The Godfather: Difference between revisions
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** {{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.}}
* [[At the Opera Tonight]]: The climax of Part III.▼
* [[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.
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** "Exterminate? That's a bad word to use: exterminate! Get this guy. Watch out we don't exterminate you!"
** Vito refuses to get into the narcotics business after the war, not only because he knows his political friends would abandon him but because he believes in the future the drug business could kill the Mafia. In [[Real Life]], the Mafia has been crippled since [[The Seventies]] mostly due to the [[War On Drugs]].
** "
* [[For Great Justice]]: As stated at the beginning of the movie, this is the reason why Amerigo Bonasera (and others) go to see Don Vito.
* [[Four-Temperament Ensemble]]: the brothers are a perfect example. [[Hot-Blooded|Sonny]] is choleric, [[The Chessmaster|Michael]] is melancholic, [[Nice Guy|Fredo]] is sanguine, and [[The Consigliere|Tom Hagen]] is phlegmatic.
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* [[The Handler]]: Tom Hagen as ''consigliere'' to Don Vito.
* [[Happy Flashback]]: A particularly effective one ends the second film. The Corleone children waiting for Vito and sitting around the dinner table, as Michael tells them he is joining the Marine Corps and going off to fight in World War II and thus bluntly detaching himself from the family business. There is a lot of character definition and foreshadowing and the moment represents the end of the happier, together times in the Corleone family's life. This is counterpointed by the final shot of Michael sitting alone in the Lake Tahoe compound.
* [[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.
▲* [[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.}}
* [[Historical In-Joke]]: Part III [[Retcon|RetCons]] the death of Pope John Paul I and the murder of the Vatican's chief banker into part of a Mafia vs. Vatican conspiracy. Assuming they weren't in the first place.▼
* [[Hidden Weapons]]: The Corleones correctly assume Michael is going to be thoroughly frisked before a meeting and discuss a method to plant a gun in a restaurant.
▲* [[Historical In-Joke]]: Part III [[Retcon|RetCons]] the death of Pope John Paul I and the murder of the Vatican's chief banker into part of a Mafia vs. Vatican conspiracy. Assuming they weren't in the first place.
* [[If I Wanted You Dead...]]: Sollozo kidnapping Tom Hagen.
* [[I Kiss Your Hand]]: Not in a romantic sense but an expected sign of respect towards a Don.▼
* [[An Immigrant's Tale]]: Emphasized on Part II. Vito arrives at Ellis Island from Sicily in 1901.▼
* [[Impossible Task]]: Getting to the overprotected {{spoiler|Pentangeli and Hyman Roth}}. Discussed in a clear reference to [[John F. Kennedy]]'s assassination. The latter's outcome is a [[Shout-Out]] to Jack Ruby vs Oswald. The movie takes places months before the historical magnicide (around the time of the Cuban revolution.).▼
{{quote|'''Tom''' : It would be like trying to kill the President! There's no way we can get to him!▼
'''Michael''' : If anything in this life is certain, if History has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone. }}▼
* [[Impromptu Tracheotomy]]: At the Italian restaurant. What is scary is that the shot was not fatal, so [[Nightmare Fuel|McKlusky wheezes for a few seconds...]]
* [[Improvised Weapon]]: In ''Part III'', {{spoiler|Don Lucchesi}} is assassinated in a truly [[Incredibly Lame Pun|spectacular]] fashion when he is stabbed in the throat with his own {{spoiler|glasses}}.
* [[Intermission]]: ''Part II'' has an intermission, though ''Part I'' lacks one.
* [[Invisible to Gaydar]]: Fredo, mainly discussed in the original book and the Mark Winegartener follow-ups. Many of the personality conflicts he has with Michael and other Made Men are because of his issues dealing with his extremely repressed sexuality, occasionally leading to drunken one-night affairs, and his overcompensation by cultivating a reputation as a Vegas ladies' man. This gives him the impression of being inconsistent, flighty, and unreliable, all traits that attract the wrong kinds of attention and are liabilities for a man looking to make himself useful in the family business.▼
** Subtly referenced in ''Part II''. In Cuba, Michael gives Fredo the task of arranging entertainment for his visiting guests, all VIPs and politicians he hopes to win over and expedite his investment in the Cuban hotel industry. Fredo's choice of venue is a seedy club hosting a sex show, starring [[Biggus Dickus|'Superman']]. While all the guests are laughing in good-natured disbelief at the size of Superman's [[Unusual Euphemism|more-powerful-than-a-locomotive]], there is a two-second cut of Fredo staring, unblinking and almost trembling.▼
* [[Irony]]: The Mafia caused Vito to run away from Sicily to America and there he became its leader.
