The Annotated Godfather: The Complete Screenplay with Commentary on Every Scene, Interviews, and Little-Known Facts
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As Stanley Jaffe, then president of the studio, now sums up, “The best move made by us at the studio was to hire Francis … With Evans really overseeing the filming and Francis’s strong vision and personality, there were moments of tension but always evolving into what made the movie better.”
This much is true: Evans, to his credit, fought the higher-ups at Paramount for the longer version, and for the extra time needed to edit it properly (it was originally slated for a Christmas release). What is also apparent is that the magnificence of The Godfather: Part II, over which Coppola had complete control, is evidence that Coppola’s rich artistic vision made its mark on The Godfather. As Albert Ruddy says, “Francis was born to do this movie.”
THE GODFATHER
THE COMPLETE ANNOTATED SCREENPLAY
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: PRODUCTION DETAIL
The slow camera movement that begins the film, which starts with a close-up of Bonasera’s face and ends up behind Don Vito Corleone’s head, takes more than two minutes to complete. This visual effect was created with a recently invented computer-timed lens, until then used only in commercials, which could be programmed to zoom for specific time increments. There are actually very few zoom shots in the picture—both Coppola and cinematographer Gordon Willis eschewed them for a more realistic perspective.
ADAPTATION AND THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR
Coppola’s original conception was to begin the film with the wedding, immediately introducing all of the characters. Then a friend pointed out how interestingly he had written the opening scene for Patton, in which the general gives a rousing speech to the viewer in front of a flag. Coppola rewrote the opening with the key Bonasera scene. From his notes: “It further defines the Don’s power and puts forth the essence of what it is the Don refers to as ‘friendship,’ i.e., a pledge of loyalty.” In starting with this scene, the film is actually more congruous with the novel, which opens with Bonasera in an American court of law, being denied justice. The book also includes extensive scenes in which the button man Paulie Gatto exacts Bonasera’s justice on the men who hurt his daughter.
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: PRODUCTION DETAIL
Production notes indicate that ten percent of The Godfather was shot on sound stages at Filmways Studio lot located on 127th Street in East Harlem. The Corleone home was constructed for the film to include two stories, complete with a living room, dining room, full kitchen, paneled study, and a foyer with stairs leading to the bedroom.
THE GODFATHER
INT DAY: DON’S OFFICE (SUMMER 1945)
The PARAMOUNT logo is presented austerely over a black background. There is a moment’s hesitation, and then the simple words in white lettering:
Mario Puzo’s
THE GODFATHER
While the black remains, we hear: “I believe in America.” Suddenly we are watching in CLOSE VIEW, AMERIGO BONASERA, a man of sixty, dressed in a black suit, on the verge of great emotion.
BONASERA
I believe in America. America has made my fortune.
As he speaks, THE VIEW imperceptibly begins to loosen.
BONASERA
And I raised my daughter in the American fashion. I gave her freedom, but I taught her never to dishonor her family. She found a boyfriend—not an Italian. She went to the movies with him; she stayed out late. I didn’t protest. Two months ago, he took her for a drive, with another boyfriend. They made her drink whiskey, and then … they tried … to take advantage of her. She resisted; she kept her honor. So they beat her—like an animal. When I went to the hospital, her nose was a-broken, her jaw was a-shattered—held together by wire. She couldn’t even weep because of the pain.
He can barely speak; he is weeping now.
“POWER, POWER, POWER, POWER, POWER—never forget that it is from a fascination of the limits and manipulations of Power that keep people interested in this book.”
—Coppola’s notebook
BONASERA
But I wept. Why did I weep? She was the light of my life. Beautiful girl. Now she will never be beautiful again. Sorry. I—I went to the police, like a good American. These two boys were brought to trial. The judge sentenced them to three years in prison, and suspended the sentence. Suspended the sentence! They went free that very day! I stood in the courtroom like a fool, and those two bastards, they smiled at me. Then I said to my wife, ‘For Justice, we must go to Don Corleone.’
