The Godfather: Difference between revisions

Line 24:

* [[Acrofatic]]: Clemenza is a great dancer, and Vito's surprising quickness for his size saves his life during Sollozzo's ambush.

⚫

* [[An Aesop]]: [[Being Evil Sucks]]. It's hidden behind considerable helpings of [[Do Not Do This Cool Thing]], though.

* [[Adaptation Distillation]]: The film drops a ''lot'' of the novel's subplots.

* [[Affably Evil]]: Vito behaves like - and, in some ways, is - a family-oriented leader of his community, doing favors for the weak and punishing the wicked (when it doesn't interfere with Business). In some ways this is an [[Enforced Trope]]. People are expected to treat Don Vito like a treasured and respected friend. During his first scene, he chides the mortician for not being more sociable with him and only visiting when he needs a favor.

* [[Affectionate Nickname]]: One of the many connotations of the ''Godfather'' title. Discussed by Michael during the Senate commission in ''Part II''

* [[American Dream]]: The first line of the first film is "I believe in America... " A crucial theme of the film is how the five families are essentially living the American dream with specific ideals that America at the time greatly treasured (capitalism, gender roles, family values, etc.). One could easily see this as a [[Deconstruction]] or even an attack on the idea of the American Dream, or at least a very different look at it.

⚫

* [[An Aesop]]: [[Being Evil Sucks]]. It's hidden behind considerable helpings of [[Do Not Do This Cool Thing]], though.

* [[Artistic License History]]: In "The Godfather III" the deaths of Pope Paul VI and John Paul I all take place in 1979, while in reality these events took place in 1978! However, the name of the actual Cardinal who becomes John Paul I appears to have been changed.

* [[Asskicking Equals Authority]]: Two interweaved killings set this up.

** {{spoiler|Vito killing Fanucci and deposing the local authority marks the cornerstone of his rule.}}

** {{spoiler|1=Michael killing Sollozzo and McClusky doubles as a rite of passage from naive newcomer to credible and defacto mafia leader, as he can no longer be a clean civilian and is now in Vito's world.}}

* [[Badass]]:

** Luca Brasi is Don Vito's strong-arm enforcer, though he's not presented as badass as his character in the film. In fact, his two chief scenes involve him stumbling over a speech and getting killed.

Line 61:

** Vito is shot on the same day Paulie calls in sick. Sonny sees through the coincidence.

** In Sicily, Apollonia is driving the car for the first time as a surprise to Michael, who notices his bodyguard Fabrizzio hurriedly walking away from his villa. Michael turns and screams to his wife, but it's too late, she starts the engine and the car explodes, killing her.

** {{spoiler|Tessio}} in the end of ''Part I''.

** Michael in Part II discusses the possibility pointing out that his men are just business men and their loyalty is based on that.

* [[Break-In Threat]]: Jack Woltz [[Bedmate Reveal|wakes up with a horse head in his bed]]. Bonus points for it being his prize horse when it was still alive.

Line 81:

* [[The Clan]]

* [[Coattail-Riding Relative]]: Carlo ''thinks'' he's going to pull this off by marrying Connie, but the Corleones never offer him any opportunities. See under [[Gold Digger]]

⚫

* [[Color Motif]]: The color orange is a symbol of impending death. Usually, it comes in the form of orange fruit, but even orange clothing and orange decorations are used as foreshadowing towards death.

* [[Confessional]]: In ''Part III''. Michael gets to confess and receive absolution from the future Pope John Paul I himself.

{{quote|'''His Holiness:''' "Your sins are terrible. And it is just that you suffer. Your life could be redeemed, but I know you do not believe that. You will not change."}}

* [[The Consigliere]]: [[Trope Codifier]] Tom Hagen in the first two, less-seen B.J. Harrison in ''Part III''.

⚫

* [[Color Motif]]: The color orange is a symbol of impending death. Usually, it comes in the form of orange fruit, but even orange clothing and orange decorations are used as foreshadowing towards death.

* [[Continuity Cameo]]: Johnny Fontane and Lucy Mancini. In the novel they both get big storylines nearly the equal of the main storyline with Michael. In the film Johnny has a very small part and Lucy just two shorts scenes confirming her as Sonny's mistress. They make a brief apparition again in Part III.

