The Godfather

Even if Pacino could voice the game, his voice would probably have changed too much. In 2001 the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. 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. The shark was also anointed #18 on AFI's 100 Years, 100 Heroes and Villains, opposite Robin Hood. The Godfather: The Game features the voices of Marlon Brando, James Caan, and Robert Duvall. The film is consistently on the Internet Movie Database's list of top 250 films and was #48 on American Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Movies and #2 on its 100 Years, 100 Thrills. However, this image bears little resemblance to the more sordid reality of a Mafia "family", which is depicted in the film Goodfellas. It was also nominated for Best Picture.

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". It won Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, Best Music (Original Score) and Best Sound. The image of the Mafia as being a medieval-style organisation with a "royal family" doing favours for underlings is very popular. A one hour version of this documentary had been included on an earlier DVD release. 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. The film will also be released on DVD, featuring the full two hour documentary originally featured on the LaserDisc release. The scene where Don Vito in a deep voice says "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse" is often parodied. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the film's release, JawsFest, a festival held in Martha's Vineyard, took place in June 2005.

The movies have powerfully influenced the image of the Mafia among the public. Jaws was followed by three sequels, generally regarded as increasingly poor in quality as compared to the original: Jaws 2 (1978), Jaws 3-D (1983) and Jaws: The Revenge (1987). 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. Benchley is quoted as saying that he never would have written the original novel had he known what sharks are really like in the wild. Prior to his death, Marlon Brando provided the voice for Vito. Though a horror classic (voted to have the scariest scenes ever by a Bravo Halloween TV special), the film is widely recognized to be responsible for many fearsome and inaccurate stereotypes about sharks and their behavior. The video game company Electronic Arts is currently working on a video game version of The 'Godfather. The runaway success of these films led to an increased shift in production towards such genres by studios in the following decades.

It has been almost universally maligned. Along with The Exorcist and Star Wars, it is an example of a high-budget movie in what had previously been considered a disreputable or low-budget genre (in this case, suspense / horror). 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). Jaws is also often cited as indicating a shift in the type of movies made by Hollywood studios. However, after the death of Mario Puzo in 1999, a new sequel appears very unlikely. The wide national release pattern would become standard practice for high profile movies in the late 1970s and after. In the late 1990s, rumors circulated regarding another installment of the series, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Andy Garcia apparently expressing interest. Upon its release, the film was the first to reach more than $100 million in box-office receipts, a feat not matched until Star Wars, two years later in 1977. It was a key film in establishing the benefits of a wide national release backed by heavy media advertising, rather than a progressive release that let a film slowly enter new markets and build support over a period of time.

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. The main theme became a classic piece of suspense music, synonymous with approaching danger. The movie was set in 1979, and focused on an aging Michael Corleone. John Williams' contributed the acclaimed film score. 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. Footage of real sharks was shot by Ron and Valerie Taylor in waters off South Australia, although only a handful of these shots were used in the finished film. However, the movie still received seven Academy Award nominations, among them "Best Motion Picture" and "Best Cinematography". This enforced restraint is widely thought to have increased the suspense of many scenes, giving it a Hitchcockian tone.

This film was successful financially, but critical and fan response was mixed. For example, for much of the shark hunt its location is represented by floating yellow barrels that have been tied to it during the hunt. In 1990, Coppola released a belated third film, The Godfather Part III. The script was refined during production, and the unreliable mechanical sharks forced Spielberg to shoot many of the scenes with the shark only hinted at. Both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II have been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. To some degree, the delays in the production proved serendipitous. While easier to understand, this version is not as interesting from a critical and artistic standpoint as the originals. Spielberg referred to the mechanical shark as "the turd" on a British programme about famous horror scenes and confessed that they had even less flattering names for it throughout filming.

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"). The three mechanical sharks were collectively nicknamed "Bruce" by the production team after Spielberg's lawyer, a piece of trivia that has been cited in a number of shark-related stories (such as the appearance of the shark in 2003's Finding Nemo). Many critics consider the sequel to be equal to (if not superior to) the original film in quality. The film had a troubled shoot and went considerably over budget. The logistical problems of shooting at sea led to many delays, and the mechanical shark frequently malfunctioned. 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. Location shooting occurred at Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. 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. Gottlieb gives primary credit to Shaw, downplaying Milius' contribution.

It consists of two parallel storylines, and the film switches back and forth between them. Spielberg tactfully describes it as a collaboration between John Milius, Howard Sackler and Robert Shaw. A sequel, The Godfather Part II, was released in 1974. The authorship of Quint's monologue about the fate of the cruiser USS Indianapolis has caused substantial controversy, with dispute as to who deserves the most credit for the speech. Additionally, The Godfather won five Golden Globes, one Grammy, and numerous other awards. Spielberg has claimed that he prepared his own draft, although it is unclear if any of the other screenwriters drew on his material. 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. Gottlieb rewrote many scenes during principal photography, and John Milius contributed some dialogue polishes.

