I read an interview with Coppola about the train sound. He said that, in actuality, there was no train. The screeching train sound was a metaphor for Michael's entire life going off the rails. Before the shooting he was a student at Dartmouth. After the shooting he was a gangster. In the movie, you will also notice that the second Michael fires the first shot, the train noise stops.
@@LoudounDemocrat Seriously..."Dartmouth"? That's in New Hampshire. I thought he would want to stay closer to New York than that. It's gotta be well over 200 miles, and as far away from home as he was during the war it seems like he'd want to re-enroll at Fordham. Not that it wouldn't be awesome to go there... (it's my favorite of the Iveys)
Solozzo was a great character. What I loved about the first 2 films "not ever mentioning the 3rd" is that anybody could be killed. It made the stakes realistic. Not like your safe generic fake death mcu films
Read the book. When Sollozo avoided the guarantee, Michael knew Sollozo was going to kill his father no matter what he said that nite. Any doubts he harbored about the hit were erased. Furthermore, he made a tactical decision to return from the bathroom and sit rather than come out shooting as Clemenza had instructed. He reasoned the two might be looking for him to come out shooting and sitting down would make them relax.
The screeching elevated train noise as it reaches the station near by while Michael's adrenaline is pumping hard -- He used the train noise to mask the gunshots or was it Coppola cinematic genius to explain the concurrence of on coming train to reach crescendo as Michael blasts away?
@@RoodJood I believe the train noise was a coincidence Mike wasn't really planning for it to mask the noise. Remember Clemenza said he left the gun noisy to scare off any innocent bystanders.
I dont think Michael needed any more reason to kill them. He went there with the decision already taken. Michael is conflicted because he feels that once he crosses that line, there is no turning back, he is becoming something else, something worse. And he is right.
I think the movie hinted that perfectly. When Michael said he wanted a guarantee, and Sollozzo said "what guarantees can I give you? I'm the hunted one", Michael's facial expression sold it completely. He was going to kill Sollozzo. And you could see from from Michael's facial expression when he came from the toilet that he was deciding whether to shoot them there, or do it at another opportunity. Al Pacino's acting and the camera work in this scene was superb.
Mike knew he was lying. In the car mike said to sollozo "I dont want my father bothered anymore" to which Sollozo said "he wont be". Then at the table Sollozo says "what guarantees can I give". He knew he couldnt work anything out with him. He had to come out blasting.
Sollozzo's entire tack in the scene is kind of stupid. He reached out to Michael basically to get one of Vito's sons to advocate peace with him. And he chose Michael on the idea that Michael would have more influence. See the cognitive dissonance? He chooses Michael because he thinks, Michael being an outsider, would not want vengeance on Sollozzo. But at the same time, he thinks Michael's counsel would call off any attempt on Sollozzo's life. Either Sollozzo was a really lousy gangster who was gonna get himself killed sooner or later. Or more plausibly, he was so aware that the Corleones were gonna get to him soon that this was a ploy out of desperation. Either way, Sollozzo was dead the moment he tried to kill Boss Corleone.
I have a question - so, they ARE speaking Sicilian? It makes sense that they would be, but my ear is very bad - half the time here in NYC I think people speaking Spanish are speaking Italian. This is a serious question for something I'm writing, I really appreciate your answer. Thank you.
@@tomangelo5939 My father grew up speaking Sicilian (his parents were both from Messina and only spoke Sicilian), so I always assumed it was. My father didn’t speak Italian very well but was fluent in Sicilian. I never asked which one it was they were speaking to be honest. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.
My grandfather is Sicilian too. I'm 3rd gen. He didnt like the movie when it first came out because it made Sicilians look like murderous gangsters (which he later said was "almost" true) . Took him well into the late 80's before he passed away to watch it. The irony here is that Lucky Luciano aka Lucana is a direct relative of ours.
i've always felt that the scene was much more powerful NOT understanding what they're saying. it removes the focus from what sollozo wants and forces you to square in on mike, his anxiety and his anger.
Joey Clemenza Absolutely spot on, I heard somewhere that that actually WAS the intention of the dialogue. It was telling the audience that the words were insignificant and meant very little to Michael in that stressful moment
Joey Clemenza Exactly--you could figure out about what they were saying, but the best acting in this scene is in the facial expressions, eye contact & body language. Hey Joey, you know any good espots on the West Side? Think about it while you're drivin', huh?
Brinson Harris The studio didn't want Pacino for the part but Francis ford Coppola wanted the part for Pacino so he shot this scene before everything else to show the studio big shots Pacino's talent. And they become satisfied when they saw this and never question him.
There's not another movie on the planet that warrants a second watch more than The Godfather. When I saw it when I was younger , I was trying to follow the plot. After you've seen it, you appreciate the second time so much more. The same goes for Part II. even more so. Part III....no amount of viewings can help that thing
Coppola was so smart in using the train noise as the soundtrack of Michael heightened sense of anxiety, better than any music. When you are under pressure you notice things you otherwise would not care about. The loudness of the passing train was sublime film making
Al Letteiri was epic in these scenes as Sollazo. He epitomised the quintessential Italian mobster like no other character in the film. Should have had an Oscar for his role.
If there were Oscars awarded to everyone that deserved one... _according to RUclips experts_ .... then the Academy Awards show would last for 3 days and nights.
Sono d'accordo,Al Lettieri l'avrebbe dovuto avere l'oscar perché ha interpretato il mafioso alla perfezione,purtroppo ci ha lasciati troppo presto rip goodbye Al.
Francis Ford Coppola has said that the film wouldn't have worked like it did without Lettieri's stellar performance. Pacino has said similar things. If you watch all of Lettieri's other films, he was actually cast against type in this one. All his other roles are of loud, violent, belligerent criminals.
It doesn't matter. Nothing Sollozzo said was going to change the outcome of this meeting. That's one big reason for no subtitles, the conversation is meaningless.
You can tell Pacino does not speak Italian in real life but the actor who played Solozzzo spoke it fluently. Even Michael went back to English showing he is an American who only knows a little Italian. Even in Sicily he had people translating for him.
Coppola used subtitles when Luca Brasi met Bruno Tattaglia & Sollozzo. Why not here? I believe it’s to show Michael is a new breed of mafioso, completely American (a decorated veteran!) untethered from old Sicilian ways. All the rest find themselves at his Americanized ruthlessness in the end.
Knowing what Sollozo is saying makes it apparent how much smarter than Michael he thought he was. It was a costly mistake. Even Sonny, Tessio and Clemenza underestimated Mike as the soft college boy of the family without realizing that as a Marine in the Pacific, he most likely killed more men at close range than all of them put together.
Perhaps he went hand-to-hand with the enemy? *Close enough to get messy?* Or maybe he shot them up close, to the cheers of “Tenno Heiko Banzai!” (Sp?) This sort of thing was not unheard of (in the pacific theater) when dealing with an enemy who was deep into edged weapons.
@@jajabinx35 yes, it showed Sonny’s ignorance of what the fighting was like in the war. The Imperial Japanese Army used human wave charges in which hundreds of men would keep throwing themselves at the American Marines. Oftentimes it came down to shooting men up close as they neared your position or even running them through with a bayonet. Michael had Silver Star and Navy Cross medals which are usually given for gallantry during action against the enemy and a Purple Heart which is given for being wounded in combat. By that point Michael has probably seen death up close and had more blood on his uniform than the other men.
@@mattpope1746 Michael was awarded a Silver Star. He did not get that by shooting the enemy from "a mile away". He would have had to get as close to the enemy as Sonny describes.
Disagree. My interpretation is that Michael was weighing his options and then used the train to cover much of the noise. Many viewers forget that Michael was a Marine enlistee who received a battle field commission (2nd Lt.) then progressed to 1st Lt. then Captain. That requires and instills a lot of situational awareness... something Michael used to his benefit.
if you think about it there are similarities to both Vito's & Michael's descent into darkness... with Vito killing the local/neighborhood Don in that dark apartment hallway during fireworks and Michael's at the restaurant with noise of the train... after those acts,there was no turning back...
Sterling Hayden may have understood a lot of Italian. He was an OSS agent in Europe during World War Two. I do not recall his given name but he was as legit a tough guy as any. Operating in occupied territory takes serious courage.
I remember passing by where this scene was filmed its a private house now. After all these years never knew it was close to my old high school. I Never get tired of this movie.
@@karajones2530 then the address i saw was wrong the address I got online was near the HY sneaker store that closed down. I just looked it up again I passed that all the time and never knew that was where they did the restaurant scene thanks for letting me know. next time I walk to western beef supermarket I'll snap a photo.
