Fenomeni / phenomena
1
The Godfather initially received 11 Oscar nominations, but this was reduced after it was revealed that Nina Rote’s music lacked
sufficient original material and was similar to the score he’d composed for the 1958 film Fortunella.
The producers requested that Coppola set the film in 1970s Kansas City, but he re- mained consistent with post-war New York. Character rehearsals during preparations for shooting weren’t conducted in the form of typical rehearsals, but rather the entire team would have family dinners dur- ing which they didn’t break character. Paramount had wanted Laurence Oliv- ier to play the role of Vito Corleone, but they ultimately accept Brando, setting
2
3
4
three conditions. The first was that Brando had to pass a screen test, the second was that he had to do the film free of charge and the third was that he would agree to cover the costs of any financial loss- es. However, following his successful screen test, the producers were so thrilled that they decided to abandon the other two conditions.
Al Paćino nije bio prvi izbor za ulogu Majkla Korleonea Al Pacino wasn’t the first choice to play Michael Corleone
Al Pacino also wasn’t the first choice to play Michael Corleone. Those auditioning for the role included Jack Nicholson, Warren Be-
5
atty, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Ryan O’Neal and even James Caan, who went on to play Sonny. Both actors were ultimately nominated for Oscars for supporting male roles.
didn’t think their investment in the film would pay off. Represent- ing an additional problem for Para- mount was the new wave of censor- ship implemented under President Richard Nixon, as well as the war in Vietnam that was then still cur- rent. However, just as “New Holly- wood” had begun with a show of vi- olence, starting with the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, Coppola gained additional self-confidence and de- fied the studio’s leaders, who had considered The Godfather a crime B-movie during the post-produc- tion stage. Following a turbulent six months, filming was completed in September 1971, despite the pre- miere being scheduled for the fol- lowing March. Paramount then de- cided not to finance any additional costs and almost abandoned the project, expecting the film to be a complete debacle. The Godfather was shot with a budget that was very modest even for the 1970s (six million dollars), but it earned
as much as 260 million globally, thus ranking it among the ten most suc- cessful films of the decade. Brando’s portrayal of Vito Corle- one, apart from being met with great success among audiences and crit- ics alike, also remained remembered for being visually distinct, because he wore prosthetic mouthpiece in- serts on both sides of his lower jaw for the role, in order to depict the character in the way Coppola had im- agined him (We can see them today displayed as exhibits at New York’s Museum of the Moving Image). At the 1973 Oscars, The Godfather won three of the ten awards for which it had been nominated, including Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Marlon Brando) and Best Adapted Screenplay. The trilogy of Godfather films was nominated for a total of 28 Oscars and won nine – three for the original and six for the sequel – ranking it among the film franchis- es with the most nominations, be- hind Star Wars (37) and The Lord of the Rings (30).
The wedding scene was completely impro- vised, because the team had only two days to shoot it and the film’s production had al-
6
ready failed to meet all deadlines by that time.
The cat seen in Vito Corleone’s lap ended up in the film after Coppola found it while he was walking around Harlem and decid- ed to bring it to the set.
7
Marlon Brando refused to receive his Os- car in 1973, in protest over discrimination against Native Americans, so an Apache lady appeared on the stage and read a letter that Brando had written. 8
Marlon Brando has just 40 minutes of screen-time in the film, which ranks him third – after Anthony Hopkins’ 24 minutes
9
in The Silence of the Lambs and David Niven’s mere 23 minutes in Separate Tables – among winners of the Oscar for best actor in a leading role with the shortest screen-time.
72 | Kum » The Godfather
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator