The Godfather is the GREATEST Mafia movie ever!! | Canadians First Time Watching | Movie Reaction 

"He died among the tomatoes, like a true Italian." Probably the greatest thing ever said about THE GODFATHER.

The man playing Luca Brasi was a former mob enforcer turned actor. --------- He was not experienced as an actor and was overwhelmed to have to act in the same scene as Brando. -------- That's why he flubbed his line when he was talking to Vito at the wedding.------- Brando, being a great actor, just kept listening and staying in character. --------- Eventually, Coppola decided the mistake fit the nervousness the character was supposed to be feeling and so kept it in the film.

Mario Puzo, the author of the Godfather novels, wrote the script together with director Francis Ford Coppola. Apparently it was Puzo's first movie script ever though, and he admitted in some interview he didn't really know what he was doing, and that he was basically flying blind. Some time after the movie came out and was a huge success he figured he should learn about script writing and he bought a textbook on the subject. The first line in the book was something like "Study the script for the movie The Godfather" :)

When Michael whispers to his father in the hospital “I’m with you now” it gives me chills. It’s the moment Michael decides to take over the family business. The other families shouldn’t have hurt Mike’s dad.

I still can’t believe Pacino didn’t win an Oscar for this. It’s the best performance of his career. Also: wild fact about John Cazale, the actor who played Fredo. He died young, in his early 40s, and was only in five movies in his career. All five were nominated for Best Picture.

The cat was a stray that was hanging around the set. On a whim, Coppola handed it to Brando just before the camera rolled. They had to redub some of the dialog because the cat was purring so loudly. 😄

Don Corleone’s death was originally supposed to happen off screen. Coppola and Brando decided they needed to show it, so they got the young actor on set and Brando completely improvised the scene playing with him. The little boy’s scared reaction when Brando puts the orange in his mouth is real.

"Leave the gun, take the cannoli" was not in the script. The cannoli part was improvised by the actor playing Clemenza

"He died among the tomatoes like a true Italian". LOL, what a great line! I can't wait for you to watch "The Godfather 2". It's as good , if not better.

28:55 - when Sonny was beating Carlo on the street, someone from the enemy camp so that and knew they could provoke Sonny to rushing out. That's why Connie received that phone call from a woman, so she would throw a fit and Carlo would lash out, making Sonny come out of the hiding.

In my opinion, part 2 is even better because DeNiro playing the young Don Corleone is just epic & magical, and really adds character to the family saga.

Fun fact: the baby at the baptism is in fact Sofia Coppola, daughter of director Francis Ford Coppola, who went in her father's foodsteps and is a director as well. She also plays Mary Corleone, Michaels daughter in the Godfather part 3.

Young Al Pacino is such a different beast altogether from older Al Pacino.

Johnny (The singer) and his origin story is pretty heavily inspired by Sinatra and his relationship to the Mob

Italy is full of dialects that are actually separate languages in their own right. Sicilian is one. They don't bother explaining that to outsiders but you could learn Italian and still not know what they're saying. This is a great movie showing the 'familia' side of the mafia that has so much money, they don't worry about it being concerned, rather, with power and favors. Goodfellas, in contrast, shows a street crew that actually brings in the money for the 'made' Italians. It's a top and bottom contrast.

I'm so glad you two loved that last scene. No matter how many times I see it, when the door closes on Kay's face and the ending music starts I get CHILLS. I can't even explain it. The whole thing is like music or poetry or something. Also, years ago "The Godfather" was making the rounds in movie theaters (I think it was for its 20th anniversary in the early 90's) and I was lucky to have seen it in a packed theater with a lot of people who I could tell had never seen it before. (I had seen it but only on VHS tape on a 19-inch TV at home.) My favorite part was at the end when Kay asks Michael if it's true that he had had Carlo killed and Michael stares directly at Kay and, almost inaudibly, says "no". Man, let me tell you, everyone in the theater gasped. It was awesome! I just love it - the entire weight of the movie coming down to that one moment and you can barely even hear his answer and it has that much impact!

