The Godfather

Even if Pacino could voice the game, his voice would probably have changed too much. In 1994, an episode of The Simpsons ("Itchy and Scratchy Land") featured a Fantasia spoof. Al Pacino refused to reprise the role of Michael Corleone because rival publisher VU Games is still trying to hire Pacino to voice Tony Montana in its upcoming Scarface game. Then, in 1976, Italian animator Bruno Bozzetto released his own Fantasia parody called Allegro non troppo. The Godfather: The Game features the voices of Marlon Brando, James Caan, and Robert Duvall. Cartoons) director Robert Clampett did a Fantasia spoof short film, A Corny Concerto, with Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, and Daffy Duck acting out the musical segments (and Elmer Fudd doing an impression of Deems Taylor). However, this image bears little resemblance to the more sordid reality of a Mafia "family", which is depicted in the film Goodfellas. In 1943, Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros.

For example, in John Grisham's novel The Firm, the Mafia is depicted as having an organisation wherein the top mobsters marry into the "royal family". Disney's dream was belatedly and finally realized with the 1999 release of Fantasia 2000 in IMAX theaters. Fantasia 2000 reused The Sorcerer's Apprentice with Mickey Mouse, but otherwise consisted entirely of new material. The image of the Mafia as being a medieval-style organisation with a "royal family" doing favours for underlings is very popular. Other segments such as Ride Of The Valkyries, Swan of Tuonela, and Flight of the Bumblebee were storyboarded but never fully animated, and thus were never put into production for inclusion in a future Fantasia release. Both World War II and overseas costs prevented Disney from revising Fantasia during his lifetime. Reports from Mafia trials and confessions have suggested that Mafia families began a "real life" tradition of paying respect to the family don by kissing his ring, in imitation of the opening scene of The Godfather. This version of Clair De Lune can be found on disc 3 of the Fantasia Legacy DVD box set, or on the Disney Classic 'Fantasia' DVD (released in 2000) as a special feature. The scene where Don Vito in a deep voice says "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse" is often parodied. A workprint version of the original version of Clair De Lune was finally discovered, restored, and released by Disney as a stand-alone short subject in 1996; the accompanying Deems Taylor/Stowkowski footage was never found.

The movies have powerfully influenced the image of the Mafia among the public. Instead, the sequence was later completely re-worked and re-scored as the Blue Bayou segment of Make Mine Music (1946). Francis Ford Coppola said in April 2005 that he was not informed of Paramount's decision to allow the game to be made and he did not approve of it. Ink and paint and Technicolor photography were completed in January 1942 with the intentions of releasing Clair De Lune as a short subject, which would not be done for fifty-four years. Prior to his death, Marlon Brando provided the voice for Vito. Clair De Lune, a casualty of Fantasia's excessive length, made it to the final pencil test stages before being deleted. The video game company Electronic Arts is currently working on a video game version of The 'Godfather. Ironically, one segment intended for the original Fantasia was completely animated, and then left out of the first release.

It has been almost universally maligned. However, the film's underwhelming box-office performance prevented such plans from being realized. In 2004, Random House published a new sequel to the Godfather saga, The Godfather Returns (http://www.markwinegardner.com/godfather) by Mark Winegardner (http://www.markwinegardner.com). The plan was to repeat some of the scenes while replacing others with different music and animation, so that each version of the film would include both familiar material and new segments. However, after the death of Mario Puzo in 1999, a new sequel appears very unlikely. Disney had wanted to Fantasia to be an ongoing project, ideally with a new release each year. In the late 1990s, rumors circulated regarding another installment of the series, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Andy Garcia apparently expressing interest. As it is, young children may enjoy the movie, particularly the dinosaur sequence.

