He is portrayed by Robert Duvall in the films. He also appears in the Mark Winegardner sequel novels, The Godfather Returns and The Godfather's Revenge, as well as Ed Falco's novel, The Family Corleone. He operates as the consigliere and as a lawyer for the Corleone family, and is an informally adopted member of the family.
It tells the story of the making of âThe Godfatherâ from the perspective of the filmâs producer, Al Ruddy, a former Rand Corporation computer programmer who found success in Hollywood after successfully pitching the idea for the show âHoganâs Heroes.â
Filming took place primarily on location around New York City and in Sicily, and was completed ahead of schedule. The musical score was composed principally by Nino Rota, with additional pieces by Carmine Coppola. The Godfather premiered at the Loew's State Theatre on March 14, 1972, and was widely released in the United States on March 24, 1972.
More generally, we might observe that, despite being the main theme of the film, the âGodfather Waltzâ is used strikingly sparely across the film. This scarce use of the theme aligns with the scarce number of scenes that Michael and Vito share alone. Because these scenes are rare, they also become packed with meaning and purpose.
Nino RotaThe Godfather / Music composed byGiovanni Rota Rinaldi, better known as Nino Rota, was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti. Wikipedia
"Love Theme from The Godfather" is an instrumental theme from the 1972 film The Godfather, composed by Nino Rota. The piece was lyricized in English by Larry Kusik into "Speak Softly, Love", a popular song released in 1972.
The Halls of Fear Michael goes to the hospital to see Don Corleone.
opera Cavalleria rusticanaABSTRACT. The concluding half-hour of Francis Ford Coppola's 1990 film The Godfather Part III shows the Michael Corleone Family attending a performance of Mascagni's opera Cavalleria rusticana at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Sicily.
Manhattan Serenade is the background music that opens the Hollywood sequence in The Godfather. It's an old song, going back to 1929. It doesn't seem to be in any of the regular fake or real books. It's in the old Fake Book of 1000 Songs, Volume Two.
Nino RotaParla piu piano / Composer
The exterior of hospital where Michael visits his wounded father is the Lincoln Medical Center, 234 East 149th Street in the Bronx, though the deserted interior is the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, 310 East 14th Street in the East Village.
His father is safe, but we here some ironic news from the nurse telling about why the guards are not there, They were interfering with hospital service. This is ironic because the hospital seems completely empty and because the police dismissed them, and they would know how much danger Vito Corleone is in.
D'AmbrosioShortly after The Godfather Part III was released, D'Ambrosio began his long run as the Phantom of the Opera, who he appeared as in over 2400 performances.
rustic chivalryCavalleria rusticana (pronounced [kavalleËriËa rustiËkaËna]; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play by Giovanni Verga.
Cavalleria RusticanaThe Godfather 3 - Cavalleria Rusticana - Finale - song by The Academy Studio Orchestra | Spotify.
Cavalleria rusticana is the opera which Anthony Corleone appeared in at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. Written by Pietro Mascagni, it first premiered in 1890.
Download on Amazon - Ev'ry Time I Look In Your Eyes / After the Party Play on YouTube - Ev'ry Time I Look In Your Eyes / After the Party
As a period film, its story set in the mid-1940s, though filmed through the scope of a 1970s camera, The Godfather cannot help but become subject to the yearning for a time before.
We might say that, just as the film uses its geographical locations to show that they are physically separated, Rotaâs scoreâ specifically the fact that the âGodfather Waltzâ is not playedâexpresses that the two are also emotionally separated at this point in the film . More generally, we might observe that, despite being the main theme of the film, the âGodfather Waltzâ is used strikingly sparely across the film. This scarce use of the theme aligns with the scarce number of scenes that Michael and Vito share alone. Because these scenes are rare, they also become packed with meaning and purpose.
Rota, weâll see, translates the nostalgia of the father-son relationship into the music of the Main Title or âThe Godfather Waltz.â. Rota focuses on the dualities of the relationship.