I really enjoy the accurate portrayal of Michael as a heritage speaker of Italian in this scene- his Italian gets better when he goes to Sicily too which seems pretty accurate
My grandfather spoke English very well but would almost immediately slip right back to Low German when they were overseas visiting relatives as he had often done with his family He likened it to riding a bicycle in that once around those who spoke the dialect, he’d vividly remember no matter how much time had passed
Once when I was a kid, we had the family over for a spaghetti dinner. I got up to go to my room real quick, and I grabbed a toy gun i had that used those cap rings that made a loud bang. When I came back to the dining room, I started shooting my toy cap pistol while everyone was still eating. Nobody knew what the heck I was doing, but my mother and brother did because they were fans of the film as I was, and bless their hearts, they played along by pretending to be dead, with me dropping my toy gun to the floor as I walked out. Most of the family there had a puzzled look on their faces, but thank God for my mother and brother's warped sense of humor. We laughed so much the rest of that evening 😂
How many people were at that table, and most importantly, how many of them did u scare the shit out of when that POP went off during a nice dinner 🤣? I know I woulda jumped from that sudden, very unexpected LOUDNESS LOL
@Randy White That's right. Marlon knew talent, if Robert Evans didn't. Not right away, anyway. But, it was Coppola's support, that was key. He didn't back down to Paramount. He stood up and insisted on both Brando and Pacino. The one the studio was most against, was Pacino. Fortunately, Coppola and Al prevailed and, of course, he and Brando were brilliant. The entire cast was brilliant. Love this scene. Lettieri and Hayden are amazing, as well as Pacino. What a great moment in film.
@Randy White Oh FFS, could they have found three guys who looked and acted less Italian than those three? Then again James Caan is Jewish-German but at least he has the attitude.
kritika nautiyal Can you imagine O’Neal, Redford or Beatty ad Michael? Hahahaha - what an awful, miscast movie it would have been with no Part 2, which was brilliant❣️
The ten seconds leading up to Michael shooting Sollozzo, he's thinking: "This SOB tried to kill my father." "What if the cop shoots me after I shoot Sollozzo?" "What if the gun jams?" "What will happen to my family if I die tonight?" "Why didn't I order the antipasti? It looked good and I'm starving."
@Jack... This is where Michael erred a little.As he was coming back from the bathroom he had the advantage of Sollozzo's back being turned to him.Granted,McCluskey could still get a view of him but all Michael had to do was not pause like he did.. but merely just walk up aim a metre or 2 from Sollozzo's head and 1 bullet would've been enough.Then turn to the cop and do the same... Just one to the brain. nb: Clemenza gave him explicit instructions to give them both '2 shots in the head a piece'... He gave 1 to Sollozzo in the head.. and then fired a shot at the cop to throat.. and then the head.It wasn't clinical,and per instructions... but eventually he got the job done.
What I've never bought was Tessio saying that they could "tape the gun behind the toilet" A toilet tank is going to be pretty moist from condensation and what kind of tape existed in 1947 that would stick to it? Duct tape and packing tape didn't exist. I would think a hook made from a coat hanger would work better. Trivial I know but what the hell.
This is fun as an academic exercise, but Coppola was smart enough to know that subtitles would be distracting during the tense scene after Michael returns from the restroom. You can glean what's being said anyway, for two reasons. First, because it's a variation of what Sollozzo has already said in English. And second, because of the careful placement of familiar foreign worlds like "padre" and "capiche" in the dialogue.
I doubt it. It's a latin based language. I don't know any Sicilian but there are key words that translate easily because of their specific latin origins. As another posted just below, the choice of such specific, familiar words and context of why they're meeting also helps.
Maybe not, i speak Spanish, well not too fluently but i understood what they were saying because scillian and spanish share alot of words plus i dramatically followed the plots of this masterpiece leading up to this infamous and most favorite scenes of all time for all, not so hard to understand DUH!
I speak Spanish and I was somewhat able to pick up on the context of their conversation. While Spanish and Italian/Sicilian are obviously different languages, they do share some similarities due to their common derivation. But I agree, having the subtitles for this scene helps to understand their full conversation.
I get the feeling that it was not important what he was saying. It seems stupid to think that Sollozo would explain to Michael that the attempted murder of his father was "just business". Did Sollozo believe that Michael would accept such as explanation?
He was more likely to accept such an explanation than Sonny would have been. Don't forget that upon finding out that an attempt has been made on his father's life he goes home to his family, and upon finding out that Sonny wants to employ a scorched earth strategy to deal with the situation he says, "That's not what Pop would do." Michael was far more measured than his older brother.
These subtitles are actually wrong. I speak Italian and a bit of Sicilian so I can clearly understand them. Here's what they're actually saying: S: "I'm sorry about-" M: "Forget it" S: "You know what happened between me and your father was just business? I have great respect for your father, but your father is old-fashioned. He doesn't understand that I am a man of honor-" M: "Don't tell me these things. I know." S: "You know..? And you understand that I have helped the Tattaglia family. I think we can come to an agreement. I want peace. And we can drop all this crap." M: "But I want.." S: "What?" M: "How do you say..?" What i want- (cut to after Michael exits the bathroom) S: "You feel better?" M: "Yes" S: "Mike, you understand me, don't you? You're Italian, like your father. Your father is sick. When he gets better, we arrange a meeting, and put everything in place. This foolishness must end." And then bang, bang. Dead.
vasily thank you for your translation. I am a Romance linguist and your translation seems to fit the dialogues very well. Just wondering: they don't speak standard Italian, right? There is a mixture of standard Italian and dialects, and if so, which dialects do they use? I know Sicilian pretty well and their dialogues don't sound like Sicilian to me.
It's not strict Sicilian dialect, which is almost unintelligible to most Italians. It's more like regular Italian with a deliberately thick Sicilian accent. As an Italian who's part Sicilian but doesn't speak the dialect, I never had a problem understanding them, so that figures.
The Godfather is my favorite movie to date. I read each and every comment here and so far no one has mentioned the name of the restaurant. The name of the Restaurant is Louie's and is/was on Gun Hill Road in the Bronx. The food was fabulous. My Grandfather, on numerous occasions would take our family out to dinner. I was glued to mt seat as I watched this scene unfold. The bathroom is/was actually as described.
Yes, absolutely. Even though Michael was a civilian and the police captain was there, it was still quite risky to not have body guards present at the ready. Any where he went after the attempt on the Don he should have had serious protection. McCluskey probably was too arrogant thinking just his presence was enough of a deterrent, which was Sonny's thought too. Sollozzo should have been smarter. Hard to believe he wasn't.
He did, in the complete scene, he turns towards the corner, opposite of the restroom, and those are Sollozzo’s men. In the novel there’s obviously more details, Michael didn’t exit the restroom shooting as instructed. This was because Sollozzo’s men was seated directly across from that restroom exit and Michael sense that he would be cut down. Michael choosing to sit, is what made everyone let their guard down.
@@cedricbeard4609 I'm afraid that's quite wrong. I just re-watched the scene. Mike fired very slowly three times and took his time leaving. If Sollozzo's men were there they had plenty of time to draw their weapons and fire long before Mike finished his shooting.
@@senecakw No, you need to rewatch. Michael points towards the back table (across from the restroom) and the men freeze, he does this just before leaving. Remember when Clemenza tells him “they’ll be plenty scared of you” … They were. Gun toting tends to bring out the bitch in planted goons. Rewatch the scene.
I know people argue it's better without the subtitles, but I actually disagree. Yes, I can agree with the fact that it highlights Pacino's acting, which is very good. However, what Sollozzo says to Michael really brings a lot of context to this world. The way that people justify things and play games. He doesn't even really feign regret, he plays the victim and might actually see himself in that light. Seeing the villian try to justify the action of attempting to murder Michael's father, to his face and then just trying to brush it aside and move it along like "business" really shows what kind of person not just he is, but what kind of people run these criminal organizations. You could say that what he says doesn't really matter but it does. I always got the sense that Michael himself was not sure if he would actually go through with it, but seeing what kind of man Sollozzo is sealed his own fate in a sense.
