Pick Your ONE Favorite "Godfather" Trilogy Quote

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Oatsdad, Mar 28, 2016.

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  1. Your review seems dead-on.
     
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  2. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Thanks! :wave:
     
  3. The scenes with the Sicilian hit man are the only parts to me that harken back to the other movies -they are well done.
     
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  4. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    That line got a big laugh in the theater on opening night way back when. Packed house I might add.
     
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  5. Fastnbulbous

    Fastnbulbous Doubleplus Ungood

    Location:
    Washington DC USA
    At the risk of terminal thread drift: My main problem with G3 is the acting. I won't even go into Sofia, as it's universally agreed that she's a really bad actress who only got the role because Winona Ryder had "exhaustion." George Hamilton just plays George Hamilton, and Eli Wallach's performance borders on self-parody. Pacino is always great and covers up a lot of flaws, but not all.
     
  6. Chazro

    Chazro Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Palm Bch, Fl.
    G3 was definitely flawed but it provided one of the most quoted lines of the trilogy; "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in". Not only is the dialogue from the trilogy branded into our psyche, so are the scenes. Whatever line is quoted, I instantaneously picture the scene it was said in!
     
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  7. Quadboy

    Quadboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Leeds,England
    I'm not as familiar with the film's as most of the others here (and I wish they would show the 7 hour TV version over here to understand more) but doesn't this conversation continue with Tom enquiring about Michael wanting to kill everyone......and Michael replying 'not everyone.......just my enemies?.
    A good line.
     
  8. Miriam

    Miriam Forum Resident

    Location:
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    Part II. ''I didn't want your son, Michael...''. I love this scene.

     
  9. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I actually think Pacino's performance is one of the worst aspects of "G3". In the 70s, he could be nuanced and deliberate as an actor - by 1990, he was just loud and blustery much of the time.

    The Michael of "G3" doesn't connect to the character from the first 2 movies partly due to the script but also because of the grating manner in which Pacino played him...
     
  10. Fastnbulbous

    Fastnbulbous Doubleplus Ungood

    Location:
    Washington DC USA
    I wouldn't go that far - possibly Pacino just looks better compared with the mostly mediocre talent assembled around him. I can only assume that's the performance FFC wanted from him. Certainly agree that the script is subpar and the whole movie has a shambolic feel to it.

    BTW Pacino did much better work later - Scent of a Woman and Carlito's Way for example. Even the otherwise forgettable Frankie & Johnny is watchable for his performance alone. And unlike latter-day DiNiro and Nicholson he's never sunk to the level of self-caricature.
     
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  11. wwaldmanfan

    wwaldmanfan Born In The 50's

    Location:
    NJ
    He was a little over-the-top in Scarface, but I blame that on DePalma. I loved Pacino in Glengarry Glen Ross, The Insider, and Donnie Brasco.
     
  12. Rocker

    Rocker Senior Member

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Pacino could recite the phone book and find a way to make it interesting. ;)
     
  13. Gramps Tom

    Gramps Tom Forum Resident

    My vote as well.
     
  14. ianuaditis

    ianuaditis Matthew 21:17

    Location:
    Long River Place
    still a good recipe for sunday gravy.

    Anyway I thought of one more, I had this one in mind when I started the thread but forgot about it by the time I was done reading:

    Don Corleone:
    "But I'm a superstitious man, and if some unlucky accident should befall him, if he should get shot in the head by a police officer, or if he should hang himself in his jail cell, or if he's struck by a bolt of lightning, then I'm going to blame some of the people in this room. And that, I do not forgive."
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2016
  15. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Pacino is a mixed bag in "Way" but pretty awful in "Scent", IMO - that performance exemplifies all that's wrong with "later day Pacino". Lots of yelling and over the top antics!
     
  16. Fastnbulbous

    Fastnbulbous Doubleplus Ungood

    Location:
    Washington DC USA
    Someone must've like his performance in Scent - he won an Academy Award. Then again I've never gotten Springsteen so it's all a matter of personal taste...
     
  17. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    I saw Pacino in "Merchant of Venice" in Central Park. And to quote Bob Dylan (and Sam Shepherd), "It was the best acting I saw anybody do".

    For my money, G3 just rambles all over the place. There are loose plot threads that never get addressed ("Tony knows you killed Fredo!"), some of the most wooden acting ever seen in a major motion picture (I'm looking at you Fat Tony), and a ridiculous scene (death by eyeglasses) that we're supposed to take seriously. You can still see glimpses of what were some good ideas when they were cooked up in the first draft (Michael's guilt over Fredo, Sonny's illegitimate son creating havoc), but it just doesn't come to fruition.
     
  18. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever Thread Starter

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Oh, I never said no one liked his performance - I just don't belong to that club.

    Whatever merits Pacino did/didn't show in "Scent", I think that his Oscar was more of a "lifetime achievement" thing than actual recognition of his "Scent" performance.

    Kinda like Paul Newman in "Color of Money" - or Scorsese for "Departed". Pacino's win wasn't the first or last time someone would win more due to their whole career than for one performance...
     
  19. Chazro

    Chazro Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Palm Bch, Fl.
    Yeah, the main problem of G3 (and it had many) was the writing. I've got this great book I picked up in a used book shop, the Godfather companion. Full of facts and tidbits from the trilogy. In the G3 chapter they actually listed various 'alternate' stories they had but didn't use once they decided which way they were gonna go. Tellyawhat, every one of those alternates was a better story than what they picked to go with!
     
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  20. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!"

    Location:
    Canada
    Yes- by the time Part III rolled around, Pacino played Michael like it was "Al Pacino playing Al Pacino playing Michael"- caricature, not character. Total self parody, IMO. It was a paycheck to him, I reckon, nothing more. There's no art to how he plays the role like there was particularly in Part II.
    I respectfully disagree- Pacino is worse than De Niro or Jack are when it comes to self parody (though admittedly not by much, and it hurts to say that about my three favourite actors). He plays every almost character way over the top, and makes sure that he barks a good share of his lines. I love Heat, for example, but Al's histrionics almost ruin the thing for me.
    You got that right. The best part about Part III as filmed is the twist on the Vatican P2 scandal, IMO. Which was of course Mario Puzo's contribution, as I recall.
     
  21. Rocker

    Rocker Senior Member

    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Are you kidding? Many of Al's insanely-delivered lines are some of my favourite parts of the film!

    Also, keep in mind this tidbit from IMDb:
    In an early draft of the script, Vincent Hanna had a cocaine habit, which, according to Al Pacino, explains his bombastic outbursts.
     
  22. ohnothimagen

    ohnothimagen "Live music is better!"

    Location:
    Canada
    Well, that explains a lot...they shoulda kept that aspect of the character in the final script.
     
  23. Chazro

    Chazro Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Palm Bch, Fl.
    "Also, keep in mind this tidbit from IMDb:
    In an early draft of the script, Vincent Hanna had a cocaine habit, which, according to Al Pacino, explains his bombastic outbursts."

    Ok, does this mean ALL his characters have coke habits, cause they all seem quite 'bombastic'! Or is the actor the one with the habit? Wouldn't surprise me and would actually explain a lot.
     
  24. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    Not all of his characters suffered from substance abuse. One of his more toned-down characters, in fact, suffered from cancer of the p***k.
     
  25. Peace N. Love

    Peace N. Love Forum Resident

    Lefty is one of the few latter-day Pacino performances I really enjoy.
    As I've said before my main objection to his performance in 3 is the fact that he does not appear to be playing the same character he played in 1 and 2, not even an evolution of the same character, in my view.
     
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