It's funny because traditional italian americans tend to have this heavily romanticized dream version of "the old country". I think Sopranos had a funny take on it, where the gang all dream of going to Italy and then have the worst experience possible while there, all their dreams about the country proven wrong and ruined. But they countinue to live in denial once they return to america, lying to their friends and themselves that it was a wonderful dreamlike experience. They've even seen The Godfather and reference it throughout the series.
If there was a whole movie where Apollonia never dies and Michael stays in Sicily and just like raises a family and lives a normal life. I'd watch that too.
the weird thing is that you almost fell in love too at that moment. there's a kind of connivance between the actors and the viewers which makes this scene better than a masterpiece
@@vincal.3178 Exact ! The chemistry is so obvious in that sequence ! Thanks for surlineding that;) Is beautiful. It also make the rest of the chapter even more dramatic... Coppola as its best.
Lughnerson YES exactly Mario Puzo tough said the Godfather Brandos character was influenced by his mother Read his 1st book.b4 it The Fortunate Pilgrim GREAT book Short book about a immigrant family from Sicily Italy ..the things the mother of 5 kids goes through and heartaches poverty wisdom tradition I read It once a 1year for countless years Youll see why he says its based on his mother But yea Apallonia is the representation of Michael's ideals and what he wanted to be and was before the family bussiness and killing someone..he dod be come very ruthless after He ordered a hit on his own brother instead if sending him far away 4 ever. Yea he betrayed Micheal set him up. But he's a moron who didnt think about what he he was doing and the out come Or something Dam messed up loser Fredo.. Dummy
She represents beauty innocence and tradition she was perfect for him he loved her so much she left a hole too big to fill when she died so many what ifs had he had her by his side the rest of his life.
Why didn’t any of the inlaws ask Michael why he had a giant black mark on his face lol. It makes him look horrible & treacherous in that scene. Apollina realistically would’ve walked past michael his face looked like shit from his injuries
A brilliant stroke by Coppola. He just picks the audience up from gloomy , noirish New York and then suddenly you're in beautiful rural Sicily . It takes guts and vision to trust the intelligence of your audience , something many modern directors could learn from.
It didn't take much guts to get me to watch any of this masterpiece. And taking me to Sicily during the film was nothing short of a dreamlike vacation. Well, mostly.
Im greek american. Im 26 now. I used to watch this when i was 12. I hated america. My life. I was an outcast. Bullied. Id watch the godfather everyday and long to go to greece cuz the sunn6 lands, yellow grass, the sunny lands. The hills. The trees ALL LOOK LIKE GREECE. the villages. I wanted to go to the greece and meet a girl like apollonia it was my dream. I love apollonia. I hate the modern world. Sicily isn't like this anymore but greece was and is still rural many places like this and poor. These scenes werent as famous now but id watch all time.
I like how Fabrizio doesn't hesitate to say "lose a father" but does to say "gain a husband." Killing a man is nothing to him, but a marriage proposal gives him pause.
It's great and terrible writing at the same time. You create this myth, the thunderbolt, that can make a man change the course of his life in a few seconds and run with it. Luckily for us, it works.
As an Italian, and half sicilian, i must admit that Coppola recreate with perfection the pathos of our culture, especially the Sicilian one. It's a beautiful and difficult land. A truly masterpiece
Been to Sicily once, not the tourist parts, but the rural parts. The real Sicily. A straight-forward people for sure, and I appreciate that. It's hot there, and the food is unique, and the people respectful in their own dismissive way. Pride seems to have no place there, at least not for the self. It's all planted into the ground, nurtured by the sun, and all of it makes a land which oozes of pride and of history. You can see it in the eyes of those that live there, and there is no limiting norm on how far you can praise their hard work. In Sicily, exaggeration is a foreign concept, be it in praise or retort.
Not only that. Apparently, the killing of Apollonia symbolizes the killing of the last bit of hesitation on the side of Michael to become the ruthless mob boss he eventually became. When they killed Apollonia, they also killed Michael’s innocence and kindness. What they unleashed was the ruthless, cold hearted Michael that brought them hell.
It's a bit like Darth Vader. When the last thing you truly love is taken away there is no reason to hold back anymore. Fuck it you got nothing to lose, might as well do anything it takes to get revenge and power.
@@u.v.s.5583 Yeah Josef Stalin said at his wife's funeral "This creature softened my heart of stone. She died, and with her died my last feelings of warmth for humanity." Btw exploring someone's psychology and trying to understand them doesn't mean you forgive what they did.