▲* [[Impossible Task]]: Getting to the overprotected {{spoiler|Pentangeli and Hyman Roth}}. Discussed in a clear reference to [[John F. Kennedy]]'s assassination. The latter's outcome is a [[Shout-Out]] to Jack Ruby vs Oswald. The movie takes places months before the historical magnicide (around the time of the Cuban revolution.).
▲{{quote|'''Tom''' : It would be like trying to kill the President! There's no way we can get to him!
▲'''Michael''' : If anything in this life is certain, if History has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone. }}
▲* [[An Immigrant's Tale]]: Emphasized on Part II. Vito arrives at Ellis Island from Sicily in 1901.
* [[It's Not You, It's My Enemies]]: The main reason why Michael dislikes Vincent and Mary dating, and convinces Vincent to break off the romance. It leads to [[Break His Heart to Save Him|break her heart to save her]]. {{spoiler|It does not work}}
{{quote|'''Mary''' : I'll always love you.
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* [[Kick the Dog]]:
** {{spoiler|Decapitating a man's horse because he will not cast a guy in a movie. But see [[Break the Cutie]] above re. Woltz's dark side.}}
**
* [[Kissing Cousins]]: Mary and Vincent in ''Part III''. Even if they had gotten a better actress than Sofia Coppola she still would not have been able to keep this forbidden romance between two '''first cousins''' from being [[Squick]].
* [[Kiss of Death]]: One of the most famous examples.
▲* [[I Kiss Your Hand]]: Not in a romantic sense but an expected sign of respect towards a Don.
* [[Knife Nut]]: Sollozzo is said to be very good with a knife, but being a businessman he avoids fighting if he can help it. This shows up briefly in the film when Luca Brasi meets with him in Bruno Tattaglia's nightclub. [[Impaled Palm|He stabs Luca Brasi's right hand]] , pinning it to the bar while one of Bruno's men garrotes Luca
* [[Legitimate Businessmen's Social Club]]: ''Genco Imports'' serves as the front organization for Don Corleone, is not explicitly portrayed as a paper thin disguise however. The criminal activities in New York are referred as [[Double-Speak|'the olive oil business']].
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** Inverted in the novel. The bosses of the Five Families are the worst-dressed of the bunch, wearing normal, no-nonsense business attire. Being the most powerful Mafia men in the nation, they don't have to play dress-up for ''anyone''.
* [[Massive-Numbered Siblings]]: Kay considers the Corleone siblings massive-numbered, and is surprised that Vito and Ma Corleone were generous enough to add a fifth member to their brood with Tom. Michael, however, reflects that four children constitutes a small family by Italian standards, and that Vito and Ma accordingly would have been miserly ''not'' to adopt Tom.
* [[Meaningful Rename]]: Inverted, Vito Andolini is renamed Corleone because an Ellis Island bureaucrat simplified or goofed it up.▼
* [[Mentor]]:
** Vito and Clemenza to Mike (Pentangeli was supposed to be Clemenza in ''Part II'', adding [[Broken Pedestal|more drama]] to their relation).
** Michael to Vincent.
** Roth and Don Altobello are referred as one but it's just a calculated pose.
▲* [[Meaningful Rename]]: Inverted, Vito Andolini is renamed Corleone because an Ellis Island bureaucrat simplified or goofed it up
* [[Middle Child Syndrome]]: Fredo. Oh Dear God, poor Fredo.
{{quote|'''Fredo''': "Did you ever think about that, did you ever once think about that? Send Fredo off to do this, send Fredo off to do that! Let Fredo to take care of some Mickey Mouse night club somewhere! Send Fredo to pick somebody up at the airport! I'm your older brother, Mike, ''and I was stepped over!''"
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'''Fredo''' (angry): "It ain't the way I wanted it! I can handle things! I'm smart! Not like everybody says! Like dumb! I'm smart and I want respect!" }}
* [[Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal]]
**
**
* [[Mob War]]: Between [[Feuding Families]]
* [[Moe Greene Special]]: The first film is the [[Trope Namer]].