By now, THE VIEW is full, and we see DON CORLEONE’s office in his home. The blinds are closed, and so the room is dark and with patterned shadows. We are watching BONASERA over the shoulder of DON CORLEONE.
DON CORLEONE
Why did you go to the police? Why didn’t you come to me first?
BONASERA
What do you want of me? Tell me anything, but do what I beg you to do.
DON CORLEONE
What is that?
BONASERA rises and whispers into THE DON’s ear.
BONASERA
I want them dead.
DON CORLEONE
(shakes his head)
That I cannot do.
TOM HAGEN sits nearby at a small table, examining some paperwork. SONNY CORLEONE stands impatiently by the window nearest his father, sipping from a glass of wine.
BONASERA
I will give you anything you ask.
DON CORLEONE
(strokes a cat in his lap)
We’ve known each other many years, but this is the first time you ever came to me for counsel or for help. I can’t remember the last time that you invited me to your house for a cuppa coffee, even though my wife is godmother to your only child. But let’s be frank here. You never wanted my friendship, and you were afraid to be in my debt.
BEHIND THE SCENES
The cat appearing in this scene was one of the many who lived at the old Filmways Studio. During the shooting, Coppola picked it up and placed it in Marlon Brando’s lap. It is an example of how Coppola worked with Brando—rather than discoursing with him on acting, he would often provide Brando with stimulation by simply making props available to him. This improvised detail added texture to the scene by suggesting the character of Vito Corleone to be a gentle man with hidden claws. Of course, the downside of improvisation is the inevitable technical problems; the cat’s loud purring drowned out Brando’s dialogue, which later had to be dubbed into the film.
BONASERA
I didn’t want to get into trouble.
DON CORLEONE
I understand. You found Paradise in America. You had a good trade, you made a good living, the police protected you, and there were courts of law; and you didn’t need a friend like me. But now you come to me and you say, ‘Don Corleone, give me Justice.’ But you don’t ask with respect; you don’t offer friendship; you don’t even think to call me Godfather. Instead, you come into my house on the day my daughter’s to be married and you ask me to do murder—for money.
BONASERA
I ask you for Justice.
DON CORLEONE
That is not Justice; your daughter’s still alive.
BONASERA
Let them suffer, then—as she suffers. How much shall I pay you?
Both HAGEN and SONNY react.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Salvatore Corsitto, the novice who portrays undertaker Amerigo Bonasera, was hired from an open casting call. According to Coppola, Brando considered Corsitto’s performance to be among the best in the film, because it was so genuine. During this scene’s shaky rehearsal, Brando recommended dialogue changes. Coppola reworked the scene, which was scheduled to be shot the very next day. Absurdly last-minute rewrites were a common occurrence during the film’s production—dialogue changed so frequently that Coppola would often come to the set in the morning with freshly prepared cue cards for Marlon Brando, who refused to learn his lines.
DON CORLEONE
(standing)
Bonasera, Bonasera, what have I ever done to make you treat me so disrespectfully? If you’d come to me in friend
ship, then the scum that ruined your daughter would be suffering this very day. And if by chance an honest man like yourself should make enemies, then he would become my enemies.
(shakes his finger)
And then they will fear you.
Slowly, BONASERA bows his head and murmurs.
BONASERA
Be my friend? … Godfather?
BONASERA kisses DON CORLEONE’s hand.
DON CORLEONE
Good.
(walks BONASERA to the door)
Some day, and that day may never come, I’ll call upon you to do a service for me. But until that day, accept this Justice as a gift on my daughter’s wedding day.
BONASERA
Grazie, Godfather.
DON CORLEONE
Prego.
BONASERA exits, HAGEN closes the door.
DON CORLEONE
Ahh give this to … Clemenza. I want reliable people—people that aren’t gonna be carried away. I mean, we’re not murderers, in spite of what this … undertaker says.
