Read this: Al Pacino on the insecurity of being cast in The Godfather
In celebration of the film’s 50th anniversary, Michael Corleone himself takes us back to the early '70s, when he was an actor looking for a break
Film Features Al Pacino
Al Pacino is the certified G.O.A.T. We’re talking about the same man who played Vincent “She’s got a great ass!” Hanna in Heat. An incredible, Oscar-winning actor known and beloved for his bravado launched his career with a very different role: the introverted Michael Corleone in a little movie called The Godfather. Perhaps some of our readers have heard of it. But if they haven’t, Pacino plays the Michael Bluth of his mafioso family, building a career outside the mob in hopes of never being dragged into a life of crime. It didn’t turn out that way, as director Francis Ford Coppola explores across 20 years and three films.
Paramount is going all out with the film’s 50th anniversary on the horizon, re-releasing the movie in theaters and 4k Blu-ray with a brand new restoration. But also, it’s giving us fans of movies and pop culture (i.e., us intelligent, beautiful people) a chance to reflect on what they’ve meant to us. But, of course, it’s also giving people like Al Pacino a chance too.
Speaking with The New York Times, Pacino takes us back to where it all began and the insecurity he felt regarding the role, his career, and working with absolute legends like Marlon Brando and legends-in-the-making like James Caan. The conversation allows Pacino to remind us that The Godfather was a phenomenon before everyone’s dad started saying, “Leave the gun, take the cannoli.”
It was a big deal already. It was a big book. When you’re an actor, you don’t even put your eyes on those things. They don’t exist for you. You’re in a certain place in your life where you’re not going to be accepted in those big films — not yet, at least. And he said, not only was he directing it, [breaking into laughter] but he wanted me to do it. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh here. It just seemed so outrageous. Here I am, talking to somebody who I think is flipped out. I said, what train am I on? OK. Humor the guy. And he wanted me to do Michael. I thought, OK, I’ll go along with this. I said, yes, Francis, good. You know how they talk to you when you’re slipping? They say, “Yes! Of course! Yes!” But he wasn’t. It was the truth. And then I was given the part.
21 Comments
Mandatory:
Is it?
It insists upon itself.
They understand Stewie as they’re about to die?
Michael Corleone: a villain or a tragic hero?I tend to think villain. For a character to be a tragic hero they have to be essentially good but flawed, and I don’t think that describes Michael at all. This is a bad person who deluded himself, and others, into thinking he was good, but he was secretly the most ruthless of all. Look at how quickly he steps up when his family is threatened: he may say he wants nothing to do with it, but he immediately jumps into action and even offers to stone cold murder a couple of people, including a police captain, without hesitation. He has every chance to step away and in each instance goes deeper and deeper, eventually losing everything and everyone he loved. I don’t see that as tragedy. It’s more Shakespearean than anything.
I don’t think it’s useful to categorize Michael as either a villain or hero, as if those are mutually exclusive. He’s one of several protagonists in a multiprotagonist story (though arguably the most prominent one, at least in the movie), and though he has the clearest arc, he takes actions that are heroic (the family) to some and villainous to others (his enemies, and Kay).
though he has the clearest arc, he takes actions that are heroic (the family) to some and villainous to others (his enemies, and Kay).The family we are talking about is the crime family. Villains. Who gives a crap if he is a hero to a murderous prick like Clemeza? He is essentially a villain to his real family. He destroys Kays life, ultimately kills Fredo. The only member of his real family to accept him is Connie and only because he lies to her about killing Fredo.He is a villain. He runs a crime organization that kills people (including innocents) for their monetary gain. The entire series keeps reiterating how evil Michael has become.
My mind read ‘Fredo’ as ‘Frodo,’ and for a split second it improved what is generally regarded as one of the greatest films ever. One other connection between the first two Godfather films and the LOTR films is that they make for great Sunday afternoon viewing. You can take a nap in the middle and still enjoy a lot of what’s happening.
There is such a thing as a villain protagonist. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/VillainProtagonist
This third Godfather movie, if someone paid to see it in the theaters, is there a way to get a refund?Asking for a friend…
I wonder what my $5.50 would be, adjusted for inflation, 32 years later…EDIT: $11.83. I looked it up for my own darn self.
I have a friend who passionately argues that III is not a good movie, but is good if considered purely as a conclusion to I and II.I watched it with him and when you consider it that way it’s certainly not as disappointing.
We managed to sneak into GF3 through a friend who worked at the theater. Still wanted a refund.
Scent of a Woman > The GodfatherThere, I said it
You mean there are more words in the title?😎
I’m just saying, without The Godfather, there would still be the book. There would still be the best Coppola (The Conversation), the best Mafia movie (Goodfellas), best late Brando (Apocalypse Now), and obviously best Pacino (Scent of a Woman). But without Scent of a Woman we would lose not only the best Pacino but also Chris O’Donnell at maximum possible cuteness. You just want to squeeze him
I will never forgive Coppola for cutting the “Sonny has such a big schlong that he destroys a woman’s vagina” sub-plot.
The thing with Al, one of our greatest film actors ever, is that it’s hard to pick one of his performances as the greatest. I suggest that Panic in Needle Park, Scarecrow, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Sea of Love, Glengarry Glen Ross, Donnie Brasco and Scarface each exceeds Scent of a Woman in quality.
He’s not a blind guy who drives a Ferrari in any of those, so that’s wrong
I heard an interview with Hank Azaria once where he said they shot the “great ass!” scene on his 30th birthday. Little tidbit for you there.