Paramount Pictures obtained the rights to the novel for $80,000, before it gained popularity.[5][6] Studio executives had trouble finding a director; the first few candidates turned down the position before Coppola signed on to direct the film but disagreement followed over casting several characters, in particular Vito (Brando) and Michael (Pacino). Filming took place primarily in locations aroundNew York City andSicily, and it was completed ahead of schedule. The score was composed principally byNino Rota, with additional pieces byCarmine Coppola.
The Godfather premiered at theLoew's State Theatre on March 14, 1972, and was widely released in the United States on March 24, 1972. It was thehighest-grossing film of 1972, and was for a time thehighest-grossing film ever made, earning between $250 and $291 million at the box office. The film was acclaimed by critics and audiences, who praised its performances—particularly those of Brando and Pacino—direction, screenplay, story, cinematography, editing, score andportrayal of the mafia.The Godfather launched the successful careers of Coppola, Pacino and other relative newcomers in the cast and crew. At the45th Academy Awards, the film wonBest Picture,Best Actor (Brando) andBest Adapted Screenplay (for Puzo and Coppola). In addition, the seven other Oscar nominations included Pacino, Caan and Duvall, all forBest Supporting Actor, and Coppola forBest Director.
In 1945, thedon ofNew York City'sCorleone family,Vito Corleone, listens to requests during his daughterConnie's wedding toCarlo Rizzi. Vito's youngest sonMichael, aMarine andWorld War II hero who has so far stayed out of the family business, introduces his girlfriendKay Adams to his family at the reception. Johnny Fontane, a popular singer and Vito'sgodson, seeks Vito's help in securing a movie role. Vito sends hisconsigliere,Tom Hagen, to persuade studio president Jack Woltz to offer Johnny the part. Woltz refuses Hagen's request at first, but soon complies after finding the severed head of his prizedstud horse in his bed.
AsChristmas approaches, drug baronVirgil "The Turk" Sollozzo asks Vito to invest in his narcotics business to provide police protection. Vito declines, citing that involvement in narcotics would alienate his political connections. Suspicious of Sollozzo's partnership with the Tattaglia crime family, Vito sends his enforcerLuca Brasi to the Tattaglias on an espionage mission. Brasi isgarroted to death during the initial meeting. Later, hitmen gun down Vito and coerce Hagen into a meeting. With Vito's first-bornSonny now in command, Sollozzo pressures Hagen to persuade Sonny to accept the narcotics deal. Vito survives the shooting and is visited in the hospital by Michael, who finds him unprotected after corrupt police captain Mark McCluskey, on Sollozzo's payroll, ordersNYPD police officers to clear out Vito's guards. Michael stops the attempt on his father's life but is then beaten up by Captain McCluskey. After the attemptedhit at the hospital, Sonny retaliates with a hit on Bruno Tattaglia. Sollozzo and McCluskey request to meet with Michael and settle the dispute. The Corleones agree to the meeting and devise a plan to plant a handgun in the bathroom of the Bronx restaurant where the meeting will be held. Michael speaks with Sollozzo for several minutes then excuses himself, retrieves the gun, and shoots both men dead.
Despite a clampdown by the authorities for the killing of a police captain, theFive Families erupt in open warfare. Michael takes refuge under the protection of Don Tommasino inSicily, and Vito's second sonFredo is sheltered by Jewish mobsterMoe Greene inLas Vegas. In Sicily, Michael meets and marries a local woman,Apollonia. Sonny publicly attacks and threatens Carlo for physically abusing Connie. When Carlo thrashes a pregnant Connie again, Sonny speeds to their home but is ambushed and murdered by gangsters at a highway toll booth. Apollonia is killed shortly thereafter by acar bomb intended for Michael.
Devastated by Sonny's death and tired of war as thecapo dei capi, Vito sets up a meeting with the Five Families. He assures them that he will withdraw his opposition to their narcotics business and forgo avenging Sonny's murder. His safety guaranteed, Michael returns home to enter the family business and marry Kay. They have two children in the early 1950s. With his father nearing the end of his life and Fredo not suited to lead, Michael assumes the position of head of the Corleone family. Vito tells Michael that he now knows that their true adversary had been DonBarzini all along. He warns him that Barzini would try to kill him at a meeting organized by a traitorous Corleonecapo. With Vito's support, Michael relegates Hagen to managing operations in Las Vegas as he is not a "wartime consigliere". Michael travels to Las Vegas to buy out Moe Greene's stake in the family's casinos and reprimands Fredo for defending Greene, whom Barzini had turned against the family.
In 1955, Vito dies of a heart attack while playing with Michael's sonAnthony. At Vito's funeral,Tessio asks Michael to meet with Barzini, signaling his betrayal. The meeting is set for the same day as the baptism of Connie's baby. Michael, remembering his father's warning, deduces the plot and Tessio is led off to be murdered. While Michael stands at the baptismal font as the child'sgodfather, Corleone hitmen murder the dons of the four other families as well as Greene for not selling his hotel. Michael extracts Carlo's confession that he had conspired with Barzini on Sonny's assassination. He assures Carlo that he is being exiled, not murdered. However, Clemenza strangles Carlo in a car shortly afterwards. Connie confronts Michael about his involvement in Carlo's death while Kay is in the room. Kay asks Michael if he ordered Carlo's death, which Michael denies, leaving Kay relieved. As she leaves,capos enter the office and pay reverence to Michael as "Don Corleone".
