@@MiguelCruz-zo6yo He said that horse was to be studded, meaning it was going to be making a lot of veryyyyy expensive babies. So, losing it was very horrible.
My dad saw this film in cinema twice, first time in New York while working there during summer and second time when he was back home in Ireland. In Ireland he said the people in cinema gasped in horror, but in New York they all laughed.
According to Francis Coppola, he thought it was horrible and disgusting too. But because the scene in the novel was already famous, there was anticipation for it. So he had to do it in the film.
@@JF-xq6fr Robert Duvall remains pretty calm after being called " A smooth talking Son of a Bitch" and the same when Woltz tells him to get the hell out of his house. Cold as Ice.
Man, Tom is cold in this scene but Woltz’s acting during his monologue should be taught at all acting & film schools. You believe every word and he hits it perfectly. The anger during his rant, the horror after finding the horses head. The perfect juxtaposition from Tom’s calm, smooth delivery. Just an all around amazing scene with classic actors & unforgettable dialogue.
I keep overlooking that kind of stuff in movies. The supporting actors do such an amazing job of making the main ones shine that it’s easy to forget how well they did it. Dismissed this guy because he played the unlikeable scumbag so damn good that I forgot it was an act
"Jack Woltz" is obviously based on Harry Cohn, chief executive of Columbia Pictures. And known for his abrasive character. "Johnny Fontaine" is almost certainly meant to be Frank Sinatra. Who was well-known for his connections to the Mob. At the start of his singing career, Sinatra had a contract with band leader Tommy Dorsey. When Frankie became famous, he wanted out of the contract, and Dorsey refused. It's said that Ol' Blue Eyes got some of his Mafia friends to pay Dorsey a "visit". Dorsey ended up letting Frank out for $1. (In the movie, Woltz tells Tom "I ain't no band leader". Which references a similar scene in the movie). The "movie that will make him a big star", that Woltz refers to, was From Here to Eternity, which was being produced by Columbia. (That's "the new war film" that Tom mentions when meeting Woltz in an earlier scene). Sinatra's singing career was coming to an end, and he wanted to go into movies. He very much wanted to star in From Here to Eternity, but Cohn refused. The starlet that Woltz mentions is probably Eva Gardner, who was Harry Cohn's mistress, until she ran off with Sinatra. (That's why Woltz refers to "the olive oil voice" [meaning Sinatra] that stole his girl from him.) I don't know if Cohn ever ended-up with having his favorite horse decapitated. But it is true that Sinatra eventually got the part in the movie, against all odds. Of course, as they say in the credits at the end of every motion picture: "Any resemblance to persons living or dead...is purely coincidental". [wink]
I just read about Dorsey and Cohn from Wikipedia. It says Dorsey died asleep in 1956 after choking because of having a heavy meal earlier in the evening. It's also said he was also addicted to sleeping pills which may have been the cause of his death. Cohn suffered a fatal heart attack after having a dinner in 1958. I'm not a conspiracy theorist etc. but it really sounds like mafia could have had something to do with these deaths :D
Fun fact: this soundtrack scene is popular song "Manhattan serenade", which Dorsey's version was a big hit back then. I bet movie producer decided to record an own version to avoid direct association with it and potentially legal issues.
Ironically, for the 1955 musical movie "Guys and Dolls," Sinatra wanted the lead role of Sky Masterson, but was ultimately passed over and given the backup role of Nathan Detroit. Sinatra strongly disliked the man who was given the lead in the movie: Marlon Brando.
Ever think it might of been consensual ?!? Lots of women use their sexuality coming (getting movie parts) and going (crying rape after things turn sour).
@Sports Entertainment the world is far from perfect, especially these days. All I’m saying is that most of these women (and men) know what’s what, going in, and then complain about it later. I have a young daughter and I sympathize. I’m sure most of these aspiring actresses are motivated by fame, power and money as well. Well, Life is short, and all that stuff is fleeting anyway
@@blucolife in his position it would be hard maybe steal the equipment on set to not make a movie but this is hypothetical. My point is once he showed what he cared about most he really shot himself in the foot
@@alifakhrzadeh1544 Good point. The mafia used to control the teamsters, the unions, you make a call and everyone goes on strike, trucks get lost, equipment gets lost, etc. Still, butchering a horse was a brilliant move, people like him love animals more than people.
