| The Godfather | |
| Director: | Francis Ford Coppola |
| Producer: | Albert S. Ruddy (1) Francis Ford Coppola (2–3) |
| Screenplay: | Mario Puzo Francis Ford Coppola |
| Music: | Nino Rota (1–2) Carmine Coppola (3) |
| Cinematography: | Gordon Willis |
| Editing: | Peter Zinner (1–2) Barry Malkin (2–3) William H. Reynolds (1) Richard Marks (2) Lisa Fruchtman (3) Walter Murch (3) |
| Studio: | Alfran Productions (1) The Coppola Company (2) American Zoetrope (3) |
| Distributor: | Paramount Pictures |
| Runtime: | 539 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English Sicilian |
| Budget: | $– million |
| Gross: | – million |
The Godfather is a trilogy of American crime films directed by Francis Ford Coppola inspired by the 1969 novel of the same name by Italian American author Mario Puzo. The films follow the trials of the fictional Italian American mafia Corleone family whose patriarch, Vito Corleone, rises to be a major figure in American organized crime. His youngest son, Michael Corleone, becomes his successor. The films were distributed by Paramount Pictures and released in 1972, 1974, and 1990. The series achieved success at the box office, with the films earning between $430 and $517 million worldwide. The Godfather and The Godfather Part II are both seen by many as two of the greatest films of all time.[1] The series is heavily awarded, winning 9 out of 28 total Academy Award nominations.
See main article: The Godfather. The Godfather was released on March 15, 1972. The feature-length film was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and was based on Mario Puzo's novel of the same name. The plot begins with Don Vito Corleone declining an offer to join in the narcotics business with notorious drug lord Virgil Sollozzo, which leads to an assassination attempt. Vito's oldest son Sonny subsequently takes over the family business and he conspires with Michael to strike back for the assassination attempt by having him kill Sollozzo and a corrupt police captain, forcing Michael to go to Sicily in hiding. While in Sicily, Michael travels around the country and meets a woman he marries but who is killed in a car bombing. Michael returns to America after the news of his brother Sonny's murder and marries his former girlfriend Kay. Vito then turns over the reins of the family to Michael. Michael plans to move the family business to Las Vegas; but before the move, his father dies, and he plots the killing of the heads of the five families on the day of his nephew's baptism. Other subplots include Vito's daughter's abusive marriage, Johnny Fontane's success in Hollywood and Vito's second son Fredo's role in the family business in Las Vegas.
See main article: The Godfather Part II. The Godfather Part II was released on December 20, 1974. The feature-length film was again directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Both films, The Godfather I and The Godfather II are based on a single novel written by Mario Puzo, The Godfather. The film is in part both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather, presenting two parallel dramas. The main storyline, following the first film's events, centers on Michael Corleone, the new Don of the Corleone crime family, trying to hold his business ventures together from 1958 to 1959; the other is a series of flashbacks following his father, Vito Corleone, from his childhood in Sicily in 1901 to his founding of the Corleone family in New York City.
See main article: The Godfather Part III.
The Godfather Part III was released on December 25, 1990. Francis Ford Coppola returned as director for the feature-length film, while also writing the screenplay with the help of the author Mario Puzo. In his audio commentary for Part II, Coppola stated it was his belief in the first two films having told the complete Corleone saga with nothing more to add that led him to decline multiple requests from Paramount to make a third installment for over a decade, until severe financial difficulties caused by the critical and commercial failure of One from the Heart (1982) compelled him to accept the long-standing offer.[2]
The Godfather Part III completes the story of Michael Corleone, who is now trying to legitimize his criminal empire, and shows the rise of Sonny Corleone's illegitimate son Vincent Corleone as Michael's successor. The film also portrays a fictionalized account of real-life events, including the death of Pope John Paul I and the Papal banking scandal of 1981 & '82, linking them together and with the affairs of Michael Corleone. Coppola has stated he intended for Part III to be an epilogue to the first two films.[3] The film co-stars Sofia Coppola as Mary Corleone, whose performance was received negatively by critics. Leonard Maltin, said of the film that the casting of Sofia Coppola was an "almost-fatal flaw".[4]
