It has been fifty years since The Godfather was released. The 1972 timeless classic is widely considered one of the greatest films of all time—and for good reason. It became the standard by which every other gangster movie was held. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, it was based on Mario Puzo’s 1969 best-selling novel of the same name. Coppola co-wrote the screenplay with Puzo, and it starred Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, Richard Castellano, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, and John Conte. It’s the first installment in the trilogy and mainly focuses on the youngest son,
Things You Didn’t Know About “The Godfather”...
Things You Didn’t Know About “The Godfather”...
- 1/6/2023
- by kgayle
- TVovermind.com
Set in a New Jersey bowling alley but filmed in West Germany, Peter Lilienthal’s film stars Joe Pesci as a nightclub owner looking to score in Vegas. Two of our favorite mobsters co-star as roadblocks to Pesci’s success, The Godfather‘s Richard S. Castellano, and Frank Vincent, so memorable in both Goodfellas and The Sopranos.
The post Dear Mr. Wonderful appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Dear Mr. Wonderful appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 11/28/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Scarface hadn’t been made when Pete Townshend’s 1974 song “The Punk and the Godfather” came out, but The Godfather certainly had. The Who’s anthem was a musical allegory about the rock scene, but the lyrics might as well be interpreted as a conversation between Michael Corleone and Tony Montana. Possibly right before they rumble.
Al Pacino played both men in both movies, and in each film, he begins the story as a punk. But in The Godfather, at least, he grows into the establishment. Michael becomes don. Tony was a shooting star on the other hand, one on a collision course with an unyielding atmosphere. Both roles are smorgasbords of possibilities to an actor, especially one who chased Richard III to every imaginable outcome. Each are also master criminals. But which is more masterful?
The obvious answer would seem to be Michael Corleone because he turned a criminal...
Al Pacino played both men in both movies, and in each film, he begins the story as a punk. But in The Godfather, at least, he grows into the establishment. Michael becomes don. Tony was a shooting star on the other hand, one on a collision course with an unyielding atmosphere. Both roles are smorgasbords of possibilities to an actor, especially one who chased Richard III to every imaginable outcome. Each are also master criminals. But which is more masterful?
The obvious answer would seem to be Michael Corleone because he turned a criminal...
- 5/7/2021
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Francis Ford Coppola on How ‘Apocalypse Now’ Was Deemed a Failure — and Nearly Inventing Smartphones
Francis Ford Coppola recently worked cinephiles into a frenzy by saying that, after an eight-year absence from filmmaking, he’d finally begun work on long-planned passion project “Megalopolis,” a film that’s always been dogged by funding issues. That followed his unspooling of “Apocalypse Now: Final Cut” at the Tribeca Film Festival in April, which cut certain scenes from 2001’s extended “Apocalypse Now Redux” while adding back some of the “weirder” elements lost from the 1979 theatrical cut. “Final Cut” will be released on Blu-ray in August.
“Apocalypse Now” — and what it says about how a work of art can shape-shift, in both its own form and in the minds of viewers and critics — was the reason for a wide-ranging new interview with Coppola conducted by Rolling Stone‘s David Fear. The whole Q&A is a reminder of what a forward-looking thinker the “Godfather” filmmaker is; he even almost kicked...
“Apocalypse Now” — and what it says about how a work of art can shape-shift, in both its own form and in the minds of viewers and critics — was the reason for a wide-ranging new interview with Coppola conducted by Rolling Stone‘s David Fear. The whole Q&A is a reminder of what a forward-looking thinker the “Godfather” filmmaker is; he even almost kicked...
- 5/31/2019
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
Some moviegoing experiences change your life: “2001: A Space Odyssey” at Hollywood’s Cinerama Dome; “The Tree of Life” accompanied by a 100-piece symphony orchestra; “The Shining” restored and retrofitted for IMAX. And for the more than 1,000 people at Radio City Music Hall yesterday, it was watching “The Godfather” and “The Godfather Part II.”
Read More: ‘The Godfather’ Reunion: Robert Duvall Imitates Marlon Brando’s Laugh and Other Highlights From Closing Night at Tribeca
Francis Ford Coppola’s crime saga closed out the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival with a 45th anniversary celebration that included restoration screenings of the first two parts and a conversation with Coppola and the cast, including Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Diane Keaton. While the chance to see the cast reunited was a once-in-a-lifetime event, so was the opportunity to experience the full power of “The Godfather” surrounded by cinephiles. And after 45 years, a few things have become abundantly clear.
