The Godfather: 'Nobody enjoyed one day of it’

The Telegraph ^ | 22 Sep 2009 | Philip Horne

[nickcarraway]

Just like the film, the making of 'The Godfather’ was an ugly story of fear and dysfunction.

What was the formula that made The Godfather one of the most successful films of all time? Surely it would take an unusually harmonious combination of talents working in concert, a rare balance of commercial entertainment and artistic challenge, a run of luck those involved couldn’t miss.

Related Articles The Godfather - memorable lines But all wasn’t plain sailing on Francis Ford Coppola’s film in 1972. It was nominated for 11 Oscars, winning three, and on its $6 million budget grossed $101million for Paramount within 18 weeks of release. As the film gets a welcome cinematic re-release in a beautiful restoration, it is timely to dive into the swirling mists of legend and recall how far it was from a sure thing. “It was the most miserable film I can think of to make,” declares its producer, Al Ruddy. “Nobody enjoyed one day of it.” Coppola agrees: “It was just non-stop anxiety and wondering when I was going to get fired.” The novel by Mario Puzo could easily not have been written: eight publishers passed on the outline for a would-be best-seller pitched by a middle-ranking, mid-forties writer with a bad gambling habit and big debts. Only bumping into a friend had led to his actually writing The Godfather. Its 67 weeks topping the New York Times best-seller list surprised everyone.

Paramount bought an option when Puzo had only written 100 pages, for a mere $12,500, rising to $50,000 if the novel was filmed. But maybe – if we’re to credit Paramount’s head of production Robert Evans – Paramount very nearly didn’t acquire it. There was a bidding war: they were “one day away from Burt Lancaster buying The Godfather, and Burt wanted

[nickcarraway]

It was so bad the commissary made him eat the gun, and let the cannoli go to waste.

[ETL]

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"In between his stints in Washington, Emanuel got rich working as an investment banker. He once sat on the board of Freddie Mac and recuses himself from any Congressional votes on the mortgage giant."

"Has been known to send out cheesecakes from Eli's Bakery in Chicago to campaign donors and the many Democratic candidates he has recruited over the years. Once, when a pollster made him angry, Emanuel sent him a dead fish."

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1856965,00.html
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(Sonny opens a package to find two fish wrapped in Luca's bulletproof vest.)

Sonny: What the hell is this?

Pete Clemenza: It's a Sicilian message. It means Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Godfather
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YouTube video clip: "Leave the gun. Take the cheesecake cannoli" (8 second clip)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EJnEXuUR54&NR=1
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[prosecutor] Fitzgerald: "In the governor words -- governor's words, quote, 'Fire all those bleeping people. Get them the bleep out of there. And get us some editorial support', close quote."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/us/politics/09text-illinois.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all
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MICHAEL CORLEONE:
Tom, wait a minute. I'm talking about a cop -- that's mixed up in drugs. I'm talking about a... a dishonest cop -- a crooked cop who got mixed up in the rackets and got what was coming to him. That's a terrific story. And we have newspaper people on the payroll, don't we, Tom?

[Hagen nods in the affirmative]

http://www.jgeoff.com/godfather/gf1/transcript/gf1transcript.html<

[EveningStar]

ping

[mysterio]

I love that movie and part II. Part III I’ve seen, and I admit I enjoyed it, but it probably shouldn’t have been made.

[GOP Poet]

bookmark

[oh8eleven]

The movie was great, but the book was even better. I’ll bet I read it three or four times.

[donaldo]

The best line in the book never made it to the movie. The Godfather: “A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns.”

[Guenevere]

It holds up well.

[Mr. Blonde]

The AMC in town plays classics in the fall. The Godfather is on the list of movies. I’m very excited.

One thing from the article. I thought the surviving test footage of Robert De Niro was him testing for Sonny and not Michael.

It is funny to think that this is from the age of directors having more control over the films they made compared to today.

[Yossarian]

A crazy thing about the Godfather book is the long plot element about a woman with a distressing genital issue. (Sonny’s the only one in the world gifted enough to help her - nudge nudge, wink wink.)

It was briefly alluded to in a wordless way in the movie, during the wedding reception.

[Michael.SF.]

Coppola objected to casting his sister, Talia Shire, as Connie Corleone, yelling at their mother that Shire was too pretty.

Well, Coppola was certainly wrong on that part about her being "too pretty".

The real reason she got the part, according to Jenny Jones excellent book, "The Godfather: The Annotated Complete Script", was that Coppola thought he was going to be fired, so he gave her the part so as to keep a few bucks in the family.

[JoeProBono]

[Mr. Blonde]

Not specifically related to The Godfather, but if we are talking about what I think is the best movie, we can talk about what is no doubt the best TV show.

That line made me think of this scene from The Wire, the specific part starts about 6:50, but I assure you the full thing is worth watching. It would also help make clear the character on the witness stand. The lawyer is probably as close to a cliche the show has and needs less explanation.

[Recon Dad]

Back in 1969 as Woodstock was going on in upstate New York I was sitting in the kitchen of the house they shot the film in on Staten Island. It was the only time I was in the house, but at that time there was no wall at all around the block. It was fake and built for the movie.
Another small footnote, while you're watching the wedding scene look for a big guy with a beard dressed as one of the waiters in a red vest. His name was Jack Dameian. Jack owned the Hofbrau on Staten Island and catered the movie so they gave him a walk on.

[angkor]

“It was just non-stop anxiety and wondering when I was going to get fired.”

Sounds like another (great) Coppola film, Apocalypse Now.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Ya shudda come to me first, I cudda helped you.

[TexasNative2000]

Their are literally dozen;s of other little things like those mentioned here

Like the scene in the garden when Godfather dies - he puts the orange peel in his mouth and scares the grandson by making a face. That was completely ad lib and the kid's reaction is genuine. That's why Brando swoops him up in his arms so quickly.

[Michael.SF.]

Part of what made the Godfather so good was all the small things that fell into place.

The picture you posted above, for example. The cat was a stray that was on the set. The crew began feeding it and Brando used it to give him a touch of tenderness.

Luca Brasi (Lenny Montana) below. He was an ex professional wrestler watching them shoot on location. Coppola thought he was one scary looking guy and put him in the movie. In the scene pictured below was accomplished at Montana's suggestion. He is doing a training exercise he learned as a wrestler. The part of him practicing his lines? That was real, he was not a pro and was nervous.

There are literally dozen's of other little things like those mentioned here that added up to the two best movies ever, IMHO.