Top 30 The Godfather Movie Facts

Following is our collection of The Godfather facts. Handpicked and verified, these little-known details can be obscure enough most people will miss. These behind the scene easter eggs and hidden messages will give you another view of The Godfather film message.

Cinematographer, Gordon Willis Thought Vito Corleone Would Seem More Sinister If We Couldn't See His Eyes While Conducting Family Business
Cinematographer, Gordon Willis Thought Vito Corleone Would Seem More Sinister If We Couldn't See His Eyes While Conducting Family Business
The cactus (left) at Don Ciccio's villa grows from Vito's first visit to the moment he comes back years later to take revenge
The cactus (left) at Don Ciccio's villa grows from Vito's first visit to the moment he comes back years later to take revenge

The Godfather Trivia

These trivia from Reddit and other sources can be used as questions with answers in quizzes or games.

  1. Lenny Montana, who played Luca Brasi in "The Godfather" (1972), was an actual mafia enforcer sent by the Colombo family to oversee the filming. Coppola cast him, but Montana was too nervous about acting with Brando and kept forgetting his lines, which was later included as a character trait.

  2. - the cat Marlon Brando is holding in the opening scene was a stray found on the Paramount studio lot. Its purring was so loud they had to loop most of Brando's dialogue in post.

  3. When little Vito arrives at Ellis Island, he is marked with a circled X. Ellis Island immigrants were marked with this if the inspector believed the person had a mental defect.

  4. . The cat in the opening scene was a stray cat found in the lot of Paramount, and was originally not called to be in the script. However, some dialogues of Brandon were muffled by the purring of the cat and as a result the cat was added to fit the background purring.

  5. Marlon Brando was originally supposed to reprise his role in the final flashback scene. But due to a financial dispute with the studio, he didn't appear and Francis Ford Coppola rewrote the scene without him.

  6. Roger Corman is one of the senators in The Godfather 2 (1974).

The Godfather Hidden Details

Some of the older cars in the film have wooden bumpers. Chrome was used in the war effort during the Second World War, and were still difficult to obtain after the war was over. The cars of the Corleone Family all have chrome bumpers, reflecting their wealth and connections.

1 - In the background while Sonny was kicking Carlo's ass, I noticed Frank Silvero in the crowd.
In the background while Sonny was kicking Carlo's ass, I noticed Frank Silvero in the crowd.
1 - When Michael first talks about doing family business by killing Sollozzo and McClusky, he has a swollen jaw and sounds like his father when speaking. Am I crazy in finding this detail to be important?
When Michael first talks about doing family business by killing Sollozzo and McClusky, he has a swollen jaw and sounds like his father when speaking. Am I crazy in finding this detail to be important?
1 - Michael first plots his hit on Sollozzo and McCluskey with a swollen (broken) jaw, causing him to resemble his father Vito. This parallel signals his entrance into the Family Business and his eventual transition into Don Corleone.
Michael first plots his hit on Sollozzo and McCluskey with a swollen (broken) jaw, causing him to resemble his father Vito. This parallel signals his entrance into the Family Business and his eventual transition into Don Corleone.
1 - Vito Corleone's olive oil company, Genco, is being hinted. The company is not mentioned until the flashbacks of Vito's life in 2.
Vito Corleone's olive oil company, Genco, is being hinted. The company is not mentioned until the flashbacks of Vito's life in 2.
1 - During the hospital scene where Michael accepts his duty to The Family, he passes a poster which says 'Join and Serve'.
During the hospital scene where Michael accepts his duty to The Family, he passes a poster which says 'Join and Serve'.
1 - Jack Woltz is an Oscar Winner as the Oscar award can be seen in his room.
Jack Woltz is an Oscar Winner as the Oscar award can be seen in his room.
1 - As Luca Brasi (on right) walks into the bar where he is killed, before he sits down, the shot frames him next to two fish that are designs in the window making him look like he's in the ocean with the fish foreshadowing "Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes"
As Luca Brasi (on right) walks into the bar where he is killed, before he sits down, the shot frames him next to two fish that are designs in the window making him look like he's in the ocean with the fish foreshadowing "Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes"

Michael is unshaken by the assassination attempt on his father. Enzo is trembling, but Michael is able to start a lighter. The music plays a note of shock, and even Michael doesn't know what to make of it. It foreshadows his natural and eventual decline into the criminal underworld

Vito tells Bonasera he may ask Bonasera to do a service for him in exchange for his request. It turns out Bonasera is a funeral director and he literally performs a service for Sonny when he dies.

. At around 5 or 6 (watch his left eye carefully) seconds in the clip the Chief of Police blinks. Which is a minor but sort of major detail as he was just shot in the head by Michael.

After Michael shoots Sollozzo and McCluskey, he stops wearing button down collars.

There is a moment where Luca Brasi says: "...on the wedding day of your daughter." but it's out of sync as his mouth doesn't move when he supposedly says that. It happens around 2:47 in the video.

1 - John Marley who plays as Jack Woltz even has a cowlick from sleeping in the scene where he wakes up to his dead horse's head
John Marley who plays as Jack Woltz even has a cowlick from sleeping in the scene where he wakes up to his dead horse's head
1 - - Just before Michael leaves the bathroom to kill Sollozzo and McCluskey, the sound of a nearby subway train makes a deafening screech, a parallel of the internal conflict he's experiencing before he commits the assassination.
- Just before Michael leaves the bathroom to kill Sollozzo and McCluskey, the sound of a nearby subway train makes a deafening screech, a parallel of the internal conflict he's experiencing before he commits the assassination.

In "The Godfather," Hagen orders the final death in the film by adjusting his necktie

1 - In the final scene of The Godfather 3, Michael Corleone dies in the same spot Apollonia was killed.
In the final scene of The Godfather 3, Michael Corleone dies in the same spot Apollonia was killed.

Sonny is shot at a toll booth. In Big Daddy (1999), Adam Sandler's character is named Sonny, and he works at a toll booth. (I just noticed this; don't know if it was intentional)

1 - The Corleones receive a Sicilian message that Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes, meaning he is dead. Earlier, before Brasi enters the bar where he dies, we see fish on the bar's windows.
The Corleones receive a Sicilian message that Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes, meaning he is dead. Earlier, before Brasi enters the bar where he dies, we see fish on the bar's windows.

" orange, the color and the fruit, is associated with death, and they appears in scenes when death will soon occur

1 - Before the deaths of major characters of the story, the premonition of death is given by the presence of tomatoes in the scene. Vito picking up the oranges and putting them in a paper bag, among the notable few. This one was one of the best of the lot.
Before the deaths of major characters of the story, the premonition of death is given by the presence of tomatoes in the scene. Vito picking up the oranges and putting them in a paper bag, among the notable few. This one was one of the best of the lot.
The Godfather poster
The Godfather poster

The Godfather Plot

The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.

Cast and Details

Here are the full cast and crew of The Godfather. The goofs, crazy credits, and trivia they have performed may have not taken your attention. Some are hidden for a reason, while others randomly forgotten.

Genre Crime, Drama
Director Francis Ford Coppola
Stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard S. Castellano
IMDB score 9.2

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