Line #66 Trivia/TheGodfather


1	!!The Novel
2	* MoneyDearBoy: Mario Puzo had written two acclaimed but unsuccessful novels[[note]]''The Dark Arena'', an autobiographical account of postwar Germany, and ''The Fortunate Pilgrim'', depicting a more traditional Italian-American family[[/note]], was eking out a living as a freelance journalist and struggling with gambling debts. By his own account, a publisher suggested that Puzo's books would be more successful if he added gangsters. Puzo (who had little personal interest in TheMafia) followed his advice and ''The Godfather'' was the result.
3	* OvertookTheManga: ''Part II'' picks up where the novel ended, with Michael Corleone moving his family to Nevada, and ''Part III'' takes place decades later and concludes with the death of Michael Corleone. The novel series continued with ''The Godfather Returns'' in 2004 and ''The Godfather's Revenge'' in 2006, written by Mark Winegardner as Puzo died in 1999.
4	* WorkingTitle: ''The Mafia''.
5	* WriteWhoYouKnow:
6	** Mario Puzo infused his mother into the character of Vito Corelone.
7	-->Whenever the Godfather opened his mouth, in my own mind, I heard the voice of my mother. I heard her wisdom, her ruthlessness and her unconquerable love for her family and for life itself, qualities not valued in women at the time.
8	** Puzo based Kay Adams on his wife, Erika Lina Broske, who was a German woman who married into his Italian family.
9
10	!!The Movies
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12	[[foldercontrol]]
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14	[[folder:''Part I'']]
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16	* ActingForTwo: When the phone rings and Connie answers it, the voice on the other end of the phone is that of Creator/TaliaShire, so she's speaking to herself
17	* ActorInspiredElement: Creator/MarlonBrando wanted Don Corleone to look like a bulldog. Also, nowhere in the script did it say anything about the Don holding a cat. That was a stray Brando found.
18	* AllStarCast: Creator/AlPacino, Creator/RobertDuvall, Creator/JamesCaan, Creator/DianeKeaton, Creator/JohnCazale, Creator/AbeVigoda and Creator/TaliaShire were big names in the sequels, most of them owing it to the roaring success of the original. During the making of the first film, only Brando was a bona fide huge star and Creator/SterlingHayden a household name; Richard Conte had been a leading man in the '40s and '50s, but was in the final stages of his career.
19	* AwardCategoryFraud: Creator/MarlonBrando won the Oscar for Best Actor for playing Vito Corleone, even though the lead character is Michael, played by Creator/AlPacino, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Pacino refused to attend the ceremony for this reason.
20	* BannedInChina: Literally. According to producer Al Ruddy, [[https://youtu.be/2U3pOOKiHHs?t=1345 the movie was banned in China until around 2016.]]
21	* BeamMeUpScotty: A non-verbal example. Most parodies of the infamous "Horse's head in the bed" scene depict the recipient simply rolling over and seeing the offending head within their line of sight without having to get up first. In the actual film, however, Jack Woltz feels and sees blood on his sheets and finds Khartoum's head by his feet instead.
22	* BillingDisplacement: In the original, Creator/MarlonBrando gets top billing as DecoyProtagonist Vito Corleone, despite Creator/AlPacino playing the lead role.
23	* {{Blooper}}:
24	** In the scene where Michael is negotiating with Moe Greene, when the latter says "I talked to Barzini" his voice drops an octave or so for an unknown reason.
25	** When Vito Corleone shows Johnny Fontane out of his office, an extra walks onto the frame from the left, but as soon as she sees Vito, she quickly lets out a little smile and backs away, as if she was in the wrong place and was not supposed to be on frame.
26	* BreakthroughHit: Because of the original, you know who Creator/FrancisFordCoppola is.
27	* CaliforniaDoubling:
28	** Because Corleone, Sicily, was too developed, even in the early 1970s, the Sicilian town of Savoca, outside Taormina, was used for shooting the scenes where Michael is in exile in Italy.
29	** Also the Corleone compound on Long Island, which was actually a cul-de-sac on Staten Island without a security wall (it was a Styrofoam prop installed for filming).
30	* CareerResurrection: By the 1960's, Creator/MarlonBrando's failed movies outweighed his successes, partly due to his temper on set, and most movie studios considered him a risk. Flash forward to 1972, when Creator/FrancisFordCoppola wanted the 47-year-old Brando to play the patriarch of a Mafia family. Creator/{{Paramount}} finally gave in after Coppola gave Brando a screen test. Brando won an Oscar for his performance as Don Vito Corleone, and high-profile roles in ''Film/LastTangoInParis'', ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' and ''Film/{{SupermanTheMovie}}'' soon followed.
31	* CastTheExpert:
32	** According to Associate Producer Gary Fredrickson, Lenny Montana (Luca Brasi) had worked as an enforcer for the Colombo crime family and was sent by the Colombos to oversee the production; Lenny had also bragged to Frederickson about working for the Mafia as an arsonist. Coppola claimed that when he asked Lenny if he knew how to spin a pistol, he replied, "You kiddin'?"
33	** Singing sensation Johnny Fontane was played by singer Al Martino.
34	* CastTheRunnerUp:
35	** Richard Conte and John Marley were among the many actors considered for Vito Corleone. Both ended up with smaller parts, as Barzini and Jack Woltz, respectively.
36	** Creator/JamesCaan read for Michael and Sonny, and was provisionally cast as the former, with Carmine Caridi playing Sonny. When Pacino became Michael, Caan was cast as Sonny instead. As compensation, Caridi had a bit part in the first film (as an onlooker during Carlo's beating) and larger roles in the sequels, as Carmine Rosato in ''Part II'' and crime boss Albert Volpe in ''Part III''. Besides Pacino, Keaton, Shire and Richard Bright, he was the only actor to appear in all three ''Godfathers''.
37	** Al Lettieri was another option for Sonny; he wound up playing Sollozzo instead.
38	** Peter Donat was shortlisted with Creator/RobertDuvall for Tom Hagen. Appropriately, Donat was cast as Questadt, the Senate lawyer in ''Part II''.
39	** Creator/RobertDeNiro [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tdgBlZc8Wc auditioned for Sonny]], as well as Michael and Paulie. He would later play the young Vito in ''Part II''.
40	** Gianni Russi lobbied to play Michael, Sonny and Carlo. He was cast as the latter.
41	** Creator/JohnAprea auditioned for Michael in ''Part I'' and wound up playing the young Salvatore Tessio in ''Part II''.
42	* TheCastShowoff: The Don's wife, Carmela Corleone, is seen singing at the wedding. Morgana King, who played Carmela, was a gifted jazz singer, and portraying Carmela was actually her film debut, as well as her acting debut.
43	* CreativeDifferences: Aram Avakian was originally hired as the film's editor, but was fired after disagreements with Creator/FrancisFordCoppola.
44	* CreatorChosenCasting:
45	** Mario Puzo was the first one to show interest in having Creator/MarlonBrando portray Don Vito Corleone by sending a letter to Brando in which he stated Brando was the "only actor who can play the Godfather". Creator/FrancisFordCoppola agreed.
46	** Coppola cast Creator/AlPacino after seeing him in ''Panic at Needle Park''. Puzo sent Coppola a letter saying that Pacino was the perfect choice for Michael Corleone.
47	** Coppola wanted Creator/RobertDuvall to play Tom Hagen from the start. After screen-testing several other actors, Coppola eventually got his wish and Duvall was awarded the part.