3:08 That actor was an actual mafia henchman. His scene at 3:35 is him genuinely trying to say his lines but being terrified of acting alongside Marlon Brando. It unintentionally worked perfectly though.

Michael inherited his father's intelligence but didn't inherit his heart. No doubt this is in part because Vito came from nothing and could understand the hardships of everyday people while the Corleone children grew up with everything. Vito put a lot of faith in Michael to do better than him but would be disappointed to see how ruthless Michael has become and the destruction of the family.

The scene where the medics are struggling to get Marlon up the stairs on the stretcher... They were two weight-lifters, but Marlon had secretly hidden some really big weights in the stretcher to have some fun with them! He loved having fun with people. Greatest actor ever though! :0)

"It's like he got baptized" Brilliant. This is why I like to watch you guys. Michael was indeed baptized in to the "family"

The actual mafia got involved in the production of this film. Joe Colombo - who was boss of New York City’s Colombo crime family at the time - also headed the Italian-American Civil Rights League. They were strongly opposed against the movie’s subject matter, and felt “The Godfather” was a negative stereotypical portrayal of Italian Americans. He wanted every reference to “Mafia” and “Cosa Nostra” to be removed from its script. When producer Al Ruddy agreed to his terms, Colombo allowed the film to be made

The shot in which Michael works up the nerve to pull the trigger has some of the best acting and sound design in cinema.

Leave the gun, take the cannoli. Seriously, one of the greatest movies ever made. So many layers to enjoy with each viewing.

Yes, it’s Al Pacino, in his first breakout role. The producers were really against his casting and Coppola had to fight to keep him.

"Unless you're part of the family you'll never be totally safe." I'm laughing like a demonic hyena. If you know you know.

One of my favorite scene was the focus on Michael's eyes before he was going to shoot those guys in the restaurant, you could feel what was going through his mind. Great acting by Pacino.

Godfather I and II was one giant script. They realize they had to break it up into two movies. This is why it flows together because it was all written together. The director's cut has a lot that was cut out. The scene with 'take the canolis, leave the gun' has a much longer scene where he keeps leaving the canolis behind until the perform the hit.

I can't believe this masterpiece is now 50 years old! As an Italian, who's family is from Sicily, it and its sequel are among my favorite films.

Another Simpsons connection: Moe Greene's actor, Alex Rocco, was the voice of Roger Meyers Jr. (the owner of the Itchy and Scratchy franchise).

I personally prefer the 2nd film, but both movies are absolutely legendary! They're 2 of, if not the best, mafia movies ever made👌💯

25:18 The book explains the bruise thing a little more in-depth. Basically, Michael couldn't get proper medical attention for his jaw in Sicily so it had to stay that way till he came back to America. The Appollonia segment lasts approximately two years in universe.

As an italian, I love this series. While we all know the mafia is a bad thing, we (as italians) can't pretend it didn't exist. Life is good and bad. Gotta accept it. Some of my family was in it, though what went on was never talked about. However I do remember I had a cousin named Jimmy "The Butcher" . He always joked when people asked how he got the nickname. >.> I am very lucky myself. My dad grew up in a mainly Italian city off of Lake Erie. He was approached as a late teen by a guy who needed "favors" in return he would buy my dad nice suits. My grandfather happened to be at this place to and took my dads arm and yanked him out of there and told him "Never speak to that man or do anything for him!" If he was recruited, who knows if I had ever been here. Later in life my grandfather told my dad the guy worked for a Cleveland mafia group he recently had a visit for Al Capone. My grandfather felt the mafia was dangerous enough, let alone if Capone visited the local groups. -edit- To note the only reason my grandfather didn't get attacked for pulling my dad away from the mafia guy was my family was very respected locally. My grandfather had previously made his stance known that he wants nothing to do with the mafia end of the things.

When Michael shoots Solozzo his eyes are moving rapidly to show he's pondering the move to shoot. Most people miss that Michael was waiting for a train to come by and mask the sound of the gunshot. In that moment he showed his ability to be a leader. Someone who makes their own plans instead of always following other people's orders. He got the idea in the bathroom hearing a train come by and just had to wait for one when he got back at the table. But it was a long nervous wait for sure.

