The Godfather (film series)

The Godfather
Directed by	Francis Ford Coppola
Produced by	Francis Ford Coppola (2–3); Albert S. Ruddy (1)
Written by	Mario Puzo; Francis Ford Coppola
Based on	The Godfather; by Mario Puzo
Music by	Nino Rota; Carmine Coppola
Cinematography	Gordon Willis
Edited by	Peter Zinner (1–2); Barry Malkin (2–3); William H. Reynolds (1); Richard Marks (2); Lisa Fruchtman (3); Walter Murch (3)
Production; company	Alfran Productions (1); American Zoetrope (3)
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	March 15, 1972; (The Godfather); December 20, 1974; (The Godfather Part II); December 25, 1990; (The Godfather Part III);
Running time	539 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English; Sicilian
Budget	$73–74.2 million[N 1]
Box office	$430.9–512.4 million[N 2][N 3]

The Godfather is an American film series that consists of three crime films directed by Francis Ford Coppola inspired by the 1969 novel of the same name by Italian American author Mario Puzo. The films follow the trials of the Italian American mafia Corleone family whose patriarch, Vito Corleone, rises to be a major figure in American organized crime. His youngest son, Michael Corleone, becomes his successor. The films were distributed by Paramount Pictures and released in 1972, 1974, and 1990. The series achieved success at the box office, with the films earning between $430 and $512 million worldwide.[N 2][N 3] The Godfather is seen by many as one of the greatest films of all time, while The Godfather Part II is viewed as one of the best sequels in cinematic history.[1] The series is heavily awarded, winning 9 out of 28 total Academy Award nominations.

Film series

The Godfather

The Godfather was released on March 15, 1972. The feature-length film was directed by Francis Ford Coppola and based upon Mario Puzo's novel of the same name. The plot begins with Don Vito Corleone declining an offer to join in the narcotics business with notorious drug lord Virgil Sollozzo, which leads to an assassination attempt. Meanwhile, Vito's oldest son Sonny takes over the family and Michael strikes back for the assassination attempt by killing Sollozzo and a corrupted police captain, forcing Michael to go to Sicily in hiding. While in Sicily, Michael travels around the country and meets a woman he marries but who is killed in a car bombing. Michael returns to America after the news of his brother Sonny's murder. Vito then turns over the reins of the family to Michael. Michael plans to move the family business to Las Vegas; but before the move, his father dies, and he plots the killing of the heads of the five families on the day of his nephew's baptism. Other subplots include Vito's daughter's abusive marriage, Johnny Fontane's success in Hollywood and Vito's second son Fredo's role in the family business in Las Vegas.

The Godfather Part II

The Godfather Part II was released on December 20, 1974. The feature-length film was again directed by Francis Ford Coppola and based upon Mario Puzo's novel of the same name. The film is in part both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather, presenting two parallel dramas. The main storyline, following the first film's events, centers on Michael Corleone, the new Don of the Corleone crime family, trying to hold his business ventures together from 1958 to 1959; the other is a series of flashbacks following his father, Vito Corleone, from his childhood in Sicily in 1901 to his founding of the Corleone family in New York City.

The Godfather Part III

The Godfather Part III was released on December 25, 1990. Francis Ford Coppola returned as director for the feature-length film, while also writing the screenplay with the help of the author Mario Puzo. It completes the story of Michael Corleone, a Mafia kingpin who tries to legitimize his criminal empire, and shows the rise of Sonny Corleone's illegitimate son Vincent Corleone as Michael's successor. The film also weaves into its plot a fictionalized account of real-life events, which include the 1978 death of Pope John Paul I and the Papal banking scandal of 1981 and 1982, and links them with each other and with the affairs of Michael Corleone. Coppola felt that the first two films had told the complete Corleone saga. Coppola intended Part III to be an epilogue to the first two films.[2] In his audio commentary for Part II, he stated that only a dire financial situation caused by the failure of One from the Heart (1982) compelled him to take up Paramount's long-standing offer to make a third installment.[3]

Fourth film

Coppola stated that the idea of a fourth had been discussed but Puzo died on July 2, 1999, before they had a chance to write the film. Earlier, on June 21, 1999, The Hollywood Reporter had reported that a fourth film was in the works with García in the lead role. García has since claimed the film's script was nearly produced.[4] After Puzo's death, Coppola decided to not continue the film series.[5] Puzo's portion of the potential sequel, dealing with the Corleone family in the early 1930s, was eventually expanded into a novel by Ed Falco and released in 2012 as The Family Corleone.[6] The estate of Puzo had sought to keep Paramount Pictures from producing the film based on The Family Corleone.[7] Now resolved, Paramount has gained the rights to make more Godfather films.[8]