48	** Creator/JamesCaan was another actor that Coppola wanted from the beginning.
49	** Coppola cast John Cazale after seeing him in an off-Broadway play.
50	* DawsonCasting: Creator/AlPacino playing Michael Corleone from ages of 25-35. Al Pacino was 32 at the time
51	* DeletedScene: Much of it restored for the chronological "Saga" miniseries:
52	** Following Bonasera's exit in the first scene, Vito whistles at Sonny for not paying attention to business.
53	** During the wedding reception, Tom Hagen informs Don Vito that consigliere Genco won't last the night in the hospital.
54	** After the wedding, the Don and his sons are leaving the compound with Johnny Fontane to visit Genco. Vito asks Michael if Kay was able to get home all right.
55	** In the hospital, the Don looks at Michael's military decorations with disdain then tells Michael that he has plans for him after graduation.
56	** A dying Genco begs Vito to stay with him believing that Vito will frighten Death away.
57	** An extended version of Jack Woltz's party for his child star, Janie.
58	** After being thrown out by Woltz, Tom looks up and sees Janie crying and her mother push her back into Woltz's bedroom.
59	** Connie and Carlo argue and she runs crying into Mama's arms. Sonny wants to confront Carlo but Vito tells him not to interfere.
60	** After Tom returns from Hollywood, he discusses with Vito what he has discovered about Woltz.
61	** Michael and Kay are in their hotel bed in New York City and don't want to go to the family compound. Michael has Kay call Tom pretending to be an operator, then Michael tells Tom that they are in New Hampshire and will be at the compound the next day.
62	** On the way to meet Sollozzo, Luca sees the nightclub's neon sign burn out.
63	** Sonny gets a call from a detective telling him about his father's shooting. He then tries to call Tom.
64	** Sonny tells Mama about the shooting. He then goes into Vito's study, calls Tessio and tells him to prepare his men. He then tries to call Luca.
65	** A quick shot of Michael driving, returning home after his father's shooting and Rocco offering to escort Michael into the house.
66	** Michael brings Tom's wife Theresa into the study where Sonny and Tessio are. Sonny comforts her and tells them both to wait outside but Michael stays. They discuss with Michael whether Clemenza or Paulie was the traitor. Michael tries to talk Sonny out of going to war stating Vito would not want it. Then Tom returns home and hugs Theresa.
67	** A quick shot of the Corleone compound that dissolves to the scene where they discuss their next course of action.
68	** Rocco admires Clemenza's car but Clemenza complains that the bumpers are wooden due to the war effort. He then tells Rocco that he is to kill Paulie.
69	** Clemenza has Paulie check the hideout spot. He then has Paulie make a stop so he can buy some cannoli and have a meal at a restaurant.
70	** In Sicily, Michael and the bodyguards watch a Communist demonstration march.
71	** While relaxing in the afternoon sun, Fabrizio begs Michael to bring him along to America when he returns.
72	** Michael and his bodyguards visit his father's childhood home and find it abandoned.
73	** After Connie hangs up the phone on Carlo's "girlfriend", she then confronts him in the shower. Then, Carlo orders her to make him dinner.
74	** Bonasera is shown getting ready to return his favor to Don Vito. Bonasera tells his wife who is helping him get dressed that maybe he will be asked to be an accomplice to murder.
75	** After the car bomb, Michael wakes up in bed surrounded by nurses and Don Tommasino. Michael tells Tommasino to find Fabrizio and he passes out.
76	** Michael and Vito talk in the new garden after his return from Sicily. Michael takes responsibility for avenging the deaths of Sonny and Apollonia so Vito will not have to break his promise to the other Dons.
77	** Additional dialogue when Michael removes Tom from his position as consigliere.
78	** The final scene is Kay in a Catholic church lighting candles and praying.
79	* DyeingForYourArt: Creator/MarlonBrando had to lose weight in order to play Don Vito Corleone.
80	* EnforcedMethodActing:
81	** In the "Woltz's bedroom" scene, John Marley (who played Woltz) was not told that they would be using an actual horse head for the scene, as they had used various props in rehearsals. Contrary to popular belief, it was not a horse that was killed specifically for the film. It was a horse that was about to be processed at a dog food factory and Coppola asked to keep the head.
82	** Allegedly, for the "gun in the bathroom" scene, Coppola secretly changed the spot where Michael's gun was taped to the toilet tank; Pacino's panicked look is real when he doesn't find the gun right away.
83	* ExecutiveMeddling: Stanley R. Jaffe, who was then Paramount's executive vice president and chief operations officer, along with producer Robert Evans, frequently fought with Coppola over creative matters during the film, from his decision to cast Marlon Brando and Al Pacino in the main roles, to his editing of the final product. It got so bad, in fact, that Coppola, constantly worrying about potentially being fired and replaced during the shoot, had to have the film's on-set physician prescribe him sleeping pills in order to combat his stress related insomnia. [[http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2009/03/godfather200903 "The Godfather Wars"]] gives a very thorough account of the whole odyssey.
84	* FakeNationality: American Actor (of Anglo-Irish extraction) Creator/MarlonBrando plays Italian immigrant Vito Corleone. Jewish American actor Creator/JamesCaan plays his son Santino. The Jewish actor Abe Vigoda plays the Italian Sal Tessio. And in an unusual subversion of Jewish actors in Hollywood playing Italians, Italian-American actor Alex Rocco plays Jewish gangster Moe Greene.
85	* HostilityOnTheSet:
86	** During filming, Creator/JamesCaan and Gianni Russo did not get along and were frequently at loggerheads. During filming Sonny's beating of Carlo, Caan nearly hit Russo with the stick he threw at him, and actually broke two of Russo's ribs and chipped his elbow. Russo would later state that he strongly suspected that Caan was angry with him, since he was the one had originally been cast for the role of Carlo. Russo had, however, called in a favor with one of the producers and got the part instead, while Caan got reassigned to the role of Sonny.
87	** The relationship between Creator/FrancisFordCoppola and cinematographer Gordon Willis was highly combustible. They would often have screaming rows, with a few broken props as a result. After one incident, such a loud noise exploded from Coppola's office that the crew thought that Coppola had shot himself (he had only broken a door). They also conflicted because Willis was very hard on the actors and actresses about hitting their marks; with his low lighting scheme, if they missed, they would be filmed in total darkness. Coppola, on the other hand, considered himself a protector of actors and actresses. He felt that he could get the most out of them by nurturing them.
88	* HypotheticalCasting: Charlie Bluhdorn, the President of Gulf + Western, wanted ''Creator/CharlesBronson'' to play Michael Corleone.
89	* IronyAsSheIsCast: A retroactive example, but Gianni Russo would later be involved in an incident where he shot a man in self-defense trying to stop him from harassing a woman. Contrast this with his wife-beating character and it's quite a difference.
90	* LifeImitatesArt:
91	** The real life mobsters were so flattered by the classy characterization of Brando and the Corleones in general that they started to style themselves after Don Vito, invoking all kind of mannerisms old-fashioned or forgotten by then (or just plain made up).
92	*** Notably, the film popularized the term "godfather" to refer to mob bosses. The term was made up by Puzo for the novel, based on the concept of ''capo di tutti capi'' (boss of all bosses), who were sometimes colloquially called "padrinos" (godfathers).
93	** A real-life mob-boss was [[http://blog.games.yahoo.com/blog/142-mob-boss-arrested-while-playing-godfather-game apprehended while he was playing the videogame adaptation.]]