Uncredited members of the cast includeTom Rosqui asRocco Lampone; one of Michael's enforcers,Joe Spinell[9] as Willi Cicci; one of Clemenza's enforcers, Gabriele Torrei as Enzo the baker, and Anthony Gounaris as Anthony Corleone. Francis Ford Coppola's daughterSofia, who was still an infant at the time, appears uncredited as Michael Rizzi in the baptism sequence.[10]
The film is based onMario Puzo'sThe Godfather, which remained onThe New York Times Best Seller list for 67 weeks and sold over nine million copies in two years.[11][5][12] Published in 1969, it became the best selling published work in history for several years.[13]Burt Lancaster andDanny Thomas both expressed interest adapting the book.[14]Paramount Pictures originally found out about Puzo's novel in 1967 when a literary scout for the company contacted then Paramount Vice President of ProductionPeter Bart about Puzo's unfinished sixty-page manuscript titledMafia.[5] Bart believed the work was "much beyond a Mafia story" and offered Puzo a $12,500 option for the work, with an option for $80,000 if the finished work were to be made into a film.[5][6] Despite Puzo's agent telling him to turn down the offer, Puzo was desperate for money and accepted the deal.[5][6] Paramount'sRobert Evans relates that, when they met in early 1968, he offered Puzo the deal after the author confided in him that he urgently needed $10,000 to pay off gambling debts.[15]
In March 1967, Paramount announced that it backed Puzo's upcoming work in the hopes of making a film.[5] In 1969, Paramount confirmed their intentions to make a film out of the novel for the price of $80,000,[N 3][6][16][17][18] with aims to have the film released on Christmas Day in 1971.[19] On March 23, 1970,Albert S. Ruddy was officially announced as the film's producer, in part because studio executives were impressed with his interview and because he was known for bringing his films in under budget.[20][21][22]
Francis Ford Coppola (pictured in 1973) was selected as director. Paramount wanted the picture to be directed by anItalian American to make the film "ethnic to the core".
Evans wanted the picture to be directed by anItalian American to make the film "ethnic to the core".[23][24] Paramount's latest gangster film,The Brotherhood, had done very poorly at the box office;[12][25] Evans believed that the reason for its failure was its almost complete lack of cast members or creative personnel of Italian descent (the directorMartin Ritt and starKirk Douglas were not Italian).[15]Sergio Leone was Paramount's first choice to direct the film.[26][27] Leone turned down the option, in order to work on his own gangster filmOnce Upon a Time in America.[26][27]Peter Bogdanovich was then approached but he also declined the offer because he was not interested in the mafia.[28][29][30] In addition,Peter Yates,Richard Brooks,Arthur Penn,Franklin J. Schaffner,Costa-Gavras, andOtto Preminger were all offered the position and declined.[31][32][33] Evans' chief assistant Peter Bart suggestedFrancis Ford Coppola, as a director of Italian ancestry who would work for a low sum and budget after the poor performance of his latest filmThe Rain People.[34][23] Coppola initially turned down the job because he found Puzo's novel sleazy and sensationalist, describing it as "pretty cheap stuff".[15][35] At the time Coppola's studio,American Zoetrope,[36] owed over $400,000 toWarner Bros. for budget overruns with the filmTHX 1138 and when coupled with his poor financial standing, along with advice from friends and family, Coppola reversed his initial decision and took the job.[32][37][38][39] Coppola was officially announced as director of the film on September 28, 1970.[40] Coppola agreed to receive $125,000 and six percent of the gross rentals.[41][42] Coppola later found a deeper theme for the material and decided that the film should not be about organized crime but a family chronicle, a metaphor for capitalism in America.[23]
BeforeThe Godfather was in production, Paramount had been going through an unsuccessful period.[12] In addition to the failure ofThe Brotherhood, other recent films that were produced or co-produced by Paramount had greatly exceeded their budgets:Darling Lili,[21]Paint Your Wagon, andWaterloo.[12][25] The budget for the film was originally $2.5 million but as the book grew in popularity Coppola argued for and ultimately received a larger budget.[N 1][31][43][45] Paramount executives wanted the movie to be set in contemporaryKansas City and shot in the studio backlot in order to cut down on costs.[31][21][43] Coppola objected and wanted to set the movie in the same time period as the novel, the 1940s and 1950s;[21][31][38][40] Coppola's reasons included Michael Corleone's spell in the wartime Marine Corps, the emergence of corporate America, and America in the years after World War II.[40] The novel was becoming increasingly successful and so Coppola's wishes were eventually granted.[21][43] The studio heads subsequently let Coppola film on location in New York City and Sicily.[51]
Gulf+Western executiveCharles Bluhdorn was frustrated with Coppola over the number of screen tests he had performed without finding a person to play the various roles.[46] Production quickly fell behind because of Coppola's indecisiveness and conflicts with Paramount, which led to costs being around $40,000 per day.[46] With costs rising, Paramount had the Vice President, Jack Ballard, keep a close eye on production expenses.[52] While filming, Coppola stated that he felt he could be fired at any point as he knew Paramount executives were not happy with many of the decisions he had made.[31] Coppola was aware that Evans had askedElia Kazan to take over directing the film because he feared that Coppola was too inexperienced to cope with the increased size of the production.[53] Coppola was also convinced that the film editor,Aram Avakian, and the assistant director, Steve Kestner, were conspiring to get him fired. Avakian complained to Evans that he could not edit the scenes correctly because Coppola was not shooting enough footage. Evans was satisfied with the footage being sent to the West Coast—in which there was also the scene of Michael's double murder in the Bronx restaurant[54]—and authorized Coppola to fire them both. Coppola later explained, "Like the godfather, I fired people as a preemptory strike. The people who were angling the most to have me fired, I had fired."[55] Brando threatened to quit if Coppola was fired.[31][52]
