On The Godfather, Italian-Americans, and the Mafia

1388 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The godfather genre essay

On The Godfather, Italian-Americans, and the Mafia

The Godfather, released in 1972 by Paramount Pictures, set a course for the comeback of the gangster genre after its decline in the 1960’s. With its main characters as Sicilian-Americans, Hollywood continued to use them to portray criminals, particularly members of the mafia. The film is set in New York City between 1945 and 1955, and is centered around the fictional Corleone crime family.

With The Godfather, Hollywood managed to bring light to Italian-American culture. The trilogy as a whole was a breakthrough for such actors as Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, and Robert De Niro, and the first entry revamped the failing career of Marlon Brando. Although director Francis Ford Coppola thought Mario Puzo’s Godfather novel was poorly written, it was his intention, as an Italian American himself, to create the film about an Italian-American crime family and have the audience identify with them.

The Godfather franchise follows the Corleone family, particularly Michael Corleone and his rise to the patriarch of the family business. Initially, Michael had no interest in the business, but as his father—Vito Corleone, then-current Don of the family—was badly wounded following an assassination attempt by a rivaling mob, he felt the need to protect his father and represent his family. Though he took refuge in Sicily as the five most powerful of New York’s crime families—of which the Corleones were part—fought amongst each other, he became fully involved in the business upon his return to the U.S., planning with his father to avenge the death of his brother Sonny.

The Corleone family didn’t come from wealth and privilege. They started with nothing, and rose to prominence as the most powerful...

... middle of paper ...

... may seem like they were cold-blooded murderers, but they are just one of many families that still believe that blood is thicker than water, even though crime does pay in corporate America.

Works Cited

Edwards, Magenta Kate. "How are Family Values Represented in The Godfather?" the-news.co. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

The Godfather Part II. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Prod. Francis Ford Coppola, Gray Frederickson, and Fred Groos. 1974. Paramount Pictures, 2008. DVD.

The Godfather Part III. Dir. and Prod. Francis Ford Coppola. 1990. Paramount Pictures, 2008. DVD.

The Godfather. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Prod. Albert S. Ruddy. 1972. Paramount Pictures, 2008. DVD.

Santopietro, Tom. The Godfather Effect. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2012. Print.

Swann, Travis. "The Godfather: Cultural Value." Ecorsair. Avenue, 2 May 2012. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • Al Capone: Gangsters And Mafia In The 1920's

    773 Words  | 2 Pages

    Al Capone (Alfonso or Alphonse Capone) was born in 1899 and passed away in the year of 1947. Once he had been brought up in New York City, Capone became connected with crimes and was the subject of murder investigations. In 1920 he moved to Chicago and became a lieutenant to John Torrio, a notorious gang leader. They established numerous speakeasies in Chicago in the Prohibition era. After eliminating his opponents, "Scarface" Capone took over control from Torrio. He was implicated in brutal murders and received tribute from businessmen and politicians. Al Capone was a well known powerful, murderous gangster in America in the 1920’s. (MasterFile EbscoHost)

    Read More

  • Little Caesar: Gangster Life in New York City

    2304 Words  | 5 Pages

    Film has evolved into one of the most popular forms of entertainment mediums in America today. Beginning from a “moving picture” that lasted no more than a few seconds, the industry has sprouted into a goldmine of technologically advanced major motion pictures. While Hollywood was still in an adolescent stage, a certain genre caught the eye of a United States eager for trendy entertainment: the “gangster” film. No film better defined the genre than Mervyn LeRoy’s Little Caesar. The movie was released in 1930 and largely due to the industries technological advancements the silent film had started a slide down the slippery slope to extinction as “talkies” were becoming all the rage. Although gangster films existed previous to the talkie era, there was something about the audible rat-tat-tat of machine guns and the stylized argot of tough guy talk that made an electrifying concoction. In addition, the gangster’s disregard for established society seemed fitting for a population who was beginning to lose its trust in institutions such as banks after being severely shaken by the depression (Giannetti 143). The circumstances were ideal for the rise of the gangster film.

    Read More

  • goodfellas

    977 Words  | 2 Pages

    Goodfellas is one of Martin Scorsese’s most popular and elaborate films. From the freeze-frames to the famous long take at the Copacabana. Everything done behind the camera seems to bring this film together as a whole. Even though the film can be dated back to the 90’s with the tacky costumes and décor, the story of the film is timeless. This is a movie that has already stood the test of time and will continue to do so for generations to come. Goodfellas is truly one of the most remarkable films of all time.