* [[Convenient Miscarriage]]: Subverted. Kay Corleone apparently suffers this trope, only to be revealed later that she aborted the child, out of hate towards her catholic husband and because she [[Babies Make Everything Better|can't stand the idea of another child being raised under his criminal world]]. An inversion of [[Good Girls Avoid Abortion]].

Line 93:

* [[Corrupt the Cutie]]: Michael Corleone starts as a principled war hero firmly detached from the family business only to be gradually dragged into the criminal world and ending up as the new Don, cold and ruthless, alienated from his family. He tries to [[Heel Realization|atone for some things]] in Part III.

* [[Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!]]: Not the [[Trope Maker]], but close.

⚫

* [[Dangerously Close Shave]]: Subverted, during the Baptism Scene it certainly looks like this is about to happen to someone, but it turns out that the man getting a shave is a hitman for the Corleone family who is making time before ambushing the target.

⚫

* [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]]: Vito and Michael are aware of many of the trades and tropes of his profession, invoke some of them and make plans and gambits accordingly, hence their success. Many examples in this page: For instance Michael sends Vincent as a [[Fake Defector]] in ''Part III'' but -unlike Luca Brasi- with some dispositions to avoid being smelled as one.

* [[Danger Takes a Backseat]]:

** "Hello, Carlo."

** Played with a bit earlier in the film: Clemenza takes Paulie Gatto with him on the pretense of scouting for apartments in preparation to "go to the mattresses", but he also brings along Rocco Lampone; Rocco sits in the back while Paulie drives and Clemenza rides shotgun. Paulie ''knows'' something is a little off and you can see it in his expression when he asks Rocco to move over because he's blocking the rear-view mirror. It turns out Paulie was right to be nervous.

⚫

* [[Dangerously Close Shave]]: Subverted, during the Baptism Scene it certainly looks like this is about to happen to someone, but it turns out that the man getting a shave is a hitman for the Corleone family who is making time before ambushing the target.

⚫

* [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]]: Vito and Michael are aware of many of the trades and tropes of his profession, invoke some of them and make plans and gambits accordingly, hence their success. Many examples in this page: For instance Michael sends Vincent as a [[Fake Defector]] in ''Part III'' but -unlike Luca Brasi- with some dispositions to avoid being smelled as one.

* [[Darker and Edgier]]: Coppola felt that the first movie had shown [[the Mafia]] in too warm and sentimental a light, so ''Part II'' was consciously made Darker and Edgier.

* [[Deal with the Devil]]: Don Corleone's policy of doing favors for people in return for the person in question performing a service for him in the future has ''very'' strong undertones of this, but the Don does not make the people who call on him for help do anything evil. The mortician Bonasera, whose request for help opens the movie, is terrified of being indebted to Don Vito for such a favor and fears that one day the Don will show up at his doorstep with a pile of corpses and a "request" that he bury them. {{spoiler|In the end, Vito calls in the favor to beg Bonasera to clean up Sonny's bullet-riddled body, as well as reconstruct his face so that his mother will be able to look upon him.}} When {{spoiler|Don Vito himself dies, Bonasera is spotted at the funeral he apparently is providing for the late Don and is openly weeping.}}

Line 104:

* [[Deliberate Values Dissonance]]

* [[Department of Redundancy Department]]: "I'm honored that you have invited me to your daughter... [[Disorganized Outline Speech|'s wedding...]] on the day of your daughter's wedding." In reality, Lenny Montana was a professional wrestler and not a trained actor. His verbal stumble came from being awed just to be in the presence of [[Marlon Brando]]. It was felt afterward to keep it in because it fit Luca's awe of Don Vito. They also added an extra scene, where Luca Brasi practices his speech, to make his nervousness more realistic.

* [[Fan Nickname|Detractor Nickname]]: Some of the other Sicilian families refer to the Corleones as "the Irish gang" behind their backs because Don Vito gave Tom Hagen, who's of Irish descent, a high position in the family.

* [[Dirty Cop]]

* [[Disposable Sex Worker]]: In ''Part II'', the Corleones get corrupt U.S. Senator Geary in their pocket when he wakes up in a room with a dead prostitute in a hotel run by Fredo. They had engaged in rough, possibly dangerous sex before the senator blacked out, but the exact circumstances of her death are never revealed, and it is awfully convenient for the Corleone interests that she died. There is a brief scene during that moment where [[The Dragon|Al Neri]] is idly washing his hands in a nearby bathroom, hinting he had set up the senator by drugging him unconscious and then killing the poor girl.