Paramount wantedThe Godfather to appeal to a wide audience and threatened Coppola with a "violence coach" to make the film more exciting. Coppola did add a few more violent scenes to keep the studio happy: the scene in which Connie smashescrockery after finding out Carlo has been cheating was added for this reason.[38]
On April 14, 1970, it was revealed that Puzo was hired by Paramount for $100,000, along with a percentage of the film's profits, to work on the screenplay for the film.[22][56][57] Working from the book, Coppola wanted to have the themes of culture, character, power, and family at the forefront of the film, whereas Puzo wanted to retain aspects from his novel[58] and his initial draft of 150 pages was finished on August 10, 1970.[56][57] After Coppola was hired as director, both Puzo and Coppola worked on the screenplay, but separately.[59] Puzo worked on his draft in Los Angeles, while Coppola wrote his version inSan Francisco.[59] Coppola created a book where he tore pages out of Puzo's book and pasted them into his book.[60][59] There, he made notes about each of the book's fifty scenes, which related to major themes prevalent in the scene, whether the scene should be included in the film, along with ideas and concepts that could be used when filming to make the film true to Italian culture.[59][52] The two remained in contact while they wrote their respective screenplays and made decisions on what to include and what to remove for the final version.[59] A second draft was completed on March 1, 1971, and was 173 pages long.[56][61] The final screenplay was finished on March 29, 1971,[57] and wound up being 163 pages long,[56][59] 40 pages over what Paramount had asked for.[62] When filming, Coppola referred to the notebook he had created over the final draft of the screenplay.[59][52] ScreenwriterRobert Towne was asked to do some uncredited work on the script as a script doctor, particularly on the dialogue in the Pacino-Brando garden scene.[63] Despite finishing the third draft, some scenes in the film were still not written yet and were written during production.[64]
TheItalian-American Civil Rights League, led by mobsterJoseph Colombo, maintained that the film emphasized stereotypes about Italian-Americans, and wanted all uses of the words "mafia" and "Cosa Nostra" to be removed from the script.[65][19][66][67][68] The league also requested that all the money earned from the premiere be donated to the league's fund to build a new hospital.[67][68] Coppola claimed that Puzo's screenplay only contained two instances of the word "mafia" being used, while "Cosa Nostra" was not used at all.[67][68] They were removed and replaced with other terms, without compromising the story.[67][68] The league eventually gave its support for the script.[67][68] Earlier, the windows of producer Albert S. Ruddy's car had been shot out with a note left on the dashboard which essentially said, "shut down the movie—or else."[23] However, it was revealed in August 1971 that Ruddy personally met withColombo family head Joseph Colombo, Colombo's son Anthony and about 1,500 delegates of Colombo's Italian-American Civil Rights League when he was developing the film, with the first meeting being held on February 25, 1971.[69] Ruddy would also hold numerous meetings with Anthony Colombo.[69] These meetings led to Ruddy agreeing to base the film on individuals and assuring that it would not defame or stereotype Italians.[69] It was even reported that Anthony Colombo eventually made Ruddy an honorary captain of the League.[69]
Puzo was first to show interest in havingMarlon Brando portray Don Vito Corleone by sending a letter to Brando in which he stated Brando was the "only actor who can play the Godfather".[70] Despite Puzo's wishes, the executives at Paramount were against having Brando,[36] partly because of the poor performance of his recent films and also his short temper.[43][71] Brando was hesitant about getting back into acting, but his secretary Alice Marchak persuaded him to audition.[72] Coppola favored Brando orLaurence Olivier for the role,[73][74] but Olivier's agent refused the role claiming Olivier was sick;[75] however, Olivier went on to star inSleuth later that year.[74] Evans pushed for eitherCarlo Ponti orErnest Borgnine to receive the part.[73][76] Bluhdorn proposedCharles Bronson for the role.[76] Others considered wereGeorge C. Scott,Richard Conte (who was ultimately cast as Don Barzini),Raf Vallone,Anthony Quinn andOrson Welles.[73][77][78] Welles met with Puzo and tried to convince him that he was right for the role.[79]
After months of debate between Coppola and Paramount over Brando, the two finalists for the role were Borgnine and Brando;[80] Paramount presidentStanley Jaffe required Brando to perform ascreen test.[81][82] Coppola did not want to offend Brando and stated that he needed to test equipment in order to set up the screen test at Brando'sCalifornia residence.[82][83] For make-up, Brando stuck cotton balls in his cheeks,[80] put shoe polish in his hair to darken it, and rolled his collar.[84] Coppola placed Brando's audition tape in the middle of the videos of the audition tapes as the Paramount executives watched them.[85] The executives were impressed with Brando's efforts and allowed Coppola to cast Brando for the role if Brando accepted a lower salary and put up a bond to ensure he would not cause any delays in production.[80][85][86] Brando earned $1.6 million from a net participation deal.[87]
From the start of production, Coppola wantedRobert Duvall to play the part of Tom Hagen.[19][88][89] After screen testing several other actors, Coppola eventually got his wish and Duvall was awarded the part.[88][89]Al Martino, a then famed singer in nightclubs, was notified of the character Johnny Fontane by a friend who read the novel and felt Martino represented the character of Johnny Fontane. Martino then contacted producer Albert S. Ruddy, who gave him the part. Martino was stripped of the part after Coppola became director and then awarded the role to singerVic Damone. According to Martino, after being stripped of the role, he went toRussell Bufalino, his godfather and a crime boss, who then arranged for news articles to be published that claimed Coppola was unaware of Ruddy giving Martino the part.[23] Damone eventually dropped the role because he did not want to provoke the mob, in addition to the salary being too low.[23][90] Ultimately, althoughFrank Sinatra threatened to bar him from Las Vegas if he took the role,[91] the part of Johnny Fontane was given to Martino.[23][90]