Parts of the film were loosely based on real historical events, including the death of Pope Paul VI, the election of John Paul I, and his subsequent death. As expected about North American attitudes towards animation, the film is regularly recommended as an excellent means to introduce children to classical music. The movie was set in 1979, and focused on an aging Michael Corleone. The cuts in The Rite of Spring angered Igor Stravinsky, the only living composer whose work was represented in the film. The film is notable for the key role played, though ineffectually, by Coppola's daughter, the future Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sofia Coppola, who was forced to play Mary Corleone on short notice after Winona Ryder became ill. Classical music lovers who know the pieces are sometimes offended by the cuts that were taken, which were particularly heavy in the Beethoven sequence. However, the movie still received seven Academy Award nominations, among them "Best Motion Picture" and "Best Cinematography". For instance, the famed movie critic Pauline Kael wrote "'The Sorcerer's Apprentice,' featuring Mickey Mouse, and parts of other sequences are first-rate Disney, but the total effect is grotesquely kitschy." The Beethoven sequence is frequently singled out for criticism, because of the editing of the piece and the juxtaposition of the piece with the Ancient Greek setting.

This film was successful financially, but critical and fan response was mixed. Others have taken a more negative view, often invoking the rather loaded word kitsch. In 1990, Coppola released a belated third film, The Godfather Part III. There are certainly many critics who admire the film greatly, particularly the animation work, and as an American animated feature film made with an unprecedented level of artistic ambition. The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. Both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II have been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. Critics to this day differ in their evaluation of the film. While easier to understand, this version is not as interesting from a critical and artistic standpoint as the originals. The movie won two Honorary Academy Awards:.

Coppola re-edited the two movies together, in chronological order (adding some previously unseen footage but also toning down the violence), into one long saga for TV broadcast, entitled The Godfather Saga (aka "The Godfather: The Complete Novel For Television" and "The Godfather: 1901-1959--The Complete Epic"). Besides these issues, this is the most complete version of the film that currently exists. Many critics consider the sequel to be equal to (if not superior to) the original film in quality. However, most of Taylor's narration for the long-lost sequences was unusable or missing, so Disney had voice actor Corey Burton come in and to completely re-record all of Taylor's lines, and some portions from the "Beethoven 6th Symphony" were "zoomed in" (to avoid showing the black centaur). This version of Vito is played by different actors at different ages, but the adult Vito is played by Robert DeNiro, who won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for a role in which, interestingly, he speaks almost no English-language dialogue. Finally, for its 60th Anniversary DVD release, Disney recovered the remaining lost footage from the Deems Taylor segments that had been cut from the film decades earlier for general release, and was able to reconstruct the original 125-minute 1940 Roadshow version, complete with intermission. One storyline is the continuing story involving Michael Corleone in the 1950s; the other is a flashback sequence following his father, Vito, from his youth in Sicily up through the founding of the Corleone crime family in New York and the births of Michael and his siblings. Both the picture and the Fantasound tracks were digitally remastered, and thus a new generation was able to experience the film with Leopold Stokowski's original Philadelphia Orchestra recordings.

It consists of two parallel storylines, and the film switches back and forth between them. For its 50th Anniversary in 1990, Disney decided to go back to the original Fantasound tracks, and using whatever film elements were still available, restored the film to more or less its original format to closely resemble the 1947 General Release Version. A sequel, The Godfather Part II, was released in 1974. This would be the version released numerous times throughout the 1980s. Additionally, The Godfather won five Golden Globes, one Grammy, and numerous other awards. However, judicial edits were made, including replacing Deems Taylor's original narration with a sound-alike. As its sequel The Godfather Part II also won the Academy Award for Best Picture, the Godfather trilogy remains the only series ever to win multiple "Best Picture" Oscars. For its 1982 re-issue, as motion picture sound technology was advancing, Disney decided to completely re-record the film's soundtrack with a new digital recording arranged and conducted by Irwin Kostal, marking the first ever release of a motion picture with digital stereo sound.

It was nominated for eight additional Academy Awards. The 1969 theatrical re-release was edited again to remove Sunflower, a black centaur. According to the Memory Hole (http://www.thememoryhole.org/arts/sunflower.htm), "Performing menial duties for the blonde, white female centaurs, Sunflower is a racial stereotype along the lines of Amos and Andy, Buckwheat, and Aunt Jemima.". The Godfather won three Academy Awards:. The re-release was a major success, especially with the psychedelic young adult crowd, many of whom would come lie down in the front row of the theatre and experience the film from there. It is currently ranked #1 on IMDB's Top 250. By 1967, Fantasia had become immensely popular among teenagers and college students, many of whom would take illegal drugs like marijuana and LSD to "better experience the film." Disney therefore promoted the film as a "trip-film" for its 1967 re-release, even creating a psychedelic-styled poster to match this campaign. It was voted greatest film of all time by Entertainment Weekly, and #3 of all time by the American Film Institute. The film never turned a profit until its 1967 re-release.