An absolutely brilliant movie with an arguably even more brilliant sequel. A true classic in every sense. I don't think the third one is "dog shit", it's a good enough movie but compared to 1 and 2 it's just inferior in every way. Still doesn't make it "dog shit" IMO. 😁

You're one of the few reaction channels to make a comment about Brando's sigh after he sees Johnny Fountaine out the door, which I've always thought was hilarious, because even the Godfather gets exhausted. It adds so much to the Don's character. Don't know if that was in the script, or Brando improvised it, but it's brilliant.

My understanding is that Carlo thought that by marrying into the family, he would get higher up in the organization, and when that didn’t pan out, he took his anger out on his wife. That led to the beating from Sonny, which led Carlo to rat out Sonny.

You should definitely watch another of the greatest films of all time, 'Apocalypse Now', by the same director and also with Marlon Brando

When Tom is "out" it's because him and Vito were at the meeting and swore to not break the peace. Their word is important. That's why Mike waits til vito is dead and tom isn't console when they reenact revenge. It's a complet different regime therefore not breaking the oath

01:35 - the cat was a real stray cat Brando found out in the studio lot the morning they filmed this scene. A lot of movie studios have "stray cat problems" because they were brought into the studios in the early 20th Century to catch mice and then basically took over the studio lots. If you go on the studio tour at Warner Bros, they'll actually take you to a corner of the lot where a huge pride of studio cats have made their home. Some people even say that the Animaniacs - who are cat-like in their design - were directly inspired by the Warner Lot Cats.

The moment when they show the baker's son and his trembling hands, then Michal's steady hands as he lights the cigarette is the seminal moment of the whole saga. Brilliant!

At 58 years of age, I'm amazed that some people have never seen this classic movie that had to be approved by the mob for Coppola to even make it.

I've heard it said that the Godfather's 3 sons all represented 3 separate aspects of him. Sonny his firery passion, Michael his shrewd ruthless intelligence and Fredo his sweetness and humanity.

The cat that Don Corleone was playing with at the beginning scene of this movie was just a random stray on set with it's purring it muffled Brando's dialogue. Also that horse head was 100% real.

🎥Many people say GF 3 sucks only because they're comparing it to two of the greatest film masterpieces in cinema history. It's still a good movie and well worth watching.🎬

1:32 The cat wasn’t even originally part of the scene. It was a stray cat around the studio lot that Brando took a liking to

When Luca BRasi gets the Italian clothes line at the bar. The look in his eyes was so next level. You could feel the mob at it's most ruthless and it takes the intensity of the movie up 3 or 4 levels.

Godfather Part 3 is worth a watch. It only gets dogged because its compared to two of the best movies of ALL TIME, so in comparison its hard to live up to, but Godfather 3 is still worth watching.

Having re-read the book very recently, I think this is, among its many spectacular qualities, one of the finest transitions from page to screen ever accomplished.

Yeah, one of the benefits of getting well into adulthood before seeing a cultural touchstone like this (or Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, Dr. Strangelove, etc.) is how much smarter it instantly makes you, regarding other movies and shows. At 25, I finally watched Citizen Kane and my Simpsons IQ instantly doubled.

Godfather 3 doesn't suck its just different. It's more modern, so it doesn't really have the same feel as 1 and 2 but it's still really good

The Italian spoken at 21:19 and elsewhere is Sicilian dialect. At the baptism, Michael is the baby's sponsor, i.e. he speaks for the baby. Good reaction.

Fun fact: the effects guys on the set were actually worried about James Caan being injured in the scene where Sonny is assassinated, because they had never put that many squibs on an actor before.

The brilliant thing about the opening wedding is watching it from Barzini's point of view. He sees all of the pain points that he will take advantage of in the coming years: that Sonny is impulsive and irresponsible, that Fredo isn't taken seriously and lacks self control, that Paulie is easily impressed and swayed by money, that Clemenza is very loyal to the family but Tesio is cooler and doesn't let his guard down, and that Carlo, even though he is marrying into the family, is still an outsider.