Read More: ‘The Godfather’ Reunion: Robert Duvall Imitates Marlon Brando’s Laugh and Other Highlights From Closing Night at Tribeca
Francis Ford Coppola’s crime saga closed out the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival with a 45th anniversary celebration that included restoration screenings of the first two parts and a conversation with Coppola and the cast, including Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Diane Keaton. While the chance to see the cast reunited was a once-in-a-lifetime event, so was the opportunity to experience the full power of “The Godfather” surrounded by cinephiles. And after 45 years, a few things have become abundantly clear.
- 4/30/2017
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Vigoda (left) with Richard Castellano and Marlon Brando in "The Godfather" (1972)
By Lee Pfeiffer
Abe Vigoda, whose hang-dog expression and low-key mannerisms help propel him to fame, has passed away at age 94. Vigoda toiled in films and TV without notable success until director Francis Ford Coppola cast him in the key role of Tessio, a mob lieutenant in the Corleone crime family in the 1972 classic "The Godfather". Tessio was one of the most trusted "employees" of the Corleone family but following the death of its patriarch Vito Corleone, Tessio is discovered to be planning the assassination of the new godfather, Michael Corleone. Memorably he is led away to his execution with typical understated emotion. Vigoda's stock in the film industry rose immediately and he became a popular character actor, appearing in such films as "The Cheap Detective", "The Don is Dead", "Newman's Law", "Look Who's Talking" and "The Cannonball Run II...
By Lee Pfeiffer
Abe Vigoda, whose hang-dog expression and low-key mannerisms help propel him to fame, has passed away at age 94. Vigoda toiled in films and TV without notable success until director Francis Ford Coppola cast him in the key role of Tessio, a mob lieutenant in the Corleone crime family in the 1972 classic "The Godfather". Tessio was one of the most trusted "employees" of the Corleone family but following the death of its patriarch Vito Corleone, Tessio is discovered to be planning the assassination of the new godfather, Michael Corleone. Memorably he is led away to his execution with typical understated emotion. Vigoda's stock in the film industry rose immediately and he became a popular character actor, appearing in such films as "The Cheap Detective", "The Don is Dead", "Newman's Law", "Look Who's Talking" and "The Cannonball Run II...
- 1/26/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
By Todd Garbarini
Cy Howard’s 1970 film Lovers and Other Strangers, which stars Bea Arthur, Bonnie Bedelia, Michael Brandon, Anne Jackson, Diane Keaton, and Cloris Leachman, celebrates it’s 45th anniversary this year. The Royale Laemmle Theater in Los Angeles will be holding a special one-night-only showing of the 104-minute comedy on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 at 7:30 pm. Scheduled to appear in person are actress Bonnie Bedelia, Cloris Leachman and the Oscar-nominated co-writers Joe Bologna and Renee Taylor for a post-screening Q&A with film critic Stephen Farber.
From the press release:
Lovers And Other Strangers was nominated for three Academy Awards in 1970 and won the Oscar for best original song, "For All We Know." This sharp and poignant comedy examines the relationships of a dozen characters involved in preparing for a family wedding. The superb ensemble cast includes Oscar winners Gig Young, Cloris Leachman, and Diane Keaton (in her first...
Cy Howard’s 1970 film Lovers and Other Strangers, which stars Bea Arthur, Bonnie Bedelia, Michael Brandon, Anne Jackson, Diane Keaton, and Cloris Leachman, celebrates it’s 45th anniversary this year. The Royale Laemmle Theater in Los Angeles will be holding a special one-night-only showing of the 104-minute comedy on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 at 7:30 pm. Scheduled to appear in person are actress Bonnie Bedelia, Cloris Leachman and the Oscar-nominated co-writers Joe Bologna and Renee Taylor for a post-screening Q&A with film critic Stephen Farber.
From the press release:
Lovers And Other Strangers was nominated for three Academy Awards in 1970 and won the Oscar for best original song, "For All We Know." This sharp and poignant comedy examines the relationships of a dozen characters involved in preparing for a family wedding. The superb ensemble cast includes Oscar winners Gig Young, Cloris Leachman, and Diane Keaton (in her first...
