DOCSLIB.ORG

The Godfather Brando During the Shooting of Apocalypse Now (1979) and His Ambitious Attempt to Form His Own Studio/Distributor Conglomerate, Zoetrope Studios, in 1980

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Godfather Brando During the Shooting of Apocalypse Now (1979) and His Ambitious Attempt to Form His Own Studio/Distributor Conglomerate, Zoetrope Studios, in 1980 GODFATHER ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POPULAR CULTURE The Godfather Brando during the shooting of Apocalypse Now (1979) and his ambitious attempt to form his own studio/distributor conglomerate, Zoetrope Studios, in 1980. One of American popular culture’s most resilient narratives is In 1972, Coppola adapted Mario Puzo’s popular novel for the that of the Mafia and its antiheroic gangsters, and one of this genre’s screen, and although the two worked together on the script, Coppola most popular and poignant products is Francis Ford Coppola’s The dramatically shaped the project during the shooting. The second Godfather trilogy, based on Mario Puzo’s novel of the same name. installment was entirely his creation. Cutting out much of the novel’s Released in 1972 to universal acclaim and rewarded with several romanticized violence, the director decided to instead focus on the Academy Awards, including Best Picture, The Godfather instantly Corleone family dynamics, personalizing the film in accordance with fixed its place in the American cultural psyche, establishing itself as his own experience growing up as the second-generation son of an the de facto gangster film to which all other subsequent exercises in the genre would be compared. Italian immigrant. The Mafia, as always, was the perfect vehicle for Powered by Marlon Brando’s timeless delivery of the film’s the consideration of American culture and values, Coppola asserted in namesake, Godfather Vito Corleone, the film also established the an interview: ‘‘I feel that the Mafia is an incredible metaphor for this futures of Hollywood royalty Al Pacino (Michael Corleone), Robert country. Both America and the Mafia have roots in Europe . both Duvall (Tom Hagen), and James Caan (Sonny Corleone), all of whom the Mafia and America feel they are benevolent organizations. Both are most recognized for the roles they played in this sprawling and the Mafia and America have their hands stained with blood from what sensitive study of two generations of Mafia membership and power— it is necessary to do to protect their power and interests. Both are especially Pacino, who would go on to the starring role in The totally capitalistic phenomena and basically have a profit motive.’’ Godfather Part II (1974) and The Godfather Part III (1990). More Indeed, the strength of The Godfather trilogy’s appeal lay in the importantly, the blinding success of the first two Godfather films collusion of the two phenomena, one which ran throughout the genre immediately marked Coppola as a major player in Hollywood, in its most moving expressions, from Paul Muni’s bravura perform- allowing him green lights on almost any project he set his hands on, ance in Scarface (1932) to Martin Scorsese’s immediately canonical leading to the legendary conflicts with his producers as well as GoodFellas (1990). All installments in the gangster genre engaged The cast of The Godfather: (from left) Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, James Caan, and John Cazale. 250 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF POPULAR CULTURE GODFREY the audience’s sympathies for the lead character as an independent it did not diminish the technical skill, daunting vision, and deeply businessman living out his version of the American Dream. In fact, personal attention which Coppola nevertheless employed in his there is a built-in bias toward the Mafia, especially within The following films. Regardless of his future projects, Coppola has Godfather, as a conglomerate of well-intentioned businessmen look- assured himself immortal status in film history on the strength of The ing out for the best interests of their families; as critic Roger Ebert has Godfather trilogy alone. The Godfather Part III, predictably, was a explained, ‘‘During the movie we see not a single actual civilian moderate success at the box office, garnering $70 million, but it was victim of organized crime . The only police officer with a another star vehicle for Pacino and newcomer Andy Garcia. It also significant speaking role [Sterling Hayden] is corrupt.’’ The ideas of fulfilled American popular culture’s desire for closure while fulfilling law and order are specific to the machinations of the various families Coppola’s desire for a sharp critique of the inherent destruction and of the Mafia, replacing the exterior world with the cloistered, fiercely corruption within the relentless pursuit of power and wealth which loyal world of organized crime; in fact, one of the first scenes in The lies at the heart of the American Dream. Godfather involved Brando castigating an undertaker, who describes himself as a ‘‘good American,’’ for going to the police for help. —Scott Thill Interestingly enough, the film’s violent finale, which juxtaposes the exhaustive murders of each of Michael Corleone’s opponents (a FURTHER READING: figurative baptism of Corleone power through death) with the literal Bergan, Paul. Francis Ford Coppola—Close Up: The Making of His baptism of his child, was cheered by audiences as a shining example Movies. New York, Thunder’s Mouth Press, 1998. of American triumph. This moral ambiguity and veiled criticism of Cowie, Peter. Coppola: A Biography. New York, Da Capo Press, 1994. the American legal and political system’s inefficacy is one which has coursed through popular culture’s fascination with organized crime, Lebo, Harlan. The Godfather Legacy. New York, Simon and one which was an interesting accident to Coppola, who had actually Schuster, 1997. structured his movie to be a criticism of the ethnic and religious Lewis, Jon. Whom God Wishes to Destroy: Francis Coppola and the hypocrisy within the Mafia. Instead, the audiences were attracted by New Hollywood. Durham, Duke University Press, 1995. the poignant scenes of family cohesion in the face of social and economic pressure; in this sense, Coppola’s film had the endearing, if violent, nature of some of the best work of Frank Capra, including his classic It’s a Wonderful Life. Godfrey, Arthur (1903-1983) The Godfather Part II applied Coppola’s intended criticisms of organized crime and religious hypocrisy even further, culminating in The arrival of genial, folksy Arthur Godfrey on television was Michael Corleone’s assassination of his own brother Fredo and his the most publicized event of the 1948-49 season. The reviewers disruption of his marriage for the sake of the family business. There is pulled out all the stops in praising ‘‘the old redhead,’’ and he became no noble Brando figure in the second installment: everyone from the only personality in TV history to have two top-rated programs run Michael, his family, the Nevada governor, and local citizenry is simultaneously in prime time for an extended period. Arthur God- completely corrupt. The ethnic cohesion and protection which coursed frey’s Talent Scouts aired on Mondays and Arthur Godfrey and His through the first installment is totally disrupted, a monumental Friends on Wednesdays for eight-and-a-half seasons. In 1952-53, the disappointment augmented by Coppola’s insertion of an earlier scene programs ranked two and three, just behind I Love Lucy. Even more of a cheerful birthday party for Vito Corleone at the end of the film. remarkably, Godfrey’s morning radio show, every Monday through An ultimately tragic figure, Michael Corleone, by the end of The Friday, continued during this time with high ratings, his fan base Godfather Part II, has compromised not only his Italian heritage, his growing with multiple exposures. TV critic Ben Gross of the New ethnic identity, and his family, but has positioned himself as the type York Daily News summed up Godfrey’s appeal: ‘‘It is his friendli- of win-at-all-costs American immigrant criticized in the first install- ness, his good cheer, his small-boy mischievousness, and his ment, one who, even in the possession of unquestionable power and kindly philosophy.’’ influence, can no longer trust anyone because he can be trusted by no Godfrey’s Talent Scouts brought little known or newly discov- one. By The Godfather Part III, Michael has extended his power as far ered professional talent to perform before a live nation-wide audi- as the Vatican, which he implores for redemption for the murder of his ence, with an applause meter deciding the winner. The host’s witty brother, but he still ends up powerless as his daughter is murdered at banter and interviews with contestants plus a high quality of talent his side by the end of the film. delighted the listeners. Some of the winners—including Pat Boone, Resistant to the idea of establishing his Godfather series as a Carmel Quinn, the Chordettes, and