Posted on 01/28/2025 1:09:52 PM PST by nickcarraway
iconic scene from The Godfather depicting Bonasera whispering into the ears of Vito Corleone The catalyst for the events in The Godfather is an important wedding, where viewers meet many core characters, including the antagonistic Don Barzini (Richard Conte). The Godfather still holds up today as one of the best movies of all time, partly due to its characters and their various tense allegiances. Many of the relationships in the Godfather trilogy are different from how they appear, with characters being required to show respect, even to their enemies. This is especially apparent in the first movie when Don Barzini attends the wedding hosted by The Godfather's powerful Corleone family.
Of all the Godfather trilogy's Five Families of New York, the Corleone family is at the top in the business. Their fight to keep their position as the most powerful and prosperous crime family in New York drives the events in the first movie. At the beginning of this movie, the Corleones are in a strong position, with Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) being the Don of the family. Vito is one of the best Dons in The Godfather, with his business sense and traditional mindset informing his decisions, including inviting Don Barzini to Connie Corleone's (Talia Shire) wedding.
The Godfather's Emilio Barzini
When Don Vito Corleone invited Don Emilio Barzini to Connie's wedding, it was not a sign of friendship but of respect, so despite the bitter history between the two families, Barzini was treated like an honored guest. His decision to attend the wedding was, similarly, a sign that he respected Don Corleone. With tradition being so important to Vito, it would have been unthinkable for him not to invite the other crime bosses to the event. Vito Corleone made many mistakes in The Godfather, but inviting Barzini to the wedding was not one of them.
Barzini resents the Corleone family for winning the Olive Oil War and is already planning retaliation.
Barzini is one of the main villains in The Godfather and as smart a businessman as Vito. While he is intelligent enough to show respect at the wedding, he likely used the event to further his goals. Barzini resents the Corleone family for winning the Olive Oil War and is already planning retaliation. Don Barzini spends most of The Godfather as a figure observing from the shadows and, as many people would have their guard down at the wedding, this would have given Barzini a chance to note the Corleone family's dynamics.
The Godfather's Five Families Maintain A Facade Of Friendliness (Despite Working Against Each Other) The Godfather Ends With Michael Corleone Using Another Family Event To Get Revenge
While The Godfather becomes bloody and violent after the attempt on Vito Corleone's life, the Five Families keep up the appearance of civility. This unwritten rule of keeping the peace allows Barzini to work against the Corleones in secret. With such a complex web of allegiances at the heart of The Godfather's Mafia families, if one family falls out with another, there are repercussions for everyone. When the mobsters betray Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in The Godfather, this tradition of politeness allows him to get revenge in one of the most brutal scenes in the trilogy.
From Michael to Vincent, the Godfather trilogy sees many characters take on the role of head of the family following Vito Corleone’s death.
Even after several assassinations and attempted murders, the Five Families of New York still need to maintain appearances and continue to invite each other to events. Barzini uses Connie's wedding to learn about the Corleone family, but Michael uses the tradition for a far more significant reason. Inviting the heads of the other families to his nephew's baptism looks like respect, but the shocking ending of The Godfather shows him assassinating them all. The Godfather shows how tradition can be exploited, with the heads of the families attending the baptism, without knowing that they are going to their deaths.
Indeed many are at a loss wondering why Trump speaks to the company he dose.
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At that time Corleone had no idea Barzinni was plotting against him so he would have been insulted not have been invited.
She must have been barely 18 when they filmed The Godfather
Imagine having to go back to Kay after that.
I know I couldn’t.
I completely agree. I shield my eyes.
Right. Born in ‘54. She may have only been 17. The continued fascination with the character is interesting. A while back, I on fairly long drive with the teenager in the family and her friends. And the Godfather movies came up as a topic. One girl said, “I think Appollonia would have been a better wife for Michael than Kate.” It’s like, uh, these are all fictional characters, but I get it.
Especially cool was a visit to Savoca, the small town where "Bar Vitelli," where Michael laid out the deal to Appolonia's father, is located. Had a nice lunch and a few glasses of wine there.
There is some cool memorabilia gracing its inside walls, including candid photos of the actors and crew chilling out there between shoots.
She showed her breasts in the Godfather. Hmmmm.... maybe they waited to film that seen until her 18th birthday. Gorgeous
She was shown topless, although she was 16 years old when the production began and 17 when the film came out. (Spring 1972)
Wikipedia
FWIW, Signorina S. didn’t turn 18 until November 30, 1972. The movie debuted in March ‘72.
Riveting 10 episode series depicting the making of the Godfather. Original budget of 3 million, increased to 5 million, to cover the expense of filming the opening wedding scene in Sicily.
I highly recommend this 10 episode gem. <> freepersup <>
The Offer is an American biographical drama television miniseries created by Michael Tolkin and developed by Tolkin and Nikki Toscano for Paramount+. The series follows the development and production of Francis Ford Coppola’s landmark gangster film The Godfather (1972) for Paramount Pictures. Miles Teller, Matthew Goode, Giovanni Ribisi, Colin Hanks, Dan Fogler, Juno Temple, and Burn Gorman all star. It premiered on April 28, 2022, and ran 10 episodes through June 16.
The Offer...
My Dad also had a hard time watching that scene. He had worked on restoring the Lincoln to be in that scene. Car was perfect after restoration...but then he said on set they used a pick-axe to make the bullet holes in the car he worked his fingers off on. Someone else restored it after the movie too.
The Godfather.
A 5 million dollar budget. The film grossed over 300 million dollars.
Just kill Pauli and get that canoli home!
What about the scene where Sonny beats up Carlo?
One of my wife’s friends texted her today, “Hey, they’re making another Godfather movie, Godfather Pt. 4! Sylvester Stallone is in it!” I looked it up, there isn’t any “Godfather pt 4”, people have been using AI on YouTube to make fake trailers.
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