But even Michael isn't really paying attention to what Sollozzo is saying. Pacino is giving a brilliant portrayal of a man completely in his own head, contemplating a decision that will change his life. After Sollozzo failed to give Michael a guarantee that no more attempts would be made on his father's life, whatever Sollozzo said afterward was irrelevant. It was just Sollozzo trying to bullshit Michael into agreeing to his "deal." As an audience, we don't need to understand Sollozzo's feigned concern for the Corleone's and not wanting violence because we already know it's false. What's important is Michael's decision and the internal struggle he's undergoing in the moment.
the most powerful scene in movie history...it`s all there,,,tension, fear, build up, unpredictability, atmosphere, lighting, anxiety, character development, sound, ambience, quaint surroundings, dated toilet scene, fascinating dialogue,sinister charm of sollozo, unsuspecting crooked cop, moment of truth for michael, shock result, violent outcome, confusion of language( if you don`t speak italian), slow pace, patient development, wine, veal, appropriate music after the event, car ready, aftermath bloody scene often shown on newspapers of the day.....
They underestimated Michael. They frisked him as a routine matter but they really didn't expect violence from him. They expected him to take their lets-do-business message to Sonny. I'm not so sure they would have made another attempt on Vito's life if a deal had been made. From purely gangster logic Michael killing Solozzo made a certain evil sense---had a deal been struck Barzini/Tattaglia/Solozzo power would have increased and Corleone power severely compromised. Clemenza, in another scene, drew the analogy of appeasing Hitler, and he was right. (All this ignores the evil of gangsterism in the first place, of course.)
I disagree about there being no other attempt on Vito's life. Solozzo's facial expression (mouth open stare) was a "tell" that what he was saying was a lie. We saw that earlier in the scene where Luca was murdered by Tattaglia.
Pacino's understated, quiet and reserved portrayal of michael in 1 and 2 is his best work and really the shining example of dramatic acting. Loved his boisterous characters too like Detective Vincent Hanna in Heat, but this was his best work.
I didn't speak Italian when I saw this as a kid. All I clearly understood was "I have a lot of respect for your father". Even in Italian, that was easy to understand. Yet, somehow I understood what was being said. It came across in tone and body language. Especially from Al Lettieri. Excellent acting.
Thank you so much for translating! Even though I am half Sicilian I never learned much Italian (the swear words mostly) and I always wondered about this scene.
I just binged-watch The Godfather films today and this scene particularly had no subtitles. Now RUclips has shown me this video! Stop reading my mind RUclips!
What I love most is the fact that the subtitles are pretty unnecessary, you can understand EVERYTHING that's going on just by the line delivery, the acting, the tone, and a few cognates here and there. That's amazing film making, removing the subtitles makes you focus on the body language more than the language. Greatest film ever made imho
I always admired the work of the actor playing Solazo, guy was great without being over the top. The part where he whinces when Michael says he needs to go to the bathroom says ot all, " what are you up to"?
They say this is the scene where michael becomes a gangster and he accepts his fate, but I would argue that happends earlier when michael moves vito into another hospital room and then he helds vitos hand and tells him" im with you now.." and Vito sheds a tear. But this is perhaps the greatest scene in the history of cinema.
I've always thought that Michael becomes finally, fatally, irretrievably, and helplessly resigned to his fate while sitting on that bench at the end of Part ll ruminating about his killing of Fredo.
I said basically the same thing to my Dad he had a heart attack a few months after I got home from the army 1968 . That scene always gets me emotional when I watch it . RIP Dad
Good point. But I believe the War made him a gangster. He always had it in his blood, but the war turned him into an experienced killer , calculating and without pity or remorse. Yet everyone around him still saw him as the “nice college boy”
Does anybody else realize this entire problem was brought on by Sonny's stupidity? He made it clear at the meeting between his father and Saluzzo that he was hot for the drug deal. The old man wasn't too happy that his son blurted out what he was thinking. Sonny was way too preoccupied with that comedy he was playing with Lucy Mancini and his mind had gone to mush. From that moment, the fortunes of the Corleone Family had changed. The Tattaglia Family wanted Don Corleone dead, so they could make the deal with Sonny. The entire movie is based upon that slip of the tongue by Sonny at the meeting in the Genco Olive Oil Company's office. I blame Sonny for all the problems the Corleone Family encountered in this film.
The scene makes a very interesting point, very subtly, in that the Turk knows Italian better than the first-generation Italian. It underscores how much Michael has, till now, turned his back on his heritage. ("That's my family, Kate. That's not me.") Very fitting that right after this, he goes to Sicily, to recover his ancestral identity.
jetuber he’s Sicilian but they call him the Turk because he owned poppy fields in Turkey. And they call me the stronzo because I’m here correcting a woman’s take on a fictional character at 1 am instead of sleeping lol
@@clintc724 Well, this is a fan channel for a female Irish singer -- i.e., I'm a dude. But thank you for the correction. I genuinely thought that his character was Turkish.
Robert Souza I am of Southern European and Mexican descent and I am fluent in Spanish. I understand Italian better than Portuguese spoken by the Carioca. I can however follow the language from São Paulo much better. I have been around many Brazilians for 20 + years through jiu jitsu and listened to hundreds of hours of interviews and documentaries and can quickly tell the difference in the dialect.
@@PauloBerni699 In Rio there's a different accent. All over Brazil there are many accents, it depends from the region. Northest is totally diffent from Rio and surroundings.
@@robertsouza9667, I have studied the Romance Languages and my abilities to speak Spanish and Italian are very good. French has always given me problems. I can read and understand Portoguese but don't ask me to speak it. It would make sense that you were able to understand the dialogue between Corleone and Sollozzo as the language are mutually intelligible.
That slight twitch in his eye is so sinister. It’s like he’s intensely watching every muscle Michael moves and doesn’t trust him one bit. Sends chills down my spine
The thing I always found amazing anout this scene is that Sollonzo frisks Michael before he goes to the bathroom but not after. A big mistake on his (Sollonzo's part).
Shawn Kelly how is it a mistake what's he' gonna do after the fact if he already has the gun away? Regardless if he frisks him after or not he's still gonna get shot either way their both dead regardless
Good point Pete Hadayia either way Sollonzo was just too trusting of Michael probably never expecting him (Michael) to do anything let alone kill them both.
Mike Roberti In the novel you can read what Michael is thinking. He thought that they would gotten the better of him if he came out shooting despite what Clemenza said. Also before he went to the restroom he seriously considered Sollozo's truce offer before deciding it was too risky.
Michael was a war hero and never involved in the family business. He was a civilian, and by Sollozo's assessment, essentially benign. Nobody else from the family would have been able to pull this off.
One of the greatest scenes in movie history. I love how they show the difference in 1st generation born Italians with Michael's lack of knowledge in the speaking and understanding of the Italian language as its not his native👍
many of our parents, who were first generation americans, didn't like to speak italian in front of us kids, they wanted us to be "americans" and because their parents spoke broken or no English. this was sad as it deprived us of a second language, and an easier time with high school language coursed
It's a perfect representation of a second generation immigrant who is passively bilingual, understands his second language well, but isn't fluent and speaks with an accent. Michael has no problem living in Sicily, but reverts to a translator when he wants to seriously get his point across
Michael is genius ... he waits until the passing train is making the most noise when he shoots, so that the gunshot is "muffled" by the train noise ... anyone outside the restaurant would not hear the gunshot as clearly
Well, that was not by design. He was given specific instructions to "come out shooting", but in the novel it says that while he was in the restroom, he felt that they might be expecting him to come out blazing, so he made a decision to allow them to relax a little more by coming out and sitting back down. When he sits, his eyes start darting back and forth, a sign that he's thinking, he's looking for the right moment. Then he hears the train coming and voilà! He sees his opportunity. This showed good instincts on his part and good last minute decision-making.
Sallazo and Michael’s facial expressions make up for the language barrier. Michael knowing everything he’s being told is complete BS, and Sollazo thinking he’s gotten over on Michael and that he’s so much smarter and has it all figured out
Little did Sollozo know that Michael was looking for any excuse NOT TO KILL HIM, but he sealed his own fate when he said “he wasn’t that clever.” Michael knew he was pulling car salesman tactics on him as Sonny joked about earlier.
When he comes back from the restroom he's not listening anymore and his eyes are crazy eyes. Crazy for murder and revenge and for what he's about to do which will change his life forever.
It’s the one minor criticism I have of this scene. His eyes are sooo crazy, yet we believe The Turk doesn’t notice? Always thought this was an odd mistake in such a perfect film.
@@joefelice5062 He did notice something was slightly off at the very end. If you notice he turns towards the captain at the end like is it me or is he not responding. Real quickly he does it. It also happened within 10 secs of talk. Any longer he absolutely would have seen it in him. But he missed it as he was talking as it was a sensitive subject about hos father not doing well at that point and he probably thought Michael was slightly upset. And it wasn't crazy eyes, it was nerves. Honestly that part os some kf the best acting I've seen from Pacino
Another masterpiece from Coppola Brilliant acting and so realistic that's what makes his movies so outstanding! 5 star all the way.. Pacino one of the greatest actors of all time.