94	** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Franzese Michael Franzese]], a real-life former capo of the Colombo crime family, shares many parallels with Michael Corleone's life. Like Corleone, Franzese is the son of a legendary mobster who had to quit college to join the mob after his father got into trouble. Like Vito, Franzese's father protested his joining the mob, ordering him to go back to school before relenting. Both Michaels became powerful members of the Mafia at a very young age, with Franzese being made at the age of 24 and becoming a captain of 300 men at the age of 30. Franzese and his dad also had a mentorship very similar to the one Michael and Vito have in the film. Morever, Franzese even has a brother who betrayed their father, much like how [[spoiler: Michael is betrayed by Fredo]]. When the movie came out, Franzese's colleagues supposedly noticed the connections and compared him to the fictional character to his chagrin.
95	* LoopingLines:
96	** Creator/MarlonBrando found a stray cat and decided it would be a perfect addition to a scene. The downside was that the cat purred so loudly that the cast had to re-dub their lines.
97	** Sollozzo learns that Don Vito Corleone is still alive after the assassination attempt he ordered, and says to hostage Tom Hagen "That's bad luck for me, and bad luck for you if you don't make that deal!" before apparently releasing him. However, if you look closely you see that Sollozzo just says "That's bad luck for me, and bad luck for you": there was a short scene that was present in the book but cut from the film, where Tom Hagen arrives back at home and exclaims "Boy, if I argue against the Supreme Court I'll never do better than I did against that Turk tonight!", having convinced Sollozzo not to kill him on the grounds that he could still negotiate a deal with Sonny despite the Don being alive.
98	* MoneyDearBoy: Creator/FrancisFordCoppola was head of the very unprofitable film company American Zoetrope when he was offered the directing job (offered purely on the grounds that he was Italian American), and thought it was a stupid genre movie that he didn't want to waste his time on... but he really needed the money.
99	* OnSetInjury:
100	** Creator/AlPacino injured his knee while filming a scene where he gets into a car after the restaurant hit, which ended up being cut. The cane that Sonny toys with that we assume belongs to Vito was actually Pacino's.
101	** When Sonny beats up Carlo, Creator/JamesCaan actually hit Gianni Russo, breaking two of his ribs and chipping his elbow.
102	* OneTakeWonder:
103	** Sonny's death scene was the most expensive in the movie to setup and film, for it cost over one hundred thousand dollars to set up, and was finished in just one take from four or five different camera angles.
104	** The car explosion in Sicily was done in one take. The car took more damage than expected and the owner had to be compensated for it.
105	* OrphanedReference: While arguing with Tom, Sonny laments, "Pop got Genco, look what I got." This refers to Vito's former consigliere Genco Abbandando, who appeared in a deleted scene where Vito takes his sons to see him at the hospital.
106	* PlayingAgainstType: This was Creator/DianeKeaton's first dramatic role, as she was primarily known as a comedic actress.
107	* RealLifeRelative: Coppola defines ''The Godfather'' as his own family business because several of his relatives have major or minor acting or production-related roles in the movies. His sister Talia Shire plays Connie Corleone in all three movies. His daughter Sofia is the baby being baptized at the end of Part I (and more famously portrays Mary Corleone in Part III), and his father Carmine composes part of the score.
108	* RealitySubtext:
109	** Jack Woltz's refusal to cast Johnny Fontaine in a film (allegedly) has its basis on Music/FrankSinatra and ''Film/FromHereToEternity''. It could also apply to Robert Evans refusing to cast Creator/MarlonBrando as Don Corleone.
110	** Creator/AlPacino's maternal grandparents emigrated to America from Corleone, Sicily, just as Vito Corleone had.
111	* RenewedBeforePremiere: The early buzz was so positive that a sequel was planned before filming was even finished.
112	* ScullyBox: Both Creator/MarlonBrando and Creator/JamesCaan had to wear lifts for the movie.
113	* SelfAdaptation: Mario Puzo and Creator/FrancisFordCoppola worked very closely to adapt ''The Godfather'' and built together the new storylines of the sequels.
114	* SparedByTheCut: Fabrizio (Michael's Sicilian bodyguard who plants the bomb that kills Apollonia), was supposed to be found by Michael at a pizza parlor he opens in America, and is subsequently blown away with a shotgun at the end of the movie as per the novel (though Michael isn't his killer in the novel). This scene is filmed but ultimately cut because the makeup artists plastered Angelo Infanti with so much fake blood that the scene looked ridiculous. Hence, the reshoot scene where he's killed via [[ExternalCombustion car bomb]] serves as [[KarmicDeath the ultimate poetic justice]].
115	* StarMakingRole: Creator/AlPacino (Michael), Creator/DianeKeaton (Kay), and John Cazale (Fredo), who sadly didn't get much time to enjoy it due to his early death from cancer.
116	* ThrowItIn:
117	** Professional wrestler Lenny Montana, cast as Luca Brasi, was so nervous about acting opposite Brando that he flubbed his line. Coppola liked it and kept it in (seeing this huge scary mob goon humbled and nervous in front of the boss said more about Don Vito's reputation than dialogue ever could); he later filmed the scene of Brasi rehearsing his line over and over to make the flub funnier.
118	** The cat that Vito is cradling in the opening scene was not planned and the animal was not trained. It was a stray that happened to be lurking near the entrance of the studio when Marlon Brando arrived for work that morning, so Brando decided to simply adopt it.
119	** Clemenza's famous "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli." was ad-libbed by Richard Castellano.
120	** In the "You can act like a man!" scene, Vito suddenly jumping, shaking and slapping Johnny Fontane was an improvisation by Brando, who felt that actor Al Martino was not showing enough emotion. Fontane's surprised face was unusable and is never shown, only his back.
121	** The motif of [[RuleOfSymbolism oranges representing death]]. Initially, the film's art directors used oranges as props because they contrasted the somber tones of the film, not intending any symbolism. Coppola certainly ran with the idea in the sequels, however.
122	** The use of the garbage can lid when Sonny beats up Carlo was improvised by Creator/JamesCaan.
123	** Creator/JamesCaan improvised the part where he throws the photographer to the ground. The extra's frightened reaction is genuine. He also came up with the idea of throwing money at the man to make up for breaking his camera. As he put it, "Where I came from, you broke something, you replaced it or repaid the owner."
124	** The scenes in which Enzo comes to visit Vito Corleone in the hospital were shot in reverse, with the outside scene shot first. Gabriele Torrei, the actor who plays Enzo, had never acted in front of a camera before and his nervous shaking, after the car drives away, was real.
125	* TroubledProduction:
126	** As described in [[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/6189162/The-Godfather-Nobody-enjoyed-one-day-of-it.html this]] Daily Telegraph article, everyone involved seemed surprised that the first film was completed, let alone successful as it was.
127	** To begin with, pretty much everybody involved was only in it for the money. Mario Puzo, author of the original book, sold the film rights to Paramount for $12,500 (rising to $50,000 if it was filmed) having only written a hundred pages, chiefly because he was in debt to his bookie. Coppola, meanwhile, hated the book, and only took the job of directing the film because a) his production company American Zoetrope was out of money, and b) Paramount pushed hard for him on account of him being Italian (which it was hoped would assuage the concerns of Italian-American groups). Even then, Coppola was only brought in after several established directors like Costa-Gavras and Arthur Penn declined.