On December 4, 2020, a recut version of the film titled The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone was released in a limited number of theatres as well as being released on Blu-ray and streaming platforms.[5] [6] Coppola said the film is the version he and Puzo had originally envisioned, and it "vindicates" its status among the trilogy and his daughter Sofia's performance.[7]
Coppola stated that he and Puzo had discussed the potential of a fourth installment. The fourth film was intended to be a prequel and a sequel told in a similar narrative to Part II.[8] They had discussed a potential script seeing Vito Corleone and Sonny gaining the families' political power and racketeering empire during the 1930s; and with Vincent Corleone in the 1980s, haunted by Mary's death, running the family business through a ten-year destructive war and eventually losing the families' business interests, respect and power, seeing one final scene with Michael Corleone before his death, completing the 100-year story of the Corleone family's rise and fall.[9]
Many actors were rumoured to be cast in the film: Robert De Niro, Andy García and Talia Shire were suggested to be reprising their roles.[10] Leonardo DiCaprio was discussed as being cast as a young Sonny Corleone.[11] [12] [13]
In June 1999, The Hollywood Reporter had reported that a fourth film was in the works with García in the lead role. García has since claimed the film's script was nearly produced,[9] but following Puzo's death on July 2, Coppola decided to retire the film series indefinitely.[14] Puzo's contribution to the potential sequel dealt with the Corleone family in the early 1930s, and was eventually expanded into a novel by Ed Falco and released in 2012 as The Family Corleone.[15] The estate of Puzo had sought to keep Paramount Pictures from producing the film based on The Family Corleone.[16] Now resolved, Paramount has gained the rights to make more Godfather films.[17]
| Character | Film | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Godfather[18] | The Godfather Part II[19] | The Godfather Part III[20] | |
| Michael Corleone | Al Pacino | Al Pacino Louis Marino | Al Pacino |
| Kay Adams-Corleone | Diane Keaton | ||
| Al Neri | Richard Bright | ||
| Connie Corleone | Talia Shire | ||
| Theresa Hagen | Tere Livrano | ||
| Francesca Corleone | Jeanne Savarino Pesch | ||
| Kathryn Corleone | Janet Savarino Smith | ||
| Don Tommasino | Corrado Gaipa | Mario Cotone | Vittorio Duse |
| Anthony Corleone | Anthony Gounaris | James Gounaris | Franc D'Ambrosio |
| Fredo Corleone | John Cazale | ||
| Vito Corleone | Marlon Brando | Robert De Niro Oreste Baldini | |
| Tom Hagen | Robert Duvall | ||
| Sonny Corleone | James Caan | James Caan Roman Coppola | |
| Peter Clemenza | Richard S. Castellano | Bruno Kirby | |
| Salvatore Tessio | Abe Vigoda | John Aprea Abe Vigoda | |
| Carmela Corleone | Morgana King | Morgana King Francesca De Sapio | |
| Carlo Rizzi | Gianni Russo | ||
| Sandra Corleone | Julie Gregg | ||
| Rocco Lampone | Tom Rosqui | ||
| Willi Cicci | Joe Spinell | ||
| Genco Abbandando | Frank Sivero | ||
| Johnny Fontane | Al Martino | Al Martino | |
| Calo | Franco Citti | Franco Citti | |
| Lucy Mancini | Jeannie Linero | Jeannie Linero | |
| Enzo Aguello | Gabrielle Torrei | Gabrielle Torrei | |
| Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone | Simonetta Stefanelli | ||
| Fabrizio | Angelo Infanti | colspan="2" | |
| Captain McCluskey | Sterling Hayden | colspan="2" | |
| Jack Woltz | John Marley | colspan="2" | |
| Emilio Barzini | Richard Conte | colspan="2" | |
| Virgil Sollozzo | Al Lettieri | colspan="2" | |
| Carmine Cuneo | Rudy Bond | colspan="2" | |
| Luca Brasi | Lenny Montana | colspan="2" | |
| Paulie Gatto | Johnny Martino | colspan="2" | |
| Amerigo Bonasera | Salvatore Corsitto | colspan="2" | |
| Moe Greene | Alex Rocco | colspan="2" | |
| Bruno Tattaglia | Tony Giorgio | colspan="2" | |
| Nazorine | Vito Scotti | colspan="2" | |
| Philip Tattaglia | Victor Rendina | colspan="2" | |
| Vitelli | Saro Urzi | colspan="2" | |
| Victor Stracci | Don Costello | colspan="2" | |
| Don Zaluchi | Louis Guss | colspan="2" | |
| Mary Corleone | unknown actress | Sofia Coppola | |
| Hyman Roth | Lee Strasberg John Megna | ||
| Frank Pentangeli | Michael V. Gazzo | ||
| Pat Geary | G. D. Spradlin | ||
| Fabrizio Fanucci | Gastone Moschin | ||
| Deanna Dunn-Corleone | Marianna Hill | ||
| Signor Roberto | Leopoldo Trieste | ||
| Johnny Ola | Dominic Chianese | ||
| Bussetta | Amerigo Tot | ||
| Merle Johnson | Troy Donahue | ||
| Vito's mother | Maria Carta | ||
| Francesco Ciccio | Giuseppe Sillato | ||
| Marcia Roth | Fay Spain | ||
| FBI Man | Harry Dean Stanton | ||
| Carmine Rosato | Carmine Caridi | ||
| Tony Rosato | Danny Aiello | ||
| Vincenzo Pentangeli | Salvatore Po | ||
| Mosca | Ignazio Pappalardo | ||
| Strollo | Andrea Maugeri | ||
