001 list of the Top 100 Most Heart-Pounding American Movies.

To keep a veil of secrecy when shooting on some 90% of scenes filmed in the New York suburbs Brando's scenes were shot in a concentrated period of 35 days.

The first day of shooting was brought forward a week to March 24 due to the weather forcast promising snow flurries but with no sign of snow large snow blowers were brought in to create fake snow in front of Best and Company on Fifth Avenue with the store's windows being suitably dressed with a Xmas look.

Al Pacino (Michael) and Talia Shire (Connie), share the same birthday, six years apart.

During filming, James Caan and Gianni Russo did not get along, and were frequently at loggerheads. During filming Sonny's beating of Carlo, Caan nearly hit Russo with the stick he threw at him, and broke two of Russo's ribs, and chipped his elbow.

According to interviews in the Coppola Restoration DVD set, the film was originally planned with an intermission due to its three-hour length. The intermission would have happened immediately after Michael murders Solozzo and McClusky, which explains the operatic instrumental that begins playing when Michael is shown fleeing the restaurant, as well as the ensuing "newspaper" montage, which would have been the first scene post-intermission.

Moe Greene was modelled after Jewish mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, although Siegel was not known for wearing glasses. Both were assassinated with a shot through the eye, with the glasses worn by Greene being necessary in order to accomplish the special effect eye shot.

According to Francis Ford Coppola on the DVD commentary, the intercutting of the baptism scene with the gang killings during the movie's climax did not really work until editor Peter Zinner added the organ soundtrack.

Moe Green's execution by a bullet through his eye was accomplished by a hidden pellet shooter in the glasses' frame that smashed the lens outward.

To add suspense to the scene where Michael shoots Sollozzo and McCluskey, there are several instances in that scene where Michael fails to follow Clemenza's instructions. Clemenza tells him to "come out blasting" after retrieving the gun, instead, he sits down and continues to listen to Sollozzo. Clemenza tells him "two shots in the head apiece". Michael kills Sollozzo with a single shot, then fails to kill McCluskey with the first shot, requiring a second. Clemenza tells him "don't look nobody in the eye, but don't look away neither." Michael actually makes eye contact with several patrons in the restaurant. Clemenza tells him to "drop the gun right away". Michael actually takes several steps with the gun still in his hand before he drops it. Finally, Clemenza instructs him to let the gun drop from his fingers so people will still think he has it. Michael flicks the gun away as though he'd forgotten to leave it.

McCluskey's death was achieved by building a fake forehead onto Sterling Hayden's head. A gap was cut in the center and filled with fake blood, then capped off with a plug of prosthetic flesh. When the scene was being filmed, the plug was quickly yanked out using monofilament fishing line which doesn't show up on film. The effect was to make it look like a bloody hole suddenly appeared on Hayden's head.

Fabrizio, Michael's Sicilian bodyguard who planted the bomb that killed Appolonia, was supposed to be found by Michael at a pizza parlor he opens in America, and subsequently blown away with a shotgun at the end of the movie as per the novel. This scene was filmed, but ultimately cut because the make-up artists plastered Angelo Infanti with so much fake blood that the scene looked ridiculous. Photos of Michael Corleone with a hat, shotgun blazing, appeared in many magazines, despite the scene's eventual excision. Fabrizio's death was filmed again, for The Godfather: Part II (1974), this time by car bomb (as the ultimate form of poetic justice), but that scene was also deleted from the theatrical version. It was restored in The Godfather Saga (1977).

Francis Ford Coppola's protégé, George Lucas, who also served as co-editor on this film, admits to having paid homage to two scenes in his Star Wars series. First, the garroting death of Luca Brasi was the inspiration for Princess Leia strangling Jabba the Hutt in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983). Secondly, the Baptism scene, in which Michael's vows are inter-cut with the murders of the rival dons, inspired the scene in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), in which Palpatine declares the formation of his Empire while Darth Vader kills the separatist leaders. The infant in the original scene is Sofia Coppola, who also appeared as a handmaiden in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), and who directed Hayden Christensen in The Virgin Suicides (1999).

Robert De Niro was originally cast as the ill-fated driver Paulie, while Al Pacino had accepted a role in Bang the Drum Slowly (1973). Francis Ford Coppola wanted Pacino so badly for the role of Michael that he persuaded the producers of the other film to release him from his contract. This meant he had to provide a replacement, so De Niro was released from his contract on this film.

Each of the weddings guests who makes a request of Vito Corleone is called upon later in the film to return the favor. Nazorine the Baker asks for help arranging for Enzo to stay in America and marry his daughter. Enzo himself later arrives at the hospital, first with flowers, and then helps Michael to bluff McCluskey's assassination attempt. Johnny Fontaine, in return for a film role that revives his career, is signed to appear at Michael's casinos. Bonasera, who comes to avenge the attempted rape and beating of his daughter, is called upon to prepare Sonny's body for his funeral.

Sonny's death scene was inspired by the ending of Bonnie and Clyde (1967).

Don Vito Corleone died on July 29, 1955.

Michael Corleone continually drinks water in the first two films, hinting that he is diabetic. He later suffers a diabetic coma in the third film.

Simonetta Stefanelli, who played Michael Corleone's first wife, Apollonia, in Sicily, who also appears topless in the film, was only 16. Her birth date is November 30, 1954 and principal photography for the film took place from March to July 1971, making Simonetta age 16.

For the Don's funeral, twenty limos and 150 extras were used, with flowers costing over $1,000 each.

In 2008, this film has been included in the list of Hollywood non-Reproduction Movies of all time among the greatest one hundred scripts in history.

The name of the beheaded horse was Khartoum. Khartoum was also a city in the Sudan where, in 1885 General Charles Gordon and his troops were besieged during a Muslim revolt. The town fell to the Muslim army and General Gordon was killed and beheaded.

After Clemenza and Tessio are turned down by Michael, Clemenza shakes right hands with the Godfather, but Tessio uses his left hand to shake Michael's right hand.

Though instructed to shoot both McClusky and Sollozzo in their heads twice, Michael only shoots McClusky twice, and Michael does not even shoot him in the head twice. McClusky is shot in his head one and in his neck. Sollozzo is only shot once, in the head.