128	** Speaking of Italian-Americans, those groups were outraged by the film, accusing it of promoting stereotypes and threatening to boycott it. You'll probably notice how the movie never uses the word "Mafia", as that was part of an agreement reached with said organizations. As for the actual Mafia? Well, you can ask producer Al Ruddy what they thought of it — he had his car windows shot out by gangsters trying to derail the film's production.
129	** Coppola's relationship with the Paramount executives was chaotic — they hated the casting, the lighting, the writing, the music, the length, everything. For one, Paramount wanted to jettison the novel's period setting for modern-day New York. Equally controversial was the casting of Creator/MarlonBrando, which Coppola pushed hard for and Paramount pushed just as hard against due to his star having seriously fallen at the time, due to both a string of flops and his primadonna reputation. Coppola faked a heart attack in order to get the Paramount executives to relent. Creator/AlPacino wasn't popular with the Paramount brass either, who preferred an established star like Robert Redford and were unimpressed by Pacino's screen test and early rushes.
130	** Production wasn't that troubled on-set, apart from a delay due to Pacino twisting his ankle, but it's a miracle that no significant problems emerged. Coppola got no respect from the crew, many of whom thought that the movie was a piece of crap and that he didn't know what he was doing; several of his assistant directors openly complained to the studio brass. He expected to be fired at any point, and indeed, the executives were considering replacing him with Elia Kazan. He also got into an argument with cinematographer Gordon Willis.
131	** All the way through post-production, Coppola feuded with producer Robert Evans over the film's style and pacing. One particular argument involved Evans demanding that Coppola include an intermission after Michael murders Sollozzo and [=McCluskey=]. Evans also hated Music/NinoRota's score, wanting to replace Rota with Music/HenryMancini and, late in production, threatening to discard Rota's music and use period music instead. Shortly before the premiere, with Coppola nearing his final cut, Evans demanded that Coppola cut the film down again to a 135 minute run time. Coppola grudgingly complied, only for Evans to chew him out afterwards for "ruining" the film. Afterwards, Coppola re-edited it to the original length without complaint from Evans, who was [[ItsAllAboutMe happy to take credit]] for the end result.
132	** Despite the film's ultimate success, the experience left the entire cast and crew profoundly drained. Ruddy later said that "It was the most miserable film I can think of to make. Nobody enjoyed one day of it." Unsurprisingly, it proved increasingly difficult to reunite cast and crew for the sequels.
133	* UncreditedRole:
134	** Creator/RobertTowne did uncredited work on the script, particularly on the garden scene.
135	** Tom Rosqui and Joe Spinell are uncredited for their respective roles as Rocco Lampone and Willie Cicci. They would be credited in the second movie.
136	* WagTheDirector: Mario Puzo was very proud of one particular line from the novel - "A lawyer with a briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns". He was adamant that it be used in the film, but Creator/MarlonBrando felt it was too preachy and it was excised.
137	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
138	** A large list of actors were considered for the part of Vito Corleone:
139	*** Creator/FrancisFordCoppola's alternate choice was Creator/LaurenceOlivier, but he had to decline due to ill health.
140	*** Music/FrankSinatra tried very hard to be cast. This would have made Vito's conversation with Johnny Fontane (an expy of Sinatra) one of the funniest {{Actor Allusion}}s ever. He also turned down the role of Don Altobello in ''Part III''.
141	*** Creator/OrsonWelles lobbied heavily for the part. Coppola felt so bad about turning him down that he offered him the part of Colonel Kurtz in ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', but for some reason Welles didn't take it. Brando would also nab ''that'' role.
142	*** Others considered for the role were: Creator/ErnestBorgnine, Creator/BurtLancaster, Creator/AnthonyQuinn, Creator/EdwardGRobinson, Creator/PaulScofield, Creator/GeorgeCScott, and [[OddNameOut Danny Thomas]].
143	** Creator/RobertRedford and Creator/RyanONeal were considered for the part of Michael Corleone. Almost enforced by ExecutiveMeddling as Coppola wanted the black-haired Mediterranean type but admitted that many Italians have blond hair and blue eyes.
144	** Frustrated by the dithering over whether he would be cast as Michael, Creator/AlPacino accepted the role of Mario Trantino in the comedy ''Film/TheGangThatCouldntShootStraight'', but when he was offered the part of Michael after all, the role of Mario in ''Gang'' was taken over by the actor who had been cast as Vito's driver Paulie Gatto ("Won't see him no more") in ''The Godfather'': Creator/RobertDeNiro, who, if he had stayed on as Paulie, would have been prevented from taking his StarMakingRole in the sequel.
145	** Creator/WarrenBeatty, Creator/JackNicholson, and Creator/DustinHoffman were all offered the part of Michael Corleone, but all refused. (Beatty was also offered directing and producing duties.) Creator/DavidCarradine, Creator/MartinSheen ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdbHULlajQ8 check out his screen-test]]) and Creator/DeanStockwell auditioned for the role. Creator/FrankLangella and Creator/TommyLeeJones were also considered, while ''Creator/RodSteiger'' wanted the role.
146	** Creator/AnthonyPerkins auditioned for Sonny. Creator/BurtReynolds was also considered, the story being that Brando refused to work with him (he later believed that Coppola would never have cast him). Creator/JohnSaxon was also considered.
147	** Creator/BruceDern, Creator/SteveMcQueenActor, and Creator/PaulNewman auditioned for Tom Hagen. Creator/JackNicholson, Creator/MartinSheen, Creator/DeanStockwell, Creator/KeirDullea, Creator/RobertVaughn were considered for the role, while Creator/JohnCassavetes and Creator/PeterFalk also sought it. According to some sources, [=McQueen=] and Dullea were also considered for Sonny Corleone.
148	** Music/ElvisPresley, an avid fan of the book, auditioned for Tom Hagen, though he really wanted to play Vito Corleone.
149	** Creator/KarenBlack, Creator/GenevieveBujold, Creator/JulieChristie, Creator/MiaFarrow, [[Music/TheMamasAndThePapas Michelle Phillips]] and Creator/CybillShepherd were considered for Kay.
150	** Creator/PennyMarshall was among those considered for Connie.
151	** Creator/SylvesterStallone auditioned for Paulie and Carlo. The latter would have made ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}'' an abusive husband to Adrian.
152	** Creator/AnneBancroft turned down the role of Carmela Corleone.
153	** Casting director Fred Roos originally wanted Creator/OliviaHussey for Appollonia.
154	** Creator/FrancoNero was considered for Virgil Sollozzo.
155	** Creator/WilliamDevane and Creator/PeterFalk were considered for Moe Greene.
156	** Creator/MarioAdorf was initially offered an unspecified role,[[note]][[http://www.crawleyscastingcalls.com/index.php/component/movies/index.php?option=com_movies&Itemid=60&id=51&lettre=SPEC This site]] claims he was offered the part of Luca Brasi, but other sources claim Coppola had Adorf in mind to play Sollozzo[[/note]] but turned it down. Along with his earlier decision not to appear in ''Film/OneTwoThree'', Adorf considers this to be his biggest regret as an actor.
157	** Creator/SergioLeone was Paramount's first choice to direct, but Leone disliked Puzo's novel and turned it down. His own gangster epic, ''Film/OnceUponATimeInAmerica'', gives an idea how a Leone-directed ''Godfather'' might have turned out.