* [[The Mole]]: Most plot twists in the trilogy involve someone betraying the family from within. {{spoiler|Underlings like Paulie, who set up Don Vito for the street hit, and Fabrizio, who plants a bomb meant to kill Michael in Sicily, but kills Michael's wife Apollonia instead. Respected ''capo'' Sal Tessio is bought over by Barzini to set up Michael after Vito's death. In ''Part II'', Pentangeli is tricked by Hyman Roth into revealing the Corleone Family's inner workings to the Senate hearings. Ultimately, the deepest betrayal was pulled by poor Fredo.}}
**
* [[Mook Promotion]]: Al Neri and Rocco Lampone are promoted from "Button Men" in the first movie to Michael's caporegimes in the second. Willi Cicci is a button in ''Part I'' and became Frank Pentangeli's capo in ''Part II''. In ''Part III'' he was originally planned to be the one who took over Michael's New York operation after he became legitimate, but actor Joe Spinell died before filming began. He was replaced by a new character, Joey Zasa.
* [[More Gun]]:
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* [[Nepotism]]: Literal. Vito is made redundant and loses his job because Abbandando has to accommodate Fanucci's nephew.
* [[Neutral No Longer]]: Michael is pulled into the family business when his father is almost killed by a rival who will keep on trying. Ironically the United States abandoning its neutrality after the attack on Pearl Harbor is the event that makes Michael declare his own neutrality away from the path of his father; he joins the Marine Corps the day after.
* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Herod]]: Don Ciciio attempts to kill all of Antonio Andolini's male relatives, including his 9-year-old son Vito, knowing they would be honor bound to avenge Antonio's murder. This forces Vito to escape to America, where he becomes a Don himself, eventually giving him the ability to return and kill Don Ciciio.▼
* [[Nice Guy]]: People outside the immediate Corleone family consider Fredo to be the most likable. While Sonny has a hairpin trigger, and one always has to be on guard with Tom and Michael for subtle nuances and double meanings, Fredo has the distinction of being both friendly and harmless, the most easily approachable of the Corleones for a drink and casual conversation.
▲* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Herod]]: Don Ciciio attempts to kill all of Antonio Andolini's male relatives, including his 9-year-old son Vito, knowing they would be honor bound to avenge Antonio's murder. This forces Vito to escape to America, where he becomes a Don himself, eventually giving him the ability to return and kill Don Ciciio.
* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]:
** Johnny Fontane is Frank Sinatra (the resemblance is clearer in the novel, but still visible in the film). Billy Goff (a minor character in the novel) is a thinly disguised [[wikipedia:William Morris Bioff|Willie Bioff]], Moe Greene is obviously Bugsy Siegel, Hyman Roth is based on Meyer Lansky and Johnny Fontane's alcoholic friend Nino Valenti (in the novel) is probably based on Dean Martin. Joey Zasa (Joe Mantegna) in ''Part III'' is based on John Gotti, and his demise in his Italian-American pride parade is based on Joe Columbo.
** Averted with real-life Pope John Paul I, whose {{spoiler|conspiracy-rumored death}} closes ''Part III''.
* [[Non-Idle Rich]]: The Corleones at least work ''hard'' at criminality.▼
* [[No Name Given]]: Don Vito's wife is never named in the movie, only referred to as "Mama". [[All There in the Script|The DVD's special features]] named her "Carmella Corleone" as an afterthought.
▲* [[Non-Idle Rich]]: The Corleones at least work ''hard'' at criminality.
* [[Not Using the Zed Word]]: The word "Mafia" was deliberately never spoken in the first film, nor is the "official" name of the organization, ''La Cosa Nostra'' ("This thing of ours" or, simply "Our Thing"). Each term is mentioned exactly once in Part II, both by Michael Corleone when he faces the senate hearing, and he says them to immediately refute any connection between himself and any such organizations.▼
** Twice. In the same scene, Senator Geary refers to "these hearings on the Mafia. . . "▼
** As for the first movie: it was produced at a time when [http://wiki.lspace.org/wiki/Silicon_Anti-Defamation_League a Mafia astroturf organization] was attempting to convince people that there was, in fact, no such thing as the Mafia. Accordingly, the word was never used in that movie. By the time of ''Godfather II'', people had figured out the con, so it was once more politically correct to use the term. (Though in the novel at least, it's made clear that, strictly speaking, Don Vito and his lieutenants are ''not'' members of the Mafia: the Corleone family are upstarts rather than "official" mafiosi.)▼
* [[Nothing Personal]]:
** Perhaps the most famous use of this [[Stock Phrase]]. Worded several times on a heated debate.
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'''Michael''' : It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business. }}
** And deconstructed by none other than Michael himself in the novel, who tells us, "[[It's Personal|It's all personal]], every bit of business."