"He died among the tomatoes, like a true Italian." Goddamn nearly made me spit-take

The Godfather is the tale of a king (Vito) with three sons. The first (Sonny) inherited his passion and aggression. The second (Fredo) inherited his sweet nature and childlike qualities. The third (Michael) inherited his intelligence, cunning, and coldness

Great reaction as always. I'm 62 now, when I was 12 or 13 my Dad took me to see, in succession, The French Connection, Dirty Harry and The Godfather. I think it was his way of saying ok, you aren't a kid anymore, this is the way the world is now. I'm still kind of fucked up... just kidding. But anyway, this movie really was a game changer in cinema. The way it was written, the way it was shot, the acting... it was as near perfect a movie. Think on the cast... Brando, Pacino, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, James Caan, John Cazale, Abe Vigoda. Amazing. Thanks again for your entertaining reaction.

The second film only works because of this film though I’d agree that it takes the story to new heights (or depths).

Third one isn't actually a bad movie, it's a pretty good movie. But when you compare it to 1 and 2, it just falls of the cliff

25:20 - Godfather 1 and 2 are based on a book and for some reason, writers left a lot of scenes in the movie that you can understand only if you read the book. Months had passed since the restaurant. Michael does not have just a bruise, he has a badly broken facial bone that left him with permanent bruise and other problems. He would have it all the time in Italy and will have it fixed after returning to US.

Another fantastic film starring both Al Pacino and John Cazale(played his brother Fredo) is Dog Day Afternoon(1975). And a true story.

The horse's head was real. Coppola asked it to a slautherhouse and the actor was not aware of that. So his reaction was genuine.

3th movie is good it’s just set in an other era it does feel like a different movie but it has a lot of redeeming quality. It completed Michael’s arc in 80ies. Style. That makes it feel like an outrigger. For what it’s worth, still a good movie. Definitely not on par with the previous chapters.

The scene where Luca Brasi was practicing his lines was actually genuine he was really practicing his lines for the movie and they just happen to put the camera on him and then put the footage in the film and if you're wondering why he was practicing so hard for so few lines because he was not an actor he was a real life Street guy who got a role in the film thanks it his mob connections

37:42 - No. Basically what happened is that he deliberately beat up his wife - whom he didn't love anymore - under the orders of a rival mob gang in order to lure Sonny out of hiding so that they could kill him. They knew that when he found out his sister had been beaten, he'd rush to her aid and that's how they ambushed her. He beat her up deliberately to elicit that reaction.

Part 2i is epic to see how cold and calculating Michael becomes and the schemes he has in motion as well as his father’s back story it’s the best sequel ever made

Brando's other memorable roles are "A Streetcar Named Desire", "On the Waterfront", & "Apocalypse Now" (also with Coppola).

If you notice in many of the scenes that either have death/killing or impending death, there are oranges around. The hit on The Godfather he knocks over an orange cart. The meeting of the five families. There are oranges on the table. The meeting with Moe Greene, oranges on the table. Before the Don dies in the garden he's eating an orange and puts the peel in his mouth. Scaring the grandkid (the kid really got scared). There are more. I don't think there are any in the restaurant or before Appolonia is killed. I could be wrong it's been a while. Its also used in The Godfather 2 as well.

The song at the wedding is called Che La Luna Mezzo Mare. It’s often popular at Italian weddings due to the somewhat risqué nature and innuendo of the lyrics. There are translations available on RU-vid.

To me the scariest part of the horse head in Woltz's bed scene, isn't the gore and blood (which is of course scary and gruesome) but the fact that they decapitated the horse, brought it to his room, put it in his bed, and then left, all without him ever waking up. Did anyone in the estate see anything? Hear anything? Either they didn't, which is scary. Or they did, but didn't yell or say anything, which is also scary, because it just further demonstrates that the Corleone family is not to be trifled with.

I actually recall a factoid where Marlon Brando was kind of intimidated by Luca Brasi’s actor because he apparently had ties to the ACTUAL mafia and was a pretty serious gangster. But Luca’s actor really did flub his line because he was so star struck to be acting with a star like Marlon Brando.