158	** Leone was one of several directors offered ''The Godfather'' before Coppola. Arthur Penn also declined, because he didn't want to make another gangster film so soon after ''Film/BonnieAndClyde''. Another early choice was Creator/CostaGavras, who liked the novel but didn't feel knowledgeable enough about American culture to direct the movie. Creator/SamPeckinpah lobbied for the job, wanting to add his trademark extreme violence. Creator/PeterBogdanovich, Creator/SidneyJFurie, Creator/LewisGilbert, Creator/OttoPreminger and Creator/FrancoisTruffaut were considered before Coppola signed on.
159	** Robert Evans originally wanted Music/HenryMancini to score the film.
160	** Creator/WilliamGoldman was asked to write the script, but declined.
161	** Coppola wanted the scene where Michael eats with Sollozzo and [=McCluskey=] to take place at the [[https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/03/15/40-years-later-owners-of-bronx-restaurant-have-no-regrets-in-turning-down-role-in-the-godfather/ real life Mario's Restaurant on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx]]. Owner Mario Magliucci turned down the offer because he didn't want his restaurant to be known for a murder scene in a movie, forcing Coppola to switch it to The Old Luna Restaurant and film it under the fictional name "Louie's Restaurant". Even after the movie's roaring success, Maliucci didn't regret his decision and his restaurant is still thriving to this day while The Old Luna closed down shortly after the film's release.
162	[[/folder]]
163
164	[[folder:''Part II'']]
165	* ActorLeavesCharacterDies: Clemenza is said to have died in-between films due to difficulties with the actor.
166	* ActorInspiredElement:
167	** Creator/RobertDeNiro suggested the idea of Vito wrapping his gun with a towel before he shoots Fanucci.
168	** [[spoiler:Kay was originally supposed to have a genuine miscarriage. It was Creator/TaliaShire's idea that she would have an abortion instead, as the ultimate way to hurt Michael. To thank her for this idea, Creator/FrancisFordCoppola wrote in the scene in which she tearfully asks Michael to forgive Fredo - a scene which, arguably, was a key reason for her Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress]].
169	* ActorSharedBackground: Like Hyman Roth, Creator/LeeStrasberg was a baseball fan.
170	* CaliforniaDoubling:
171	** A funny example in that the Corleone Compound is actually on Lake Tahoe, just on the California and not the Nevada side.
172	** The Cuba scenes were filmed in the Dominican Republic since Cuba obviously wasn't an option.
173	* TheDanza: Merle Johnson is played by Troy Donahue, whose real name is Merle Johnson.
174	* DeletedScene: As with the original, many of these scenes were restored for the made-for-TV "Saga" miniseries:
175	** Don Ciccio's henchmen look for the boy Vito at his home. Vito's mother says she will bring him to Ciccio herself.
176	** Vito sees a group of hoods jump Don Fanucci and slice his neck. This explains the scar on his neck seen later.
177	** Genco tells Vito about the attack on Fanucci and Vito pretends not to know about it.
178	** In the café, Clemenza tells Vito that he will never work a regular job like his father did.
179	** Vito meets Tessio for the first time outside a warehouse with Clemenza. They take the bag of guns inside to a man named Augustino Coppola. He tells his young son, Carmine Coppola, to play the flute as entertainment while he works on the guns. This is a tribute to Coppola's grandfather and father. The men also leave the warehouse with a bunch of dresses.
180	** Clemenza tries to sell a dress to a married woman and ends up having sex with her while Tessio and Vito wait outside.
181	** Don Fanucci tells the theater impresario that he should feature Sicilian songs or opera and then comically sings examples.
182	** After Fanucci leaves, the impresario smacks his daughter for walking in at the wrong time.
183	** An additional shot of Vito driving down the street before Fanucci jumps in.
184	** Additional dialogue after Fanucci gets out of Vito's truck.
185	** Additional dialogue when Vito, Clemenza, and Tessio discuss how to handle Fanucci.
186	** An extended version of the scene where Vito first talks to Signor Roberto.
187	** Signor Roberto asks Genco if he can speak with "Don Vito".
188	** Clemenza brings a young Jewish boy named Hyman Suchowsky to see Vito. Clemenza wants to rename him "Johnny Lips", but Vito decides he will be called "Hyman Rothstein" after Jewish gangster Arnold Rothstein.
189	** When Vito returns to Sicily, he kills the two henchmen that looked for him as a boy. One he finds passed out in a hut and stabs, the other he rows up to on a lake and kills with an oar.
190	** A wide shot of the train leaving the station in Sicily.
191	** A quick shot of people waltzing at Anthony's communion party.
192	** A quick shot of the bandleader looking at the dancers as he is conducting.
193	** A man taking home movies of Tom and his family.
194	** Fredo shows up late to Anthony's communion party because his wife, Deanna, is drunk. She runs up the driveway demanding to see Michael, then falls down and knocks down Fredo when he tries to pick her up. Fredo warns her not to embarrass him.
195	** A thirsty Pentangeli tries to get a beer or wine at the communion party, but all the waiters have are champagne cocktails. This explains why he is seen drinking from a garden hose.
196	** At the party, Sonny's widow, Sandra, brings their daughter Francesca and her fiancé, Gardner, to see Michael. Fredo barges in to tell Michael that Pentangeli is outside. Michael gives Francesca and Gardner his blessing to get married. She sees Kay and tells her the good news.
197	** Al Neri tells Michael that he's tracked down Fabrizio, the man who murdered Michael's first wife, Apollonia. He now runs a pizza parlor in New York and is living under the name "Fred Vincent". He was brought to New York by Barzini.
198	** A shot of four opera singers performing at the party.
199	** A quick shot of Rocco berating one of his men.
200	** Anthony runs towards the area where the button men are sitting and Kay chases after him, warning him to stay away. She then grabs and hugs Anthony.
201	** Pentangeli sits with Anthony and drinks a full glass of wine in one gulp. Then, he gives Anthony a $100 bill.
202	** Al Neri goes to a casino and fires Klingman on orders of Michael. When Klingman won't leave, Neri smacks him, chases him into a rehearsal of a stage show and threatens him with a chair. Klingman agrees to leave, then Neri tells the performers to continue the rehearsal which he stays and watches.
203	** Fabrizio gets into his car outside his pizza parlor. He turns the ignition, and the car explodes. He falls out of the car and crawls around a bit before he dies.
204	* DyeingForYourArt: For the scenes where Vito returns to Sicily, Creator/RobertDeNiro gained weight and wore a smaller version of the dental appliance Creator/MarlonBrando wore in the first film.
205	* EnforcedMethodActing: The scene with Signor Roberto struggling with the door was set up by having the actor playing Genco secretly force the door shut with a nail. The actor playing Signor Roberto was a famous Italian improv comedian and Coppola wanted to see how he'd react.
206	* MoneyDearBoy: Creator/JamesCaan asked that he be paid the same amount of money to play Sonny Corleone at the end of the film in the flashback as he was paid to do the first film. He got his wish.
207	* MultiDiscWork: The 2001 DVD release of ''Part II'' is on two discs, even on a box set of the entire trilogy that leaves the bonus material on a separate disc.
208	* OneForTheMoneyOneForTheArt: After Part II, Coppola wanted to move away from the studio and focus on personal film projects such as ''Film/TheConversation'' and ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', which he could get financing for... providing he made another Godfather film. Then, many years later he found himself shocked that he was now struggling with debts from failed projects...and came up with the obvious solution: "People went to see my Godfather movies, didn't they? Yeah, let's make another one of those".
