The Godfather is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by Albert S. Ruddy, based on Mario Puzo’s best-selling novel of the same name. It stars Marlon Brando and Al Pacino as the leaders of a fictional New York crime family. The story, spanning 1945 to 1955, chronicles the family under the patriarch Vito Corleone (Brando), focusing on the transformation of Michael Corleone (Pacino) from reluctant family outsider to ruthless mafia boss.
- Starring : Marlon Brando / Al Pacino
- Genre : Crime / Drama
- Country : United States
- Language : English / Italian / Latin
- Director : Francis Ford Coppola
- Production : Paramount Pictures / Alfran Productions
- Distributor : Paramount Pictures / Cinema International Corporation (CIC) / Paramount British Pictures / National Broadcasting Company (NBC) / Paramount Home Video / CIC Video / Mainostelevisio (MTV3) / CIC Victor Video / Paramount Home Entertainment / Pioneer / Nelonen / Victor Entertainment / CIC Victor Video / Park Circus / Argentina Video Home / Eye Film Instituut / Universal Pictures / Avala-Genex / CDI Films / Fathom Events / Seven Films / CIC Vídeo / Esselte Video / Fox-Paramount Home Entertainment / Home Video Hellas (HVH) / Malofilm Home Video / Paramount Channel / Prem’er Video Fil’m / TV2 Norge / Trifecta Entertainment and Media / VIVA
The Godfather movie
The Godfather release date
- March 14, 1972 : USA (New York City, New York) (premiere)
- March 15, 1972 : USA (New York City, New York)
- March 22, 1972 : USA (Los Angeles, California)
- March 24, 1972 : Canada
- March 24, 1972 : USA
- July 15, 1972 : Japan
- August 23, 1972 : UK (London) (premiere)
- August 24, 1972 : UK
- August 25, 1972 : Ireland
- September 27, 1972 : Sweden
- September 30, 1972 : France (Paris) (premiere)
- October 18, 1972 : France
- October 20, 1972 : Spain
- November 2, 1972 : Australia
- March 24, 1973 : Japan (re-release)
- October 7, 1978 : Japan (re-release)
- November 1, 1990 : Australia (re-release)
- March 21, 1997 : USA (re-release)
- August 7, 1997 : Australia (re-release)
- September 23, 2001 : Canada (Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival)
- February 1, 2004 : Germany (Berlin International Film Festival)
- June 19, 2004 : Japan (re-release)
- September 1, 2004 : France (Deauville Film Festival)
- August 2, 2006 : France (re-release)
- September 25, 2009 : UK (re-release)
- February 5, 2010 : Canada (Digital Film Festival)
- June 17, 2011 : Spain (re-release)
- March 1, 2012 : USA (re-release) (limited)
- September 18, 2013 : France (re-release)
- July 17, 2015 : Israel (Jerusalem Film Festival)
- September 16, 2016 : Australia (Brisbane) (Sydney) (re-release)
- November 10, 2016 : Sweden (Stockholm International Film Festival)
The Godfather cast
- Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone
- Al Pacino as Michael Corleone
- James Caan as Sonny Corleone
- Richard S. Castellano as Clemenza(as Richard Castellano)
- Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen
- Sterling Hayden as Capt. McCluskey
- John Marley as Jack Woltz
- Richard Conte as Barzini
- Al Lettieri as Sollozzo
- Diane Keaton as Kay Adams
- Abe Vigoda as Tessio
- Talia Shire as Connie
- Gianni Russo as Carlo
- John Cazale as Fredo
- Rudy Bond as Cuneo
Paramount Pictures obtained the rights to the novel for the price of $80,000, before it gained popularity. Studio executives had trouble finding a director; their first few candidates turned down the position before Coppola signed on to direct the film. They and Coppola disagreed over who would play several characters, in particular, Vito and Michael. Filming took place primarily on location around New York and in Sicily, and was completed ahead of schedule. The musical score was principally composed by Nino Rota, with additional pieces by Carmine Coppola.
The film was the highest-grossing film of 1972, and was for a time the highest-grossing film ever made, with a gross of around $245–286 million at the box office. The film received universal acclaim from critics and audiences, with praise going towards the performances of its cast, particularly from Brando and Pacino, the directing, screenplay, cinematography, editing, score, and portrayal of the mafia. The film revitalized Brando’s career, which was in decline during the 1960s before he went on to star in hits such as Last Tango in Paris, Superman, and Apocalypse Now, and launched the successful careers of Coppola, Pacino, and the rest of the cast. At the 45th Academy Awards, it won the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando) and Best Adapted Screenplay (for Puzo and Coppola). Its seven other Oscar nominations included Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall (Best Supporting Actor), and Coppola for Best Director.
Since its release, The Godfather has been widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made, especially in the gangster genre. It was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 1990, being deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and is ranked the second-greatest film in American cinema (behind Citizen Kane) by the American Film Institute. It was followed by sequels The Godfather Part II (1974) and The Godfather Part III (1990).
In 1945, at his daughter Connie’s wedding to Carlo Rizzi, Don Vito Corleone hears requests in his role as head of a New York crime family. His youngest son, Michael, who was a Marine during World War II, introduces his girlfriend, Kay Adams, to his family at the reception. Johnny Fontane, a famous singer and Vito’s godson, seeks Vito’s help in securing a movie role; Vito dispatches his consigliere, Tom Hagen, to Los Angeles to persuade studio head Jack Woltz to give Johnny the part. Woltz refuses until he wakes up in bed with the severed head of his prized stallion.
Shortly before Christmas, drug baron Virgil “The Turk” Sollozzo, backed by the Tattaglia crime family, asks Vito for investment in his narcotics business and protection through his political connections. Wary of involvement in a dangerous new trade that risks alienating political insiders, Vito declines. Suspicious, Vito sends his enforcer, Luca Brasi, to spy on them. Brasi is garroted during his first meeting with Bruno Tattaglia and Sollozzo. Later Sollozzo has Vito gunned down in the street, then kidnaps Hagen. With Corleone first-born Sonny in command, Sollozzo pressures Hagen to persuade Sonny to accept Sollozzo’s deal, then releases him. The family receives fish wrapped in Brasi’s bullet-proof vest, indicating that Luca “sleeps with the fishes”. Vito survives, and at the hospital Michael thwarts another attempt on his father. Michael’s jaw is broken by NYPD Captain Marc McCluskey, Sollozzo’s unofficial bodyguard. Sonny retaliates with a hit on Bruno Tattaglia. Michael plots to murder Sollozzo and McCluskey; feigning a desire to settle the dispute, Michael meets them in a Bronx restaurant, where after retrieving a planted handgun, he kills both men.
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