Consider Michael and Kayâs hotel scene: lasting seventy-five seconds, and with only 9 lines of dialogue, this scene courses by, brief and seemingly unexceptional. The episodes that followâMichaelâs visit to his father at the hospital, McCluskeyâs assault on Michaelâeclipse this scene and perhaps push it to the back of the viewerâs consciousness.
The trumpetâlonely no moreâblends with the rest of the orchestra as Michaelâs hand is kissed and as heâs called, for the first time, âDon Corleoneâ; the swell of the music underlines that he has fully transitioned into his fatherâs position of power.
The return of the trumpet also suggests that the trumpet was never associated with Vito himself, but rather with Vito as the Don. This, along with the cyclical structure of the waltz, alludes to the possibility that the familyâs power might revive itself in this way again and again.
Nino Rota once said, about his work as a composer, âThey reckon my musicâs just a bit of nostalgia plus lots of good humor and optimism? Well, thatâs exactly how Iâd like to be remembered.â
The budget for the film was originally $2.5 million but as the book grew in popularity Coppola argued for and ultimately received a larger budget. Paramount executives wanted the movie to be set in contemporary Kansas City and shot in the studio backlot in order to cut down on costs. Coppola objected and wanted to set the movie in the same time period as the novel, the 1940s and 1950s; Coppola's reasons included: Michael Corleone's Marine Corps stint, the emergence of corporate America, and America in the years after World War II. The novel was becoming increasingly successful and so Coppola's wishes were eventually agreed to. The studio heads subsequently let Coppola film on location in New York City and Sicily.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about the 1972 film. For the original novel on which the film is based, see The Godfather (novel). For other uses, see Godfather. The Godfather is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel ...
Gulf+Western executive Charles Bluhdorn was frustrated with Coppola over the number of screen tests he had performed without finding a person to play the various roles. Production quickly fell behind because of Coppola's indecisiveness and conflicts with Paramount, which led to costs being around $40,000 per day. With the rising costs, Paramount had then Vice President Jack Ballard keep a close eye on production costs. While filming, Coppola stated that he felt he could be fired at any point as he knew Paramount executives were not happy with many of the decisions he had made. Coppola was aware that Evans had asked Elia Kazan to take over directing the film because he feared that Coppola was too inexperienced to cope with the increased size of the production. Coppola was also convinced that the film editor, Aram Avakian, and the assistant director, Steve Kestner, were conspiring to get him fired. Avakian complained to Evans that he could not edit the scenes correctly because Coppola was not shooting enough footage. Evans was satisfied with the footage being sent to the West Coast and authorized Coppola to fire them both. Coppola later explained: "Like the godfather, I fired people as a preemptory strike. The people who were angling the most to have me fired, I had fired." Brando threatened to quit if Coppola was fired.
The Godfather won a record five Golden Globes, which was not surpassed until 2017.
The film eventually earned $81.5 million in theatrical rentals in the US and Canada during its initial release, increasing its earnings to $85.7 million through a reissue in 1973, and including a limited re-release in 1997, it ultimately earned an equivalent exhibition gross of $135 million. It displaced Gone with the Wind to claim the record as the top rentals earner, a position it would retain until the release of Jaws in 1975. The film repeated its native success overseas, earning in total an unprecedented $142 million in worldwide theatrical rentals, to become the highest net earner. Profits were so high for The Godfather that earnings for Gulf & Western Industries, Inc., which owned Paramount, jumped from 77 cents per share to $3.30 a share for the year, according to a Los Angeles Times article, dated December 13, 1972. Re-released five more times since 1997, it has grossed between $246 million and $287 million in worldwide box office receipts, and adjusted for ticket price inflation in North America, ranks among the top 25 highest-grossing films.
The Godfather was a blockbuster, breaking many box office records to become the highest grossing film of 1972. The film's opening day gross from five theaters was $57,829 with ticket prices increased from $3 to $3.50.