The fourth film was intended to be a prequel and a sequel.[9] They had discussed a potential script, told in a similar narrative as Part II: with younger Vito Corleone and Sonny gaining the families' political power during the 1930s; and with Vincent Corleone in the 1980s, haunted by Mary's death, running the family business through a ten-year destructive war and eventually losing the families' respect and power, seeing one final scene with Michael Corleone before his death.[4] Many actors were announced to play in the film: Robert De Niro, Andy García and Talia Shire were slated to reprise their roles.[10] Leonardo DiCaprio was cast as a younger Sonny Corleone.[11] Robert Duvall was supposed to reprise his role as Tom Hagen.[12][13]

Home media and television

Three compilations were created by Coppola and editors Barry Malkin and Walter Murch, while two were released to home media:

The Godfather Saga (1977) – Seven hours television miniseries based on the first two films in chronological order and incorporating additional footage that was not included in the theatrical releases.
The Godfather 1902–1959: The Complete Epic (1981) – Version of The Godfather Saga that was released in video (VHS format).[14]
The Godfather Trilogy: 1901–1980 (1992) – Ten hours compilation released directly to video (VHS and LaserDisc formats) in 1992 and 1997 encompassing the three films and incorporating footage that was not included in the theatrical releases and additional footage that the Saga or Epic releases had included.
The Godfather The Coppola Restoration (2008) – Includes the three films on DVD (and Blu-ray) and a bonus feature disk with, among other things, an interview with David Chase, the creator of The Sopranos, discussing the cultural significance of the films.
The Godfather Trilogy Omerta Edition (2017) – A special 45th anniversary box set edition produced in the "limited" quantity of 45,000 copies, consisting of the Coppola Restoration versions of all three films on Blu-ray, a bonus feature Blu-ray disk, and various jacket-liner materials including quote cards, word-play magnets, and scene notes ("anatomy of a scene").

Cast

Character	Film
Character	The Godfather[15]	The Godfather Part II[16]	The Godfather Part III[17]
Michael Corleone	Al Pacino
Kay Adams-Corleone	Diane Keaton
Fredo Corleone	John Cazale		John Cazale (archive footage)
Al Neri	Richard Bright
Connie Corleone	Talia Shire
Theresa Hagen	Tere Livrano
Francesca Corleone	Jeanne Savarino Pesch
Kathryn Corleone	Janet Savarino Smith
Don Tommasino	Corrado Gaipa	Mario Cotone	Vittorio Duse
Anthony Corleone	Anthony Gounaris	James Gounaris	Franc D'Ambrosio
Vito Corleone	Marlon Brando	Robert De Niro
Tom Hagen	Robert Duvall
Sonny Corleone	James Caan
Peter Clemenza	Richard S. Castellano	Bruno Kirby
Salvatore Tessio	Abe Vigoda	John Aprea Abe Vigoda
Carmela Corleone	Morgana King	Morgana King Francesca De Sapio
Carlo Rizzi	Gianni Russo
Sandra Corleone	Julie Gregg
Fabrizio	Angelo Infanti
Rocco Lampone	Tom Rosqui
Genco Abbandando	Franco Corsaro (deleted scene)	Frank Sivero
Willi Cicci	Joe Spinell
Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone	Simonetta Stefanelli		Simonetta Stefanelli (archive footage)
Johnny Fontane	Al Martino		Al Martino
Calo	Franco Citti		Franco Citti
Lucy Mancini	Jeannie Linero		Jeannie Linero
Enzo Aguello	Gabrielle Torrei		Gabrielle Torrei
Captain McCluskey	Sterling Hayden
Jack Woltz	John Marley
Emilio Barzini	Richard Conte
Virgil Sollozzo	Al Lettieri
Carmine Cuneo	Rudy Bond
Luca Brasi	Lenny Montana
Paulie Gatto	Johnny Martino
Amerigo Bonasera	Salvatore Corsitto
Moe Greene	Alex Rocco
Bruno Tattaglia	Tony Giorgio
Nazorine	Vito Scotti
Philip Tattaglia	Victor Rendina
Vitelli	Saro Urzi
Victor Stracci	Don Costello
Don Zaluchi	Louis Guss
Hyman Roth		Lee Strasberg John Megna (young)
Frank Pentangeli		Michael V. Gazzo
Pat Geary		G. D. Spradlin
Fabrizio Fanucci		Gastone Moschin
Deanna Dunn-Corleone		Marianna Hill
Signor Roberto		Leopoldo Trieste
Johnny Ola		Dominic Chianese
Bussetta		Amerigo Tot
Merle Johnson		Troy Donahue
Vito's mother		Maria Carta
Francesco Ciccio		Giuseppe Sillato
Marcia Roth		Fay Spain
FBI Man		Harry Dean Stanton
Carmine Rosato		Carmine Caridi
Tony Rosato		Danny Aiello
Vincenzo Pentangeli		Salvatore Po
Mosca		Ignazio Pappalardo
Strollo		Andrea Maugeri
Vincent Corleone			Andy García
Osvaldo Altobello			Eli Wallach
Joey Zasa			Joe Mantegna
B J Harrison			George Hamilton
Grace Hamilton			Bridget Fonda
Mary Corleone			Sofia Coppola
Cardinal Lamberto			Raf Vallone
Archbishop Gilday			Donal Donnelly
Frederick Keinszig			Helmut Berger
Dominic Abbandando			Don Novello
Andrew Hagen			John Savage
Mosca			Mario Donatone
Licio Lucchesi			Enzo Robutti
Spara			Michele Russo
Lou Pennino			Robert Cicchini
Armand			Rogerio Miranda
Francesco			Carlos Miranda
Anthony Squigliaro			Vito Antuofermo
Albert Volpe			Carmine Caridi
Frank Romano			Don Costello
Leo Cuneo			Al Ruscio
Matty Parisi			Mickey Knox