the McGuire Sisters—later be- trilogy for years (Coppola asserted that if he ever did make a third came regulars on Arthur Godfrey and His Friends. Also appearing on installment, it would have to be a farce), the failure of his Zoetrope the show were many other soon-to-be-famous performers, including Studios (in which a good deal of his personal funds were invested) and Rosemary Clooney, Tony Bennett, Connie Francis, Steve Lawrence, the relative failure of his artistic product following The Godfather and Leslie Uggams, and Patsy Cline. Two big stars missed by the show’s The Godfather Part II (only one of his post-Godfather films, The screening staff, Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly, both flunked the Outsiders in 1983, met with any measurable mainstream success), show’s auditions. Coppola capitulated to the American infatuation with the Corleone For his weekly variety hour, Godfrey assembled a person- family business and released The Godfather Part III, inciting further able group of talented regulars, chosen with an eye to audience controversy by casting his own daughter, Sofia, as Andy Garcia’s demographics. Frank Parker and Marion Marlowe sang romantic love interest. Sofia Coppola’s mediocre delivery shattered the prodi- duets for the mature audience, and Julius LaRosa was the bright gious but deteriorating reputation of her father, whose legendary young singer with appeal to bobby-soxers.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Gangster Hero in the Work of Puzo, Coppola, and Rimanelli
    Rewriting the Mafioso: The Gangster Hero in the Work of Puzo, Coppola, and Rimanelli Author: Marissa Sangimino Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:104214 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, 2015 Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Rewriting the Mafioso: The Gangster Hero in the Work of Puzo, Coppola, and Rimanelli By Marissa M. Sangimino Advisor: Prof. Carlo Rotella English Department Honors Thesis Submitted: April 9, 2015 Boston College 2015 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ACKNOWLEDGMENTS!! ! ! I!would!like!to!thank!my!advisor,!Dr.!Carlo!Rotella!for!the!many!hours!(and!many!emails)!that!it! took!to!complete!this!thesis,!as!well!as!his!kind!support!and!brilliant!advice.! ! I!would!also!like!to!thank!the!many!professors!in!the!English!Department!who!have!also! inspired!me!over!the!years!to!continue!reading,!writing,!and!thinking,!especially!Professor!Bonnie! Rudner!and!Dr.!James!Smith.! ! Finally,!as!always,!I!must!thank!my!family!of!Mafiosi:!! Non!siamo!ricchi!di!denaro,!ma!siamo!ricchi!di!sangue.! TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction.........................................................................................................................................1-3 CHAPTER ONE: The Hyphenate Individual ..............................................................................................................4-17 The
    [Show full text]
  • Cases and Materials on the Outfit
    Rosen: Cases and Materials on The Outfit David Rosen Don Corleone to Sonny, in The Godfather The Don sighed. "Well, then I can't talk to you about how you should behave. Don't you want to finish school, don't you want to be a lawyer? Lawyers can steal more money with a briefcase than a thousand men with guns and masks. " Robert Warshow, in "The Gangster as Tragic Hero" Thus, the importance of the gangster film, and the nature and intensity of its emotional and esthetic impact, cannot be measured in terms of the place of the gangster himself or the importance of the problem of crime in American life. Those European movie-goers who think there is a gangster on every comer in New York are certainly deceived, but defenders of the "positive" side of American culture are equally deceived if they think it relevant to point out that most Cases and Materials Americans have never seen a gangster. What matters is that the experience of the gangster as an experience of on art is universal to Americans. There is almost nothing we understand better or react to more readily or with The Outfit quicker intelligence. This night, though, Pam had a different tale to tell. She announced that she and her friend Annie, the daughter of a prize-winning biologist, had gone to see "The Godfather," that they had been so deeply moved that, instead of going home, she'd gone tripping around town in search of the Mafia. I remember one night Pam showed up at the House at "The Mafia!" three in the morning.