THE DON smells his rose boutonniere.
ITALIAN CLICHÉS
Bonasera’s thick Italian accent is rare in the American sequences of the film, and it was the actor’s actual way of speaking. Coppola strove for authenticity throughout the making of The Godfather, emphasizing in the prompt book he called The Godfather Notebook to avoid the pitfall of clichéd Italians, “who-a talk-a like-a dis.”
EXT DAY: MALL (SUMMER 1945)
A HIGH ANGLE of the CORLEONE MALL in bright daylight. There are at least five hundred guests filling the main courtyard and gardens. There is music and laughter and dancing, and countless tables covered with food and wine.
The entire family, all dressed in the formal attire of the wedding party, poses for a family portrait: DON CORLEONE, MAMA, son SONNY, his wife, SANDRA, and their CHILDREN, TOM HAGEN, his wife, THERESA, and their BABY, son FREDO, CONSTANZIA, the bride, and her bridegroom, CARLO RIZZI. As they move into the pose, THE DON seems preoccupied.
DON CORLEONE
Where is Michael?
SONNY
Huh? Don’t worry, it’s early yet.
DON CORLEONE
We’re not taking the picture without Michael.
(SPEAKS ITALIAN to the PHOTOGRAPHER)
HAGEN
What’s the matter?
SONNY
It’s Michael …
DON CORLEONE warmly shakes and squeezes the hands of the friends and guests, and makes them all welcome. MAMA dances with the guests. CONNIE and CARLO laugh and talk at the wedding table. OVERHEAD shot of GUESTS dancing.
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: PRODUCTION DETAIL
The Corleone Compound (aka the Mall) shooting location was on Longfellow Road, a quiet side street in residential Staten Island. Although it was already secluded, the crew constructed an eight-foot-high faux stone wall made from Styrofoam to further isolate the area. The wedding was staged on the sprawling lawn behind the wall. Studio reports varied on the number of extras bused in (up to 750), and included local residents and their children, a passel of Coppolas, and even other cast members’ families. The feast included thousands of cookies, yard-wide trays of lasagne, huge baskets of fruit, barrels of beer, gallons of wine, and a six-foot-high, four-tiered wedding cake. The food had to be replenished for each of the four days of filming. Richmond Floral Company provided over two hundred pure white orchids for the bridal bouquets and one hundred Canhamiana orchids (a popular flower in the 1940s) for corsages.
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: PRODUCTION DETAIL
In Mario Puzo’s novel, Constanzia Corleone’s wedding invitations listed the event as the last Saturday in August 1945 in Long Beach, Long Island.
EXT DAY: MALL ENTRANCE (SUMMER 1945)
Outside the main gate of the MALL, SEVERAL MEN in suits, working together with a MAN in a dark sedan, walk in and out of the rows of parked cars, writing license plate numbers down in their notebooks. We HEAR the music and laughter coming from the party in the distance.
EXT DAY: MALL
PETER CLEMENZA dances the tarantella joyously.
EXT DAY: MALL ENTRANCE
A MAN stops at a limousine and copies down the number.
EXT DAY: MALL
SAL TESSIO playfully tosses an orange into the air.
CUT TO:
BARZINI, dignified with a black homburg, is always under the watchful eyes of TWO BODYGUARDS as he makes his way to embrace DON CORLEONE in the courtyard.
DON CORLEONE
Don Barzini. You know Santino.
CUT TO:
CLEMENZA, sweating, stumbles away from the dancing.
CLEMENZA
Hey, Paulie!
Lemme have some wine! Paulie! More wine.
PAULIE hustles, gets a pitcher of icy black wine, and brings it to him.
PAULIE
Excuse me, please. Aw, you look terrif on the floor!
CLEMENZA
(out of breath)
What are ya, a dance judge or somethin’?
(SPEAKS ITALIAN)
Go take a walk around the neighborhood; do your job.
PAULIE walks through the crowd.