My favorite part from this whole scene is Michael's proposal to the father. His pure confidence yet his show of utmost respect, to the father, and to traditional Sicilian values, at the same time letting him know he's financially stable... the father was blown away and accepted immediately
@@eva-maria7066 He said that line not in the context of immediate blackmail. He knew that people would come for him and maybe go to that man for information. And if he did give the info, Michael would have him killed. But if Michael was his daughter's husband, then obviously he wouldn't betray him and give info on him, so the daughter doesn't lose a father, but gains a husband.
After reading a book, I started to notice small details that were explained in the book. Like, Michael with the handkerchief - he had a runny nose after that cop beat him. Or when Apollonia stumbled while walking together with Michael - they were not allowed to touch each other before the wedding and that stumble was not accidental... With every rewatch and reread of the Godfather, I appreciate this story more and more..
@@thegodfather1907 yeah, it looked like accident, but in the book her mother knew that Appolonia shouldn't have fallen on the road that she walked since childhood and knew every curve and bump. Read the book - it gives us more appreciation for the movie.
Doesnt it feel as if the background is like the beautiful painting of a renaissance artwork? Like the ones describing the vast landscapes and the winery vines, the golden wheat, and the surrounding gentle hills
It was part of the book. But truly this sequence transcends so many things. On a character level, we feel for Michael's departure from America after killing. He goes to Corleone to see his roots, possibly the first time for him to go there after he was a kid with his family. Even when he sees the GI he might have been part of, he couldn't salute or show himself due to being in exile. The first good thing to happen to him is when he meet Appolonia. Then when she dies, he first gets betrayed by his own bodyguards (making him lose his sense of trust which affects his character for the rest of the film and Part 2) and his inability to love (with Kay). People say you only truly fall in love once. Michael fell in love once only and that was with her.
I’m literally in the hills of central Sicily right now and this scene came to mind. The cicadas, the hot dry air, the olive trees, the goats bleating, and sound of church bells in the distance. ❤❤
As true as it is, I think what lit the oil for Michael is that he was informed that Sonny was killed, just a few short moments before Apollonia was killed in almost a similar fashion.
It brought tears to my eyes too and made me feel for a short time sentimental. Amongst a respectful and lively family dinner such a graceful expression of passion and approval is conveyed by simple body language and no words. Like a divine fresco of a beautiful goddess.
The other day I was sitting at the dinner table with my wife. I said “There are people who would pay a lot of money for me to sit at their dinner table.” She responded “No one would pay shit for you.” Aah, loving wife.. ❤️
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ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-F-rHO-DDzFc.html Hi! I played this song with guitar. If you want, you watch it from this link. Thank you..🎧🎧⚘⚘
Hell, when I first watched The Godfather, I almost forgot I was watching a movie, period. Felt like I was watching someone's real life, I was so immersed.
After seeing "the Offer" and realizing how hard Coppola and others had to fight to get Paramount to let them film this on location in Sicily, this magnificent part of the movie is even more special.
Fun fact: The restraunt scene was improvised. The director didn't actually know how to make Michael look intimidating and respectfully to Appolonia's father so he asked Al Pacino to write dialogs and act it all out as if he were actually about to propose to a real Sicilian lady. Pacino actually did a decent job and that's why this scene feels so custom made for him
@@tejedestinos-petonboostead6733 Fun Fact: Al Pacino confessed in 2019 that he actually loved the character who played Appollonia and genuinely wanted to marry her. Their love scenes were actually real But at the last moment she married another guy and broke his heart So Al Pacino made the director write a new scene where she is killed in a bomb It was his poetic revenge Puzo said he hated the inclusion of this new scene because in his original story he wanted Appollonia to accompany Michael to America
@@venicebeachsportsnetwork6677 He said beauty. Not strength and dominance. You confuse Male beauty with male strength and aggression. Just because a guy can kick another guys ass doesn't mean that guy is better looking than he is. Capisue?
@@venicebeachsportsnetwork6677 The Rock doesn't get that many women either. If he does, nobody hears of it. If we are being honest, Pacino is wayy better looking than the Rock.
@@LordDamianHades you are right I miss read the original comment but thinking back probably wrong on both readings. Tho I do think "masculine beauty" is subjective and many would prefer a more muscular man to Al Pacino. He's like a skinny weird theater kid that grew up to to rich famous and good looking.
It is mentioned in the Book that Apollonia purposely did that in 8:30. She was accustomed to the Hilly Roads since she was a child and did that so that Michael could touch her.
@@kosik7910 be prepared for a (long) segment about an enlarged vagina that needs surgery to bring everything tighter together so the woman in question can finally be fucked by a normal dick and actually feel something. I'm not even joking.
3:40 Fun fact, in the books they explain why michael keeps puttig a hanckerchief to his nose. when the poice captain punched him, he actually fractured the bone. so his nasal cavity is deformed, and he refused to get surgery for it. the deformity caused snot to constantly drip from his nose. he got it fixed years later when his first baby was born. also, the guy who betrays him flees to america and opens up a pizza shop, and is killed during the final vengeance arc.
If only fathers protected their daughters like this today, and daughters appreciated the fact that a mother and father are ensuring you do not get used and abused by a man.
@@KuasiBeat i mean "worst people". Some people like to be alone, maybe other like me are not into relationships and just want to have someone to have a drink, chat and maybe fuck. What's so bad about it? Sometimes you gotta know how to stay alone for when you meet the right person... or you want to just try with everyone you go out with to built a serious relationship?
This was supposed to be The love of Michael's life. We don't find out how much he really loved Apollonia till P3 when his son sings for him and Apollonia's memory comes to him.
@@molasorrosalom4846 Michael was not a criminal in Sicily, her father had nothing to fear. Michael was under the protection of Don Tomassino, who was the local chief so no harm would come to her (they lived in the Don's house) as Tomassino was incredibly skilled at keeping most of the local criminals off the streets (rather, no public activities like vendettas and murders) and the people safe. Vitelli and his family would also be protected by Don Tomassino financially if they needed it.
He was really in love with her. I think that because this relationship was so special, Michael could never love Diane Keaton's character as much as he loved Apollonia.
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-F-rHO-DDzFc.html Hi! I played this song with guitar. If you want, you watch it from this link. Thank you..🎧🎧⚘⚘
I like how the women of the village/town followed them on their little stroll, it is my understanding that it is a custom meant to protect the dignity of the girl, so that noone can accuse her of losing her virtue with the man.
You might be interested to know that in the book Michael catching her by the arm is the cause of much mirth among the women of the town who know she is a mountain goat and would never stumble except that this is the only way the two of them are going to have any physical contract before the wedding.
@@avak1968 Oh wow really? So she did it on purpose so he could touch her?! Thats so beautiful... what an awesome little thing, thank You! Made me happy ; D
I absolutely love the Sicily sequence- its a thing of beauty, the music, the landscape, Michael returning to his hometown in which his family were named upon, and him meeting the love of his life, falling in love, and subsequently marrying her, its almost poetic. I cannot describe the how perfect the Godfather is. It's more than film, its a thing of beauty, poetry.
There were hardly any other chicks to compare her too....Kay Adams certainly wasn't hot and neither was Connie. The only three girls in the whole trilogy.
You're forgetting Sonny's wife and his squeeze. His wife was good looking by most standards, while the squeeze had a certain voluptuous quality to her that was really hot.
Wonderfully done!!! He needed no words to show how he felt upon seeing her. The respect he showed her father was beautiful there’s not much of that now a days
He felt thunderbolt which is not a romantic feeling which is why her father ran into his Cafe when he realized that chick filled in all the right places was his daughter. Thunderbolt is a biological manifestation of arousal, sexual eraction. He didn't show any respect to her father When her father ran into Cafe Michael remembered how sensitive Sicilians are about sex before marriage. To satisfy his desire he knew he had to marry her. Which is why he mentioned marriage or as Coppola said " this isn't a prince speaking "..... while commenting godfather, moment when Michael spoke to Vitelli.
He spoke to him from position of power. He threatened to murder him if he tells anyone about him hiding there. He didn't give a fuck if she/ Vitellis knew he was a criminal hiding from the police, coming from the mafia family. He never looked at her during wedding. He never told his parents he met her, noone knew he got married. He came into her house disheveled and with armed bodyguards. He never even bothered to speak to her. He came to make her an offer which she, goldigger she was couldn't refuse. He never told her about mafia war. He chased her at the hight of the danger and killed her with the wedding. That is the point of the story, the reason she is dead. In a book he admitted it. He did it bc he didn't care about her, valued her or respect her. Is there a limit to your stupidity?
@@dc6461Yea exactly, he basically married her to be able to fuck her cause there wouldn’t have been a way around it, not because he „loved“ or respected her
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-F-rHO-DDzFc.html Hi! I played this song with guitar. If you want, you watch it from this link. Thank you..🎧🎧⚘⚘
If anyone else wonders why Michael keeps on wiping the side of his face with that white handkerchief (in a very polite manner, gotta say) - going through the novels will reveal that basically the police captain broke his jaw so bad, it not only disfigured it and left a scar on his chin, it also constantly made him drool from the side, thus the frequent wipes. Hope this helped !