    [Show full text]
  • New Hollywood As Political Discourse
    CAPTURING TURMOIL: NEW HOLLYWOOD AS POLITICAL DISCOURSE by DANA ALSTON A THESIS Presented to the Department of Cinema Studies and the Robert D. Clark Honors College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts June 2018 An Abstract of the Thesis of Dana Alston for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the Department of Cinema Studies to be taken June 2018 Title: Capturing Turmoil: New Hollywood as Political Discourse Approved: _______________________________________ Dr. Erin Hanna This thesis is an argumentative close analysis of themes, aesthetics, and political meanings within three New Hollywood films. It emerged out of an interest in the films of the 1960s and 70s and the changes within that era’s film industry. Those changes granted young, educated filmmaker opportunities to helm studio-driven projects, weaving material into their narratives that would have been impossible in a system ruled by the Hollywood Production Code. The era also included significant social and political unrest, and the films therein reflect that reality. In this project, I perform content analyses for three films within the New Hollywood movement — Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and Nashville (1975) — in order to understand how films in the movement used themes of celebrity, violence, and oppression to act as a form of discourse. All three films employ on-screen violence to complicate the audience’s initial assumptions of characters, and each film critiques the social and political issues of its time through this violence. For each analysis, I discuss several sequences’ mise-en-scène — the arrangement of elements within the entire frame — and connect them to broad socio-political ideas.
    [Show full text]
  • Godfather Part II by Michael Sragow “The a List: the National Society of Film Critics’ 100 Essential Films,” 2002
    The Godfather and The Godfather Part II By Michael Sragow “The A List: The National Society of Film Critics’ 100 Essential Films,” 2002 Reprinted by permission of the author Although Francis Ford Coppola has often been depicted president.” — and loves to depict himself — as primarily an emotion- Kay re- al and intuitive director, “The Godfather” is a film filled sponds, with correct choices, painstakingly thought out and pas- “You know sionately carried through. Part of what made it a break- how naïve through as a crime move is that it’s about gangsters who you sound? make choices too and aren’t propelled simply by blood- Senators lust and greed. They’re battling for position in New York’s and presi- Five Families, circa 1945-1946. If Don Vito Corleone dents don’t (Marlon Brando) and his successor Michael (Al Pacino) have men come off looking better than all the others, it’s because killed.” In a they play the power game the cleverest and best — and line that Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone. the game is sordidly exciting. marked a Courtesy Library of Congress breakthrough For all the movie’s warmth, you could never confuse the for mainstream political awareness when the film premi- Corleones or their allies and competitors for fun-loving ered in 1972, Michael wearily answers, “Who’s being ethnic types. The first scene shows the Don exacting naïve, Kay?” deadly patronage, coercing an undertaker named Bonasera into vows of love and pledges of unmitigated But when Michael says his father’s way of doing things is loyalty in exchange for a feudal bond than can’t be bro- finished, he is being naïve.
    [Show full text]
  • American Repertory Theater in Association with Harvard University Office for the Arts and Stagesource Will Hold a Memorial Servi
    For Immediate Release: February 24, 2012 Contact: Kati Mitchell 617-495-2668 [email protected] American Repertory Theater in association with Harvard University Office for the Arts and StageSource will hold a Memorial Service for Director DAVID WHEELER Monday, May 14 at 6:00pm Loeb Drama Center Cambridge, Mass — The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.), in association with Harvard University Office for the Arts and StageSource, will host a memorial service to celebrate the life and accomplishments of its longtime Resident Director, Harvard University alumnus, and Boston director David Wheeler, who passed away unexpectedly on January 4th of this year. The celebration will include friends, colleagues, and family who knew and loved David, and all are invited to attend. The memorial will be held at 6:00pm on Monday, May 14th in the theater of the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle Street, Cambridge where many of David’s productions were performed, and will be followed by a reception in the lobby of the theater. David Wheeler directed over two hundred plays in his long career. As Resident Director at the A.R.T. since 1984 and later Associate Artist, he directed over twenty productions, most recently Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land in 2007 (receiving the Elliot Norton and IRNE Awards for Best Director, and IRNE for Best Production). Other highlights at A.R.T. include The Homecoming, The Caretaker, Misalliance, Man and Superman (Eliot Norton, Best Production), David Mamet’s adaptation of Uncle Vanya (with Christopher Walken), Don DeLillo’s Valparaiso and The Day Room, How I Learned to Drive (with Debra Winger), What the Butler Saw, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Waiting for Godot, Gillette, and Sam Shepard’s Angel City and True West.