It was nominated for eight additional Academy Awards. Carl Gottlieb (who also appears in a supporting acting role in the film) was brought in to add humour and more depth to the characters. The Godfather won three Academy Awards:. Peter Benchley wrote the first draft of the screenplay, with a subsequent draft prepared by Howard Sackler. It is currently ranked #1 on IMDB's Top 250. Despite his lack of feature film experience, Spielberg had proved adept at suspense material with the 1971 telemovie Duel. It was voted greatest film of all time by Entertainment Weekly, and #3 of all time by the American Film Institute. They signed Spielberg to direct in the same year, prior to release of his first theatrical film, The Sugarland Express (also a Zanuck / Brown production).

The film is greatly respected among critics and the public. His novel was loosely based on a real-life event in the summer of 1916 when a series of shark attacks killed four people along the New Jersey coast and triggered a media frenzy. 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). The film was produced by Richard Zanuck and David Brown, who had purchased the film rights to Peter Benchley's novel in 1973. Since its release on March 15, 1972, The Godfather has been accused of glorifying the image of the Mafia. After another victim is devoured and Brody's son is nearly killed on the Fourth of July, Brody, Hooper, and shark hunter Quint (Shaw) set out in Quint's boat, the Orca, to face and hopefully destroy the man-eater. Al Pacino and Robert Duvall, in particular, went on to enjoy long, successful, highly acclaimed careers. A large tiger shark is caught, but upon examining it, Hooper declares that the attacks were the work of a much larger fish. Brody wants the beaches closed, but Mayor Vaughn, again refusing to accept the possibility of danger, refuses.

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. When marine biologist Matt Hooper examines the remains of the first victim, he becomes convinced that a very large and dangerous shark was responsible, more specifically, a Great White Shark which is a large and extremely voracious predator, known to be dangerous to humans. 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. A few days later, a boy is killed by the shark while swimming on a crowded beach and his mother places a substantial bounty on the animal.
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). However, the town mayor ignores the protests about the danger of more shark attacks and orders the beaches kept opened, as Amity is dependent on the money it makes from its summertime and, especially, Fourth of July business, and tells Brody to say the girl was killed by a boat propeller. Pacino was only granted the role after Coppola threatened to quit the production. He then orders the beaches to be closed.

Pacino was not well known at the time, and was not considered right for the part. The next morning, Martin Brody (Scheider), the sheriff of Amity Island, finds some of her remains and concludes that she was killed in a shark attack. The producers originally wanted Robert Redford to play Michael Corleone, but Coppola wanted Al Pacino. Suddenly, she begins to get jerked around and is pulled under. The film spans ten years from late 1945 to 1955 (after Don Vito Corleone's death in 1954). The film opens with a young girl swimming a little far from Amity Island, a New England island that is a summer resort. Interestingly, this obliged the crew to use regular lights, instead of the production/set lights, lending a realistic look to the film. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss and Lorraine Gary.

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. Jaws (1975) is an American film, based upon a bestselling novel by Peter Benchley, which tells the story of a resort town's sheriff who tries to protect beachgoers from the predations of a huge great white shark by closing the beach, only to be overruled by the town council. Shooting began on March 29, 1971 and was completed on August 6, 1971. Coppola had directed several films prior to this, but none of them had had a significant impact on the public. The motion picture adaptation of The Godfather (1972) was directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

However, in the book, this fact is made explicit, with the 12-year-old Vito adopting the Corleone name by choice, instead of having it given to him in error. This was a common occurrence which still occurs even today. It should be noted that in the movie sequel, The Godfather II, it was revealed that the Godfather's real name was Vito Andolini and he was given the surname Corleone as a result of a mistake during his registration at Ellis Island. Similarly, the surname of Don Vito's mother is Corigliano, coming from the town of Corigliano Calabro, Calabria, which is well known for ndrangheta activity.

(See godparent for the origins of the term.) In the novel, this character was Don Vito Corleone, whose surname recalls the town of Corleone, Sicily. "The Godfather" (in Italian, Il Padrino) is a term used to identify the boss of a Mafia clan, the eldest or the most representative member of a family. The film spawned two sequels. The novel was adapted into a film of the same name directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Al Pacino as Michael Corleone.

The Godfather is a novel written by Mario Puzo about a fictitious Italian Mafia family. ISBN 0451205766. The Godfather. New York: Penguin. Mario Puzo (paperback, 2002).

ISBN 0451208447. The Godfather. New York: Penguin. Mario Puzo (hardcover, 2002). ISBN 0451167716.

The Godfather. New York: Penguin. Mario Puzo (mass market paperback, 1978). ISBN 0399103422. The Godfather. New York: Putnam.

Mario Puzo (hardcover, 1969). Best Writing (adapted screenplay) (Francis Coppola, Mario Puzo). Best Actor in a Leading Role (Marlon Brando refused the award). Best Picture.