I loved how Tom calmy says "I'm German, Irish" after Woltz names every Italian slur in the world at him. Later has the horse head cut off. What a contrast. Just business.
@@RidgeRunner-lz5ko Isn't it interesting how RU-vid allows those slurs to remain but if you use a couple of others directed towards non-Euros then all hell breaks loose and you get banned.
In the novel, it's explained beautifully how they managed to get the horse head under the sheets. The producer's staff were bribed and they sedated him, putting him in a deep sleep. They then shot the horse in the head, cut its head off and stuffed it under the covers.
Yes, this is why Johnny got the role as well. I mean, if it was "just" killing the horse, then he could've ignored the "favor". But seeing as to how they killed the horse, got it on his bed without him knowing (cuz they sedated him), just goes to show how much control the Don can have on his life. It wasn't just about killing the horse, it was about sending a message. He'd do well knowing just how much power the Don has.
That slight head nod and direct eye contact from Tom right after he said " Mr Corleone insists on hearing bad news immediately" should've been a clear sign to Mr Woltz that he now had a target on his back.
Tom Hagen was part of Corleone empire. He was in the position of power not Woltz, and blowhard Woltz was about to get a horrible comeupance. In the book it was said to Woltz "you are used to people who seem more important than they are, My Client is the opposite"
@@justinherbert9146 Yes, great book. It's amazing how the movie got so much of the book right. The Sicilian (prequel (?)) was also good, yielding alot of backstory and filling in the cracks.
Wow, Waltz called him about six racist Italian slurs. Then went Tom responded, I'm German/Irish Waltz called him a crowt/mic, a German/Irish slur. Great acting.
Yeah,Waltz didn't even miss a beat once Tom responded that he's German/Irish.Just right off the top of his head he fires off that slur. Like you said,great acting.
"He never asks a second favor when he's been refused the first." "Thank you for the dinner and a very pleasant evening." "Mr. Corleone is a man who insists on hearing bad news immediately." Genius how smoothly he intimidates Woltz.
@@MrPatrickworthington You're probably right about that. Not so much what he said but continuing to eat and then replying the way he did might rankled Woltz
@@donarthiazi2443 That's the way I figured it. Woltz couldn't help but notice that nothing he said troubled Tom in the least. He wasn't even impressed by the opulent mansion.
The transition from the scream of terror to Vito casually sitting like this is just another business transaction is phenomenal. “Did ya make the creepy old man an offer he can’t refuse?” “Yeah.” “What’d you do?” “We cut off his favorite horse’s head.” “Ah, classic, well done.”
@@ionicreek355 The Horse scene is the most shocking scene in the whole movie because it wasn’t acting it was a real reaction of the crew playing a prank on the Actor by putting a real Horse Head in his bed they got from a Dog Food Factory.
Just shows how u know f***** all about the families of Sicily. You should keep your mouth shut up if I was you. No business transaction. The man was made an offer that he 'couldn't' refuse. He refused so made let him understand that he did not have the option of dishonour, refusal & that it cost him.
My parents saw this film in the theaters when it was first released and nobody knew what was coming. Believe me, whenever someone mentioned "The Godfather" in the 1970's, the subject of the "horse head scene" was ALWAYS the first thing that was mentioned...it made quite an impact.
I read something even more shocking: the reaction was real. They rehearsed the scene with a plastic horse head, switched it with the real thing without telling the actor.
Yep. It's Tom showing Woltz that he doesn't give a shit what he's saying, no matter how loud he yells. Total disrespect. I'm gonna keep eating like he's not even there.
@@ericbond5276 That's actually why I left her, I had gotten deathly ill and I dealt with a myriad of health issues after getting out of the hospital. One of which was a blood clot in my arm, one day she got mad at me and struck me in that arm, didn't hurt but could've killed me. Figured if I didn't leave she was going to kill me... Much better relationship now, married 8 years to a good woman .
Jack Woltz: I don't care how many dago guinea wop greaseball goombahs come out of the woodwork! Tom Hagen: I'm German-Irish. Jack Woltz: Well, let me tell you something, my kraut-mick friend, I'm gonna make so much trouble for you, you won t know what hit you! Brilliant hilarious writing!
