Francis Ford Coppola, in the midst of making this famous film, found himself at odds with certain Italian-American groups, such as The Italian-American Civil Rights League. They in particular took umbrage with the terms “Mafia” and “Cosa Nostra” (another term for the Sicilian Mafia) used in the film, as they might have ended up stereotyping Italian-Americans (though the stereotyping happened anyway).
Coppola had to rewrite the script after these groups fought the use of these terms, by which we mean made direct threats. But no stereotyping, you know? We don’t want anybody doing that sort of thing. Fuhgeddaboutit.
The Biggest Surprise of His Life
Perhaps the most famous moment in the entire trilogy is when Jack Woltz, defiant film mogul, wakes up to find his beloved horse's severed head in his bed. Everybody who's seen the scene can picture it pretty accurately, but there's one person who never forgot it until his dying day, and that's John Marley, the actor who played Woltz.
You see, Marley thought he would “wake up” next to a fake, dead horse. Instead, when the cameras started rolling and Marley went through his steps, he found a real severed horse head and real horse blood. The screams you hear in the film are perfectly real.
Every Italian Should Know
If there's one thing people know about Italians, it's the hearty, tasty, and filling Italian food that graces their plates and tables. The Godfather has plenty of opportunities to show off pasta, bread, wine, and even some tasty oranges. There's even one point in the first film when an overweight capo rattles off a tasty-sounding recipe for great tomato sauce.
In fact, not only is this recipe real (we can neither confirm nor deny that it tastes good) but it's an old Coppola family recipe. If you happen to whip up a batch, let us know how it is!
Real-Life Extras
It's pretty commonly known that Coppola took out the terms “Mafia” and “Cosa Nostra” taken out of the movie. However, there was some pressure on set, thanks to the movie extras who were, it turns out, actually part of the Mafia. This is due mostly to the influence of The Italian-American Civil Rights League, which was actually run by mob boss Joe Colombo.
While none of these extras had much of a role, appearing as little more than muscle, background characters, or maybe conversation partners that other characters interact with. Coppola was probably happy with the authenticity but might not have liked the implicit threats.
One of the Healthiest Fruits
It's been said that every time an orange appears on-screen, it foreshadows impending, or even imminent, death. This is upheld for the most part, especially when Don Corleone has a serious heart attack in an orange grove.
However, art directors simply included oranges a lot because they showed up well against the film's sepia tone, so they're present in lots of scenes. However, Coppola ran with this idea, making it true in both "The Godfather Part II" and part III.