And the fact that he gave Apollonia a gold necklace, which meant wedding proposal in their culture. The whole chapter of Apollonia and Italy was awesome. ❤️
Not really. He could have refused to have his daughter meet Michael. He had no justification to refuse though. Michael acted like a man of honour, respecting himself, Vitelli and his daughter. He asked nice and didn't pressure him. He coudln't refuse in the sense that there was no valid reason to.
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-F-rHO-DDzFc.html Hi! I played this song with guitar. If you want, you watch it from this link. Thank you..🎧🎧⚘⚘
The Sicily part of the movie really makes the movie. Idk why maybe it’s the respect maybe it’s the girl maybe it’s the scenery maybe it’s the tradition it shows or it’s all of it. God bless Coppola for two of the greatest works of art.
How is it that I can literally feel the heat of the Mediterranean sun watching these scenes. Beautiful film making. The small glaces, the way Apollonia touches her gifted necklace says more than 5 minutes of dialogue and all emphasising the theme of great respect which is a pillar for Michael's family.
I'm portugueses and i see part of the portuguese countryside culture in Godfather movies. Portugal is a mediterrânean romanized country, so there are similarities.
I love the added detail of her tripping up in the scene where they are walking. Traditionally, it would be frowned upon for them to be affectionate or touch each other before the marriage, hence the convoy of female family members there to ensure nothing happens. Notice that when she trips, they all laugh at each other, acknowledging that she almost certainly will have done that on purpose in order to get around the rule to feel his embrace as he catches her. Such incredible attention to detail.
I completely approve of this sort of culture. He is honest right from the start. He approaches her family, treats her father and mother with respect and tells them the truth about who he is and where he comes from. Gives her a gift that she could accept or reject without consequence. And they walk and talk getting to know one another. When she stumbles, he immediately catches her and treats her with respect and dignity. This is a real man and a real woman. Although on the surface it looks like the guy has the power, in reality its all in her power to decide whether she is interested or not. Many feminists really overlook this that in southern European culture women had much more power and influence. A carryover culture from pre-Christian times.
DMC12Gauge He was to the point. He wasn't messing around with other girls nor did he waste time. He wasn't acting out for attention, stalking or harassing her. No sign of insecurity, weakness or baggage. Straight to the point. Like a man. Arranged or not, that's how most sane and mature men do it. Arranged isn't necessarily better, but in those days that's how it worked in Italy.
I am not Italian, But I am Latin so this makes us all somehow related to mother Italy by the grace of the Romans... I grew up listening stories like that, my granny told me that they couldn't stay by themselves not even for a minute, they were always under the watchful eyes of her father or mother... my generation had a completely different approach to this matter, I think we gained some freedom but we lost some moral...
The Godfather was simply the greatest film of all time. It grabbed your attention from the time the curtain opened & never let go. I didn't dare leave my seat even to go to the bathroom. The meticulous attention to every detail. Perfect casting perfect musical score perfect everything. 100 years from now it'll still be ranked #1. Parts 1&2 are the most incredible 8 hours of film every produced. Every time I see it I'm amazed at how perfect it is
When i started dating my boyfriend i once told him he was the first man i have ever loved... I lied, i fell hard for Al Pacino when i first saw this scene when i was 8
My uncle Marty Deglin from Chicago is a dead ringer for Al Pacino, same age. He married in 2000 a Puerto Rican woman Emily Garcia 20 years younger then him!!!
I don't know why, but this scene renders me very emotional. Maybe it's because of how beautiful love can be and also because I lost the ability (or just don't deserve) to love like this. It is like a beautiful dream I wish I could live once.
Everyone deserves love like this, as long as you respect yourself, live with honor and virtue(not like all of the shallow nightclubs today that make love seem cheap), than god may decide that you deserve it. Live a life of elegance, and elegant love will also come eventually.
don't know anything about you or your situation, but I feel like everybody deserves to be loved, unless they are pure evil, which I doubt you are. I've been in love a couple of times in my life, but I was too young and immature to know what to do with it. now that I'm a bit older, I miss it more than anything. I hope you regain your ability to love and that you find happiness.
I feel the same. I have witnessed this kind of love happen to others, but it has never cast it's glance upon me. At 55, I have come to terms with the likelihood that the stars will never align like this for me, that I will not ever have that one person that I can call 'home'. I think the emotion is because the heart pines for connection. To know it exists for others, but not for you is heartbreaking. To quote the writer Alice Hoffman, 'I dream of a love that even time will lie down and be still for'.