@@WitchettyMan Most of us can do that, regrettably. I once compiled a Bigot's Thesaurus, just for my own amusement. Ran to well over a hundred entries for English-language examples alone (including ones for white folk), just off the top of my head.
Duvall is sublime in this scene with how he just calmly and professionally sits there while Woltz is ranting and doesn't let himself be fazed by his attempted bullying, and even rolls his eyes over the bragging. The Woltz character clearly hates how the hagen character doesn't kiss his arse and can't handle it.
For those who didn’t read the book or see the deleted scenes, Vito asks Tom if “this Woltz (has) balls;” Tom meaning if he’s a Sicilian. The answer comes with Woltz’s statement: “A man in my position can’t afford to be made to look ridiculous!” And if that sentence didn’t do him in, that snide comment about the bandleader story did. When Tom says, “Mr. Corleone…insists on hearing bad news immediately,” it’s his way of saying “God have mercy on your soul.”
Woltz tipped off his own hand by saying he couldn't afford to be made to look ridiculous. If word got out about what Don Corleone did to his horse, he'd look really ridiculous, which is what made him give Johnny Fontane the part!
Also Puzo showed what a monster Woltz truly is with the whole 12-year-old girl. For all it's gruesome scenes the movie is actually very heavily tuned down in its gruesomeness and viciousness.
@@augie6479 Woltz wasn't concerned about what the murder of his horse might look like. He knew if he didn't give Johnny the part he would be killed. It was made clear in the book.
@@tuiskuroininen9196 I appreciated how, even though it's fantasy, the crime lord was explained to have immense moral superiority over the producer and that's in part how he was comfortable leveraging him when he wasn't that interested in burning resources and risk in foreign territory.
From what I've heard, everything Woltz said to Hagen about Fontaine never getting that role, that was what Paramount were saying about Pacino, "Al Pacino never gets that movie". Same with Brando.
"A man in my position can't afford to be made to look ridiculous!" Then a man in your position can't afford to say no to Vito Corleone, especially in that fashion.
The African American maid in the background never changes facial expression. But you get the feeling she knows Mr. Waltz has made an extremely grave mistake 😎
That's kind of doubtful. This is nothing new for her and she's seen far worse. She is completely used to seeing her boss reign supreme and get anything he wants. And quickly
In the Godfather video game you have to complete all the tasks that aren't shown on camera in the movie...like finding the location of the Michael meeting with Sollazo and planting the gun in time, but one of the scenes involves sneaking into the stable killing the horse and planting the head...(the actual decapitation was not shown in the game) but it allows you to deep dive into the movie and all the iconic scenes are shown after you complete the tasks...very very underrated game
@@lulzdragon7339 that's why I hate it, I'm bad at stealth gameplay since I got caught multiple times before finishing the mission. Though the horse scene really satisfying.
@@lulzdragon7339 Bribe the staff. Someone as abrasive as Woltz would have plenty of servants eager to pay him back. And lo, that's exactly how it happens in the book.
Funny thing is that when he says “my kraut mick friend” he doesn’t realize that his last name “WOLTZ” originates from Bavaria, he insulted his fellow kraut 😆
My mother took me to see The Godfather when i was 4 YEARS OLD 😳🐴 in the theatre when it came out.. this scene obviously traumatized me but also shaped my love of all movies that were dark and disturbing lol as well as an appreciation for great movies 😊
People always talk about how offensive Woltz's lines were but I always thought he was one of the funniest characters in the movie(but I guess he's unintentionally funny since The Godfather is obviously not a comedy).
Tom is easily my favorite character in The Godfather series next to Michael. Sucks that Duvall wasn't in the third one. Would've loved to see what he and Coppola would do with the character
The book gives a lot of detail about Tom's thoughts, basically how his crime lord boss was way better than this iddler who equated women's worth to their coital talent. The syndicate of loan sharks and murderers was way more upstanding to Tom than this pervert.
Excellent actor who nails ever role he’s in. This one, The Apostle, Tender Mercies, Crazy Heart, Falling Down, Colors, Open Range, Apocalypse Now, True Grit, The Natural.
I really like it when they show the godfather after the horse scene...the way he looks is a way of letting the audience know that he is somebody that will never let anything or anyone get in his way of getting what he wants.