Coppola castDiane Keaton for the role of Kay Adams owing to her reputation for beingeccentric.[92] Prior to auditioning, Keaton never read the book, but she decided to read it after she was cast.[93]John Cazale was given the part of Fredo Corleone after Coppola saw him perform in an Off Broadway production.[92]Gianni Russo was given the role of Carlo Rizzi after he was asked to perform a screen test in which he acted out the fight between Rizzi and Connie.[94]
Nearing the start of filming on March 29, Michael Corleone had yet to be cast.[95] Paramount executives wanted a popular actor, eitherWarren Beatty,Alain Delon orRobert Redford.[96][80][97][98] Producer Robert Evans was drawn to French actor Alain Delon, one of Europe’s biggest sex symbols, who was eager to play Michael and even carried a copy ofThe Godfather book.[99][100][101] However, Delon’s smooth, polished image didn’t fit the intense, brooding character Coppola wanted.[99] Subsequently, Evans turned toRyan O'Neal for the role, owing in part to his recent success inLove Story.[97][102] Pacino was Coppola's favorite for the role[36] as he could picture him roaming the Sicilian countryside, and wanted an unknown actor who looked like an Italian-American.[38][97][102] Paramount executives found Pacino to be too short to play Michael.[19][23] Many actors also auditioned, includingDustin Hoffman,Martin Sheen,Dean Stockwell, andJames Caan.[92][33][103] Keaton read with both Caan and Sheen.[104]Burt Reynolds was offered the role of Michael, but Brando threatened to quit if Reynolds was hired. Reynolds declined the role.[105]Jack Nicholson was also offered the role, but declined it as he felt that an Italian-American actor should play the role.[106][107] Caan was well received by the Paramount executives and was given the part of Michael initially, while the role of Sonny Corleone was awarded toCarmine Caridi.[23] Coppola urged producersAl Ruddy and Evans to see Pacino inPanic in Needle Park.[108] After watching it, they gave Pacino the part and allowing him Pacino to have the role of Michael as long as Caan played Sonny.[109] Evans preferred Caan over Caridi because Caan was seven inches shorter than Caridi, which was much closer to Pacino's height.[23] However, Pacino himself couldn’t envision himself in the role because he saw Michael Corleone as someone more glamorous, more self-contained — someone more like Alain Delon.[108] He struggled in early screen tests, often forgetting lines and improvising dialogue.[108] Despite this, Pacino took on the role.[108] Despite agreeing to play Michael Corleone, Pacino was contracted to star in MGM'sThe Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight, but the two studios agreed on a settlement and Pacino was signed by Paramount three weeks before shooting began.[110]
Robert De Niro originally was given the part of Paulie Gatto.[111][80] A spot inThe Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight opened up afterAl Pacino quit the project in favor ofThe Godfather, which led De Niro to audition for the role and leaveThe Godfather after receiving the part.[111][112] De Niro was also cast for the role of Sonny Corleone.[113][114][115] After De Niro quit,Johnny Martino was given the role of Gatto.[23][116][117][118][119][120][121][122] Coppola gave several roles in the film to family members.[23] He gave his sister,Talia Shire, the role of Connie Corleone.[123][124] His daughterSofia, then an infant, appeared as Michael Francis Rizzi, Connie's and Carlo's newborn son.[23][125]Carmine Coppola, his father, appeared in the film as an extra playing a piano during a scene.[126] Coppola's wife, mother, and two sons all appeared as extras in the picture.[23] Several smaller roles, likeLuca Brasi, were cast after the filming had started.[127] Ruddy's casting choices would earn him more approval from theItalian-American Civil Rights League, with Anthony Colombo reported to have made Ruddy a league captain after the meeting where the film's bit players and extras were chosen.[69]
Before the filming began, the cast received a two-week period for rehearsal, which included a dinner where each actor and actress had to assume character for its duration.[129] Filming was scheduled to begin on March 29, 1971, with the scene between Michael Corleone and Kay Adams as they leaveBest & Co. in New York City after shopping for Christmas gifts.[130][131] The weather on March 23 predicted snow flurries, which caused Ruddy to move the filming date forward; snow did not materialize and a snow machine was used.[131] Principal filming in New York continued until July 2, 1971.[132][133] Coppola asked for a three-week break before heading overseas to film in Sicily.[132] Following the crew's departure for Sicily, Paramount announced that the release date would be moved to early 1972.[134]
CinematographerGordon Willis initially turned down the opportunity to filmThe Godfather because the production seemed "chaotic" to him.[135][109] After Willis later accepted the offer, he and Coppola agreed to not use any modern filming devices, helicopters, or zoom lenses.[136] Willis and Coppola chose to use a "tableau format" of filming to make it seem like a painting.[136] He made use of shadows and low light levels throughout the film to show psychological developments.[136] Willis and Coppola agreed to interplay light and dark scenes throughout the film.[46] Willis underexposed the film in order to create a "yellow tone".[136] The scenes in Sicily were shot to display the countryside and "display a more romantic land," giving these scenes a "softer, more romantic" feel than the New York scenes.[137]
One scene in the film involved an actual severed horse's head.[38][138] The filming location for this scene is contested, as some sources indicate it was filmed at theBeverly Estate, while others indicate it was filmed atSands Point Preserve on Long Island.[139][140][141] Coppola received some criticism for the scene, although the head was obtained from a dog-food company from a horse that was to be killed regardless of the film.[142][143][144] On June 22, the scene where Sonny is killed was shot on a runway atMitchel Field in Uniondale, where three tollbooths were built, along with guard rails, and billboards to set the scene.[145] Sonny's car was a 1941 Lincoln Continental with holes drilled in it to resemble bullet holes.[146][147] The scene took three days to film and cost over $100,000.[148][147]