25:04 there is a line in the book where Michael says basically, “if she wants to see me again we’ll move things forward, if not, no hard feelings”.

31:50 "You know how naive you sound? Senators and Presidents don't have men killed" "Now who is naive?" I joined George in his laugh.

I'm so happy you reacted to my favorite movie ever

The beginning. The favors people owe, Don Vito would never ask a civilian for a favor of something that they wouldn't already do. He's not going to ask the baker to murder unless the baker already is a murderer, he's also not trying to keep people oppressed under his thumb. In the book the undertaker fears this sort of thing. But the godfather only uses it as an investment, like planting seeds. It costs him nothing to do small favors and he gets infinite in return. From a baker, he'd be happy to get baked goods for a party

To answer your question about the song during the wedding scene, it is being sung in Napolitano (the Italian dialect of the city of Naples and surrounding areas) with a bit of Sicilian mixed in. The verse sung by the old man was innuendo after innuendo after innuendo...

Sonny speaking up in the meeting was showing that he might be more open to the drug deal if he was head of the family, making Sollozzo putting out the hit and kicking it all off.

You gotta check out The Freshman with Mathew Broderick - it's a take on the whole Godfather universe...even having the movie in it as a movie (film class). I think one of the last movies Brando did. It's amazing.

My father once turned to my mother and said " Deborah I'm going to speak Italian to Michael" in this case Michael was me , and he turned to me and said "Pizzeria " personally I thought it was funny as s*** my mother laughed but it was the way he said it with a hesitation on the start of the word Pete my dad was a Robin Williams

"He died among the tomatoes, like a true Italian" please somebody put this on my gravestone

A classic. Not just In The story telling but the way it was shot. Mike going from returning war hero outside the family business to becoming the true heir. Can’t wait for you to watch the second film.

I saw this film in the theater when I was 14, and had to get special permission because it was rated R. Fortunately, the father of the friend I went with was very persuasive with the theater manager.

Fantastic movie and score. Part of this movie are 100 correct and others "interpretations" As a former photographer, I photographed a few weddings for one family where dad had "all the power." I made damn sure, every image I took was approved before the wedding and every image was 100 percent the best quality I ever did. No, I cannot say the name of the family!!! May I ask what province you are in and if Ontario how far north. I used to have distant relatives who lied there and have been as for north as Moose Factory Island and as far south as you can go. I love it!!!

In the famous horse's head scene, Coppola used a real horse's head from a butcher without telling the actor, so at least some of his shock was genuine. Then in the baptism scene near the end, Connie and Carlo's baby son was actually a girl: the baby was Sofia Coppola, the director's daughter who is an Oscar-nominated film director herself today. She also appears in The Godfather Part III, as Michael's daughter Mary. So she played two different roles in The Godfather trilogy.

I love the start of this. You have the godfather, Sonny and Tom all with more screentime, at the beginning, than Michael. Then you see the shift and reliase this is the story of the son who believed he didn't want any of this.

My wife's family is Italian (her grandparents on both sides were Italians from Sicily who migrated to the USA as adults) and she was a native of New Orleans, which has a large Italian community. She said watching the "Godfather" films was like watching home movies, except for the criminality and violence.

35:45 The old Catholic rite of Baptism included the "exsulffation" in which the priest breathed on the person to be Baptized 3 times in the form of the Cross recalling the Holy Spirit. It is actually a minor exorcism. After breathing on the catechumen, the priest then says, "Go forth from him, unclean spirit, and give place to the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete" (but in Latin). 37:05 In the early days of the Church, most people were adult converts to Christianity. The (old) Catholic rite of Baptism includes the dialogue you saw in which the catechumen renounces Satan and professes faith in the Holy Trinity. After child Baptism became common, somebody needed to answer for the child, since the child obviously couldn't answer for himself. This is where the godparents came in. Michael is the godfather of Connie's child, so he is the one who answers - he is not speaking for himself, but for the child - as a religious matter. As a dramatic matter, the scene shows Michael's hypocrisy by intercutting his people killing the heads of the Five Families while Michael says that he renounces Satan and all his works. It can also be seen as a sort of "Baptism" for Michael as well; instead of receiving water and the Holy Spirit to join the Church, Michael orders a massacre of all rivals to join himself inseparably to the mafia. It is one of the best scenes in cinema. As others have written, The Godfather, Part III, isn't a *bad* film - it just isn't as good as the first two. You should watch it if only to get closure on the story of Michael's life.