The television rights were sold for a record $10 million to NBC for one showing over two nights. The theatrical version of The Godfather debuted on American network television on NBC with only minor edits. The first half of the film aired on Saturday, November 16, 1974, and the second half two days later.
Hagen was originally intended to have been featured in The Godfather Part III, but was written out due to a salary dispute between Duvall and the film's producers . Coppola stated in the film's commentary that Duvall demanded the same salary as Al Pacino (who portrayed Michael Corleone). However, Duvall said in an interview that he was happy for Pacino to earn twice his salary, but not triple or quadruple it for the same film. Coppola has stated that Part III was to feature a split between Michael and Hagen as its central plot, as seeds of dissension were planted in the first two films.
Thomas Hagen is a fictional character in Mario Puzo 's 1969 novel The Godfather and Francis Ford Coppola 's films The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974). He is portrayed by Robert Duvall in the films.
Tom informs Vito that the police have cracked down on all Mafia operations. Tom informs Vito that it was Michael who killed Sollozzo and McCluskey and thus had to flee. As the impulsive Sonny takes command of the Corleone family while his father recovers, Tom advises peace while Sonny is eager for revenge.
After law school, Hagen goes to work in the Corleone family business. His non-Italian ancestry precludes his formal membership in the mafia family, but when the consigliere Genco Abbandando dies, Hagen is given his position. Consequently, the other New York families deride the Corleones as "The Irish Gang".
When Sonny brings Tom home and demands he be taken in, the Corleone family welcome him as a family member. Hagen considers Vito his true father, although Vito never formally adopts him, believing it would be disrespectful to Hagen's deceased parents. After law school, Hagen goes to work in the Corleone family business.
Tom successfully convinces Sonny to wait because McCluskey has agreed to be Sollozzo's bodyguard and warns Sonny that killing McCluskey would violate a long-standing Mafia rule to not kill members of law enforcement. Violation of the rule would cause harmful backlash from rival Mafia families and law enforcement.
Sonny Corleone finds the orphaned Hagen living on the street and suffering from an eye infection, takes him home, and demands he live with the Corleone family. Vito Corleone becomes a surrogate father to Hagen, but never officially adopts him out of respect for the boy's biological father.
As Johnny croons smoothly to Connie, Kay begs to know the story of how the Corleone family knows Johnny Fontane. Michael reluctantly reveals that Don Corleone is Fontane's godfather. When Johnny's star started to rise, he could not get out of an oppressive contract with his bandleader, so the Don and Luca Brasi made the bandleader an "offer he couldn't refuse". Kay's face falls and Michael assures her that even though his family operates that way, he does not. Moments later. Fredo comes to Michael and Kay's table, drunk.
Coppola and his cinematographer Gordon Willis decided to the film this scene over 4 days using 6 cameras in order to achieve a cinema verite effect. This scene adds texture to the world of The Godfather and elevates the film beyond the trope of a "gangster" or "mafia" genre picture. Coppola introduces all of the important members of the Corleone family in the wedding scene - some doing their jobs (like Tom Hagen) and some simply enjoying the merrymaking (like Fredo). Vito Corleone is not just the powerful Don in a darkened room, but he is also a proud father, dancing with his daughter on her wedding day. The viewer is made to feel as though he or she has a private audience to the inner workings of this complex world.
Coppola himself said during a pre-production meeting, " [that opening line] is saying that our country should be our family... that it should afford us the protection and honor that , in a strange way, this Mafia family does..." (Jones 141). Vito Corleone's empire is the embodiment of the American Dream - he was a penniless Italian immigrant who pulled himself up by his bootstraps, earning his wealth through hard work, and using his power and resources to take care of his family.
A Sicilian can never say no on the day of his daughter's wedding. Inside Don Corleone's darkened office, Tom Hagen looks on while Nazorine (a baker) requests the Godfather to help him with Enzo, a young Italian soldier who has fallen in love with Nazorine's daughter. The problem is, the war is over and Enzo risks being repatriated back to Italy. The Godfather easily understands the predicament and instructs Tom Hagen to contact a certain congressman in order to solve Nazorine's problem.