ITALIANISMS
In the novel, Puzo wrote that Connie agreed to a “guinea” wedding to appease her father, who was unhappy with her choice of husband. There are many authentic Italian touches in the wedding sequences: Clemenza dancing the tarantella; Connie’s money-filled silk purse; the colored lightbulbs mounted on a lacy network of wires—reminiscent of Italian street fairs like the Feast of San Gennaro; the throwing of wrapped meat sandwiches (a memory of weddings from Coppola’s childhood). Coppola sketched out the feel for the scene in his notebook: “There are many, many guests … the bigger the better for this scene. They come from all walks of life, as the Don is a just man. Most of them have come from the city, on the train, or have driven. They have brought their children with them, and so, of all the guests, one-fourth of the number should be children of all ages, even infants. Italian people do not leave their children at home. The ones who are old enough to walk wear little suits, and pretty dresses, some if not many of the boys wear short pants and shiny shoes. Perhaps even a confirmation outfit here or there. Even the children drink wine.”
CUT TO:
SONNY pinches the cheek of the maid of honor, LUCY MANCINI, who returns his delicious smile. Then he moves to his wife.
SONNY
Hey, Sandra, come on, do me a favor—watch the kids. Don’t let ‘em run wild, all right?
SANDRA
(annoyed)
Well, you watch yourself, all right?
CUT TO:
TESSIO, a tall, gentle-looking man, dances with a NINE-YEAR-OLD GIRL, her little white party shoes planted on his enormous brown shoes.
CUT TO:
THE DON dances with MAMA.
THE NUTS AND BOLTS: PRODUCTION DETAIL
Six cameras were used to shoot the wedding sequences, including four around the garden to capture cinema verité shots, as well as a soundman wandering around to record improvised dialogue. There was also a camera in a helicopter, but many of those shots were too jumpy and weren’t used.
CUT TO:
CONNIE CORLEONE, the bride, thanks the various GUESTS for the white envelopes they are putting into the large white purse she holds. CARLO has his blue eyes trained on the bulging envelopes and is trying to guess how much cash they hold.
PAULIE
(looking on)
Twenty, thirty grand, in small bills, cash—in that little silk purse. Aw, and if this were somebody else’s wedding, sweet tomato!
MAN
(throws cappocolo sandwiches in his direction)
Hey, Paulie!
(SPEAKS ITALIAN)
PAULIE
(catching the sandwiches)
Stupid jerk!
CUT TO:
A PHOTOGRAPHER snaps a picture of BARZINI seated at one of the tables. BARZINI sends his two BODYGUARDS to rip the film out of the camera, and BARZ
INI destroys it.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Hey, what’s a matter?
CAST AND CREW: TERE LIVRANO
Tere Livrano, an assistant music editor in Paramount’s television music department, was chosen for the part of Theresa Hagen after a friend submitted her photograph to Coppola.
CUT TO:
HAGEN kisses his WIFE.
HAGEN
Have to go back to work.
THERESA
Oh, Tom!
HAGEN
It’s part of the wedding. No Sicilian can refuse any request on his daughter’s wedding day.
HAGEN walks back to the house, where a group of MEN nervously wait. HAGEN crooks a finger at NAZORINE, who quickly runs after him into the house.
LUCA
(practicing)
Don Corleone, I am honored and grateful that you have invited me to your home …
ADAPTATION AND THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR
In both the novel and the shooting script written prior to filming, it is Michael who tells Kay about the Sicilian tradition of never refusing a request on a daughter’s wedding day. The original version actually makes more sense, as Theresa Hagen is herself Italian and wouldn’t need this explained to her.
EXT DAY: MALL ENTRANCE
The MEN move on to other parked cars. SONNY storms out of the gate, his face flushed with anger, followed by PAULIE and CLEMENZA.
SONNY
Hey, what’s this? Get outta here! It’s a private party. Go on! What is it?
Hey, it’s my sister’s wedding.