- 5/18/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson on the Oscars' Red Carpet Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson at the Academy Awards Eli Wallach and wife Anne Jackson are seen above arriving at the 2011 Academy Awards ceremony, held on Sunday, Feb. 27, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The 95-year-old Wallach had received an Honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards in November 2010. See also: "Doris Day Inexplicably Snubbed by Academy," "Maureen O'Hara Honorary Oscar," "Honorary Oscars: Mary Pickford, Greta Garbo Among Rare Women Recipients," and "Hayao Miyazaki Getting Honorary Oscar." Delayed film debut The Actors Studio-trained Eli Wallach was to have made his film debut in Fred Zinnemann's Academy Award-winning 1953 blockbuster From Here to Eternity. Ultimately, however, Frank Sinatra – then a has-been following a string of box office duds – was cast for a pittance, getting beaten to a pulp by a pre-stardom Ernest Borgnine. For his bloodied efforts, Sinatra went on...
- 4/24/2015
- by D. Zhea
- Alt Film Guide
The poster for Voyage of the Damned makes a bold claim, and maybe those who saw Stuart Rosenberg’s star-studded blockbuster in 1976 have remembered it ever since. Until a couple of weeks ago, however, when I saw it in a list of past Oscar nominees, I had never heard of it, and I don’t think it would be unfair to say that it is a film that has not stood the test of time.
Voyage of the Damned, which chronicles the tragic failed escape of 937 Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany, was nominated for three Oscars (for Best Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, and for Lee Grant for Best Supporting Actress, the lone acting nominee among a boatload of international heavyweights).
Oscar nominations, especially for acting, tend to confer a certain amount of immortality on their recipients (you are forever “Academy Award nominee Lee Grant”) and there are many films and...
Voyage of the Damned, which chronicles the tragic failed escape of 937 Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany, was nominated for three Oscars (for Best Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, and for Lee Grant for Best Supporting Actress, the lone acting nominee among a boatload of international heavyweights).
Oscar nominations, especially for acting, tend to confer a certain amount of immortality on their recipients (you are forever “Academy Award nominee Lee Grant”) and there are many films and...
- 3/1/2014
- by Adrian Curry
- MUBI
One reason for the longevity of "The Godfather" over the past 40 years is that, behind its gangster plot, is a classic story of an American family, tracing its journey from immigration and poverty toward assimilation and success. In fact, it's not just the story of the Corleone family, but of the Coppola family as well. The movie feels like a personal glimpse into a family album, but it's director/co-screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola's family album as much as it is the fictional Michael Corleone's. True, the characters came from Mario Puzo's novel. But, on screen, Coppola not only invested them with details from his own family history, he even cast several members of his own family in the three movies, often in roles corresponding to their real-life relationships to him. Playing Michael's sister Connie was Francis' sister, Talia Shire. The director's father and mother, Carmine and Italia Coppola,...
- 3/23/2012
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
By Scott Feinberg
HollywoodNews.com: With summer barbecues just around the corner, I thought it might be fun to take a walk down memory lane and identify the 10 most memorable movie scenes involving food. It’s impossible to include everything—it especially pained me to leave off “To Catch a Thief” (1955, with Grace Kelly’s leg or breast double-entendre) to “Dumb and Dumber” (1994, with Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels spicy pepper prank) to “Julie & Julia” (2009, with Meryl Streep’s orgasmic reaction to sole meuniere)—but I think I hit most of the big ones. Let me know your favorite examples in the comments section below!
10. “Sling Blade” (1996)
Iconic scene: Karl (Billy Bob Thornton) famously mumbles, “Mhmm. I like them French fried taters.”
9. “Forrest Gump” (1994)
Iconic scene: Forrest (Tom Hanks) regales strangers with the far-fetched tales of his life, but always comes back to the same aphorism: “Mama always told me...
HollywoodNews.com: With summer barbecues just around the corner, I thought it might be fun to take a walk down memory lane and identify the 10 most memorable movie scenes involving food. It’s impossible to include everything—it especially pained me to leave off “To Catch a Thief” (1955, with Grace Kelly’s leg or breast double-entendre) to “Dumb and Dumber” (1994, with Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels spicy pepper prank) to “Julie & Julia” (2009, with Meryl Streep’s orgasmic reaction to sole meuniere)—but I think I hit most of the big ones. Let me know your favorite examples in the comments section below!
10. “Sling Blade” (1996)
Iconic scene: Karl (Billy Bob Thornton) famously mumbles, “Mhmm. I like them French fried taters.”
9. “Forrest Gump” (1994)
Iconic scene: Forrest (Tom Hanks) regales strangers with the far-fetched tales of his life, but always comes back to the same aphorism: “Mama always told me...
- 5/20/2010
- by Scott Feinberg
- Hollywoodnews.com
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