Marlon Brando had several roles that he was "famous" for: Colonel Walter Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, Jor-El in Superman: The Movie(1979) and the Richard Donner version of Superman II. I recommend those movies, too. Apocalypse Now is an amazing movie, if really brutal. But being "Superman's" father in the first real super hero blockbuster...

When I was a kid (mid eighties - I would have been around 10), the BBC showed the first two movies over 4 days (half a movie per night) like a mini series. I watched it with my mother, it was amazing.

One of the few movies almost universally considered a masterpiece. A very short list that also includes part 2. Part 3, unfortunately, can't be included.

I was nine when this came out... "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse" became the catch-phrase of the decade...until it was replaced by "may the force be with you".

Just a note about the scene with the horse's head (I copied this from a page on the 'net, because they are better wordsmiths than me): Perhaps one of the most iconic scenes in movie history, it shows the character Jack Woltz waking up with a severed horse’s head in his bed. While a fake head was used during rehearsals, Coppola swapped it with a real one for the actual shot, meaning the screams you hear from actor John Marley were absolutely genuine. PS. Just so you know- they got the head from a local abattoir.

I was obsessed with The Godfather movies growing up lol. Even read the book in high school which was actually really helpful with some confusing parts. I love that the cat at the beginning wasn't planned and was a stray they found on set. 💖 Your cat is so cute! Also, I never liked the horse scene as animal lover but I get it. Poor thing. The tomatoes comment killed me lmao. Btw I love the Soundgarden shirt! The stick shirt isn't bad either lol.

I love The Godfather. If you’re looking for a new show to watch and enjoyed this, you should watch Peaky Blinders. It’s the best show on Netflix at the moment and they take influence from these movies.

So many great reaction moments but my favorite is when Carlo gets in the car and you notice Clemenza in the back and you were like " oh yea he is dead" lol

"Kingdom" is an interesting description: the director (Francis Ford Coppola) said he interpreted the original book as a story about a king and his 3 sons. :)

In addition to the sequel on this film, you really need to see Coppola’s other masterpiece, “Apocalypse Now” also with Brando and Robert Duvall (and a very young Harrison Ford, just for you Simone). AND, when you DO watch 'Apocalypse Now' you need to watch the documentary on the making of it, "Hearts of Darkness". The making of that film was inSANE. And I highly recommend just watching the original theatrical cut (it's like 'Blade Runner' in that there have been multiple re-releases over the years, and not all really add enough, and some add too much, to make them the definitive experience).

I think Michael would have been far better off if Apolonia had lived. She had a better understanding of the old world of Sicily. Having been directly affected by war, poverty, vendettas, and organized crime, Apolonia would have understood Michael in a way Kay never could. The two would have had at least 4 kids by now. She would have kept her family firm and strong throughout the chaos, the way Michael's mom had done.

FYI. The (horse head) producers house is up for sale here in LA. If you have $110,000,000 laying around it could be yours. That house is also the house used in the movie The Jerk staring Steve Martin.

At the beginning of filming the producers were worried if Pacino could deliver as he was relatively unknown, though Coppola wanted him.. Apparently the producers wanted Robert Redford or Jack Nicholson to play Michael Corleone. Like most movies, scenes are shot out of order for various reasons.To calm the worries of the producers, Coppola shot the scene where Pacino kills the police chief and Sollozzo and showed it to the producers. They were blown away and no more worries about Pacino.

The dating with family tagging along has more to do with culture than the year it occurred, in the 60's in the USA. In order to date an Asian girl, 1st date was just me w/her father, dates 2&3 were the 20 family members tagging along behind us. & It wasn't until the 4th date I spent time alone w/her. & my original reason to start dating her. My friend wanted to date her younger sister but it was forbidden until the older sister began dating. Different cultures have very different rules on dating.