Coppola's request to film on location was observed; approximately 90 percent was shot in New York City and its surrounding suburbs,[149][150] using over 120 distinct locations.[151] Several scenes were filmed atFilmways inEast Harlem.[152] The remaining portions were filmed in California, or in Sicily. The scenes set inLas Vegas were not shot on location because there were insufficient funds.[149][153]Savoca andForza d'Agrò were the Sicilian towns featured in the film.[154] The opening wedding scene was shot in aStaten Island neighborhood using almost 750 locals as extras.[150][155] The house used as the Corleone household and the wedding location was at 110 Longfellow Avenue in theTodt Hill neighborhood of Staten Island.[156][155][65] The wall around the Corleone compound was made fromstyrofoam.[155] Scenes set in and around the Corleone olive oil business were filmed onMott Street.[151][157]
After filming had ended on August 7,[158] post-production efforts were focused on trimming the film to a manageable length.[159] In addition, producers and director were still including and removing different scenes from the end product, along with trimming certain sequences.[160] In September, the first rough cut of the film was viewed.[159] Many of the scenes removed from the film were centered around Sonny, which did not advance the plot.[161] By November, Coppola and Ruddy finished the semi-final cut.[161] Debates over personnel involved with the final editing remained even 25 years after the release of the film.[162] The film was shown to Paramount staff and exhibitors in late December 1971 and January 1972.[163]
Coppola hired Italian composerNino Rota to create the underscore for the film, including "Love Theme fromThe Godfather".[164][165] For the score, Rota was to relate to the situations and characters in the film.[164][165] Rota synthesized new music for the film and took some parts from his 1958Fortunella film score, in order to create an Italian feel and evoke the tragedy within the film.[166] Paramount executive Evans found the score to be too "highbrow" and did not want to use it; however, it was used after Coppola managed to get Evans to agree.[164][165] Coppola believed that Rota's musical piece gave the film even more of an Italian feel.[165] Coppola's father,Carmine, created some additional music for the film,[167] particularly the music played by the band during the opening wedding scene.[165][166]
The world premiere forThe Godfather took place atLoews's State Theatre in New York City on Tuesday, March 14, 1972, almost three months after the planned release date of Christmas Day in 1971,[174][175][3] with profits from the premiere donated to The Boys Club of New York.[176] Before the film premiered, the film had already made $15 million from advance rentals from over 400 nation-wide highlighted theaters as part of the marketing promotion plan for the film.[43] The following day,[36] the film opened in five theaters in New York (Loew'sState I and II, Orpheum, Cine and Tower East).[177][23][3] Next was theImperial Theatre inToronto[174] on March 17[178] and thenLos Angeles at two theaters on March 22.[179]The Godfather was released on March 24, 1972, throughout the rest of theUnited States[177][3] reaching 316 theaters five days later.[180]
The television rights were sold for a record $10 million toNBC for one showing over two nights.[181] The theatrical version ofThe Godfather debuted on American network television on NBC with only minor edits.[182] The first half of the film aired on Saturday, November 16, 1974, and the second half two days later.[183] The television airings attracted a large audience with an averageNielsen rating of 38.2 and audience share of 59% making it the eighth most-watched film on television, with the broadcast of the second half getting the third-best rating for a film on TV behindAirport andLove Story with a rating of 39.4 and 57% share.[183] The broadcast helped generate anticipation for the upcoming sequel.[182] The next year, Coppola createdThe Godfather Saga expressly for American television in a release that combinedThe Godfather andThe Godfather Part II with unused footage from those two films in a chronological telling that toned down the violent, sexual, and profane material for itsNBC debut on November 18, 1977.[184] In 1981, Paramount released theGodfather Epic boxed set, which also told the story of the first two films in chronological order, again with additional scenes, but not redacted for broadcast sensibilities.[184]The Godfather Trilogy was released in 1992, in which the films are fundamentally in chronological order.[185]
The Godfather Family: A Look Inside was a 73-minute documentary released in 1991.[186] Directed by Jeff Warner, the film featured some behind the scenes content from all three films, interviews with the actors, and screen tests.[186]The Godfather DVD Collection was released on October 9, 2001, in a package that contained all three films—each with a commentary track by Coppola—and a bonus disc containingThe Godfather Family: A Look Inside.[187] The DVD also held a Corleone family tree, a "Godfather" timeline, and footage of the Academy Award acceptance speeches.[187]
During the film's original theatrical release, the original negatives were worn down due to the reel being printed so much to meet demand.[188][189] In addition, the duplicate negative was lost in Paramount archives.[189] In 2006 Coppola contactedSteven Spielberg—whose studioDreamWorks had recently been bought out by Paramount—about restoringThe Godfather.[188][189]Robert A. Harris was hired to oversee the restoration ofThe Godfather and its two sequels, with the film's cinematographer Willis participating in the restoration.[190][191] Work began in November 2006 by repairing the negatives so they could go through a digital scanner to produce high-resolution 4K files. If a negative was damaged and discolored, work was done digitally to restore it to its original look.[188][189] After a year and a half of working on the restoration, the project was complete.[189] Paramount called the finished productThe Godfather: The Coppola Restoration and released it to the public on September 23, 2008, on both DVD andBlu-ray Disc.[190][191] Dave Kehr ofThe New York Times believed the restoration brought back the "golden glow of their original theatrical screenings".[190] As a whole, the restoration of the film was well received by critics and Coppola.[188][189][190][191][192]The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration contains several new special features that play in high definition, (including additional scenes, behind the scenes footage, etc.).[192]
Paramount Pictures restored and remasteredThe Godfather,The Godfather Part II, andThe Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone (a re-edited cut of the third film) for a limited theatrical run and home media release on Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the premiere ofThe Godfather. The disc editions were released on March 22, 2022.[193]