    [Show full text]
  • I Knew It Was You (2009) La Straordinaria Storia Di John Cazale, Talento Immenso Mai Riconosciuto Dal Grande Pubblico
    I Knew It Was You (2009) La straordinaria storia di John Cazale, talento immenso mai riconosciuto dal grande pubblico. Un film di Richard Shepard con Steve Buscemi, Steve Casale, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert De Niro, Richard Dreyfuss, Olympia Dukakis, Robyn Goodman, Gene Hackman, Mark Harris (III), Philip Seymour Hoffman. Genere Documentario durata 40 minuti. Produzione USA 2009. Lo conosciamo tutti anche se non sappiamo ricollegare quel nome a quel volto. Ha fatto solo 5 film ma è stato uno degli attori più importanti di Hollywood Gabriele Niola - www.mymovies.it Tutti ci ricordiamo di lui anche se non sappiamo chi sia. Ha realizzato solo 5 film in carriera, tutti nominati all'Oscar come miglior film e i cui attori in totale hanno collezionato 15 nomination. Compare in 'Il padrino', 'Il padrino parte II', 'Quel pomeriggio di un giorno da cani', 'Il cacciatore' e 'La conversazione' e in ogni film ha un ruolo importante. Al Pacino ne parla come del suo vero grande maestro, un attore immenso da cui si poteva solo imparare e che riusciva sempre a nascondere se stesso per far recitare meglio gli altri, Meryl Streep è stata sua compagna fino alla precoce morte per cancro ai polmoni poco prima dell'uscita di 'Il cacciatore', Coppola ne parla come del vero autore del personaggio di Fredo, Sidney Lumet ne rimase foglorato e gli attori di oggi lo venerano come un Dio. E' John Cazale, talento misconosciuto di Hollywood. Il documentario di appena una quarantina di minuti girato da Richard Shepard sembra quasi un finto documentario per la sorpresa che coglie lo spettatore nello scoprire che un attore così marginale per il grande pubblico (eppure così fortemente stampato nell'immaginario collettivo) è stata una personalità così importante all'interno della new Hollywood, ovvero quel nucleo di autori e attori che negli anni '70 rivoluzionarono l'industria del cinema americano, riportandola al centro dell'interesse mondiale, con un cinema tutto nuovo.
    [Show full text]
  • Cover Skripsi Jadi
    THE REPRESENTATION OF MARIO PUZO'S LIFE BACKGROUND IN THE SETTING OF THE GODFATHER AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters By DEBIE KHARISMAWATI Student Number: 054214055 ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2010 THE REPRESENTATION OF MARIO PUZO'S LIFE BACKGROUND IN THE SETTING OF THE GODFATHER AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters By DEBIE KHARISMAWATI Student Number: 054214055 ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2010 i ii iii What am I to you.... tell me darling true To me you are the sea.... fast as you can be And deep the shade of blue When you're feeling low.... to whom else do you go See I cry if you hurt.... I'd give you my last shirt Because I love you so If my sky should fall.... would you even call Opened up my heart.... I never want to part I'm giving you the ball When I look in your eyes..... I can feel butterflies I love you when you're blue.... tell me darling true What am I to you..... (What Am I To You by. Norah Jones) iv For My Beloved Parents v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am so excited that finally I can finish my thesis and my four years' education in Sanata Dharma University. I can not go through all of those years without the help from all of the people who supported me.