The way Al Pacino played this whole scene was masterful. He was emoting everything the character of Michael Corleone was thinking and feeling and you saw that in his face and body language. One thing that often gets overlooked is how the train is used to mask the gunshots when Michael starts shooting. And the haphazard and nonchalant way in which he just throws the gun down is like the ultimate “it’s done” gesture. I don’t know how much Francis Ford Coppola directed this performance or if it was all Pacino deciding how to play it but it’s acting genius.
The scene is extremely close to the novel, and the bit about very deliberately throwing down the gun is in the original. Puzo was great--and Coppola/Pacino realize the scene perfectly.
If you read, the book The Godfather. it explains how Michael got the gun. Thatcwas one of the big problems which was considered before Michael agreed to do the hit. Basically. the capo Tessio saidxthat he knew the XXV resataurant. He said they had an old-fashioned water box in the bathroom, apparently like a cabinet. The plan was fot Peter Clemenza to leave the gun taped behind the water closet. You see Michael Corleone reaching behind the water closet in the movie when he goes to the bathroom. That is when he grabs the gun. In the book,the gun is a .22 pistol. In the movie,the gun is a snub-nosed Colt Detective Special. That gun is a 6 shot 38 Special rwvolver,with a 2 inch barrel. It is small enough to have been hidden behind any water closet or cabinet
in The Godfather game, the protagonist, Aldo Trapani, sneaks around the restaurant and plants the gun in the toilet. I accept this as canon for the film.
This was the last step in Michael’s metamorphosis. Up to this moment he was a civilian. Remember how Sonny laughed and Tom criticized Michael’s plan initially??? You could see Michael’s tortured face before going over to the other side right before shooting them both.
I love how the train is used to build the tension in the scene right when he shoots
I agree with you 100%. The train background noise built up so much tension! 🙈🙉🙊
it also covers up the sound of the gunshots for anyone outside the restaurant
he definitely used the train to conceal the gunshots and the train arrived at an opportune moment in the scene
I read an interview with Coppola about the train sound. He said that, in actuality, there was no train. The screeching train sound was a metaphor for Michael's entire life going off the rails. Before the shooting he was a student at Dartmouth. After the shooting he was a gangster. In the movie, you will also notice that the second Michael fires the first shot, the train noise stops.
@@LoudounDemocrat
Seriously..."Dartmouth"? That's in New Hampshire. I thought he would want to stay closer to New York than that.
It's gotta be well over 200 miles, and as far away from home as he was during the war it seems like he'd want to re-enroll at Fordham.
Not that it wouldn't be awesome to go there... (it's my favorite of the Iveys)
McCluskey didn’t even get to finish his veal. It was the best in the city
Solozzo was a great character. What I loved about the first 2 films "not ever mentioning the 3rd" is that anybody could be killed. It made the stakes realistic. Not like your safe generic fake death mcu films
Gabagool? Ova here!!
Shoulda ordered the gabagoo
Well, he ate some of it
Hahahahaha
Read the book. When Sollozo avoided the guarantee, Michael knew Sollozo was going to kill his father no matter what he said that nite. Any doubts he harbored about the hit were erased.
Furthermore, he made a tactical decision to return from the bathroom and sit rather than come out shooting as Clemenza had instructed. He reasoned the two might be looking for him to come out shooting and sitting down would make them relax.
I've never read the book. Thank you for that insight.
The screeching elevated train noise as it reaches the station near by while Michael's adrenaline is pumping hard -- He used the train noise to mask the gunshots or was it Coppola cinematic genius to explain the concurrence of on coming train to reach crescendo as Michael blasts away?
@@RoodJood I believe the train noise was a coincidence Mike wasn't really planning for it to mask the noise. Remember Clemenza said he left the gun noisy to scare off any innocent bystanders.
I dont think Michael needed any more reason to kill them.
He went there with the decision already taken.
Michael is conflicted because he feels that once he crosses that line, there is no turning back, he is becoming something else, something worse.
And he is right.
I think the movie hinted that perfectly. When Michael said he wanted a guarantee, and Sollozzo said "what guarantees can I give you? I'm the hunted one", Michael's facial expression sold it completely. He was going to kill Sollozzo.
And you could see from from Michael's facial expression when he came from the toilet that he was deciding whether to shoot them there, or do it at another opportunity. Al Pacino's acting and the camera work in this scene was superb.
To this day ,I always frisk the person I'm having dinner with AFTER they leave the restroom.
Needless to say, this has ruined a lot of dates.
Chris Baranet VERY funny!
I bet you've frisked a thousand young punks
🤣🤣🤣 Good shit
@@kadafi4lyf 😂😂😂😂
YOU TOO!!!! And here I thought it was only me! 😁
When Sollozzo said he was not that clever, Michael proved him right.
Hmm...true
@Torino Herrera.... 'You give me too much credit Mike... I'm the hunted one.... for example you're about to kill me in a few moments Mike'
Mike knew he was lying. In the car mike said to sollozo "I dont want my father bothered anymore" to which Sollozo said "he wont be". Then at the table Sollozo says "what guarantees can I give". He knew he couldnt work anything out with him. He had to come out blasting.
Sollozzo's entire tack in the scene is kind of stupid. He reached out to Michael basically to get one of Vito's sons to advocate peace with him. And he chose Michael on the idea that Michael would have more influence.
See the cognitive dissonance? He chooses Michael because he thinks, Michael being an outsider, would not want vengeance on Sollozzo. But at the same time, he thinks Michael's counsel would call off any attempt on Sollozzo's life.
Either Sollozzo was a really lousy gangster who was gonna get himself killed sooner or later. Or more plausibly, he was so aware that the Corleones were gonna get to him soon that this was a ploy out of desperation. Either way, Sollozzo was dead the moment he tried to kill Boss Corleone.
"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool." Shakespeare
I remember as a kid watching this with my Sicilian father and having him tell me what Solozzo was saying. Best movie ever made.
i bet u 2 felt like gangs, badass memory
Michael king of treachery treachery within treachery@@Enlazador9
I have a question - so, they ARE speaking Sicilian? It makes sense that they would be, but my ear is very bad - half the time here in NYC I think people speaking Spanish are speaking Italian. This is a serious question for something I'm writing, I really appreciate your answer. Thank you.
@@tomangelo5939 My father grew up speaking Sicilian (his parents were both from Messina and only spoke Sicilian), so I always assumed it was. My father didn’t speak Italian very well but was fluent in Sicilian. I never asked which one it was they were speaking to be honest. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.
My grandfather is Sicilian too. I'm 3rd gen. He didnt like the movie when it first came out because it made Sicilians look like murderous gangsters (which he later said was "almost" true) . Took him well into the late 80's before he passed away to watch it. The irony here is that Lucky Luciano aka Lucana is a direct relative of ours.
i've always felt that the scene was much more powerful NOT understanding what they're saying. it removes the focus from what sollozo wants and forces you to square in on mike, his anxiety and his anger.
Precisely. The whole scene was about body language rather than vocal language.
I get the same vibe from watching operas in foreign languages.
Joey Clemenza Absolutely spot on, I heard somewhere that that actually WAS the intention of the dialogue. It was telling the audience that the words were insignificant and meant very little to Michael in that stressful moment
Joey Clemenza Exactly--you could figure out about what they were saying, but the best acting in this scene is in the facial expressions, eye contact & body language. Hey Joey, you know any good espots on the West Side? Think about it while you're drivin', huh?
Brinson Harris The studio didn't want Pacino for the part but Francis ford Coppola wanted the part for Pacino so he shot this scene before everything else to show the studio big shots Pacino's talent. And they become satisfied when they saw this and never question him.
The acting is so good you can understand the interaction perfectly without knowing the words.
Exactly
For me, it's all in Al Pacino's eyes.
@EastEndery No you.
Why didn't you subtitle Sollozzo?...
- Because we don't all speak Italian. But we all speak 'bullshit.'
He didn't die. We saw him in some other movies!!!!
The actor who played Sollozzo was fabulous. Very realistic look, attitude & talk.
I agree! Brando, Pacino et al. still get heaps of praise, but this guy played his role perfectly in every scene he was in.
His name is Al Lettieri. Having close relatives in the Genovese crime family surely helped him get into character.
Lettieri died of a heart attack in 1975, aged 47, in New York City.
@@gl3605He was a top notch actor on the verge of being the top bad guy in the movies.
@@David-yw2lvThe Getaway.
First time I watched the movie, it was good. But when I watched it the 2nd time, it was a masterpiece.