The Godfather was ablockbuster, breaking many box office records to become thehighest grossing film of 1972.[194] The film's opening day gross from five theaters was $57,829 with ticket prices increased from $3 to $3.50.[174] Prices in New York increased further at the weekend to $4, and the number of showings increased from four times a day to seven times a day.[174] The film grossed $61,615 in Toronto for the weekend[174] and $240,780 in New York,[195] for an opening weekend gross of $302,395. The film grossed $454,000 for the week in New York[174] and $115,000 in Toronto[178] for a first week gross of $568,800, which made it number one at the U.S. box office for the week.[196] In its first five days of national release, it grossed $6.8 million, taking its gross up to $7,397,164.[197] A week later its gross had reached $17,291,705[198] with the one week gross of around $10 million being an industry record.[199] It grossed another $8.7 million by April 9 to take its gross to $26,000,815.[200] After 18 weeks atnumber one in the United States, the film had grossed $101 million, the fastest film to reach that milestone.[201][202] Some news articles at the time proclaimed it was the first film to gross $100 million in North America,[179] but such accounts are erroneous; this record belongs toThe Sound of Music, released in 1965.[203] It remained at number one in the US for another five weeks to bring its total to 23 consecutive weeks at number one before being unseated byButterflies Are Free for one week before becoming number one for another three weeks.[204][205]
The film eventually earned $81.5 million intheatrical rentals in the US and Canada during its initial release,[194][206] increasing its earnings to $85.7 million through a reissue in 1973,[207] and including a limited re-release in 1997,[208] it ultimately earned an equivalent exhibition gross of $135 million, with a production cost of $6.5 million.[177] It displacedGone with the Wind to claim the record as the top rentals earner,[194] a position it would retain until the release ofJaws in 1975.[179][209] The film repeated its native success overseas, earning in total an unprecedented $142 million in worldwide theatrical rentals, to become thehighest net earner.[210] Profits were so high forThe Godfather that earnings forGulf & Western Industries, Inc., which owned Paramount, jumped from 77 cents per share to $3.30 a share for the year, according to aLos Angeles Times article, dated December 13, 1972.[179] Re-released eight more times since 1997, it has grossed between $250 million and $291 million in worldwide box office receipts,[N 2] and adjusted for ticket priceinflation in North America, ranks among the top 25highest-grossing films.[211]
The Godfather has received widespread critical acclaim and is seen as one of thegreatest and most influential films of all time, particularly of thegangster genre.[212] Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 153 reviews, with an average rating of 9.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "One of Hollywood's greatest critical and commercial successes,The Godfather gets everything right; not only did the movie transcend expectations, it established new benchmarks for American cinema."[213]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, has assigned the film a score of 100 out of 100 based on 16 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[214]
The Village Voice'sAndrew Sarris believedMarlon Brando portrayed Vito Corleone well and that his character dominated each scene it appeared in, but felt Puzo and Coppola had the character of Michael Corleone too focused on revenge.[215] In addition, Sarris stated thatRichard Castellano,Robert Duvall, andJames Caan were good in their respective roles.[215]Pauline Kael ofThe New Yorker wrote that "If ever there was a great example of how the best popular movies come out of a merger of commerce and art,The Godfather is it...[Coppola] has stayed very close to the book's greased-lightning sensationalism and yet has made a movie with the spaciousness and strength that popular novels such asDickens' used to have." She concluded that "The Godfather is popular melodrama, but it expresses a new tragic realism."[216]
Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun Times praised the casting by Coppola and Ruddy: "As the Irish cop, for example, they simply slide inSterling Hayden and let the character go about his business." He wrote that "Coppola has found a style and a visual look for all this material so "The Godfather" becomes something of a rarity: a really good movie squeezed from a bestseller. The decision to shoot everything in period decor (the middle and late 1940s) was crucial; if they'd tried to save money as they originally planned, by bringing everything up-to-date, the movie simply wouldn't have worked. But it's uncannily successful as a period piece, filled with sleek, bulging limousines and postwar fedoras. Coppola and his cinematographer, Gordon Willis, also do some interesting things with the color photography. The earlier scenes have a reddish-brown tint, slightly overexposed and feeling like nothing so much as a 1946 newspaper rotogravure supplement."[217] Ebert namedThe Godfather the best film of 1972.[218] TheChicago Tribune'sGene Siskel gave the film four out of four, commenting that it was "very good".[219]
Desson Howe ofThe Washington Post called the film a "jewel" and wrote that Coppola deserves most of the credit for the film.[220] Writing forThe New York Times,Vincent Canby felt that Coppola had created one of the "most brutal and moving chronicles of American life" and went on to say that it "transcends its immediate milieu and genre".[221][222] DirectorStanley Kubrick thought the film had the best cast ever and could be the best movie ever made.[223] DirectorSteven Spielberg listed it among his favorite films.[224]Stanley Kauffmann ofThe New Republic wrote negatively of the film in a contemporary review, claiming that Pacino "rattles around in a part too demanding for him", while also criticizing Brando's make-up and Rota's score.[225]