The actress who portrayed Apollonia, Simonetta Stefanelli, was simply beautiful. A true Mediterranean beauty as we say here in Italy. The eye contact between her and Michael when they first see each other is worth a million spoken declarations of love. The eyes are a window to ones soul, and to the heart in many cases.
@@gawainethefirst I wouldn't say afraid. She was startled by him, then felt attracted to him, then pulled back and feigned aloofness. It's a girl thing. 😉
"My name is Michael Corleone, there are peope who'd pay a lot of money fot that information but your daughter would lose a father instead of gaining a husband" Powerful.
@@quilliamattari2772 It works on several levels. 1. It’s an offer of respect and vulnerability. By offering his true identity, he is showing he trusts the father. 2. He’s implicitly projecting his wealth and power by stating that his name alone is worth a lot of money. 3. He ends with a threat and an offer. “I’ve already established I have wealth and power. Your daughter could gain a wealthy and powerful husband. Or, you can sell my name and location to my enemies, which would cost you your life.” In other words, he made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-F-rHO-DDzFc.html Hi! I played this song with guitar. If you want, you watch it from this link. Thank you..⚘⚘
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-F-rHO-DDzFc.html Hi! I played this song with guitar. If you want, you watch it from this link. Thank you..🎧🎧⚘⚘
I really enjoyed hiking in Sicily last year. It still has this beautiful, "old country" and slow atmosphere. Beautiful moutain villages, olive and oranges plantations and amazing sceneries. It still really felt like in this Sicily scenes and I heard more than once this beautiful soundtrack in my head. Thank you The Godfather 👍
Michael is impressive here, he shows that he is a man who stands his ground. He has a lot of self respect. You can see this through his eye contact, relaxed posture, calm expression, and deliberate. A man who can lead, with authority. I feel like his guards are there as a contrast to his character. His behaviour is strikingly different, he shows he means business. He is not playful or happy go lucky like the guard when the jeeps and GIs pass through, he doesn't over react when apollonia's father became frantic (the guards held tightly to their weapon), he doesn't participate in idle chatter (like when the guards were describing appollonia). This also contrasts really well with the Michael prior to returning to Corleone, Italy. His return, is like they trying to convey him accepting responsibility for who he is as a Corleone rather than simply running away from that. Of course, it's ideal if used his power for good rather than continuing the legacy of crime.
I believe it would have been better if he had tried to marry another Sicilian woman again instead of Kate who doesn't understand his background despite him telling him about it. She still would not want further to do with him again after what happened to her with the attempted shooting. Thanks to stupid Fredo.
I’m sure I heard a variation of this in rap, somewhere along the lines of “she got a body like a 12 guage shotty” , I am sure it was only for rhyming purposes but still lol
In Sicilian (and in general traditional catholic) culture, when a man is meeting a woman he is interested in for marriage, they are allowed to walk together but only in front of family members, generally women, for supervision and without permission to touch each other in any way since that's reserved for when they are already husband and wife. In the book, it is explained how Apollonia fakes falling to get held by Michael and therefore touch each other for just a moment while they are taking a walk. This is a woman's old tactic. Apollonia's mother recognizes perfectly what her daughter is doing and laughs since probably she had done the same being younger. You can see in 8:30 how this is all represented. Even the mother's reaction. What a beautiful portrait of places, times, and feelings this movie is!
man this movie is set in 20-30-40 almost hundred years ago. today this is no longer the case fortunately, sexual freedom and freedom in general is the greatest achievement achieved by western civilization from the 70s onwards.
fun fact: the two actors who guard Michael are not Sicilian they are from Rome and apollonia (Simonetta stefanelli) is also from Rome. apollonia's real daughter is an actress called Violante placido and she shot the second film of the Gost rider together with Nicolas cage.
My god, Italian is such a beautiful language! And I feel much the same about Spanish, French, and Portugese. I have an uncommonly strong affinity for all the Romance languages. They are among the greatest legacies and gifts to humanity of the Roman Empire.
In a certain way, Apollonia exists as Michaels light to guide and show him. Apollo’ derived from her name means the sun. She changed Michael in a way that we don’t even see with Kay. He was drawn to her and to court and win her affection he stepped up his game, he brought her presents, treated her and her family with such respect and earned their blessing for marriage. This love is pure and tender and where I see Michael steps up from college boy and becomes a man. However, following Apollonias death, the light and vulnerability in Michael had died with her and all that remains is the cold shell of a man that he will become, where light cannot reach him.