I've watched it more than a dozen times and it's still a masterpiece.
There's not another movie on the planet that warrants a second watch more than The Godfather. When I saw it when I was younger , I was trying to follow the plot. After you've seen it, you appreciate the second time so much more. The same goes for Part II. even more so. Part III....no amount of viewings can help that thing
Exactly, you have to watch it at least twice before you can even begin to appreciate it.
It gets better EVERY time you see it. It IS a masterpiece.
You see the video that me brother did
Coppola was so smart in using the train noise as the soundtrack of Michael heightened sense of anxiety, better than any music. When you are under pressure you notice things you otherwise would not care about. The loudness of the passing train was sublime film making
Al Letteiri was epic in these scenes as Sollazo. He epitomised the quintessential Italian mobster like no other character in the film. Should have had an Oscar for his role.
If there were Oscars awarded to everyone that deserved one... _according to RUclips experts_ .... then the Academy Awards show would last for 3 days and nights.
Too bad he died a few years later. RIP
Sono d'accordo,Al Lettieri l'avrebbe dovuto avere l'oscar perché ha interpretato il mafioso alla perfezione,purtroppo ci ha lasciati troppo presto rip goodbye Al.
Francis Ford Coppola has said that the film wouldn't have worked like it did without Lettieri's stellar performance. Pacino has said similar things. If you watch all of Lettieri's other films, he was actually cast against type in this one. All his other roles are of loud, violent, belligerent criminals.
Like all great films, every role was amazing
That’s genius that the last thing Sollozzo says is that he wants the war to end... so Mike ends it. For Sollozzo, at least.
Actually, the killing of Sollozzo and McClusky escalated the war.
@@Rockhound6165
r/whooosh
@@Rockhound6165 yes you could easily say that at that point the Corleone and five families war had begun.
It's been said that the fastest way to end a war is to lose it!
It doesn't matter. Nothing Sollozzo said was going to change the outcome of this meeting. That's one big reason for no subtitles, the conversation is meaningless.
I agree with the artistic reason, but it's nice to hear out what was said after the fact.
Blake Harris But the tone of the voices, the body language...
@Blake Agreed/upvoted. You might as well listen to the train screeching in the background, time it just right, aaaand ACTION
the godfather and Godfather 2 are both masterpieces there is no filler anywhere
Curiousity
You can tell Pacino does not speak Italian in real life but the actor who played Solozzzo spoke it fluently. Even Michael went back to English showing he is an American who only knows a little Italian. Even in Sicily he had people translating for him.
It ain't Italian they're speaking. It's some dialect of southern Italy.
Sicilian is it's own language, not a dialect
Al Lettieri
Coppola used subtitles when Luca Brasi met Bruno Tattaglia & Sollozzo. Why not here? I believe it’s to show Michael is a new breed of mafioso, completely American (a decorated veteran!) untethered from old Sicilian ways. All the rest find themselves at his Americanized ruthlessness in the end.
@Justified Freely The language Scots (old English) is different to British English lol
Knowing what Sollozo is saying makes it apparent how much smarter than Michael he thought he was. It was a costly mistake. Even Sonny, Tessio and Clemenza underestimated Mike as the soft college boy of the family without realizing that as a Marine in the Pacific, he most likely killed more men at close range than all of them put together.
But sunny says to Michael: 'this ain't the army where you shoot from far away, you gotta go right up their face and blam'
Perhaps he went hand-to-hand with the enemy? *Close enough to get messy?* Or maybe he shot them up close, to the cheers of “Tenno Heiko Banzai!” (Sp?)
This sort of thing was not unheard of (in the pacific theater) when dealing with an enemy who was deep into edged weapons.
@@jajabinx35 yes, it showed Sonny’s ignorance of what the fighting was like in the war. The Imperial Japanese Army used human wave charges in which hundreds of men would keep throwing themselves at the American Marines. Oftentimes it came down to shooting men up close as they neared your position or even running them through with a bayonet. Michael had Silver Star and Navy Cross medals which are usually given for gallantry during action against the enemy and a Purple Heart which is given for being wounded in combat. By that point Michael has probably seen death up close and had more blood on his uniform than the other men.
@@mattpope1746 Michael was awarded a Silver Star. He did not get that by shooting the enemy from "a mile away". He would have had to get as close to the enemy as Sonny describes.
@@KeithSeiwell I believe Michael had a Navy Cross, Just short of a MOH.
"Gotta go you gotta go." Now there's some famous last words.
Yea famous last words of a fool
@ hahahha thats golden
Via cagare!
Jurassic Park
“Checked him. He’s clean.”
It's interesting how the noise of the train increases the tension of the scene
I also took it to reflect his blood racing through his head.
It was a reflection of Mike's pressure blowing up.
Disagree. My interpretation is that Michael was weighing his options and then used the train to cover much of the noise.
Many viewers forget that Michael was a Marine enlistee who received a battle field commission (2nd Lt.) then progressed to 1st Lt. then Captain. That requires and instills a lot of situational awareness... something Michael used to his benefit.
if you think about it there are similarities to both Vito's & Michael's descent into darkness... with Vito killing the local/neighborhood Don in that dark apartment hallway during fireworks and Michael's at the restaurant with noise of the train... after those acts,there was no turning back...
It became noisy as all hell. Kid, .,.,.,.,.,.,. if you don't do it now,.,.,.,.,.,., you have to do it now. Get up and do it.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
It took a long time to shoot this scene because Pacino had trouble speaking Italian ,Sicilian the cop Sterling Hayden was tired off eating spaghetti
Mack Reed 😂😂
He should’ve used a spit bucket
Sterling Hayden may have understood a lot of Italian. He was an OSS agent in Europe during World War Two. I do not recall his given name but he was as legit a tough guy as any. Operating in occupied territory takes serious courage.
Well that's what he gets for breaking Mikes jaw.☺
Chuck Johannessen My father spoke seven European languages fluently. Also was an engineer and worked with the OSS. I wonder if they knew each other.
I remember passing by where this scene was filmed its a private house now. After all these years never knew it was close to my old high school. I Never get tired of this movie.
It's a storefront on White Plains rd in the Bronx
@@karajones2530 then the address i saw was wrong the address I got online was near the HY sneaker store that closed down. I just looked it up again I passed that all the time and never knew that was where they did the restaurant scene thanks for letting me know. next time I walk to western beef supermarket I'll snap a photo.
I really enjoy the accurate portrayal of Michael as a heritage speaker of Italian in this scene- his Italian gets better when he goes to Sicily too which seems pretty accurate
Both speak Sicilian, which is rather different from Italian
both in vocabulary and grammar.
@@AudieHolland apparently Pacinos grandparents were from Palermo
@@derekbowyer236 His maternal grandparents are from Palermo while his father was an immigrant from Salt Frattelo
My grandfather spoke English very well but would almost immediately slip right back to Low German when they were overseas visiting relatives as he had often done with his family
He likened it to riding a bicycle in that once around those who spoke the dialect, he’d vividly remember no matter how much time had passed
@@AudieHolland The same way "English" is different than "Louisianan."
Once when I was a kid, we had the family over for a spaghetti dinner. I got up to go to my room real quick, and I grabbed a toy gun i had that used those cap rings that made a loud bang. When I came back to the dining room, I started shooting my toy cap pistol while everyone was still eating. Nobody knew what the heck I was doing, but my mother and brother did because they were fans of the film as I was, and bless their hearts, they played along by pretending to be dead, with me dropping my toy gun to the floor as I walked out. Most of the family there had a puzzled look on their faces, but thank God for my mother and brother's warped sense of humor. We laughed so much the rest of that evening 😂
The Funniest Reenactment story to one of the best scenes of the Godfather trilogy. Kudos to you man.
How many people were at that table, and most importantly, how many of them did u scare the shit out of when that POP went off during a nice dinner 🤣?
I know I woulda jumped from that sudden, very unexpected LOUDNESS LOL
@@masterrserch3971 Toy cap guns are as loud as popping the cork off a champagne bottle.
Did you hide in your hometown after that?
Good times when kids had toy guns and pretend to murder their family
When Godfather casting was being done everyone was against Al Pacino playing Michael except Coppola. It was after this scene that Al shut all mouths!
@Randy White That's right. Marlon knew talent, if Robert Evans didn't. Not right away, anyway. But, it was Coppola's support, that was key. He didn't back down to Paramount. He stood up and insisted on both Brando and Pacino. The one the studio was most against, was Pacino. Fortunately, Coppola and Al prevailed and, of course, he and Brando were brilliant. The entire cast was brilliant. Love this scene. Lettieri and Hayden are amazing, as well as Pacino. What a great moment in film.