    [Show full text]
  • Influence of Michael Corleone's Personalities on His Relationship
    Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 497 Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Literature, Art and Human Development (ICLAHD 2020) Influence of Michael Corleone’s Personalities on His Relationship With Other Characters in Trilogy of The Godfather Longhe Cao Shenzhen Middle School, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518034, China *Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT Analyzing the personalities and relationship of the characters is an effective method for both the professionals and the ordinary audience to comprehend movies. By discovering and explaining how Michael Corleone in The Godfather influences his relationship with other characters, this dissertation is aimed at assisting readers to fully comprehend the essence of movies in detail. This paper utilizes the method which extracts a variety of conflicts and major transitions between Michael and other characters to reflect how Michael’s personalities work on these relationships. Based on the facts in the movie, Michael demonstrates different attitudes to his family members and the outsiders of his family. It will be helpful for the audience if there are researches which can deeply analyze a more well-rounded image of Michael’s Corleone, besides analyzing his relationship and personalities appears in the future. This paper finally concludes that Michael’s personalities cause him to have completely different relationships with two types of character, as the family members and the outsiders. Keywords: Personalities, relationship, influence, gangster, Godfather 1. INTRODUCTION 2. OVERVIEW OF MICHAEL CORLEONE’S PERSONALITIES The Godfather, as a classic and representative Italian gangster movie, reflects the conflicts between Corleone Overall, Michael has two types of personalities, including family and other forces in United States as well as the stable personalities and the variational personalities.
    [Show full text]
  • Course Summary
    PRELIMINARY COURSE SYLLABUS Course Title: THE NEW HOLLYWOOD: Revolution in American Cinema, 1967 - 1975 Course Code: FLM 146 Instructor: Elliot Lavine Course Summary: This course is designed to provide an overview of the dramatically and often radically reinvigorated American film industry that emerged in the mid-1960s as both an answer to the draconian censorship laws still being applied to films, as well as the rapidly changing political and social landscape occurring at this time. We will watch and discuss some of the more influential films from this exciting period. *Please see course page for full description and additional details. Note About Live Attendance and Recording: These class sessions will be recorded. Live attendance is required to earn Credit. Grade Options and Requirements: • No Grade Requested (NGR) o This is the default option. No work will be required; no credit shall be received; no proof of attendance can be provided. • Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) *Please Note: If you require proof that you completed a Continuing Studies course for any reason (for example, employer reimbursement), you must the Credit/No Credit option. Courses taken for NGR will not appear on official transcripts or grade reports. Tentative Weekly Outline: Please watch the listed films before the class session that week. They can be purchased or rented via YouTube Movies or Amazon, and some might be on services such as Hulu or Netflix. Typically, if you do a Google search for a title, it will display the various streaming options. Here is the tentative list of films we’ll be watching and discussing… Week 1: BONNIE & CLYDE (1967) Arthur Penn’s seminal retelling of the lives of these two desperados was a brash introduction of a new sensibility revolving around sex and violence and the Cinema.
    [Show full text]
  • 2. the Godfather Returns.Pdf
    The Godfather Returns Mark Winegardner alla mia famiglia "Whoever forsakes the old way for the new knows what he is losing, but not what he will find. " Sicilian proverb "They were killing my friends." AUDIE MURPHY, most decorated U.S. soldier of World War II, when asked how he had found the courage to fight an entire German infantry company *The Godfather II also covers the early life of Vito Corleone (1910-1939) in flashback scenes. **The second half of The Godfather Returns also covers the early life of Michael Corleone (1920-1945) in flashback scenes. THE CORLEONE FAMILY Vito Corleone, the first godfather of New York's most powerful crime family Carmela Corleone, Vito Corleone's wife and mother of their four children Sonny Corleone, Vito and Carmela Corleone's oldest son Sandra Corleone, Sonny's wife, now living in Florida Francesca, Kathy, Frankie, and Chip Corleone, Sonny and Sandra Corleone's children Tom Hagen, consigliere and unofficially adopted son Theresa Hagen, Tom's wife and mother of their three children Andrew, Frank, and Gianna Frederico "Fredo" Corleone, Vito and Carmela's second-born son (underboss 1955-1959) Deanna Dunn, Oscar-winning actress and Fredo's wife Michael Corleone, Vito's youngest son and the reigning Don of the Corleone Family Kay Adams Corleone, Michael's second wife Anthony and Mary Corleone, children of Michael and Kay Corleone Connie Corleone, Vito and Carmela's daughter Carlo Rizzi, Connie Corleone's deceased husband Ed Federici, Connie Corleone's second husband THE CORLEONE FAMILY ORGANIZATION Cosimo "Momo the Roach" Barone, soldato under Geraci and nephew of Sally Tessio Pete Clemenza, caporegime Fausto Dominick "Nick" Geraci, Jr.