| Vincent Corleone | Andy García | ||
| Osvaldo Altobello | Eli Wallach | ||
| Joey Zasa | Joe Mantegna | ||
| B J Harrison | George Hamilton | ||
| Grace Hamilton | Bridget Fonda | ||
| Cardinal Lamberto | Raf Vallone | ||
| Archbishop Gilday | Donal Donnelly | ||
| Frederick Keinszig | Helmut Berger | ||
| Dominic Abbandando | Don Novello | ||
| Andrew Hagen | John Savage | ||
| Mosca | Mario Donatone | ||
| Licio Lucchesi | Enzo Robutti | ||
| Spara | Michele Russo | ||
| Lou Pennino | Robert Cicchini | ||
| Armand | Rogerio Miranda | ||
| Francesco | Carlos Miranda | ||
| Anthony Squigliaro | Vito Antuofermo | ||
| Albert Volpe | Carmine Caridi | ||
| Frank Romano | Don Costello | ||
| Leo Cuneo | Al Ruscio | ||
| Matty Parisi | Mickey Knox | ||
| Film | U.S. release date | Box office gross | Budget | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. and Canada | Other territories | Worldwide | ||||
| The Godfather | March 15, 1972 | – | $6–7.2 million | |||
| The Godfather Part II | December 20, 1974 | $13 million[21] [22] | ||||
| The Godfather Part III | December 25, 1990 | $66,666,062 | $70,100,000 | $136,766,062[23] | $54 million | |
| Total | $ | $ | $– | $– million | ||
The first two films have grossed an estimated $800 million in theatrical, video, and television revenues.[24]
The films appear in many "Top" film lists, such as AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies, Time magazine's All-Time 100 Movies, the IMDb Top 250, Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association's Top 10 Films, and James Berardinelli's Top 100.[25] The Godfather Trilogy was ranked at No. 5 in Empire magazine's "The 33 Greatest Movie Trilogies" in 2010.[26] The Independent ranked it at No. 6 on its list of "10 greatest movie trilogies of all time".[27] Screen Rant ranked it at No. 4 on its list of "The Best Movie Trilogies Of All Time".[28]
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Godfather | 97% (9.4/10 average rating) (151 reviews)[29] | 100 (16 reviews)[30] | |
| The Godfather Part II | 96% (9.7/10 average rating) (126 reviews)[31] | 90 (18 reviews)[32] | |
| The Godfather Part III | 66% (6.4/10 average rating) (67 reviews)[33] | 60 (19 reviews)[34] | |
| The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone | 86% (7.5/10 average rating) (58 reviews)[35] | 76 (14 reviews)[36] |
The three films together were nominated for a total of 28 Academy Awards, of which they won nine. The Godfather is the first trilogy to have had all three of its films nominated for Best Picture (The Lord of the Rings is the only other series to achieve this); it is the only film series with two Best Picture winners, with The Godfather and The Godfather Part II winning the award in their respective years. The Godfather Part II is the first sequel film to win Best Picture ( is the only other film to achieve this). For the Best Supporting Actor award, both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II had three actors nominated for the award, which is a rare feat. The Godfather Part II won the most Academy Awards with six to its credit. The Godfather Part III was nominated for seven Oscars, but won none.
| Award | Awards won | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Godfather | The Godfather Part II | The Godfather Part III | ||
| Picture | ||||
| Director | ||||
| Actor | ||||
| Supporting Actor | ||||
| Supporting Actress | ||||
| Adapted Screenplay | ||||
| Art Direction | ||||
| Cinematography | ||||
| Costume Design | ||||
| Film Editing | ||||
| Original Dramatic Score | ||||
| Original Song | ||||
| Sound | ||||
The three films together were nominated for a total of 20 Golden Globe Awards, of which they won five.
| Award | Awards won | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Godfather | The Godfather Part II | The Godfather Part III | ||
| Picture – Drama | ||||
| Director – Motion Picture | ||||
| Actor – Drama | ||||
| Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | ||||
| Screenplay | ||||
| Original Score | ||||
| Original Song | ||||
| Most Promising Newcomer – Male | ||||
Compilations were created by Coppola and editors Barry Malkin and Walter Murch, with two released to home media:
Other box sets were released in DVD and Blu-ray formats:
A side-scrolling shooter, The Godfather (1991), was the first video game based on the series. The Godfather: The Game (2006) was based on the first film.[45] [46] Duvall, Caan, and Brando supplied voiceovers and their likenesses,[47] but Pacino did not. Francis Ford Coppola openly voiced his disapproval of the game.[48] The Godfather II (2009) was based on the second film. A mobile game, The Godfather: Family Dynasty (2017), was released for iOS and Android devices.
A board game titled, The Godfather: Corleone's Empire, was released in 2017 by CMON.[49] Ars Technica gave it a positive review, calling it "an exceptionally solid release".[50]