Yeah, just imagine Ryan O'Neil as Michael (the original actor the director wanted to cast for the part). I hate Ryan O'Neil.
@Randy White Director, studio, who cares, the point is the people in control wanted some asshole shitheel to play Michael.
@Randy White Oh FFS, could they have found three guys who looked and acted less Italian than those three? Then again James Caan is Jewish-German but at least he has the attitude.
kritika nautiyal Can you imagine O’Neal, Redford or Beatty ad Michael? Hahahaha - what an awful, miscast movie it would have been with no Part 2, which was brilliant❣️
The ten seconds leading up to Michael shooting Sollozzo, he's thinking: "This SOB tried to kill my father." "What if the cop shoots me after I shoot Sollozzo?" "What if the gun jams?" "What will happen to my family if I die tonight?" "Why didn't I order the antipasti? It looked good and I'm starving."
That's best acting I hv ever seen. Face says it all
@Jack... This is where Michael erred a little.As he was coming back from the bathroom he had the advantage of Sollozzo's back being turned to him.Granted,McCluskey could still get a view of him but all Michael had to do was not pause like he did.. but merely just walk up aim a metre or 2 from Sollozzo's head and 1 bullet would've been enough.Then turn to the cop and do the same... Just one to the brain.
nb: Clemenza gave him explicit instructions to give them both '2 shots in the head a piece'... He gave 1 to Sollozzo in the head.. and then fired a shot at the cop to throat.. and then the head.It wasn't clinical,and per instructions... but eventually he got the job done.
What I've never bought was Tessio saying that they could "tape the gun behind the toilet" A toilet tank is going to be pretty moist from condensation and what kind of tape existed in 1947 that would stick to it? Duct tape and packing tape didn't exist. I would think a hook made from a coat hanger would work better. Trivial I know but what the hell.
@GamerKat'71 I did not know that. Thanks!
Revolvers don’t jam.
This is fun as an academic exercise, but Coppola was smart enough to know that subtitles would be distracting during the tense scene after Michael returns from the restroom. You can glean what's being said anyway, for two reasons. First, because it's a variation of what Sollozzo has already said in English. And second, because of the careful placement of familiar foreign worlds like "padre" and "capiche" in the dialogue.
I think the point of not having subtitles was to make us feel like the cop...complete outsiders
There were subtitles in the movie.
NostalgiNorden Your comment makes zero sense, not to mention being incredibly rude.
What is the meaning of the train sound? Its used quite alot in scenes like that...
rackinfrackin no I can't understand what is being said because I don't speak Italian.
If ten speakers of Sicilian were asked to translate the dialogue, you will get ten different opinions.
I doubt it. It's a latin based language. I don't know any Sicilian but there are key words that translate easily because of their specific latin origins. As another posted just below, the choice of such specific, familiar words and context of why they're meeting also helps.
billybob lillybob your a poop head
Let me tell you guys. The translation is completely wrong.
@@ronanodonnell7145 Don't make me make you an offer you can't refuse...
Maybe not, i speak Spanish, well not too fluently but i understood what they were saying because scillian and spanish share alot of words plus i dramatically followed the plots of this masterpiece leading up to this infamous and most favorite scenes of all time for all, not so hard to understand DUH!
2:54 Solozzo dies in italian
😂
even in spanish version of this movie, this scene doesn't show subtitles
great work amigo
thank you
I speak Spanish and I was somewhat able to pick up on the context of their conversation. While Spanish and Italian/Sicilian are obviously different languages, they do share some similarities due to their common derivation. But I agree, having the subtitles for this scene helps to understand their full conversation.
I get the feeling that it was not important what he was saying. It seems stupid to think that Sollozo would explain to Michael that the attempted murder of his father was "just business". Did Sollozo believe that Michael would accept such as explanation?
Pretty sure that was at Copolla's request...we are supoused to feel like the cop
He was more likely to accept such an explanation than Sonny would have been. Don't forget that upon finding out that an attempt has been made on his father's life he goes home to his family, and upon finding out that Sonny wants to employ a scorched earth strategy to deal with the situation he says, "That's not what Pop would do." Michael was far more measured than his older brother.
Raul Morales In the spanish it has
These subtitles are actually wrong. I speak Italian and a bit of Sicilian so I can clearly understand them. Here's what they're actually saying:
S: "I'm sorry about-"
M: "Forget it"
S: "You know what happened between me and your father was just business? I have great respect for your father, but your father is old-fashioned. He doesn't understand that I am a man of honor-"
M: "Don't tell me these things. I know."
S: "You know..? And you understand that I have helped the Tattaglia family. I think we can come to an agreement. I want peace. And we can drop all this crap."
M: "But I want.."
S: "What?"
M: "How do you say..?" What i want- (cut to after Michael exits the bathroom)
S: "You feel better?"
M: "Yes"
S: "Mike, you understand me, don't you? You're Italian, like your father. Your father is sick. When he gets better, we arrange a meeting, and put everything in place. This foolishness must end."
And then bang, bang. Dead.
vasily thank you for your translation. I am a Romance linguist and your translation seems to fit the dialogues very well. Just wondering: they don't speak standard Italian, right? There is a mixture of standard Italian and dialects, and if so, which dialects do they use? I know Sicilian pretty well and their dialogues don't sound like Sicilian to me.
vasily tuo padre pensa antica = your father thinks ancient
vasily It is basically the same thing
It's not strict Sicilian dialect, which is almost unintelligible to most Italians. It's more like regular Italian with a deliberately thick Sicilian accent.
As an Italian who's part Sicilian but doesn't speak the dialect, I never had a problem understanding them, so that figures.
"pensa ALL'antica [maniera]" = thinks the ancient [way]
The Godfather is my favorite movie to date. I read each and every comment here and so far no one has mentioned the name of the restaurant. The name of the Restaurant is Louie's and is/was on Gun Hill Road in the Bronx. The food was fabulous. My Grandfather, on numerous occasions would take our family out to dinner. I was glued to mt seat as I watched this scene unfold. The bathroom is/was actually as described.
Thank you for that. Very interesting.
Sollozzo: "You need to help me. So we can end this."
Michael: "You got it." (BLAM)
Al Lettieri played Sollozzo, and what a brilliant actor he was.
He was also awesome in Mr. Majestyk as a villain
@@Gabriela-Acevedo
and in "the getaway", with Steve McQueen...
I always found it completely unbelievable that Sollozzo didn't have at least a couple of his men sitting at a table right next to them.
Yes, absolutely. Even though Michael was a civilian and the police captain was there, it was still quite risky to not have body guards present at the ready. Any where he went after the attempt on the Don he should have had serious protection. McCluskey probably was too arrogant thinking just his presence was enough of a deterrent, which was Sonny's thought too. Sollozzo should have been smarter. Hard to believe he wasn't.
I think having Captain McKlusky there was his protection. He was a seasoned police veteran and was doubtless armed.
He did, in the complete scene, he turns towards the corner, opposite of the restroom, and those are Sollozzo’s men. In the novel there’s obviously more details, Michael didn’t exit the restroom shooting as instructed. This was because Sollozzo’s men was seated directly across from that restroom exit and Michael sense that he would be cut down. Michael choosing to sit, is what made everyone let their guard down.
@@cedricbeard4609 I'm afraid that's quite wrong. I just re-watched the scene. Mike fired very slowly three times and took his time leaving. If Sollozzo's men were there they had plenty of time to draw their weapons and fire long before Mike finished his shooting.
@@senecakw No, you need to rewatch. Michael points towards the back table (across from the restroom) and the men freeze, he does this just before leaving. Remember when Clemenza tells him “they’ll be plenty scared of you” … They were. Gun toting tends to bring out the bitch in planted goons. Rewatch the scene.
Thank you sooo much for translating that. Great job 👏
Makes me realize what a tragedy it was that Al Lettieri died so young - just three years after The Godfather. What an amazing actor.
Had no clue explains why I never saw him in anything else. John Cazale (Fredo) also died a few years later.
@@SyphusBatterus Check our "Mr. Majestyk" with Charles Bronson. Lettieri plays a mob hit man.
When you watch Mr Majestyk I believe you can actually see what bad physical shape Al Lettieri is in. @@clurnmonster7505
I know people argue it's better without the subtitles, but I actually disagree. Yes, I can agree with the fact that it highlights Pacino's acting, which is very good. However, what Sollozzo says to Michael really brings a lot of context to this world. The way that people justify things and play games. He doesn't even really feign regret, he plays the victim and might actually see himself in that light.