Too bad we don't have someone like that on our side when job interviewers refuse to hire people for no apparent reason. Especially when some people worked real hard just to apply for a job and they are constantly passed over, never even called for an interview let alone given the jobs they deserved. I could certainly use some backup of that kind just to get me the dream job I always wanted. Too bad that all only works in the movies and in the books that inspired them
Fun fact, the horse head used in the rehearsal takes was fake, but there was a horse scheduled for slaughter anyway and without telling the actor, they exchanged it for a real horse head so that panic was real
@@oscarkong3200 From what I can looked up on google it wasn't made illegal in the United States until 2007, though the numbers of slaughtered horses was going down because it was taboo in the U.S.A. so yes it was legal in 1972. It is still legal to ship them south of the boarder to be slaughtered though, in Mexico, and Central and South America. Not all cultures have a problem eating horsemeat. And it still legal to kill a horse in America, just not slaughtered it for consumption.
@@vanessarodriguez6590 I dunno then, I read in a few places that it was real but I'm not really sure cuz honestly what's to really believe on the internet? lol
For years I had always heard people talk about this scene. I rented the movie when I was a teenager and laughed till I hurt when he realized what happened.
I didn't like Jack Woltz in the Movie but reading the Godfather I abhored Mr Woltz with a passion even more. He was nothing but a Rich Arrogant Bully who thinks of people as property and doesn't value friendship, only want Money and Power.
When I first heard about this movie from friends who had seen it, all they talked about was the horse head scene. It was all done so perfectly including the soundtrack music to build the mood. Poor horse though.
I like how calm and cool Tom Hagen was. The only time he exploded was the time when he argued with Sonny and said "This is almost 1946! No one wants a war".
Tom was so great to watch. His calm, but direct conversation with all was and still is great to watch. It never gets old. He loses it with Sonny, one time only. He also recognizes the differences in Sonny and Michael. Sonny got angry and fought. Michael did not get angry, he got even. Chilling.
The original The Godfather movie, reportedly was Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein 's favorite movie, which he watched over and over, because of the many lessons it offered.
I love the subtle dialogue in this scene, especially at the dinner. Woltz goes from aggressive racist insults, to respectful dialogue and finally to his sob story about how Johnny stole his pure and innocent actress to gain sympathy, "just to show I'm not a hard hearted man". Not even 5 lines later, he calls the actress "the greatest piece of ass I've ever had". Based on his information, he must've been grooming her from as early as 11 years young. A very nice hidden in plain sight critique of real practices and a great motivation for the Don to really give it to this fucker.
I've read the book and Woltz does in fact rapes underage girls. When Tom was waiting to meet with him, there was a young girl with her mom waiting to see Woltz too for an auditioning role. The mother allowed Woltz to rape her daughter for the part, because after they departed she walked with a triumphant smug air while her daughter visibly limped and had bruises.
4:56 This was 1972. There were NO comparable images. No internet. Porn had to be viewed in seedy theaters or 16mm film secretly handed around. No shock movies. This scene freaked people out and left an indelible mark Tame in 2022. 50 years ago as shocking as it got.
Johnny? This is Tom Hagen. Mr. Wolfz has kindly passed on to me to congratulate you on getting the part you auditioned for. No problem at all he was very reasonable. No monkey business. No horsing around.
Behind the scenes this was an already dead horse. the real khartoum had a white spot on the forehead. Looks dark brown, the head of the horse here has no spot and is darker in color.
Frank Sinatra didn't need the mob connections to get a part in From Here to Eternity. The original actor was Eli Wallach, but the director changed his mind, because Wallach was too well-built to lose a fight with Ernest Borgnine. Furthermore, the character was a little sardine of a man, and Sinatra was perfect for the role. Also, it was a minor supporting role, not a starring one.
@@hazelhazelton1346 But remember they had to kill the horse. bring it into the house, carry it past everybody up to the bedroom, get the door opened, and stick the head under the covers without Jack Woltz noticing. What an operation!
After the meeting is over, I love how the music (The Theme from the Godfather) slowly drifts in as the camera pans towards Woltz's house. It's the sound of the "old country" (the mafia, the family) reaching out it's long arms to pay Mr Woltz a visit. Even in sunny Hollywood, far away from Italy, there is no place to hide...
keep coming back to this, different upload this time, wonderful badass classic scene. fuck man, the godfather is such a masterpiece words cannot express.