**
▲* [[Not Using the Zed Word]]: The word "Mafia" was deliberately never spoken in the first film, nor is the "official" name of the organization, ''La Cosa Nostra'' ("This thing of ours" or, simply "Our Thing"). Each term is mentioned exactly once in Part II, both by Michael Corleone when he faces the senate hearing, and he says them to immediately refute any connection between himself and any such organizations.
* [[An Offer You Can't Refuse]]: The [[Trope Namer]], it's right up there on the poster.▼
▲** Twice. In the same scene, Senator Geary refers to "these hearings on the Mafia. . . "
▲** As for the first movie: it was produced at a time when [http://wiki.lspace.org/wiki/Silicon_Anti-Defamation_League a Mafia astroturf organization] was attempting to convince people that there was, in fact, no such thing as the Mafia. Accordingly, the word was never used in that movie. By the time of ''Godfather II'', people had figured out the con, so it was once more politically correct to use the term. (Though in the novel at least, it's made clear that, strictly speaking, Don Vito and his lieutenants are ''not'' members of the Mafia: the Corleone family are upstarts rather than "official" mafiosi.)
* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: Michael, specially in ''Part I''; he deliberately projects the image of a weak boss and even his capos start to doubt his leadership. [[Not-So-Harmless Villain]] ensues.
▲* [[An Offer You Can't Refuse]]: The [[Trope Namer]], it's right up there on the poster.
* [[Oh Crap]]: "Michael, why are the drapes open?"
* [[Older and Wiser]]: Connie is practically a load in her younger years since the business is not female-friendly, but she evolves and by '' Part III'' she is [[Lady Macbeth]].
* [[One-Scene Wonder]]: The opening scene of the first film with Bonasera.
▲* [[At the Opera Tonight]]: The climax of Part III.
* [[Passing the Torch]]. Vito to Michael in Part I. Michael to Vincent in Part III.
* [[Pet the Dog]]: [[Parental Substitute|Vito]] adopting Tom Hagen.
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* [[Spinning Paper]]: The "Mattress Sequence", a montage of crime scene photos and headlines about the war between the five families. Made by [[George Lucas]]
* [[Spotting the Thread]]: "I didn't realize until this day, it was {{spoiler|Barzini}} all along".
▲* [[Invisible to Gaydar]]: Fredo, mainly discussed in the original book and the Mark Winegartener follow-ups. Many of the personality conflicts he has with Michael and other Made Men are because of his issues dealing with his extremely repressed sexuality, occasionally leading to drunken one-night affairs, and his overcompensation by cultivating a reputation as a Vegas ladies' man. This gives him the impression of being inconsistent, flighty, and unreliable, all traits that attract the wrong kinds of attention and are liabilities for a man looking to make himself useful in the family business.
▲** Subtly referenced in ''Part II''. In Cuba, Michael gives Fredo the task of arranging entertainment for his visiting guests, all VIPs and politicians he hopes to win over and expedite his investment in the Cuban hotel industry. Fredo's choice of venue is a seedy club hosting a sex show, starring [[Biggus Dickus|'Superman']]. While all the guests are laughing in good-natured disbelief at the size of Superman's [[Unusual Euphemism|more-powerful-than-a-locomotive]], there is a two-second cut of Fredo staring, unblinking and almost trembling.
* [[Stuffed in The Fridge]]: {{spoiler|Apollonia, via car bomb}}.
* [[Subculture]] : The Mafia. Interestingly it is the cultural aspects that are one of the main attraction.
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'''Vito:''' My father's name was Antonio Andolini... and this is for you! ''(<s>stabs</s> carves him)'' }}
* [[You Owe Me]]: Vito standard approach to business binding.
{{quote|'''Vito''' : Some day, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me. But until that day, consider this justice a gift on my daughter's wedding day. }}▼
* [[Young Conqueror]]: Michael
▲{{quote|'''Vito''' : Some day, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me. But until that day, consider this justice a gift on my daughter's wedding day. }}
{{reflist}}
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