    Read More

  • The life of Al Capone

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    Al Capone was one of the most known of all of the gangsters. He was one of the biggest gangsters in the underworld of chicago. Al capone was a sharp dresser a classy gentleman. Capone was the best at what he did. capone originally liyed in naples which is in italy .

    Read More

  • Al Capone Essay

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    Al Capone grew up in Brooklyn, New York; his parents came from Italy, so he had some Italian background in him. He was the fourth child out of nine; he went to school until he was fourteen years old, but he eventually dropped out to help earn money for his family. Right after he dropped out, he joined a street gang called the South Brooklyn Rippers. When he grew older, he joined a new gang called the Five Points Junior. These gangs never carried out any major crimes. The only thing they did was steal.

    Read More

  • The Godfather Film Analysis Essay

    1627 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Godfather is most notably one of the most prolific films of its time. This "gangster" film displayed many transformations of permeating color to give the viewer observable cues in its mise en scene that drew one right into the movie. The dramatic acting set the tone of the film with a score that lifted the viewer right out of their seat in many scenes. The directing and cinematography made The Godfather ahead of its time. The nostalgic feel of family importance and the danger of revenge lets us into the life of the Mafia. Even though no other techniques would have given the viewer a feeling of inside the mob like the mise en scene of the power the godfather held, the characters are reinforced literally and figuratively because the story views the Mafia from the inside out, and the cinematography of the film gives it a dangerous and nostalgic feel.

    Read More

  • The Rise And Fall Of Al Capone

    2064 Words  | 5 Pages

    Alphonse Capone was born on January 17, 1899, in Brooklyn, New York to Gabriele and Teresina Capone. He grew up in a rough neighborhood and was a member of two gangs; the Brooklyn Rippers and the Forty Thieves Juniors. Alphonse did well at school until the 6th grade when he was expelled for retaliating against a teacher who hit him. He was fourteen at the time. He became part of the Five Points gang in Manhattan and worked in gangster Frankie Yale's bar, the Harvard Inn, as a bouncer and bartender. While working at the Inn one night, local gangster Frank Gallucio was drinking with his sister at the Harvard Inn. Capone approached the girl to compliment her, and Gallucio took offense to him started a fight. Gallucio pulled a knife and cut Capone's face three times. That is how "Scarface" came to be.

    Read More

  • Vendetta and the Ritualized Revenge Motif in Popular Italian Film

    4338 Words  | 9 Pages

    In addition however, while they tend to trade on different genres, these films also tend to share many similar motifs. Hercules (Pietro Francisci, 1958), Once Upon A Time in The West (Sergio Leone, 1968), The Godfather (Francis Coppola, 1972), and Once Upon A Time in America (Leone, 1984) all draw on the generic qualities of their America counterparts through common plot devices and a reliance on American stars. However, while American films are highly individualistic in tone, these popular Italian epics trade on the common motif of the vendetta: a variation of the hero quest narrative, which focuses on the community, or family, revenge plot. In this way, although these films span almost thirty years of popular Italian filmmaking, the pattern of community based violence and revenge serves as a common cinematic motif which, in turn evolves over ...

    Read More

  • Al Capone

    2660 Words  | 6 Pages

    I knew going into this topic that there would be more than enough information. Going on the Internet I found many web sites that went in detail about certain aspects of Al Capone’s life. I found web pages on the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and even a haunting of his ghost. My Grandpa had books that helped me including The Encyclopedia of World Crime and The Mafia Encyclopedia. He also had a great deal of information to tell me.

    Read More

  • The Sicilian Mafia in America

    1101 Words  | 3 Pages

    People in Sicily believed that they could not trust the country’s police service, so they created their own organized protection that later evolved into the Mafia. Later on the group engaged in organized crime and formed the Sicilian mafia. They came from Sicily to America during the mid 1800s due to bad conditions in Sicily where almost everyone was below the poverty line. Giuseppe Esposito and six other Sicilian members were the first to leave and fled to New York after they killed the chancellor and vice chancellor of Sicily. Then on the five main Sicilian mafia families were created and the majority of the mafia came to America in the early 20th century. In 1920 they officially became an organized criminal group. The names of the powerful families are; Gambino, Lucchese, Genovese, Bonanno, Colombo and they mainly operated in New York, Philadelphia, New England, Detroit, and Chicago. There are around 26 La Cosa Nostra family cities around the United States where they dominate and run organized crime throughout the cities and towns.

