Photo Courtesy of Box Office Pro
On March 14, “The Godfather” celebrated its 50th anniversary with a re-release into theaters. In preparation for the anniversary, Paramount Pictures and director Francis Ford Coppola undertook the creation of a high-definition remaster of the film, first announced in December 2021 as part of the celebration. Additionally, Hofstra University hosted several panels over the last month covering the history, mythos, conflict and influence since the release of the film over half a century ago. Given how much the picture has impacted our society both artistically and socially, we are left with the question: what can you say about “The Godfather” that hasn’t been said already? It’s a timeless classic, even fifty years after its first screening.
“The Godfather” follows the Corleone crime family of New York, who is approached by Virgil Sollozzo (Al Lettieri), who is backed by the opposing rival Tattaglia crime family, about a narcotics offering. The head of the family, Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) and the titular character, refuses the deal, but during the meeting, his eldest son, Santino (James Caan), talks out of line and shows that he has an interest in Sollozzo’s offer. Vito is gunned down in the street in the months following the meeting. Sollozzo hopes that with Vito dead, Sonny will take over and go for the deal he showed interest in during the initial meeting.
A talk of war between the five families of New York begins to loom as a result of the attempt on Vito’s life. Vito manages to survive the assassination attempt but cannot continue his duties as the head of the family. Michael (Al Pacino), his youngest son, who has returned from the war overseas, had no interest involving himself in the family business prior to this incident, instead wishing to live a more Americanized life with his girlfriend Kay (Diane Keaton), much to the dismay of his family. However, he holds great love and respect for his father despite everything else and agrees to kill Sollozzo after he prevents a second assassination attempt on Vito’s life, leaving behind any chance he has of a normal life for good.
The film launched the careers for Al Pacino, James Caan and Robert Duvall (who plays family consigliere Tom Hagen) and revitalized the career of Marlon Brando with a role that put him back on top as a leading actor in the industry.
Despite the massive success of “The Godfather,” the film is also known for the major developmental hell faced from the very beginning of production. From the studio questioning every decision made by Hofstra alumnus and young filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola to star Al Pacino expecting to be fired by the studio due to Paramount keen on hiring bigshot actors such as Jack Nicholson or Robert Redford instead.
Coppola has since reflected that the process was painful and, at times, very lonely. Matters became worse when alleged leader of the Colombo crime family, Joseph Colombo, who had founded the Italian American Civil Rights Association in 1970, went as far to threaten shutting down the production given the subject matter painting Italian Americans in a negative light. Paramount only began to see the potential in what Coppola was attempting to produce after seeing the dailies from one particular day of shooting, the turning point in the picture, when Michael takes the life of Sollozzo, fulfilling his destiny as leader of the family.
Throughout March and April, Hofstra University hosted three panels on “The Godfather,” including one with Professor Stanislao Pugliese leading a discussion on the mythos surrounding the history of “The Godfather” and the positives and negatives it has brought to Italian Americans in the years since. Pugliese noted that “The Godfather” gave Italian American artists a voice in the industry, but the film created major setbacks for the community as well, given the stereotypes that have arisen since the release of the film. The other panels were hosted by Hofstra film professors, Rodney F. Hill and Carlo Gennarelli, along with D’Acierno, who went further in depth about the film as a whole, deconstructing key scenes that play an influential role in the story and scenes that have inspired filmmakers in the decades since. All the panels attracted a large audience of local Long Island residents who created a diverse conversation on the subject material.
Despite the setbacks “The Godfather” may have caused for Italian Americans and despite the troubled production, without Coppola, there never would have been the masterpiece film and its sequels that audiences around the world know so well today. “The Godfather” is just as riveting to watch now as it was all those years ago and provides the audience with a fast-paced and fictionalized, yet accurate, inside look at organized crime and an excellent case for character study.