Seeing the villian try to justify the action of attempting to murder Michael's father, to his face and then just trying to brush it aside and move it along like "business" really shows what kind of person not just he is, but what kind of people run these criminal organizations.
You could say that what he says doesn't really matter but it does. I always got the sense that Michael himself was not sure if he would actually go through with it, but seeing what kind of man Sollozzo is sealed his own fate in a sense.
But even Michael isn't really paying attention to what Sollozzo is saying. Pacino is giving a brilliant portrayal of a man completely in his own head, contemplating a decision that will change his life. After Sollozzo failed to give Michael a guarantee that no more attempts would be made on his father's life, whatever Sollozzo said afterward was irrelevant. It was just Sollozzo trying to bullshit Michael into agreeing to his "deal." As an audience, we don't need to understand Sollozzo's feigned concern for the Corleone's and not wanting violence because we already know it's false. What's important is Michael's decision and the internal struggle he's undergoing in the moment.
That, and he knew S. wasn’t going to stop trying until he was in the ground.
Hence he knew what he needed to do. *It was personal, like always.*
He kind of is the victim. He's a small timer muscled into being the face of this war by Barzini. He didn't do the hit. He didn't approve the hit.
Everyone talks about Pacino but Al Lettieri as Sollozo was some great acting.
Thank you for the subtitles. I don't care if it was meaningless. It was nice knowing what they were talking about.
Appreciate you for this translation
the most powerful scene in movie history...it`s all there,,,tension, fear, build up, unpredictability, atmosphere, lighting, anxiety, character development, sound, ambience, quaint surroundings, dated toilet scene, fascinating dialogue,sinister charm of sollozo, unsuspecting crooked cop, moment of truth for michael, shock result, violent outcome, confusion of language( if you don`t speak italian), slow pace, patient development, wine, veal, appropriate music after the event, car ready, aftermath bloody scene often shown on newspapers of the day.....
It is indeed the greatest scene in one of the greatest films.
Try to leave something out next time.
They underestimated Michael. They frisked him as a routine matter but they really didn't expect violence from him. They expected him to take their lets-do-business message to Sonny. I'm not so sure they would have made another attempt on Vito's life if a deal had been made.
From purely gangster logic Michael killing Solozzo made a certain evil sense---had a deal been struck Barzini/Tattaglia/Solozzo power would have increased and Corleone power severely compromised. Clemenza, in another scene, drew the analogy of appeasing Hitler, and he was right. (All this ignores the evil of gangsterism in the first place, of course.)
I disagree about there being no other attempt on Vito's life. Solozzo's facial expression (mouth open stare) was a "tell" that what he was saying was a lie. We saw that earlier in the scene where Luca was murdered by Tattaglia.
Do you need a cigarette?
Thank u so much i was always wondering what they were saying in that scene .. Thank u again
Thanks for the subtitles Ray...now to watch the rest of the film on the DVD which is now on pause.
Thanks again.
lol same here
McCluskey thought himself untouchable, while sollozo was in fear of a hit at any moment.
I am 26. For a decade and a couple years, I have always wondered what Sollozzo said in this scene. Thanks for the translation 🙏🏼
Wonderful! I have been looking for the translation of this scene for years! Thanks
I thought I would be smart and activate closed captions and get a translation that way .
This is what I got :
(speaking italian)
Yeah, thanks a lot.
(speaking italian)
dont you say?
I thought they were speaking Cantonese!
(cries in spanish)
@@ShonenFreakTV Outrage in German!
A movie which was made in 1972 (48 years old) , still it impresses people around the world. A true master piece 👌👌
Agreed; true quality never tarnishes with age...it shines brighter than ever.
Ha ha! Love the shots at the end. And thank you for the Sollozzo translation
I liked the way Sollozzo looked at the waiter as if to say, what’s taking you so long, beat it!! 😆
He was paranoid after what he did, and looked at everyone as a potential hit man.
What a solid performance by Al Lettieri. He should have been rewarded an Oscar for his role.
Thank you so much for uploading & translating this! I've always wondered for years what they were saying!
Pacino's understated, quiet and reserved portrayal of michael in 1 and 2 is his best work and really the shining example of dramatic acting. Loved his boisterous characters too like Detective Vincent Hanna in Heat, but this was his best work.
I didn't speak Italian when I saw this as a kid. All I clearly understood was "I have a lot of respect for your father". Even in Italian, that was easy to understand. Yet, somehow I understood what was being said. It came across in tone and body language. Especially from Al Lettieri. Excellent acting.
Thank you so much for translating! Even though I am half Sicilian I never learned much Italian (the swear words mostly) and I always wondered about this scene.
“What I want, is a guarantee. No more shinebox jokes. Ever.”
What guarantees can I give? I'm the hunted one.
Now go home and get your shinebox!
@@possiblepilotdeviation5791 😂
@@possiblepilotdeviation5791 😂
Mandrake, in the name of Her Majesty and the Continental Congress, come here and feed me this belt, boy.
@@rayjr62 Dr Strangelove
I just binged-watch The Godfather films today and this scene particularly had no subtitles. Now RUclips has shown me this video! Stop reading my mind RUclips!
it’s the mighty RUclips algorithm at work
Iconic scene with Italian Dialogue and English Translation,Thank you .
What I love most is the fact that the subtitles are pretty unnecessary, you can understand EVERYTHING that's going on just by the line delivery, the acting, the tone, and a few cognates here and there.
That's amazing film making, removing the subtitles makes you focus on the body language more than the language. Greatest film ever made imho
Thanks. I been waiting almost 50 yrs to know what he said.... now l can rest in peace !!
Better late than never.....
Art Robledo yes
Good job man, nice what you did in the end. Kudos
I always admired the work of the actor playing Solazo, guy was great without being over the top. The part where he whinces when Michael says he needs to go to the bathroom says ot all, " what are you up to"?
They say this is the scene where michael becomes a gangster and he accepts his fate, but I would argue that happends earlier when michael moves vito into another hospital room and then he helds vitos hand and tells him" im with you now.." and Vito sheds a tear.
But this is perhaps the greatest scene in the history of cinema.
I've always thought that Michael becomes finally, fatally, irretrievably, and helplessly resigned to his fate while sitting on that bench at the end of Part ll ruminating about his killing of Fredo.
Michael at the hospital when he noticed his hands weren't shaking, knew he could handle it.
I said basically the same thing to my Dad he had a heart attack a few months after I got home from the army 1968 . That scene always gets me emotional when I watch it . RIP Dad
Good point. But I believe the War made him a gangster. He always had it in his blood, but the war turned him into an experienced killer , calculating and without pity or remorse. Yet everyone around him still saw him as the “nice college boy”
Cool. I like the description. This definitely was subtitles I can’t refuse
Al Lettieri gives a perfect performance.
Does anybody else realize this entire problem was brought on by Sonny's stupidity? He made it clear at the meeting between his father and Saluzzo that he was hot for the drug deal. The old man wasn't too happy that his son blurted out what he was thinking. Sonny was way too preoccupied with that comedy he was playing with Lucy Mancini and his mind had gone to mush. From that moment, the fortunes of the Corleone Family had changed. The Tattaglia Family wanted Don Corleone dead, so they could make the deal with Sonny. The entire movie is based upon that slip of the tongue by Sonny at the meeting in the Genco Olive Oil Company's office. I blame Sonny for all the problems the Corleone Family encountered in this film.
Much thanks for making this video.
The death train had arrived...All aboard !!!
Good one! There is an elevated train going by that Michael uses to mask the noise from the outside.
It's also the sound of adrenaline before a crime
The Uptown Express, to The Bronx-coming through. Michael, however, is about to take McClosky and Sollozzo, 'Downtown'.
The train screeching through was brilliant 👏.
Thank you for this. I should've searched for this long time ago.
The scene makes a very interesting point, very subtly, in that the Turk knows Italian better than the first-generation Italian. It underscores how much Michael has, till now, turned his back on his heritage. ("That's my family, Kate. That's not me.") Very fitting that right after this, he goes to Sicily, to recover his ancestral identity.
jetuber he’s Sicilian but they call him the Turk because he owned poppy fields in Turkey. And they call me the stronzo because I’m here correcting a woman’s take on a fictional character at 1 am instead of sleeping lol
@@clintc724 Well, this is a fan channel for a female Irish singer -- i.e., I'm a dude. But thank you for the correction. I genuinely thought that his character was Turkish.
@@clintc724 Michael had to go into hiding in Sicily.