Reception

Box office performance

Film	U.S. release date	Box office gross			Budget
Film	U.S. release date	U.S. and Canada	Other territories	Worldwide	Budget
The Godfather	March 15, 1972	$134,966,411	$111,154,563	$246,120,974–287,258,196[N 2]	$6,000,000–7,200,000[N 1]
The Godfather Part II	December 20, 1974	$47,834,595	$186,362	$48,020,957–88,377,522[N 3]	$13 million[28][29]
The Godfather Part III	December 25, 1990	$66,666,062	$70,100,000	$136,766,062[30]	$54 million[30]
Total		$249,467,068	$181,440,925	$430,907,993–512,401,780	$73–74.2 million

Critical response

The films appear in many "Top 10" film lists, such as the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association's Top 10 Films, IMDb top 250, Time magazine's All-Time 100 Movies, and James Berardinelli's Top 100.[31]

Film	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic
The Godfather	98% (9.3/10 average rating) (97 reviews)[32]	100 (15 reviews)[33]
The Godfather Part II	98% (9.62/10 average rating) (80 reviews)[34]	90 (18 reviews)[35]
The Godfather Part III	69% (6.42/10 average rating) (61 reviews)[36]	60 (19 reviews)[37]

Accolades

The three films together were nominated for a total of 28 Academy Awards, of which they won nine. For the Best Supporting Actor award, both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II had three actors nominated for the award, which is a rare feat. Both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II won the award for Best Picture in their respective years. The Godfather Part II won the most Academy Awards with six to its credit. The Godfather Part III was nominated for seven Oscars, but won none.

The Godfather — Nominations: 10, Wins: 3
The Godfather Part II — Nominations: 11, Wins: 6
The Godfather Part III — Nominations: 7, Wins: 0

*The Godfather* film series at the Academy Awards[38][39][40]
Award	Awards won
Award	The Godfather	The Godfather Part II	The Godfather Part III
Picture	Won	Won	Nominated
Director	Nominated	Won	Nominated
Actor	Won	Nominated
Supporting Actor	Nominated[lower-alpha 1]	Won[lower-alpha 2]	Nominated
Supporting Actress		Nominated
Adapted Screenplay	Won	Won
Art Direction		Won	Nominated
Cinematography			Nominated
Costume Design	Nominated	Nominated
Film Editing	Nominated		Nominated
Original Dramatic Score		Won
Original Song			Nominated
Sound Mixing	Nominated

Video games

One video game, The Godfather: The Game (2006), was based on the first film.[41][42] Duvall, Caan, and Brando supplied voiceovers and their likenesses,[43] but Pacino did not.[43] Francis Ford Coppola openly voiced his disapproval of the game.[44] Another, The Godfather II (2009), was based on the second film.

Received three nominations in this category.
Received three nominations in this category, winning one.

Notes

Sources disagree on both the amount of the original budget and the final budget of the first film. The final budget has been named at $6 million,[18][19][20] $6.5 million,[21][22] $7 million,[23] and $7.2 million.[24]
Sources disagree on the amount grossed by the first film.
- 1974: Newsweek. 84. 1974. p. 74. The original Godfather has grossed a mind-boggling $285 million...
- 1991: Von Gunden, Kenneth (1991). Postmodern auteurs: Coppola, Lucas, De Palma, Spielberg, and Scorsese. McFarland & Company. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-89950-618-0. Since The Godfather had earned over $85 million in U.S.-Canada rentals (the worldwide box-office gross was $285 million), a sequel, according to the usual formula, could be expected to earn approximately two-thirds of the original's box-office take (ultimately Godfather II had rentals of $30 million).
- Releases: "The Godfather (1972)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 22, 2020. Original release: $243,862,778; 1997 re-release: $1,267,490; 2009 re-release: $121,323; 2011 re-release: $818,333; 2014 re-release: $29,349; 2018 re-release: $21,701; Budget: $6,000,000
Sources disagree on the amount grossed by the second film. Releases:[25] Some sources claim an original release of $88 million.[26][27]

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