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Your Favourite GODFATHER Moments

post #1 of 32
9/24/05 at 11:08am
Thread Starter 
So I went on a bit of a GODFATHER jag the other week, watching the original and following it up with PART II the next day (the third movie in my DVD box set remains upopened - I might get around to rewatching it...one day), and found myself appreciating these masterpieces all over again. With the first movie in particular, I was really taken with all the little character touches studded throughout the piece, touches that may seem obvious to some people (particularly huge fans of the series) but that I'd only half-noticed before.

Here's a few that I really enjoyed, and I'd be interested in hearing about other people's favourite GODFATHER moments. Sure, we all dig Sonny beating the shit out of Carlo, Sonny's causeway massacre, Jack Woltz finding an unpleasant surprise at the foot of the bed and Michael taking out Sollozzo and McCluskey at the restaurant but if you've got some obscure or seemingly insignificant bit of business you love, talk it up here.

For my part, I love...

That elderly gentleman who gets up and sings a verse of the song at Connie and Carlo's wedding - he's obviously singing something pretty risque, and everybody digs it, but who the heck is this old guy? How does he fit into the scheme of things? How do you reckon he knows Don Corleone?

The fact that Mama Corleone gets up and sings a verse as well.

That Fredo is already a bit shitfaced at the wedding, and that Michael accepts it quite happily when he semi-slobbers over Kay.

How Luca Brasi is a nervous wreck when he's preparing to pay his respects to Don Corleone, but later when he's getting ready to work he's calm, collected and almost graceful.

Fredo sitting quietly in his father's room after the assassination attempt on Don Corleone.

And one of the more obvious but most powerful moments: Michael realising his hands aren't shaking after he's foiled Sollozzo's hit at the hospital, recognising his authority.

Ball's in your court, guys.
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post #2 of 32
9/24/05 at 11:56am
Second movie: "Michael, why are the drapes open?"
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post #3 of 32
9/24/05 at 12:24pm
My favorite moment has to be Sonny's death and the ensuing scene where the Don begins crying at the sight of the body. That breaks me every time.
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post #4 of 32
9/24/05 at 1:39pm
I don't know if it's all that significant but I love in the original when Tom goes to see the movie producer. John Marley's whole speech about the girl who ended up with Johnny is fantastic.

"She was the greatest piece of ass I've ever had and I've had'em all over the world!"

Maybe it is significant, was this the first film to include the phrase "piece of ass?"

"A man in my position can't afford to be made to look ridiculous!"

From part 2 I always enjoy when DeNiro goes back to the old country to get his revenge on the elderly boss in his birthplace. Just a great way to show exactly how far Vito will go to set things straight.

If I have to pick something from part 3 it would be when Andy Garcia takes out Joe Mantegna. The film really starts to fall down fast after that scene.
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post #5 of 32
9/24/05 at 1:43pm
"Can't do it, Sally."
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post #6 of 32
9/24/05 at 3:05pm
Great choices guys.

I dig the scene in the original when Brando berates Johnny Fontane for being a pussy.

"WHAT'SA MATTER WITH YOU? CAN'T YOU ACT LIKE A MAN"

And of course the part when Woltz discovers the horse's head is priceless.

Part II where Michael and his gang find the dead hooker with Sen. Geary is great too.
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post #7 of 32
9/24/05 at 3:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moltisanti
If I have to pick something from part 3 it would be when Andy Garcia takes out Joe Mantegna. The film really starts to fall down fast after that scene.
I really dig the opera house sequence at the end. It's nicely staged and photographed. I also like how Andy Garcia delivers his line " Enjoy the show" to a hapless Eli Wallach.

While GF III is a deeply flawed film, I don't consider it to be totally unwatchable as it has a few good moments.
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post #8 of 32
9/24/05 at 4:15pm
I don't find part 3 unwatchable but as soon as they head back to the old country it starts to spiral into no man's land. The opera house stuff is okay. I know a lot of people laugh at the reaction Sofia Coppola gives when she's shot, I'm always taken out of that scene by the fact that as Pacino is clutching his daughter you've got George Hamilton seen right behind him. Man, Duvall must crack up at that part.

My other gripe about 3 is the fact that it actually got nominated for Best Picture. I'm sure any votes it got would have probably gone to GOODFELLAS if it hadn't been nominated, thus insuring that DANCES WITH WOLVES would not have walked off with the prize.
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post #9 of 32
9/24/05 at 5:29pm
I agree. The best picture nomination for GF III was based more on the Godfather name and reputation than for the actual film's merits.

