The iconic movie The Godfather was released on March 14, 1972. The movie is based on Mario’s best-selling novel “Godfather” (1969). Today marks the 50th Anniversary of the Oscar-winning movie.
The movie was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. the screenplay was co-written by its author Mario Puzo. Let us recall some of the most iconic quotes from the legendary cast of this movie.
The ever-powerful Vito Corleone
Marlon Brandon played the character of Vito Corleone as the patriarch of the powerful Corleone family. The crime boss was considered wise and for him, his family and friends always come first. Let’s recall some of his iconic dialogues.
“Great men are not born great, they grow great . . .”
“Lawyers can steal more money with a briefcase than a thousand men with guns and masks.”
“Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgment.”
“You cannot say ‘no’ to the people you love, not often. That’s the secret. And then when you do, it has to sound like a ‘yes’. Or you have to make them say ‘no.’ You have to take time and trouble.”
“Someday, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me.”
“Revenge is a dish, best served cold.”
“A friend should always underestimate your virtues and an enemy overestimate your faults.”
A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.”
Don’s good son Michael Corleone
The character of Michael Corleone is played by two-times Academy Award nominee Al Pacino. He is the youngest son of Don Vito Corleon, a Sicilian immigrant who succeeds his father as a don of the Corleone family. Well, situations made him do so.
Michael was always influenced by the American culture and wanted nothing from his father. Let’s recall some of his iconic dialogues:
“I don’t feel like I have to wipe everybody out. Just my enemies.”
“That’s my family Kay, that’s not me.”
“What I want, what’s most important to me is that I have a Guarantee. No more attempts on my father’s life.”
“You straightened my brother out.”
“I know it was you Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart.”
“if anything in this life is certain, if history has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone.”
“It’s not personal Sonny, it’s strictly business.”
Hot-tempered Sonny
Sonny Corleone is the elder son of Don Vito and is extremely hot-tempered. This role is played by James Edmund Caan who also starred in Francis Coppola’s The Rain People. Sonny is always plotting to take out the rival gangs to remain in the good books of his father.
Sonny thinks of his baby-brother Mike as gorgeous and too sweet for the business. He has muscle power and desires to be the next Don. However, he dies a brutal death and Don believes it is Brazini who masterminded it. Well, it was Michael who killed Carlo Rizzi to avenge his brother’s death. You touch my sister again, and I’ll kill ya.”
“I want somebody good – I mean very good – to plant that gun.”
“Did you go to college to get stupid? You are really stupid.”
“Mike let me look at you…You’re beautiful, beautiful. You’re gorgeous.”
“Tom, this is business and this man is taking it very, very personal.”
The Smart Lawyer Tom Hagen
Thomas aka Tom Hagen is portrayed by Robert Duvall in the Godfather trilogy. He also appeared in The Godfather Returns, The Godfather’s revenge and Ed Falco’s novel The Family Corleone. He is the adopted son of Don Carlo.
Everyone thinks that he would succeed the Don considering his smartness. Hagen is a lawyer and the consigliere of the Corleone family. He is logical and gentle. Therefore, Don trusts him with the decisions of the family. Let’s recall Tom’s dialogues.
“Italians have a little joke, that the world is so hard a man must have two fathers to look after him, and that’s why they have godfathers.”
“When a plot against the Emperor failed, the plotters were always given a chance to let their families keep their fortune.”
No Sicilian can refuse any request on his daughter’s wedding day.”
The Godfather trilogy is seen as the greatest film of all time. The series won nine out of twenty-eight Academy Awards. The man who believed the most in this film is Francis Coppolo. The excellent cast of The Godfather makes it the most memorable film in the history of Hollywood. What is your favorite dialogue from the film?