209	* OrphanedReference:
210	** Fannucci has a scar on his neck as a result of an assassination attempt that was cut.
211	** In an early version of the script, an ongoing storyline was Tom Hagen having an affair with Sonny Corleone's widow. This was later discarded, but the line where Michael Corleone tells Hagen that he can take his "wife, children and mistress to Las Vegas" was kept.
212	* PlayingAgainstType: Michael, especially in this film, is a more subdued and quiet role than what Creator/AlPacino usually plays. This, ironically, was also Pacino's first major role. It could be considered a positive, actor-specific example of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness.
213	* RealLifeRelative: Coppola's son Roman played the young Sonny Corleone and his grandfather Francesco Pennino composed the musical play Vito and Genco see in one of the flashbacks.
214	* RefittedForSequel: Vito's backstory is taken from scenes in the original novel that were left out of the first film.
215	* SparedByTheCut: A deleted scene saw Michael finally extract revenge of Fabrizio via car bomb. Another saw Vito extract revenge on Ciccio's henchmen, stabbing one and beating another with an oar.
216	* StarMakingRole: Along with ''Film/MeanStreets'', this really put Creator/RobertDeNiro on the map.
217	* ThrowItIn: Creator/DannyAiello's line, "Michael Corleone says hello", was completely ad-libbed. Coppola loved it and asked him to do it again in the retakes. Aiello later claimed (on ''Podcast/GilbertGottfriedsAmazingColossalPodcast'') that, due to being nervous about working with Coppola, he didn't hear himself when he said the line and, to this day, has no idea why he said it.
218	* TroubledProduction: Filming was easier than the first only by comparison. After the first film, Coppola joked that the only sequel he'd make is ''Creator/AbbottAndCostello Meet the Godfather'', and it took a lot of arm-twisting by Paramount to change his mind.
219	** Coppola stated his terms upfront: he would only return if Paramount would a) give him complete AuteurLicense; b) produce his pet project, ''Film/TheConversation'' in return; and c) ensure that Robert Evans have nothing to do with the movie. To Coppola's surprise, Paramount complied with his requests; their only concern was his decision to [[NumberedSequel include Part II in the title]]. However, Al Ruddy (with whom Coppola had a good relationship on the first film) declined to return in favor of producing ''Film/TheLongestYard'', leaving Coppola to produce it himself.
220	** Shooting in the Dominican Republic (standing in for Cuba) proved the biggest problem: nonstop rainstorms delayed filming for weeks, while Al Pacino, Lee Strasberg and several crew members came down with tropical illnesses. Pacino took three weeks to recover, and Strasberg was so debilitated [[WrittenInInfirmity his infirmity was written into his character]]. There were also concerns about the parallel storylines of Vito and Michael, especially after Coppola delivered a disastrous rough cut, forcing a last minute re-edit.
221	** The cast caused trouble as well. Pacino [[ThePrimaDonna caused headaches throughout production]], demanding a massive salary and heavy script rewrites. He frequently complained about Coppola's slow pace, yelling "''Film/{{Serpico}}'' only took nineteen days!" and threatening to quit. Richard S. Castellano (Clemenza) refused to return, leading to Michael V. Gazzo's eleventh-hour casting as SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute, Frank Pentangeli. Gazzo himself caused difficulties through heavy drinking; Coppola claims that Gazzo was drunk filming Pentangeli's Senate testimony. Creator/JamesCaan demanded the same salary as the first film for his brief cameo as Sonny; Creator/MarlonBrando backed out at the last minute.
222	* WagTheDirector: Creator/FrancisFordCoppola re-wrote the entire script over a weekend because Creator/AlPacino said he didn't like the original and would not do the film. Apparently, he later said to Coppola that he hadn't actually disliked the first script all that much, but knew it could be better.
223	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
224	** Coppola's rough cut ran almost ''six hours'' in length. Vito's storyline extended into the Prohibition Era, including a gang war with UsefulNotes/AlCapone and Luca Brasi's exploits as Vito's hatchet man. Michael's story continued, gaining political influence in 1960s Washington through his connections with Senator Geary (implying a role in the [[Main/WhoShotJFK Kennedy assassination]], among other things). Little of this footage survived, aside from the handful of deleted scenes used in the television re-edit, and one or two stills showing Creator/RobertDeNiro as middle-aged Vito. Many of the ideas were recycled for Mark Winegardner's sequel novels and the putative scripts for ''Part IV''.
225	** Coppola wanted Creator/JamesCagney to play Hyman Roth, even visiting the Hollywood legend at his home. Cagney passed on it. ''Creator/PeterSellers'' was reportedly considered.
226	** Creator/JoePesci was considered for the younger Peter Clemenza.
227	** Originally Clemenza was to return but the actor made too many demands, and the character was replaced with Pentangeli. Given the scenes of Clemenza bonding with Michael and [[spoiler:advising him on his first hit]] in the first film, it would have made the events of the second even more tragic.
228	** Coppola [[http://st-eutychus.com/2011/coppola-on-the-metaphor-behind-the-godfather/ wanted Brando to return in the sequel and play the part of young Vito]], but it never came to pass. Brando was supposed to appear in the birthday party flashback at the end, but due to a dispute with Paramount he never turned up for the shoot, forcing Coppola to rewrite the scene on the spot, in which Vito is TheGhost.
229	** In the original script, Tom gains Senator Geary's support by paying off his gambling debts.
230	** Creator/FrancisFordCoppola initially didn't want to direct and instead recommended a young, up-and-coming director: Creator/MartinScorsese. Creator/{{Paramount}} rejected the idea because Scorsese was too unknown at the time.
231	* WrittenByCastmember: According to Coppola on the DVDCommentary, G.D. Spradlin wrote many of his own lines, including his anti-Italian speech to Michael.
232	* WrittenInInfirmity: Lee Strasberg (Hyman Roth) became seriously ill after contracting a tropical disease while filming in the Dominican Republic. Rather than recast the role, Coppola rewrote Strasberg's scenes to make Roth's poor health a major plot point.
233	[[/folder]]
234
235	[[folder:''Part III'']]
236	* ActorLeavesCharacterDies: Creator/RobertDuvall refused to return due to salary disagreements, so Tom Hagen is mentioned to have died in-between films.
237	* CastTheRunnerUp: Creator/BridgetFonda auditioned for Mary Corleone before being cast as Grace Hamilton.
238	* CreatorBacklash: Creator/AlPacino stated that he did not agree with the portrayal of Michael. He didn't believe that Michael would ever feel regret or remorse for his actions, [[spoiler:especially the murder of his brother]].
239	* TheDanza: Joe Mantenga plays Joey Zasa.
240	* DeletedScene:
241	** The movie would originally open with the scene of Michael talking business with the Vatican cardinal. It eventually opened with a Michael voice-over, and the original opening scene was pushed back to much later in the movie. The unedited version (where the two characters discuss Emperor Constantine) is seen on a DVD extra.
242	** Don Altobello hands Michael and Connie a considerable check for the Vito Corleone Foundation, and Altobello declares lifetime peace between the two families. All three embrace each other.
243	** A brief exchange between B.J and the Archbishop is seen during the party sequence. The Archbishop snaps softly at B.J "We had a deal!" B.J half-chuckles and says "Of course, how do you think I got all this grey hair." This scene hints early on the wrongdoings of the Archbishop, which isn't revealed until later in the theatrical version
244	* DevelopmentHell: The film remained in varying stages of development for fifteen years, before Coppola and Puzo finally signed on.