The film is greatly respected among critics and the public. This is the version most familiar to the public and the version most future releases of Fantasia were based upon, and is therefore called the "General Release Version". Vito Corleone was portrayed by Brando as a Mafia Don whom people could actually respect (although the actions of Don Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II worked to tear down this image). Fantasia was edited once again in 1947, adding the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor back into the film, but still keeping the Deems Taylor sequences as short as possible. Since its release on March 15, 1972, The Godfather has been accused of glorifying the image of the Mafia. This version of the film was released nationwide (the first time Fantasia was given a wide release) with the infamous tagline "Fantasia Will Amazia!" Unfortunately, audiences were not responsive at all to the film, and it played as a B-film in most movie houses. Al Pacino and Robert Duvall, in particular, went on to enjoy long, successful, highly acclaimed careers. In 1942, RKO had the 125-minute Fantasia chopped down to 83 minutes (done by deleting the entire Toccata and Fugue in D Minor segment and shortening the live-action Deems Taylor sequences as much as possible).

Many of the actors playing the supporting roles were largely unknown or minor actors; however, they rocketed into the limelight with the success of The Godfather. Starting with the January 29, 1941 play date in Los Angeles, California, RKO assumed distribution of Fantasia. They had the film's soundtrack remixed into monophonic sound, to make it easier to distribute, and added their logos to the film's solitary title card. The role of Don Vito Corleone was memorably acted by Marlon Brando, and Brando won an Academy Award (which he did not accept) for his portrayal of the aging Don. The financial failure of Fantasia left Walt Disney in financial straits, which is why he followed Fantasia with a relatively low-budget feature, Dumbo.
Puzo helped in the making of the movie and its sequels and co-wrote screenplay. The movie was an enormous box-office hit, smashing previous records to become the highest-grossing film of all time (until that record was surpassed by Jaws in 1975, and a number of other movies afterwards). Primarily because of the difficulty of getting the necessary speakers and audio equipment because of the looming potential danger of World War II, the full-length Fantasound version of Fantasia was only shown at 12 theatres, and only 16 Fantasound - equipped prints were ever made. Pacino was only granted the role after Coppola threatened to quit the production. The final scene to be shot (the long multiplane pan in the Ave Maria sequence) was shot, developed, printed, and rushed via airplane to New York that same day, where it was spliced into the film a mere four hours before Showtime.

Pacino was not well known at the time, and was not considered right for the part. Its first playdate (the premiere) was in New York City on November 13, 1940. The producers originally wanted Robert Redford to play Michael Corleone, but Coppola wanted Al Pacino. Fantasia was originally released in 1940 by Walt Disney Productions itself as a roadshow release, since Disney's distributor RKO Radio Pictures backed out of the film. The film spans ten years from late 1945 to 1955 (after Don Vito Corleone's death in 1954). RCA Sound System.". Interestingly, this obliged the crew to use regular lights, instead of the production/set lights, lending a realistic look to the film. Color by Technicolor.

The producers of the movie did not believe that The Godfather would be very successful; hence, there was an extremely low budget for the film. Copyright 1940 by Walt Disney Productions (Inc). Shooting began on March 29, 1971 and was completed on August 6, 1971. "Fantasia. Coppola had directed several films prior to this, but none of them had had a significant impact on the public. During its intermission, a solitary title card is to be played over the movie theatre's closed curtain that contains only this text:. The motion picture adaptation of The Godfather (1972) was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Besides the Deems Taylor narration passages, a proper presentation of Fantasia features a 15-minute interlude, which falls between The Rite of Spring and the Meet the Soundtrack segment. Unusual for an American animated film, Fantasia has no opening or closing credits.