Even though you were wrong about the Turk, I LOVE this interpretation
Dang, I actually thought he was a Turk
For reasons that I can't explain, this scene literally saved my life. Literally, as in still breathing versus cremation.
Thank you Duolingo... I actually understood some of his sentences perfectly... and Michael sounds like he did duolingo too
I speak Spanish and I understood about 80% of what they said...
yea, Spanish is pretty close to Italian.
I'm brazilian and I understood the same. All latin languages have similarities.
Robert Souza I am of Southern European and Mexican descent and I am fluent in Spanish. I understand Italian better than Portuguese spoken by the Carioca. I can however follow the language from São Paulo much better. I have been around many Brazilians for 20 + years through jiu jitsu and listened to hundreds of hours of interviews and documentaries and can quickly tell the difference in the dialect.
@@PauloBerni699 In Rio there's a different accent. All over Brazil there are many accents, it depends from the region. Northest is totally diffent from Rio and surroundings.
@@robertsouza9667, I have studied the Romance Languages and my abilities to speak Spanish and Italian are very good. French has always given me problems. I can read and understand Portoguese but don't ask me to speak it. It would make sense that you were able to understand the dialogue between Corleone and Sollozzo as the language are mutually intelligible.
One of the best scenes in the history of movie making. He left the cannoli. :). Thank you for that.
sunkissed748 what is this joke about the cannolis?
Sollozzo would never have had dinner with Michael just a couple of days after trying to kill Vito.
I have watched this movie more than 5 times. Still, every scene touched me.
Never gets old! Movie will be a classic 50 years from now.
Thanks a Ton.
I've always interpreted that subtitles were unnecessary because his words meant nothing to Michael.
It was funner watching the expressions and what's going on inside their head. It also made the scene more tense. Just brilliant to leave them out
I love the look from Sollozzo when Michael says he has to use the bathroom. He's so deeply suspicious.
I think once Michael got up from the table Sollazo would have expected the gunman to enter through the front door
That slight twitch in his eye is so sinister. It’s like he’s intensely watching every muscle Michael moves and doesn’t trust him one bit. Sends chills down my spine
And yet he didn't think to frisk him AFTER he returned.
Without a single doubt, I would have gone to the bathroom with MICHAEL, THUS STOPPING THE KILLING
Thanks dude!
The thing I always found amazing anout this scene is that Sollonzo frisks Michael before he goes to the bathroom but not after. A big mistake on his (Sollonzo's part).
Shawn Kelly how is it a mistake what's he' gonna do after the fact if he already has the gun away? Regardless if he frisks him after or not he's still gonna get shot either way their both dead regardless
Good point Pete Hadayia either way Sollonzo was just too trusting of Michael probably never expecting him (Michael) to do anything let alone kill them both.
You're right. That's why Clemenza told him to "come out shooting." Michael was just lucky.
Mike Roberti In the novel you can read what Michael is thinking. He thought that they would gotten the better of him if he came out shooting despite what Clemenza said. Also before he went to the restroom he seriously considered Sollozo's truce offer before deciding it was too risky.
Michael was a war hero and never involved in the family business. He was a civilian, and by Sollozo's assessment, essentially benign. Nobody else from the family would have been able to pull this off.
“Man of honor” is the Sicilian term for “made guy”.
This is awesome, and you should totally update it with the remastered video ^_^
One of the greatest scenes in movie history. I love how they show the difference in 1st generation born Italians with Michael's lack of knowledge in the speaking and understanding of the Italian language as its not his native👍
many of our parents, who were first generation americans, didn't like to speak italian in front of us kids, they wanted us to be "americans" and because their parents spoke broken or no English. this was sad as it deprived us of a second language, and an easier time with high school language coursed
This wasn't just movie making it was artwork..
It's a perfect representation of a second generation immigrant who is passively bilingual, understands his second language well, but isn't fluent and speaks with an accent. Michael has no problem living in Sicily, but reverts to a translator when he wants to seriously get his point across
Michael is genius ... he waits until the passing train is making the most noise when he shoots, so that the gunshot is "muffled" by the train noise ... anyone outside the restaurant would not hear the gunshot as clearly
Well, that was not by design. He was given specific instructions to "come out shooting", but in the novel it says that while he was in the restroom, he felt that they might be expecting him to come out blazing, so he made a decision to allow them to relax a little more by coming out and sitting back down. When he sits, his eyes start darting back and forth, a sign that he's thinking, he's looking for the right moment. Then he hears the train coming and voilà! He sees his opportunity. This showed good instincts on his part and good last minute decision-making.
I agree
Oscar B
Expression: Voila
Origin: French
Pronunciation: vwa-la
Angel Deville As they say, "Please excuse my French". Corrected! Thanks!
LOL, "good decision-making"... guess you didn't watch the rest of the films. This was Michael's last chance to walk away from self-destruction.
Sallazo and Michael’s facial expressions make up for the language barrier. Michael knowing everything he’s being told is complete BS, and Sollazo thinking he’s gotten over on Michael and that he’s so much smarter and has it all figured out
Little did Sollozo know that Michael was looking for any excuse NOT TO KILL HIM, but he sealed his own fate when he said “he wasn’t that clever.” Michael knew he was pulling car salesman tactics on him as Sonny joked about earlier.
This movie is hypnotic! I can watch it any day at any time of the week.
Thank you! More missing pieces i needed
Sterling Hayden (Captain McClusky) was the first choice to play Captain Quint in Jaws. He would have been great but Robert Shaw was also. Fun fact!
interesting !
He wouldn't have been better than Shaw. Nobody else could play Quint.
When he comes back from the restroom he's not listening anymore and his eyes are crazy eyes. Crazy for murder and revenge and for what he's about to do which will change his life forever.
It’s the one minor criticism I have of this scene. His eyes are sooo crazy, yet we believe The Turk doesn’t notice? Always thought this was an odd mistake in such a perfect film.
@@joefelice5062 He did notice something was slightly off at the very end. If you notice he turns towards the captain at the end like is it me or is he not responding. Real quickly he does it. It also happened within 10 secs of talk. Any longer he absolutely would have seen it in him. But he missed it as he was talking as it was a sensitive subject about hos father not doing well at that point and he probably thought Michael was slightly upset.
And it wasn't crazy eyes, it was nerves. Honestly that part os some kf the best acting I've seen from Pacino
Thank you buddy 😊
Another masterpiece from Coppola
Brilliant acting and so realistic that's what makes his movies so outstanding!
5 star all the way..
Pacino one of the greatest actors of all time.
The way Al Pacino played this whole scene was masterful. He was emoting everything the character of Michael Corleone was thinking and feeling and you saw that in his face and body language. One thing that often gets overlooked is how the train is used to mask the gunshots when Michael starts shooting. And the haphazard and nonchalant way in which he just throws the gun down is like the ultimate “it’s done” gesture. I don’t know how much Francis Ford Coppola directed this performance or if it was all Pacino deciding how to play it but it’s acting genius.
The scene is extremely close to the novel, and the bit about very deliberately throwing down the gun is in the original. Puzo was great--and Coppola/Pacino realize the scene perfectly.
Thank you 🙏🏾
But I’m still trying to figure out how Clemenza managed to get a gun in the bathroom.
If you read, the book The Godfather. it explains how Michael got the gun. Thatcwas one of the big problems which was considered before Michael agreed to do the hit. Basically. the capo Tessio saidxthat he knew the XXV resataurant. He said they had an old-fashioned water box in the bathroom, apparently like a cabinet. The plan was fot Peter Clemenza to leave the gun taped behind the water closet. You see Michael Corleone reaching behind the water closet in the movie when he goes to the bathroom. That is when he grabs the gun. In the book,the gun is a .22 pistol. In the movie,the gun is a snub-nosed Colt Detective Special. That gun is a 6 shot 38 Special rwvolver,with a 2 inch barrel. It is small enough to have been hidden behind any water closet or cabinet
Nobody in their right mind wants to stick their hands around a dirty toilet water cooler.... unless you want to kill somebody .
in The Godfather game, the protagonist, Aldo Trapani, sneaks around the restaurant and plants the gun in the toilet. I accept this as canon for the film.
He swapped it with the cannoli.
Raymond FERRETTI It’s not a water cooler....it’s a ‘water cistern’ and nowhere near the toilet bowl.
The first time I saw this scene, I was on the edge of my seat.
Nice…….well I enjoyed that translation. Thank you for putting it up…..Grazie ‼️
This was the last step in Michael’s metamorphosis. Up to this moment he was a civilian. Remember how Sonny laughed and Tom criticized Michael’s plan initially??? You could see Michael’s tortured face before going over to the other side right before shooting them both.