    Read More

  • The Godfather: An American Dream Story

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Godfather is the “dark-side of the American dream story” (Turan, pp2). The film follows the practices of a fictional Italian mafia family, the Corleone’s. Though most Americans do not condone the practices of the Italian mafia, they cannot deny that Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather is a cinematic masterpiece. This film gave insight to a mysterious way of life that the average person does not have knowledge of. As the audience is educated about the mafia they also are introduced to many stereotypes.

    Read More

  • The Gambino Crime Family

    1304 Words  | 3 Pages

    The era of Don Carlo, which lasted from 1957-1976, was enormously prosperous for the Gambino Crime Family. At the beginning of his rule he, and many other crime families, ran into a pretty large roadblock. As Gambino was being sworn in as leader of the Cosa Nostra, President Elect John Fitzgerald Kennedy, a man who had “sworn to destroy people like him and rid the nation of the scourge of organized crime” had also been sworn in”(Davis 87). The Kennedy brothers, with Robert as head of the McClellan Committee, was the first time that the executive branch of the government directly went after organized crime. Before Kennedy, presidents had even been opposed to going after the mob Harry Truman and Eisenhower discouraged hearings like Kefauver’s to proceed. Another huge obstacle to the federal investigation of the Cosa Nostra lay directly at the feet of corrupt FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. He obtusely denied the existence of the Mafia and was reported to call the reports of its existence “baloney” (Davis 87). Eventually, after overwhelming evidence, Hoover was convinced there was a problem and organized crime was the reason for it. President JFK’s brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy instituted the world’s largest attack on organized crime in all of history. He drew up a list of the top targets, forty in all, and went on his way. After the first year of his war on organized crime, Bobby Kennedy indicted 121 mob defendants and had 73 convictions. By 1963 there was 615 indicted and 288 convictions. One of the most long-lasting tactics that were introduced during Kennedy’s campaign, was the use of bugs and other listening devices in the homes, favored clubs, and hideouts of the mobsters. Electronic surveillance was a new resource an...

    Read More

  • Al Capone: Al Capone

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    Al Capone was the son of two poor Italian immigrants, he had to find guidance with the only people that took an interest in him but unfortunately for him it was some of the biggest mob leaders in New York. Even with that kind of influence hard to believe that a once soft spoken, intelligent kid from a good family would grow up to run a major city with blood, bullets, and

    Read More

  • Family in The Godfather

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is the Godfather that demands the family stick with family and never side with any one out side of the family no matter the situation. Vito the Godfather would remind them family is family and no one will miss treat or use any member of the family. He proves this point when his godson comes to him about a problem with a director name Jack Woltz. Because Jonny Fontane is the godson the Godfather Corleone will send his step son who is consigliere to the family to California to advise the director to hand the part over to Fontane.

    Read More

  • The Idea of Gangsters in America

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    Deep down inside everyone has the same desire – to do what one wants whenever he or she chooses to and to not have to worry about anyone or anything else. Along with this desire to be able to do what ever it is that one wishes to at any given time, a person wants to be successful at what they do. The type of success that a person wants may be measured in money, property, fame, or even the entourage that follows him or her. This kind of lifestyle is only truly lived by a certain kind of people – gangsters and mobsters. For the rest it is just a dream to be able to live such a life, but for gangsters and mobsters this lifestyle is reality. But these gangsters can go around doing anything they want without the fear of consequences, which would, for most people, lead to long-term prison sentences. We are commonly shown in many movies and television shows that gangsters can just walk into an alley and beat up whoever they wish and be able to leave as if nothing ever happened. In “The Gangster as Tragic Hero” by Robert Warshow and “Our Mobsters, Ourselves: Why The Sopranos Is Therapeutic TV” written by Ellen Willis the gangster’s middleclass part of his or her lifestyle is brought out along with this “dream” reality at the same time.

    Read More

More about On The Godfather, Italian-Americans, and the Mafia

Open Document