Dances with Wolves is good but Goodfellas blows it away anyday.
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post #10 of 32
9/24/05 at 7:12pm
In Part II when Kate is telling Michael about the abortion she had, and he just explodes. You can feel how angry he is.
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post #11 of 32
9/24/05 at 7:34pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moltisanti
I don't know if it's all that significant but I love in the original when Tom goes to see the movie producer. John Marley's whole speech about the girl who ended up with Johnny is fantastic.

"She was the greatest piece of ass I've ever had and I've had'em all over the world!"

Maybe it is significant, was this the first film to include the phrase "piece of ass?"

"A man in my position can't afford to be made to look ridiculous!"
Marley's a fuckin' hoot in that scene: "And let me be even more frank!"

Plus I love how he never misses a beat in dissing Hagen, calling him "my Kraut-Mick friend" after Hagen reveals his German-Irish heritage.

In the DVD's deleted scenes, it shows the pre-teen starlet from the photo shoot at the beginning of the Woltz sequence leaving the studio head's house all dishevelled, creating the impression that the springs on Woltz's casting couch had been worked over. Dirty ol' bastard.
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post #12 of 32
9/24/05 at 8:07pm
I guess I've become jaded about deleted scenes over the years because I must have glossed over that one when I first got the set. I just watched it now and you're right, it is good, a nice creepy touch added to that character. Even more creepy when you see the deleted scene before it where Woltz gives that girl a pony.

Another character I love in the original is Alex Rocco as Mo Green, he's great when describing why he had to straighten Fredo out:

"He was bangin' cocktail waitresses two at a time!"
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post #13 of 32
9/24/05 at 8:14pm
Thread Starter 
And Michael's response: "You straightened out my brother?"

Poor Fredo. The guy just wanted to have a few drinks, bang a couple of cocktail waitresses, get a little respect and make sure everybody got along. He's responsible for some of my favourite bits in the first two movies, like the shy but almost proud way he says "I'm gonna learn the casino business" to the ashamed way he says "Mom used to say 'You're not my son, you were left on the doorstep by gypsies'. Maybe she was right". John Cazale was a legend.
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post #14 of 32
9/24/05 at 8:26pm
Cazale was great, I'm still not sure why he got a spot on this site's "Bastard" list considering all the other ones in these films. To me, Cazale's entire role is signified by him fumbling the gun after Vito is shot. He's just too clumsy to be considered a bastard.

One scene in the original that looks extremely real is the murder of Luca. The way his eyes bulge out of his head is freaky looking.
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post #15 of 32
9/24/05 at 8:53pm
Thread Starter 
Fabrizio, now there's a bastard. He blew up Michael's wife and lovely car. (Joke shamelessly stolen from John Belushi's Don Corleone impression on SNL.)

Simonetta Stefanelli, man. How could anybody do this...



...to such a cutie?
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post #16 of 32
9/24/05 at 9:02pm
15 posts, and nobody mentions the baptism montage. I'm shocked. Bordering on appalled.
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post #17 of 32
9/24/05 at 9:16pm
I think the request was made to shy away from the most obvious classic moments and to try and think of some of the other great scenes in the series. But that is definitely a memorable moment.

Another one for me is in part 2 when Frankie is about to testify and sees his brother and Michael enter the proceedings, thus bringing on a suuden case of amnesia as to his history with the Corleone family.
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post #18 of 32
9/24/05 at 9:17pm
Part 2:

The scene where Fredo lashes out at Michael in front of the lake. "I'm your older brother!"

The scene where Tom Hagen quietly convinces the turncoat boss (Frankie?) to commit suicide.
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post #19 of 32
9/24/05 at 11:14pm
Thread Starter 
Joe Spinell making the most of his few lines of dialogue in PART II:

"Nah, that wasn't no heart attack."

And giving some sass to the senators: "Buffers? Oh, yeah, the Corleone family had a lot of buffers."
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post #20 of 32
9/24/05 at 11:54pm
It's already been mentioned but I've always liked the scene where Fredo gives that great monologue about being smart, he's such a tragic character, I seriously choke up when he does that monologue.

The other scene where Michael and 'The Senator' are discussing business, it's such a perfect indictment how the government will do business with someone like Michael while alternately believing they're somehow above Michael and his 'family' this is resolved later when they stitch up the senator, you just see Nero standing by the bathroom door, drying his hands.