    [Show full text]
  • ​Dog Day Afternoonаа
    th Dog Day Afternoon / 40 ​ Anniversary – Page 1 ​ ​ “A tense classic!” ✮✮✮✮✮ ­ Empire ​ DOG DAY AFTERNOON ​ TH TM 40 ​ Anniversary on Blu­ray ​ from 7th ​ ​ September Includes Director Commentary, Vintage Featurettes and more On September 7th 2015, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) will celebrate director Sidney th Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon, the explosive drama starring Al Pacino, with a new 40 ​ Anniversary ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ edition Blu­ray available for the first time in the UK. ​ ​ This unique thriller, filled with sardonic comedy and based on a real­life incident, earned six Academy ® 1 Award ​ nominations ​ (including Best Picture) and won an Oscar® for Frank Pierson’s streetwise ​ ® screenplay. John Cazale, Charles Durning (Golden Globe ­​ nominated for their roles) and James ​ Broderick co­star. Pacino and Lumet (collaborators on Serpico) reteam for the drama which currently has a 97% ​ ​ Fresh Rotten Tomatoes® Score. Pacino plays mastermind Sonny and John Cazale is his partner Sal ­ two optimistic nobodies who set out to rob a bank, and unexpectedly create a media circus and a complete disaster. Cazale’s short six­year acting career included only four other films besides Dog Day Afternoon – The ​ ​ ​ Godfather, The Godfather: Part II, The Conversation and The Deer Hunter. In 1978, just after ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ wrapping the latter, Cazale died tragically at age 42 and cinema was robbed of one of its brightest talents. 1 1975 (48th) ACTOR ­­ Al Pacino ​ ​ ​ ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE ­­ Chris Sarandon DIRECTING ­­ Sidney Lumet FILM EDITING ­­ Dede Allen BEST PICTURE ­­ Martin Bregman and Martin Elfand, Producers *WRITING (Original Screenplay) ­­ Frank Pierson * indicates win th Dog Day Afternoon / 40 ​ Anniversary – Page 2 ​ ​ ABOUT THE FILM On a hot Brooklyn afternoon, two optimistic nobodies set out to rob a bank.
    [Show full text]
  • The Godfather Study Guide
    OSCAR WINNER 1972: Best Picture Best Actor Best Adapted Screenplay TEACHERS’ NOTES This study guide is aimed at students of GCSE Media Studies, A’Level Film Studies and GNVO Media: Communication and Production (Intermediate and Advanced). Specific areas of study covered by the guide are those of genre, representation and the issue of violence in film. The Godfather: Certificate 18. Running Time 175 minutes. MAJOR CREDITS FOR THE GODFATHER The Godfather 1972 (Paramount) Producer: Albert S. Ruddy Director: Francis Coppola Screenplay: Mario Puzo, Francis Coppola Director of Photography: Gordon Willis Editors: William Reynolds, Peter Zinner Music: Nino Rota Art Director: Dean Tavoularis Cast: Marion Brando Al Pacino James Caan Richard Conte Robert Duvall Sterling Hayden Oscars 1972: Best Picture Best Actor (Marion Brando) Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar Nominations 1972: Best Director Best Supporting Actor (James Caan, Robert Duvall, Al Pacino) Best Music [later declared incligiblel Best Costume Design Best Editing Best Sound © Film Education 1 THE GODFATHER Coppola’s The Godfather was the direct descendant of dozens of gangster movies made with stars like Cagney and Edward C. Robinson. But there was a vital difference. Its examination of the Corleone family had a consistently human dimension that made the evil of the Mafia, who loved it for the wrong reasons, all the more horrendous. As a study of evil, it was all the better for assuming that such darkness emanated not from dyed-in-thewool villains but out of some of the family values we now most cherish. Added to that, of course, was the brilliance of its making, with Gordon Willis’ photography and Nino Rota’s score adding to Coppola’s fine orchestration of a terrific cast.
    [Show full text]