245	* ExecutiveMeddling:
246	** According to Coppola and Puzo, the film was meant to be titled ''The Death of Michael Corleone'' to highlight the fact that it did not follow on directly from ''Part II'', but rather was meant to be "[[DistantFinale an epilogue]]." They were overruled, with executives saying "You can't make a Godfather movie without 'The Godfather' in the title!" This after Coppola had to '''demand''' the second film be titled ''The Godfather Part II'' instead of something else.
247	** ''The Death of Michael Corleone'' ended up being used for Coppola's 2020 [[ReCut Director's Cut]], full title ''The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone''. That cut was regarded as an improvement, free of a number of things that resulted from exec meddling that caused a good part of the underwhelming reception ''Part III'' received back in 1990.
248	* FakeNationality:
249	** Cuban American Creator/AndyGarcia plays Italian American Vincent Mancini.
250	** Creator/EliWallach and Mickey Knox of Jewish extraction, playing Italian Mob bosses Don Altobello and Matty Parisi, though the latter had been living and working in Italy for several decades at that point, and spoke the language fluently.
251	** Austrian actor Helmut Berger plays Swiss character Frederick Keinszig.
252	* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: A minor version: The theatrical cut has been pulled from all digital platforms, with DirectorsCut ''Coda'' being the only version available. It is available in the trilogy box-set, however, and standalone Blu-ray copies are still widely accessible.
253	* LoopingLines: Creator/SofiaCoppola had to redub about twenty percent of her original dialogue for the final cut after a disastrous early screening for the New York press on December 12, 1990, where many of the critics acrimoniously singled out her performance. According to an interview in Entertainment Weekly the following month, she said her greatest vocal challenges for the role were eschewing her "Valley Girl" accent, and correctly pronouncing the name "Corleone".
254	* MoneyDearBoy:
255	** People sometimes cite this trope as a reason the film sucked. However, the situations vary in one aspect: Creator/FrancisFordCoppola actually wanted to do Part I and Part II to secure money for his pet projects. He ''needed'' to make Part III after one of those said projects not only destroyed his own studio but left him bankrupt.
256	** This was a big reason Creator/RobertDuvall didn't return. Creator/AlPacino and Creator/DianeKeaton alone demanded huge salaries to appear, and Duvall felt grifted. To paraphrase: "Al's the lead, so I accepted he was going to make more than me. But did he have to make ''twice'' as much?" Coppola, now without AuteurLicense, had to rewrite the screenplay and create the character B.J. Harrison as a stand-in.
257	* RealLifeRelative: Creator/FrancisFordCoppola's daughter Creator/SofiaCoppola plays Mary Corleone.
258	* RealitySubtext: Creator/AlPacino and Creator/DianeKeaton had dated on and off for several years after making the first film together, ultimately breaking up for good when Keaton wanted a serious long-term relationship, and Pacino did not. This led to some friction when they first arrived on the set. Like their characters, they were able to get past the issues in their past. In real-life, however, it involved Keaton travelling back to New York City with Pacino for the funeral of his grandmother, who had died during production.
259	* RefittedForSequel: The shooting script for ''Part II'' included a scene with an older, diabetic Michael talking with an eighteen-year-old Anthony, but this scene was cut. The discarded scene also included Connie saying that Fredo drowned in the lake. These ideas were eventually used here.
260	* SavedFromDevelopmentHell: Creator/{{Paramount}} tried to go ahead with a third film for many years without Creator/FrancisFordCoppola, who had refused to make another sequel. About twelve scripts were written. Most of the scripts included the Corleone family being led by Michael's son Anthony, battling the CIA, UsefulNotes/FidelCastro's Cuban government, or South American drug cartels. A 1978 draft by Mario Puzo dealt with Anthony Corleone being recruited by the CIA to assassinate a Latin American dictator. Dean Riesner also wrote a draft based on Puzo's ideas. Drafts were also written by Paramount producers Michael Eisner and Don Simpson. The film was scheduled for a Christmas 1980 release date. These scripts were discarded when Coppola decided to work on the script with Puzo. But Coppola eventually abandoned the project. Puzo wrote another script in 1986 with producer Nicholas Gage that featured Sonny Corleone's illegitimate son Vincent Mancini while showing the early life of the young Sonny Corleone.
261	* SequelGap: The film was released in 1990, 16 years after the previous installment.
262	* SparedByTheCut: Al Neri dies in some drafts.
263	** In Dean Reisner's draft, he receives a call from his nephew, Tommy. Neri's sister has fallen ill and Neri goes to see her along with Frankie Rizzi. Neri and Rizzi are then ambushed by a horde of Puerto Rican assassins. At first, Neri has the upper hand, killing a great fraction of the horde. Frankie, however, is shot in the arm while trying to reach his gun. While trying to protect Frankie, Neri gets shot in the back by two assassins. Neri starts coughing blood and tries to raise his gun for one last shot, but is mercilessly executed by an assassin.
264	** In the third draft, Neri secretly sides with Don Altobello and acts as his mole within the Corleone family. When his treachery is discovered by the Corleones, he is killed, with his body dumped in the hills of Sicily.
265	* StarDerailingRole: Creator/SofiaCoppola isn't an actress by trade to begin with, and was a last minute replacement after Creator/WinonaRyder fell ill. However, her heavily criticized performance, as well as charges of nepotism, effectively ended her acting career. However, she has enjoyed much greater success following in her father's footsteps as a director in her own right.
266	* TroubledProduction:
267	** The film had been in DevelopmentHell for over a decade, with [[http://articles.latimes.com/1990-12-25/entertainment/ca-7119_1_godfather-iii numerous scripts written throughout the '70s and '80s]] and other directors attached. Coppola repeatedly refused the project until financial woes forced him to take it. After accepting, Paramount gave Coppola and Mario Puzo just six weeks to write the script, and a hard year to complete filming. Coppola and Puzo initially wanted to call it ''The Death of Michael Corleone'', emphasizing it was a standalone "epilogue" rather than a direct sequel. In an ironic reversal of ''Part II'', Paramount insisted on the numbered title.
268	** Again, the biggest problems involved the cast, who weren't any more eager than Coppola to revisit the franchise. Al Pacino and Diane Keaton both demanded massive salary hikes: Pacino initially demanded such an exorbitant amount that Coppola threatened to open the movie with Michael's funeral. Robert Duvall refused to return over a pay dispute, while Joe Spinell died just before filming started, forcing Coppola and Puzo to [[RememberTheNewGuy create replacement characters]]. Most notoriously, Creator/WinonaRyder dropped out of the part of Mary at the last minute, forcing Creator/SofiaCoppola to step in, never mind how she allegedly REALLY didn't want to do it. Actual filming was relatively smooth, but media coverage of its behind-the-scenes turmoil lead to a massive backlash after its eventual release.
269	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
270	** Originally, the script was to center around Michael and Tom, who was going to become an informant. However, Tom was written out when Creator/RobertDuvall demanded to be paid the same as, or marginally close to, the amount that Al Pacino was getting. This version was the only one to feature Michael dying in a car accident at the end of the film. In one draft, Michael designates Tom as head of their legitimate business once it has been assisted by the Vatican bank. It is Tom's birthday, rather than Michael's celebration after being inducted into the Order of St. Sebastian, which is being celebrated at the film's opening.