The scene in GF1 where Al and Connie are arguing and she throws a major tantrum, he reacts by chasing her around the room before beating her with his belt in another room offscreen, you just hear her scream, it's amazingly effective, I remember Coppola saying that was directed by someone 'who knew a fight choreographer was coming to direct it' I think Coppola did just as good a job.
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post #21 of 32
9/25/05 at 1:02am
"Leave the Gun. Take the Cannoli".
And In Godfather 2 the bit with the landlord at first turning down the Young Vito Corleone's request not to
evict the widow, and changing his mind when he finds out who he is dealing with...
Godfather III is a decent movie, but just decent is not good enough for the third film in the series.
And that it come out just two months after "Goodfellows" did not help it any.
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post #22 of 32
9/25/05 at 2:10am
Pretty much any moment with James Caan in the first one is worth its weight in gold. His two best moments are probably too obvious to include here, but I love that look Marlon Brando shoots him after he contradicts him in front of the other bosses. Also that scene near the end with Marlon Brando with an orange in his mouth always stuck in my mind.

For the second film, definitely the scene where Robert DeNiro is stalking the rooftops like Batman. What a great moment, it reminds me of that long shot of Anthony Perkins following the lady with the steamer trunk in Welles' The Trial. Two of my favorite shots in film history.
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post #23 of 32
9/25/05 at 2:58am
All the scenes between Pacino and Lee Strasberg in Pt. II are among my favorites in
any movie.
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post #24 of 32
9/25/05 at 4:27am
The first time I watched The Godfather, I knew all about the horse head scene, that the producer would wake up with the head in his bed. I knew it, and nevertheless it hit me like a fucking sledgehammer when I saw it. All the hair on the back of my neck just stood up on end.

Personally, I absolutely love the end of The Godfather.
Michael: "This one time, this one time I'll let you ask me about my affairs... "
Kay: "Is it true? -- Is it?"
Michael: "No."
Then as Kay watches, he walks into his office and the door closes as Clemenza kneels before his new Don.
Awesome.

Another fave, the council of Dons.
Barzini: "Times have changed. It's not like the Old Days, when we can do anything we want. A refusal is not the act of a friend. If Don Corleone had all the judges, and the politicians in New York, then he must share them, or let us others use them. He must let us draw the water from the well. Certainly he can present a bill for such services; after all... we are not Communists."

And, of course: "Leave the gun. Take the cannolis." Priceless.
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post #25 of 32
9/25/05 at 6:28am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don Corleone: I'm a superstitious man, and if some unlucky accident should befall Michael - if he is to be shot in the head by a police officer, or be found hung dead in a jail cell... or if he should be struck by a bolt of lightning - then I'm going to blame some of the people in this room; and then I do not forgive. But with said, I pledge - on the souls of my grandchildren - that I will not be the one to break the peace that we have made today.
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post #26 of 32
9/25/05 at 4:03pm
I still think it's too bad that one of the best lines in the novel did not make it into the move. How Coppola and Puzo missed it I don't know. It is when DOn Corleone is trying to talk Sonny into going to college and Law School:
"Don't you want to go to Law School and become a Lawyer? Don't you know that one Lawyer with his briefcase can steal more then a thousand men with guns"?
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post #27 of 32
9/25/05 at 7:13pm
Even though Sonny being shot is one of the more famous scenes in the original, what always gets me during that part is how that one guy kicks Sonny in the face after he's been shot 80 times. It's one thing to be a murderer but that kicking guy is just a jerk.
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post #28 of 32
9/26/05 at 2:22am
All of the ones already mentioned, plus these two:

*Fredo saying goodbye to Michael Jr. before going out on the fishing boat. The way it's played, I'm still not sure if Fredo knew was about to happen, and I love it for that.

*"Why do you hurt me, Michael? I've been nothing but loyal to you." Robert Duvall gets too little credit for his performance in parts I & II.
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post #29 of 32
9/26/05 at 12:19pm
Directly following the immortal "Luca Brasi sleeps with fishes." line, there's a reaction shot of Michael hanging up the phone (he was calling Luca) that is just priceless.
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post #30 of 32
9/26/05 at 12:37pm
Michael has just finished telling Kay the Johnny Fontaine/bandleader story at Connie's wedding.

"That's a true story....That's my family, Kay. That's not me."
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post #31 of 32
9/26/05 at 3:20pm
ANother great line is one I use whenever somebody makes a lot of promises they never keep:
" In Two years the Corleone family will be 100% legitimate, Kay".
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post #32 of 32
10/9/05 at 11:57pm
At the end of part 2 when Michael is sitting alone at the table, having a drink, while everyone else is out surprising Don Corleone for his birthday.
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