The Godfather: Difference between revisions

{{quote| ''"I believe in America."''}}

 

 

The plot of the first movie begins in 1945 with Michael Corleone ([[Al Pacino]]), the youngest son of the [[The Don|Don]] of the Family, Vito Corleone ([[Marlon Brando]]), returning from [[World War Two]] and reuniting with his family at his sister Connie's wedding. The good times don't last long, however: shortly after the wedding a captain from a rival crime family tries to interest the Don and his [[Hot-Blooded]] eldest son, Sonny ([[James Caan]]), in the new up and coming moneymaker: heroin. The old fashioned Don is not interested, believing that selling drugs would wreck the political connections vital to the family, but when Sonny shows interest the rival family decides on a new course of action: kill Don Vito, and try to make a bargain with Sonny afterwards.

* [[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.

* [[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.

** Michael is both a war hero and, in the end, a badass gangster.

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

** {{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 Moustache]]: Vito Corleone sports a badass moustache, and he only begins wearing it after he gains power as a Mafia kingpin.

** Vito is an adult family man when he returns to Sicily to exact revenge on the man (a crippled old man by then) who killed his brother and his parents when he was a child.

* [[Big Applesauce]]

* [[The Big Board]]: During the Senate investigation there is a big board with a diagram showing how the Corleone family is organized and branched.

* [[Big Brother Instinct]]: Sonny Corleone has one of these toward his sister. {{spoiler|It ultimately gets him killed}}.

** 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''.

* [[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.

* [[Break the Cutie]]: What Jack Woltz does to a very young, very beautiful actress during Tom Hagen's visit. Insiders say it's a description of something that happened to Elizabeth Taylor, probably at MGM. It was one of the factors that would ultimately lead to the horse-head incident, and is called an ''infamita'' by the Don himself.

** 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.

* [[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.

* [[Dawson Casting]]: An unusual 'reverse Dawson' - by the third film Mary Corleone ''should'' be in her mid to late twenties (she is about 5 in ''Part II'' which is 21 years before the start of ''Part III') but Sophia Coppala was still a teenager when she played her.

* [[Gold Digger]]: Connie's husband Carlo is a failed male example.

* [[The Handler]]: Tom Hagen as ''consigliere'' to Don Vito.

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: {{spoiler|Pentangeli. The Family wants him dead, but Tom Hagen tells him that if he kills himself the Corleones will provide for his surviving family from that point on.}}

* [[Heel Face Turn]]: Subverted, {{spoiler|Pentangeli}} is put under [[Witness Protection]] and is going to testify against the Corleone family. Michael and Tom Hagen find a way to prevent him breaking the ''omertà''; his brother shows up the day he has to testify. It's interpretable if they stop {{spoiler|Pentangeli}} by shaming him in front of his old school brother or there's some kind of [[Implied Death Threat]] going on.

* [[Intermission]]: ''Part II'' has an intermission, though ''Part I'' lacks one.

* [[Irony]]: The Mafia caused Vito to run away from Sicily to America and there he became its leader.

{{quote| '''Tom''' : It would be like trying to kill the President! There's no way we can get to him!<br />

'''Michael''' : If anything in this life is certain, if History has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone. }}

* [[Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal]]

** {{spoiler|Pentangeli}} has some disagreements with the Godfather and then flips to the authorities because he believes Michael is the one who put a hit on him.

* [[Mob War]]: Between [[Feuding Families]]

* [[Moe Greene Special]]: The first film is the [[Trope Namer]].

** The third film ends {{spoiler|with Michael failing to save the Pope in time, and with Mary killed by the assassin that was after Michael.}}

* [[Rated "M" for Manly]]: Not just for its' excessive violence and mafia fashion style. ''The Godfather'' is viewed as symbolic of men's gender roles - as Father, Brother, Businessman, Community leader - of 20th Century America. [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] in the film ''You've Got Mail,'' where Tom Hanks' character explains to Meg Ryan's how ''The Godfather'' is the ''I-Ching'' of all wisdom and that '''every''' guy gets the movie. Meg's character promptly quizzes her mild-mannered boyfriend about the phrase "Going to the mattresses." He immediately and nonchalantly replies "Yeah, that's from The Godfather."

* [[Reality Ensues]]: {{spoiler|Sonny's death}}, as well as the death of the Dons.

* [[Reality Is Unrealistic]]: A minor case, but the use of the word "Don" was so impacted by this film that most people are unaware of the proper form of address. In real life, the word "Don" is used in conjunction with a persons ''first'' name rather than their last. Thus, "Don Corleone" should be "Don Vito" or "Don Michael." This is of only minor importance in the movie itself, and there is occasional use of the proper form of address, but public perception of the the Mafia in particular (And Sicilian/Italian culture in general) was so defined by this move that most people are unaware of the correct usage.

* [[Right-Hand-Cat]]: In the form of a [[Throw It In]] - the cat that Vito is stroking early in the movie is a stray Marlon Brando befriended near the set.

* [[Ripped from the Headlines]]: The "Mafia money laundering at the Vatican" plot in ''Part III''.

* [[Say My Name]] : In part III, : "How are you, Joe... [Shoots Zasa three times]..ZASA!"

* [[Scars Are Forever]]: McClusky's blow gives Michael a disfigured cheek. It gets repaired later; Fredo comments offhandedly that a surgeon did a very good job.

* [[Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome]]: Clemenza dies of a heart attack between the first and second films and his position as capo of the Corleone family's New York branch passes to [[Remember the New Guy?|Frank Pentangeli]]. This was not originally going to happen; the reason for this change was a disagreement between actor Richard Castellano and Coppola (Castellano wanted creative control over his character and Coppola would not allow it, so Castellano was dropped from the film).

* [[Switch to English]]: Played with, in meaningful ways.

** The characters speak in Sicilian during the whole Vito's segment of ''Part II''. Vito only starts to use English when he begins to deal with his community as the Godfather. His job is linked with his Americanization.

** Michael switches to Italian in Part II in the middle of a cold conversation with Tom Hagen.

{{quote| '''Vito''', to Michael: "I knew Santino was going to have to go through all this and Fredo... well, Fredo was... But I never wanted this for you. I live my life, I don't apologize to take care of my family. And I refused to be a fool dancing on the strings held by all of those big shots. That's my life I don't apologize for that. But I always thought that when it was your time that you would be the one to hold the strings." }}

* [[Tragic Villain]]: Michael, who starts as a war hero and detached from the family.

* [[Vigilante Execution]]

* [[Villain Decay]]: Discussed in-universe.

* [[Writers Suck]]: The author of the novel which was being made into the movie that Johnny Fontanne wanted to star in. He was only briefly mentioned in the book, and not at all in the movie.

** Although, at least in the movie, the details concerning the film Johnny wanted to star in really didn't matter.

{{quote| '''Don Ciccio:''' What was your father's name?<br />

'''Vito:''' Antonio Andolini.<br />