Woltz takes Hagen to the stables and shows him a horse named Khartoum - Woltz's pride and joy , worth $600,000. At dinner, Woltz politely tells Hagen that he cannot put Johnny in the film because he seduced one of Woltz's "proteges" and she ran away from the business. Woltz does not want to look ridiculous and starts shouting at Tom Hagen to get out. Tom Hagen calmly asks for a car to take him to the airport.
Francis Ford Coppola wanted to view Mario Puzo's fictional mafia family through the lens of American Capitalism - a "modern system for gaining power, a playground..." (Delorme 25). Although Don Corleone is, without a doubt, a criminal, he does have a specific moral code. For example, Bonasera must pledge his "friendship", or loyalty, to the Don in order to get justice for his daughter's attackers. Meanwhile, Don Corleone makes sure that the punishment matches the crime - as he tells Tom Hagen, "we're not murderers..." This statement is also representative of Corleone's business tactics. Bonasera's loyalty may not actually be worth murder - because, as Virgil Sollozzo says later in the film, "Blood is a big expense."
Michael goes to the hospital to see Don Corleone.
Tom Hagen fly's out to meet the Film Producer, Jack Woltz, to get him to put Johnny Fontane in his new Movie.
Michael and Kaye leave the shops with piles of Christmas Presents.
Michael first sets eyes on Apollonia in Sicily.
Michael escapes to Sicily and spends two years under Corleone ally Don Tommasino's protection. Tommasino's car pulls up to see Michael.
Tom Hagen leaves the store and is accosted by Virgil Sollozzo outside.
Michael has shot Sollozzo and McCluskey; the Five Families erupt in warfare.
Template:1972 film
The Godfather is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same name. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, and Diane Keaton. It is the first installment in The Godfather trilogy. âŚ
In 1945 New York City, at his daughter Connie's wedding to Carlo, Vito Corleone listens to requests in his role as don of the Corleone crime family. His youngest son, Michael, who was a Marine during World War II, introduces his girlfriend, Kay Adams, to his family at the reception. Johnny Fontane, a popular singer and Vito's godson, seeks Vito's help in securing a movie role; Vito dispatches his consigliere, Tom Hagen, to Los Angeles to persuade studio head Jack Woltz to give Johnny the pâŚ
The world premiere for The Godfather took place at Loews's State Theatre in New York City on Tuesday, March 14, 1972, almost three months after the planned release date of Christmas Day in 1971, with profits from the premiere donated to The Boys Club of New York. Before the film premiered, the film had already made $15 million from advance rentals from over 400 theaters. The following day, the film opened in five theaters in New York (Loew's State I and II, Orpheum, CiâŚ
The Godfather was a blockbuster, breaking many box office records to become the highest grossing film of 1972. The film's opening day gross from five theaters was $57,829 with ticket prices increased from $3 to $3.50. Prices in New York increased further at the weekend to $4, and the number of showings increased from four times a day to seven times a day. The film grossed $61,615 in Toronto for the weekend and $240,780 in New York, for an opening weekend gross oâŚ
Although many films about gangsters preceded The Godfather, Coppola steeped his film in Italian immigrant culture, and his portrayal of mobsters as persons of considerable psychological depth and complexity was unprecedented. Coppola took it further with The Godfather Part II, and the success of those two films, critically, artistically and financially, was a catalyst for the production of numerous other depictions of Italian Americans as mobsters, including films such as Martin SâŚ
The film has been referenced and parodied in various kinds of media.
⢠Brando parodied his portrayal of Vito Corleone in The Freshman, a 1990 comedy film.
⢠John Belushi appeared in a Saturday Night Live sketch as Vito Corleone in a therapy session; he said of the Tattaglia Family, "Also, they shot my son Santino 56 times".