Previous mafia films had looked at the gangs from the perspective of an outraged outsider.[226] In contrast,The Godfather presents the gangster's perspective of the Mafia as a response to corrupt society.[226] Although the Corleone family is presented as immensely rich and powerful, no scenes depict prostitution, gambling, loan sharking or other forms of racketeering.[227] George De Stefano argues that the setting of a criminal counterculture allows for unapologetic gender stereotyping (such as when Vito tells a weepy Johnny Fontane to "act like a man") and is an important part of the film's appeal.[228]
Remarking on the fortieth anniversary of the film's release, film criticJohn Podhoretz praisedThe Godfather as "arguablythe great American work of popular art" and "the summa of all great moviemaking before it".[229] Two years before, Roger Ebert had written in his journal that it "comes closest to being a film everyone agrees... is unquestionably great".[230] Ebert added it to his canon of great movies, writing that "a strange thing happed as I watched the restored version: Familiar as I am with Robert Duvall, when he first appeared on the screen I found myself thinking, 'There's Tom Hagen.' Coppola went to Italy to findNino Rota, composer of manyFellini films, to score the picture. Hearing the sadness and nostalgia of the movie's main theme, I realized what the music was telling us: Things would have turned out better if only they had listened to the Godfather."[231]
1990 Selected for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[259]
1992The Godfather ranked 6th inSight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time director's poll.[260]
1998Time Out conducted a poll andThe Godfather was voted the best film of all time.[261]
The Village Voice rankedThe Godfather at number 12 in its Top 250 "Best Films of the Century" list in 1999, based on a poll of critics.[262]
2002Sight & Sound polled film directors and they voted the film and itssequel as the second best film ever;[266] the critics poll separately voted it fourth.[267]
2014The Godfather was voted the greatest film in aHollywood Reporter poll of 2120 industry members, including every studio, agency, publicity firm and production house in Hollywood in 2014.[282]
2015 Second on theBBC's "100 Greatest American Films", voted by film critics from around the world.[283]
Although manyfilms about gangsters precededThe Godfather, Coppola steeped his film in Italian immigrant culture, and his portrayal of mobsters as persons of considerable psychological depth and complexity was unprecedented.[285] Coppola took it further withThe Godfather Part II, and the success of those two films, critically, artistically and financially, was a catalyst for the production of numerous other depictions of Italian Americans as mobsters, including films such asMartin Scorsese'sGoodfellas and TV series such asDavid Chase'sThe Sopranos. A comprehensive study of Italian-American culture in film from 1914 to 2014 was conducted by the Italic Institute of America showing the influence ofThe Godfather.[286][287] Over 81 percent of films, 430 films, featuring Italian Americans as mobsters (87 percent of which were fictional) had been produced sinceThe Godfather, an average of 10 per year, while only 98 films were produced precedingThe Godfather.
Produced in a period of intense national cynicism and self-criticism, the film struck a chord about the dual identities felt by many descendants of immigrants.[288]The Godfather has been cited as an influence in an increase in Hollywood's negative portrayals of immigrant Italians, and was a recruiting tool for organized crime.[289] Don Vito Corleone's line, "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse", was voted the second-most memorable line in cinema history inAFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes by theAmerican Film Institute, in 2014.[290] The concept was not unique to the film. French writerHonoré de Balzac, in his novelLe Père Goriot (1835), wrote thatVautrin told Eugène: "In that case I will make you an offer that no one would decline."[291] An almost identical line was used in theJohn WayneWestern,Riders of Destiny (1933), where Forrest Taylor states, "I've made Denton an offer he can't refuse."[292] In 2014, the film also was selected as the greatest film by 2,120 industry professionals in aHollywood survey undertaken byThe Hollywood Reporter.[282]
Gangsters reportedly responded enthusiastically to the film.[293]Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, the formerunderboss in theGambino crime family,[294] said: "I left the movie stunned ... I mean I floated out of the theater. Maybe it was fiction, but for me, then, that was our life. It was incredible. I remember talking to a multitude of guys,made guys, who felt exactly the same way." According toAnthony Fiato, after seeing the film,Patriarca crime family members Paulie Intiso and Nicky Giso altered their speech patterns to imitate that of Vito Corleone. Intiso was known to swear frequently and use poor grammar; but after seeing the movie, he began to improve his speech and philosophize more.[295] In 2025,The Times reported that recruits to theSicilian Mafia in Italy are now required by mafia bosses to watchThe Godfather so they can learn the trade and because mafia bosses fear that new recruits "lack a code of honour".[296]
The film has been referenced and parodied in various kinds of media.[297]
John Belushi appeared in aSaturday Night Live sketch as Vito Corleone in a therapy session; he said of the Tattaglia Family, "Also, they shot my son Santino 56 times".[298]
The crime drama television showThe Sopranos has many film references. Most notably,Silvio Dante's topless bar is namedBada Bing!, a phrase popularized by James Caan's character Sonny Corleone inThe Godfather. Throughout the show, Silvio impersonates Al Pacino's character, Michael Corleone using quotes from the movie and its sequels.[23]
The film's baptism sequence was parodied in "Fulgencio", the 13th episode ofseason 4 of the comedy seriesModern Family, with Phil Dunphy standing in for Michael. The sequence also references the horse head scene when Phil's son Luke places a severed zebra head in the bed of a boy who had been making fun of him and had a fear of zebras. Phil also referencesGodfather lines when he tells his wife Claire, "Don't ask me about my business," and mentions an offer he can't refuse.[302]
The 2006 video gameThe Godfather is based upon this film and tells the story of Aldo Trapani, whose rise through the ranks of the Corleone family intersects with the plot of the film on numerous occasions.[303][304] Duvall, Caan, and Brando supplied voiceovers and their likenesses,[305] but Pacino did not.[305] Francis Ford Coppola openly voiced his disapproval of the game.[306]
In the 2016 animated filmZootopia the character Mr. Big is a parody of Vito Corleone.
