☆★☆★☆★☆★
Ebert’s original reservations about Brando and later four-star reassessment are discussed without inventing an unspoken contemporary score.
In the discussion (2)
- The hosts report that Ebert’s original review criticized aspects of Brando’s performance.
- They report that Ebert later revised his view and awarded four stars.
The garden conversation and christening lead a field including the Sollozzo meeting, Louis restaurant, tollbooth, Five Families, wedding, and Hollywood scenes.
In the discussion (13)
- Sollozzo’s pitch to the family is nominated.
- Clemenza’s meatball lesson is nominated.
- Michael deciding to kill Sollozzo and McCluskey is nominated.
- The Louis restaurant assassination is nominated.
- Sonny’s tollbooth murder is nominated and debated.
- The Five Families meeting is nominated.
- Michael and Vito in the garden receives two votes.
- The christening murders receive Chris’s vote.
- The Las Vegas confrontation with Moe Greene is nominated.
- The opening undertaker audience is nominated.
- Sonny beating Carlo is nominated.
- Tom Hagen visiting Jack Woltz is nominated.
- The wedding is praised as an extended sequence.
The wedding, family politics, food, moral complexity, performances, and precise lines dominate aged-best.
In the discussion (21)
- The wedding world-building is praised.
- The Woltz-house sequence and its later appearance in Fletch are praised.
- The family structure remains legible and rich.
- The use of the word consigliere is praised.
- “Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes” and the newspaper-wrapped fish are called a great one that went into the lexicon; a participant only now noticed it was rolled in the bulletproof vest.
- Mama Corleone warning Sonny not to interfere in Connie and Carlo’s argument is praised.
- The movie’s eating and food-preparation scenes are praised.
- Michael’s face before the restaurant shooting is praised.
- Tom delivering news of Sonny’s death is praised.
- Vito’s prediction about narcotics reshaping organized crime is praised.
- The story’s shades of moral compromise are praised.
- The Mafia’s role beside failures of formal government is discussed.
- Clemenza’s Hitler-at-Munich line is praised.
- Jack Woltz’s ethnic insults remain memorably performed.
- Pacino’s controlled performance grows in stature when viewed with Part II.
- Michael’s presidents-and-senators line remains resonant.
- Every Fredo scene is praised, including his Vegas outfit.
- Clemenza’s sauce recipe remains memorable.
- The “Tattaglia’s a pimp” line is praised.
- Tessio asking to be spared for old times’ sake is praised.
- Vito’s garden death is praised.
Kay, the Sicily section, racist dialogue, a missed punch, and Johnny Fontane divide the panel.
In the discussion (7)
- Kay Adams’s characterization is criticized and defended.
- The Sicily section is debated as beautiful but momentum-slowing.
- Apollonia’s performer was reportedly sixteen during production.
- Racist remarks in the Five Families scene are flagged.
- A visibly missed punch in Sonny’s attack on Carlo is flagged.
- Johnny Fontane is criticized as a character and performance.
- Al Martino’s acting is treated as the most conspicuous weakness.
Lancaster, Brando, Scott, Beatty, Nicholson, O’Neal, Redford, Hoffman, Sheen, Caan, De Niro, and Stallone figure in casting history.
In the discussion (14)
- Burt Lancaster and Laurence Olivier were considered for Vito Corleone.
- Marlon Brando’s contested casting and screen test are recounted.
- George C. Scott is discussed as a possible Vito.
- Mia Farrow auditioned for Kay.
- Warren Beatty was considered for Michael and around directing.
- Jack Nicholson was considered for Michael.
- Ryan O’Neal was Robert Evans’s preferred Michael.
- Robert Redford was considered for Michael.
- Dustin Hoffman auditioned.
- Martin Sheen auditioned.
- James Caan tested for Michael and Tom before moving to Sonny.
- Carmine Caridi was originally slated for Sonny.
- Robert De Niro left the Paulie role for The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight.
- Sylvester Stallone unsuccessfully auditioned for Paulie and Carlo.
The hosts enumerate ten lessons drawn directly from the movie’s dialogue and customs.
In the discussion (10)
- Remember that it is business rather than personal.
- Never let anyone outside the family know what you are thinking.
- In Sicily, women are more dangerous than shotguns.
- Never take sides against your family in public.
- Treat a trusted intermediary sent by your biggest rival as a possible assassination setup.
- No Sicilian can refuse a request on his daughter’s wedding day.
- After a public shooting, drop the gun and walk away without running or making eye contact.
- Vito’s claim that women and children may be careless but men may not is identified as a lesson that has aged badly.
- Cook meatballs and sausages first, then add them and wine to the tomato sauce.
- A man who does not spend time with his family can never be a real man.
Jack Woltz wins the majority choice over Moe Greene, Clemenza, Sollozzo, and Luca Brasi.
In the discussion (6)
- Clemenza is nominated.
- Sollozzo is nominated.
- Moe Greene is nominated and receives Chris’s vote.
- Jack Woltz is nominated and receives the other two votes.
- Luca Brasi is nominated but not considered a heat check.
- Richard Castellano’s unusually brief film career and impact are discussed.
Alex Rocco wins over Abe Vigoda.
