The early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.
The continuing saga of the Corleone crime family tells the story of a young Vito Corleone growing up in Sicily and in 1910s New York; and follows Michael Corleone in the 1950s as he attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.Written by
Keith Loh <loh@sfu.ca>
As Michael and his men head to Florida, there is an external shot of the front of the train they are traveling on. It is clearly a Union Pacific Railroad train with the bright yellow orange diesel engine with the UP emblem, blue wings with a red and blue shield. Their coverage is entirely west of the Mississippi River. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Title Card:
The godfather was born Vito Andolini, in the town of Corleone in Sicily. In 1901 his father was murdered for an insult to the local Mafia chieftain. His older brother Paolo swore revenge and disappeared into the hills, leaving Vito, the only male heir, to stand with his mother at the funeral. He was nine years old.
[gunshots and screams]
Woman:
[subtitled from Italian]
They've killed the boy! They've killed young Paolo! They've killed your son Paolo!
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Crazy Credits
Closing credits state that this film is "Based on the Novel "The Godfather" by Mario Puzo". In fact, only the scenes showing the young Vito Corleone have any basis in the novel. Everything dealing with Michael Corleone and his family in Las Vegas was created for the film, with the exception of the character Deanna Dunn, the wife of Frederico 'Fredo' Corleone. See more »
Alternate Versions
For The Godfather Saga, besides the added scenes and toning down the violence and language, other changes were made to the original version:
The close-up shots of Michael's face as Rocco kisses his hand are deleted.
The on-screen prologue is deleted.
The shot of little Vito being marked with an encircled X among the benches filled with immigrants is deleted.
The shot of little Vito singing by himself in Ellis Island is deleted.
The scene of Anthony receiving his communion is deleted.
Throughout the story of young Vito's rise, many of the lines originally spoken in Sicilian are dubbed in English.
An alternate take of Vito walking down the aisle in the theatre.
Scenes at the communion party are rearranged. The scene with Connie and Merle meeting with Michael appears earlier and the scenes with Senator Geary appear later.
The scene where Vito brings a pear home and the scene where he first encounters Clemenza are switched to appear in the order originally intended. This explains why he is in a bad mood at dinner.
An alternate take of Vito refusing the box of food from Signor Abbandando.
A shot of Clemenza nodding to a customer in the café is deleted.
The shot of Clemenza cutting the rug and playing with baby Sonny is deleted.
Michael's reply of "New York City" at the Senate hearing is deleted.
To say that this film is a sequel is a sin.
Al Pacino and Robert de Niro win the Oscar for this film, Robert de Niro's performance as Vito Corleone is perfect, every scene in which this one is perfect. Al Pacino as always perfect and unlike the first film, he is much better.
PROS:
EVERYTHING. The script, the direction, the cast, the performance, everything in this film is perfect and its 3 hours are worth it.
CONS:
NOTHING. This movie is perfect.
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To say that this film is a sequel is a sin. Al Pacino and Robert de Niro win the Oscar for this film, Robert de Niro's performance as Vito Corleone is perfect, every scene in which this one is perfect. Al Pacino as always perfect and unlike the first film, he is much better.
PROS:
EVERYTHING. The script, the direction, the cast, the performance, everything in this film is perfect and its 3 hours are worth it.
CONS:
NOTHING. This movie is perfect.