On April 28, 2022, a 10-episode drama seriesThe Offer premiered onParamount+, about the production told from the perspective of producer Ruddy.[307]
The 2023 filmBarbie, directed byGreta Gerwig, features a scene in which the characters watchThe Godfather, with Ken, portrayed byKingsley Ben-Adir, praising the film as a collective effort of Francis Ford Coppola and Robert Evans. A clip fromThe Godfather is also shown, showing Marlon Brando in the opening scene of the film.[308]
^abSources disagree on both the amount of the original budget and the final budget. The starting budget has been recorded as $1 million,[21] $2 million,[19][43][44][6] and $2.5 million,[23][45] while Coppola later demanded—and received—a $5 million budget.[31] The final budget has been named at $6 million,[31][23][46][47] $6.5 million,[43][48] $7 million,[49] and $7.2 million.[50]
^abSources disagree on the amount grossed by the film.
1974:Newsweek. Vol. 84. 1974. p. 74.The originalGodfather has grossed a mind-boggling $285 million...
1991:Von Gunden, Kenneth (1991).Postmodern auteurs: Coppola, Lucas, De Palma, Spielberg, and Scorsese.McFarland & Company. p. 36.ISBN978-0-89950-618-0.SinceThe Godfather had earned over $85 million in U.S.-Canada rentals (the worldwide box-office gross was $285 million), a sequel, according to the usual formula, could be expected to earn approximately two-thirds of the original's box-office take (ultimatelyGodfather II had rentals of $30 million).
^Sources disagree on the date where Paramount confirmed their intentions to make Mario Puzo's novelThe Godfather into a feature-length film. Harlan Lebo's work states that the announcement came in January 1969,[6] while Jenny Jones' book puts the date of the announcement three months after the novel's publication, in June 1969.[16]
^O'Brian, Jack (January 25, 1973)."Not First Lady on TV".The Spartanburg Herald. p. A4.Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. RetrievedJuly 15, 2014.
^This scene, which was supposed to be shot a few days later, allowed Pacino to remain in the cast, because the production wanted to fire him having not believed in him from the beginning. Coppola himself was aware that Pacino "wasn't cut it", but he absolutely didn't want to lose him.Pacino, Al (October 12, 2024)."Al Pacino on the inside story of The Godfather: 'I was told, you're not cutting it'".The Guardian. RetrievedOctober 21, 2024.
^Nourmand, Tony (2007).The Godfather, An Unofficial Look at Francis Ford Coppola's American Classics. Barnes & Noble. p. 50.ISBN978-1435101951.
^abSeal, Mark (2021).Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli: The Epic Story of the Making of The Godfather. Gallery Books. p. 120.ISBN978-1982158590.
^Base, Ron (1994).If the Other Guy Isn't Jack Nicholson, I've Got the Part": Hollywood Tales of Big Breaks, Bad Luck, and Box-Office Magic. Contemporary Books. p. 146.ISBN978-0809235285.
^"'Godfather' Goodies".Los Angeles Times. October 11, 2001.Archived from the original on December 9, 2023. RetrievedDecember 9, 2023.
^Rawlings, Nate (March 14, 2012)."The Horse Head".Time.Archived from the original on November 24, 2023. RetrievedDecember 9, 2023 – via entertainment.time.com.
^ab"The Godfather".Filmtracks. Christian Clemmensen (Filmtracks Publications). October 3, 2009.Archived from the original on July 20, 2014. RetrievedJuly 20, 2014.
^Jacobs, Diane (1980).Hollywood Renaissance.Dell Publishing. p. 115.ISBN978-0-440-53382-5.Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. RetrievedAugust 6, 2019.The Godfather catapulted Coppola to overnight celebrity, earning three Academy Awards and a then record-breaking $142 million in worldwide sales
^"'Godfather' Song Used Before".Daytona Beach Morning Star. Associated Press. March 2, 1973. p. 10.Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. RetrievedJuly 15, 2014.
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