271	** In Dean Reisner's draft, Tom is in his car along with his driver Fritz and Anthony. They are escorted by various buttonmen working for Rocco Lampone when suddenly, a shotgunner gets out from a nearby car, carrying a 12-gauge pump gun. The first hit blows Fritz's head off and the car goes out of control. The second hit kills Hagen instantly. The shotgunner then disappears and when the car crashes nearby, Rocco and several buttonmen jump out of their cars and rush to the crash site. Tony is the only survivor of this ambush.
272	** The original script has a different ending, in which Michael and Kay reconcile after the opera sequence. It dissolves to a church service, in which a gunman shoots Michael before getting shot, and it ends with Michael lying to Kay one last time before he dies. Coppola decided against that, and opted for the ending in the film while keeping the gunman from the original. The ending which was filmed, was inspired by a real-life incident in which Sound Designer Richard Beggs lost his daughter to that similar circumstance.
273	** Originally, Calo was to kill Don Lucchesi by snapping his neck and this was filmed. However, Coppola did not like how it looked, and decided to change it to a very bloody death, inspired by Creator/AkiraKurosawa's films.
274	** Creator/WinonaRyder was supposed to play Mary but she opted to film ''Film/{{Mermaids\|1990}}'' instead. Creator/RebeccaSchaeffer was also up for the part of Mary before she was murdered - she actually opened the door to her killer because she was expecting the delivery of the script. Music/{{Madonna}} lobbied for the role, even meeting with Coppola and De Niro, but she was deemed too old for the part. Creator/JuliaRoberts turned it down in order to star in ''Film/PrettyWoman''.
275	** Joe Spinell was originally supposed to reprise his role as Willi Cicci, in which he would have taken over the Corleones' New York operation, but Spinell died before production. Cicci's role in the story was replaced by new character Joey Zasa, played by Joe Mantegna.
276	** One of the later drafts, instead of showing the mob bosses ambushed and massacred, had the [=FBI=] raid the mob gathering and arrest the various bosses, in a scene modeled on the famous [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apalachin_meeting Apalachin meeting]] of 1957. Michael would spend much of the film under indictment for racketeering, thus compromising his attempts to go straight, with Tom discovering he had been sold out by Willie Cicci; ultimately, Vincent would kill Cicci which causes the case against Michael to fall apart. Coppola decided that this was too similar to the Senate investigation subplot from ''Part II'' and rewrote the inciting scene to have all but a few of the mobsters wiped out by Joey Zasa's henchmen.
277	** Rocco Lampone was also featured in early drafts. It's unclear how the filmmakers would explain away [[spoiler:Rocco getting killed in the closing minutes of ''Part II'']].
278	** Coppola wanted to make a fourth movie written by Puzo with a similar layout to ''Part II'', focusing on both the Corleones' rise to power under Vito and Sonny's leadership, and the present-day fall of the Corleone empire under Vincent, but many of the actors along with Paramount were disinterested and the project was abandoned after [[DiedDuringProduction Puzo's death]], though the unused screenplay was later made into a novel called "The Family Corleone" and Paramount did win back the rights in 2012 to make more films, so they could do an adaption of the novel if they wanted to.
279	** Creator/AlecBaldwin, Creator/NicolasCage, Creator/TomCruise, Creator/MattDillon, Creator/ValKilmer, Creator/CharlieSheen, and Creator/BillyZane were all considered to play Vincent Mancini.
280	** Creator/MickeyRourke was a candidate for Joey Zasa, but was deemed "not Italian enough". Creator/DennisFarina and Creator/JohnTurturro were also considered. Creator/SylvesterStallone was offered the role, but passed on it.
281	** Creator/AlbertFinney, Creator/MarcelloMastroianni and Creator/PhilippeNoiret were considered for the role of Archbishop Gilday.
282	** Creator/DianeLane and Creator/VirginiaMadsen were considered for Grace Hamilton.
283	** Gastone Moschin claimed in an interview that Coppola offered him a role, but he turned it down to focus on running his theatre company. It's not clear if he would've reprised his role as Don Fanucci from ''Part II'', [[spoiler:since Fanucci was killed off in that film.]]
284	** According to Peter Biskind's book ''The Godfather Companion'', a 1985 script co-written by Thomas Lee Wright and Nick Marino, included a character based on drug lord Leroy 'Nicky' Barnes. When the script was briefly considered, Wright persuaded Creator/EddieMurphy to take the role. Murphy reportedly said, "I would act in The Godfather for nothing."
285	** When it seemed like Creator/FrancisFordCoppola wouldn't return, Creator/{{Paramount}} considered Creator/SidneyLumet, Costa-Gavras, Alan J. Pakula, Robert Benton, Creator/MichaelCiminoDirector and Creator/MichaelMann to direct. At one point, they were even close to signing Creator/SylvesterStallone to direct and star in the film.
286	* WorkingTitle: Coppola wanted to call the movie ''The Death Of Michael Corleone'' but the studios nixed it. It might not be a big deal but it would probably have lessened the comparisons to the first two movies and made it clear it was an epilogue as Coppola intended. Also the title would have gotten audiences to expect Michael would be killed and made the ending where [[spoiler:his daughter Mary is killed and instead and he actually dies years later]] a complete surprise.
287	* YouLookFamiliar:
288	** Creator/SofiaCoppola had previously played the baby in the baptism scene from the first film.
289	** Don Costello, who played Frank Romano, previously played Victor Stracci in the first film.
290	** In the French DuelingDubs, Creator/JoseLuccioni voiced Joey Zasa in the first dub of ''Part III'' and Don Vito Corleone in the second dub of the first film.
291	[[/folder]]
292
293	!!The Game
294	* BannedInChina: The sequel is currently banned in the UsefulNotes/UnitedArabEmirates due to political tensions with Italy.
295	* CrossRegionalVoiceActing: The games use a mix of Vancouver and California voice talent.
296	* DisownedAdaptation: Francis Ford Coppola did not approve of the game, accusing its makers of profiteering off of his work.
297	* DuellingWorks: With ''VideoGame/ScarfaceTheWorldIsYours'', another video game adaption of a classic crime film released the same year. More notably, since Creator/AlPacino lent his likeness of Tony Montana in ''The World Is Yours'', Michael Corleone was replaced by TheOtherDarrin in ''The Godfather''.
298	* TheOtherDarrin:
299	** Michael looks and sounds nothing like Al Pacino, as Pacino licensed his likeness exclusively to Vivendi for ''VideoGame/ScarfaceTheWorldIsYours''.
300	** Vito, on the other hand, does look and sound a lot like Creator/MarlonBrando, but his VA is actually an imitator, as Brando's health prevented him from recording all of his lines. The only place you actually hear Brando is in the hospital scene when he's talking to Michael, as Brando's respirator doesn't sound out of place.
301	** Rocco Lampone and Carmela Corleone do make brief appearances, but they are nothing like their movie characters, which suggests the estates of Tom Rosqui and Morgana King did not give permission for their likenesses to be used.
302	* PropRecycling: The Dodge Super Bee lookalike car in ''Godfather II'' is a retextured version of Carson Opus from ''VideoGame/BurnoutParadise''.
303	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Had the second game not flopped, a video game adaptation of The Godfather Part III would have been possible.
304	* The club the Falconite is based on the Ravenite club (which was also located on Mulberry Street) which was run by the Gambino Family and served as John Gotti's base of operation.
305

Context Trivia / TheGodfather