In the discussion (2)
- Alex Rocco is selected for Moe Greene.
- Abe Vigoda is nominated but judged too recognizable.
The research section covers Sofia Coppola, Sinatra, Pacino, Caan, Brando, cars, deleted deaths, salaries, and real figures.
In the discussion (10)
- Sofia Coppola played the baby in the christening.
- The Sinatra–Puzo confrontation story is recounted.
- Pacino really had his jaw wired during part of the shoot.
- A cast mooning tradition and Moon Champion belt are recounted.
- James Caan confronted Robert Evans after seeing his cut-down role at the premiere.
- Brando’s slap of Al Martino was reportedly improvised.
- Apollonia’s car is identified as a 1946 Alfa Romeo.
- Fabrizio’s death was cut from the first film, then filmed and cut again for Part II.
- Moe Greene is linked to Bugsy Siegel.
- Pacino, Caan, Keaton, and Duvall’s salaries are compared.
Robert Evans is the strongest apex answer; Gordon Willis and several performers are separately assessed.
In the discussion (5)
- James Caan is judged below his apex.
- Coppola, Pacino, and Brando are judged below their apexes.
- Gordon Willis’s apex is assigned to Part II.
- Al Martino receives a joking apex assessment.
- Robert Evans is judged at his apex.
Steve Buscemi is proposed for Fredo in a brief Better With discussion.
In the discussion (1)
- Steve Buscemi is proposed for Fredo.
Talia Shire’s confrontations lead a disputed field with Carlo, McCluskey, Jack Woltz, Pacino, and Caan.
In the discussion (7)
- Talia Shire confronting Michael is nominated.
- Talia Shire confronting Carlo and smashing plates is nominated.
- Carlo’s crying during Michael’s interrogation is nominated.
- McCluskey’s restaurant behavior is nominated and defended.
- Jack Woltz is also mentioned.
- Pacino’s reconciliation scene with Kay is nominated and disputed as bad acting rather than overacting.
- James Caan’s knuckle bite is debated as either overacting or authentic behavior.
Al Martino wins the newly proposed award; the actor playing Carlo is the alternative.
The panel proposes a new category here.
In the discussion (3)
- The full Johnny Fontane Award name and purpose are explicitly proposed.
- Al Martino is selected as the most glaringly weak actor.
- The actor playing Carlo is nominated as an alternative.
Michael’s movements, Vito’s security, Kay, McCluskey, the restaurant gun, Sicily, Carlo, and informants generate separate nitpicks.
In the discussion (8)
- Michael’s job and day-to-day movements after returning from the war are questioned.
- Vito’s security when he is shot is questioned.
- Kay’s quick return to Michael is questioned again.
- McCluskey eating during the tense dinner is questioned.
- The car frisk and bathroom-gun plan are questioned.
- Michael hiding in Sicily while holding a public wedding is questioned.
- The delay before Carlo is killed is questioned.
- The family’s informant coverage is questioned.
The film is too sacred to remake, though Tom Hagen in Los Angeles and Fredo in Las Vegas are proposed as spinoffs.
In the discussion (3)
- A Netflix-scale remake is rejected as unnecessary.
- A Tom Hagen Los Angeles spinoff is proposed.
- A Fredo Las Vegas spinoff is proposed.
The panel runs a large quote field, with Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli named as a personal favorite but no formal consensus.
In the discussion (13)
- “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse” is nominated and called the most famous line.
- “Leave the gun, take the cannoli” is nominated and named a personal favorite.
- “I don’t like violence, Tom; I’m a businessman” is nominated.
- The line about blood being a big expense is nominated.
- “Tattaglia’s a pimp” is nominated.
- Woltz’s ethnic insult is nominated.
- “In Sicily, women are more dangerous than shotguns” is nominated.
- Moe Greene’s cheerleaders line is nominated.
- Sonny’s Bada Bing speech is nominated.
- The masculine-child line is nominated.
- Vito’s line about spoiling his children is nominated.
- The undertaker’s “I believe in America” opening is nominated.
- The bathroom joke is nominated.
Locations, tollbooth logistics, Carlo, Tessio, and the ranking of the Godfather films drive the questions.
In the discussion (5)
- Where exactly are the Corleone compound, Kay’s home, and the travel routes?
- How was Sonny’s tollbooth assassination planned and controlled?
- What did Carlo expect to gain by betraying the family?
- Why did Tessio rather than Clemenza arrange the betrayal?
- Which of the first two Godfather films is greater?
Francis Ford Coppola wins by consensus over Pacino, Gordon Willis, Duvall, Evans, and Brando.
In the discussion (6)
- Coppola is selected for turning a trashy novel into landmark American cinema and setting a new course for filmmakers.
- Al Pacino is the strongest acting alternative.
- Gordon Willis is briefly considered before the speaker settles on Coppola rather than get “too cute”.
- Robert Evans is nominated for enabling the production.
- Marlon Brando is considered and rejected as the winner.
- Robert Duvall is nominated during the extended closing discussion.
Roger Ebert's review
Most Rewatchable Scene
What’s Aged the Best?
What’s Aged the Worst?
The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson
The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance
The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award
Apex Mountain
Is This Movie Better With…?
The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award
Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake
The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie
Who Won the Movie?