Exploring The Godfather's Best Deleted Scene

[Laughter] francis ford coppola's classic 1972 gangster drama the godfather is one of the greatest films ever made the movie follows the aging patriarch of a powerful new york italian american crime family don vito corleone played by marlon brando as he navigates his way through the criminal underworld while at the same time looking to transfer control of his criminal empire to one of his three sons the godfather is a film that even 40 years after its release people are still talking about it still discovering new secrets and takes such is the richness of the film i've made several videos looking at the godfather and will continue to do so so feel free to check out the channel and subscribe if you like what you see hit the notification button so you don't miss out on future videos and you can also support the channel on patreon where you can get bonuses such as early access to videos the godfather is a film which has an abundance of deleted scenes being based on a mammoth novel and being three hours long it isn't surprising to learn that many scenes and subplots were left on the cutting room floor there's huge segments of the book which never made it to the script let alone the movie such as the horrifying origin story of luca brazi or the shocking backstory of al-niri both subplots which i've already covered on the channel so this video is the first in what i hope is going to be a new playlist on the channel where i take scenes from my favorite movies and tv shows and analyze them focusing in this video of a particular deleted scene which caught my eye now most movies have deleted scenes but the godfather is a little different a little special because a lot of the scenes from the first two godfather films are simply incredible they're stunning in places and they add to the films so much some of the deleted scenes bring about subplots that were in the book some of them add context to existing scenes in the film and some of them are just great on an entertaining level like with most deleted scenes from films you can see why some of them were deleted for example there's two scenes early on in the movie between don corleone and his son michael talking to each other with it being clear they don't exactly see eye to eye i was happy that this didn't make it to the final cut because it gives more power to the scene between them two in the garden and i like the fact that the fractured relationship is implied in the film rather than spelled out even though you could argue it's the central theme of the movie however again you could argue that the deleted scene between vito and michael at the hospital was essential because michael walks away from veto which adds power to the latest scene of the hospital which is in the film where vito is injured and michael comes to him and comforts him not leaving his side plus we get to see the original corey on consolieri jenko who isn't even in the final film at all it shows you how great the godfather is that even the deleted scenes are rich masterpieces layered and thought-provoking with almost everyone you look at it and you think why didn't they include this in the movie and there's so many of them that you could cobble them all together and make a new film in fact that has actually happened there are versions of the godfather out there which basically add in the deleted scenes and then show the first two films or all three films as one giant epic movie and in chronological order there's one version known as the godfather saga or the godfather a novel for television which is the first two films put together and was released on tv back in the 70s i believe there's one for all three films called the godfather epic and it's a bit weird and a real shame that these versions of the movie trilogy or at least duology aren't widely available they don't seem to be available to purchase legally on dvd or anything i think there is one version on amazon prime but it's not available in my location you would have hoped that maybe paramount would have done something at the tail end of 2020 while there was hype for a re-edited version of the godfather part 3 called the godfather coda the death of michael corleone i do hope they properly release one day one long cut of all three films with the deleted scenes included so today i wanted to take a look at one deleted scene from the first film to analyze and dissect what i think could easily be called the best deleted scene in the film it's not epic or anything not a lot happens and it isn't particularly necessary to include in the final film but it is very deep it focuses on sonny corleone veto's eldest son and the heir to the family throne you know funnily enough a lot of the deleted scenes of the godfather feature santino and i heard that james khan who played him was unhappy with director francis ford coppola because he removed some of his best works and after seeing the deleted scenes you can see where he's coming from but anyway for context this scene takes place after don corleone is shot by solotso's men after vito turned down salazar's offer to enter the drug trade it takes place after the assassination attempt and before salazar talks to tom hagan after kidnapping him so by this point luca brass is already dead and we're not sure on the fate of vito so things look grim for the corleones i'm not going to show a video of the deleted scene itself because the last time i tried to do something like that in my why was tom out video paramount flagged the video for copyright but you can see the deleted scene on youtube maybe it's worth checking it out and returning here but i'll quickly walk you through it so sony is at home and then gets a call from a detective who gives him the nod that his father's been shot this is a strikingly crucial scene to soni's development who is definitely one of the most underrated characters in the godfather universe as he's basically a hothead in the movie but is quite a lot more interesting in the books we've seen freda's reaction to his father's shooting we've seen michael's and here we see sonny's he immediately asks is he dead but the detective can't get close enough to find out sonny puts the phone down and a wave of emotion comes over him what's he going to do is he going to cry is he going to throw the phone across the room is he going to beat someone up there is no one to beat up he even starts to get up at one point like he's going to go on a rampage but he instantly regains his composure after the call and dials tom hagan's number but of course he isn't in as he's busy being kidnapped by solotso so sonny is completely alone and it's rare for us to see him alone i can't think of a single scene in the godfather where sonny is actually on his own i wonder why this short but powerful 60-second scene was cut perhaps it was so that the movie would focus more on michael out of the three corleone sons what with what happens throughout the rest of the film if they kept it in it would have made sonny's death even more shocking because up until his murder you could make the argument that he's actually the protagonist of the movie until the film pulls the old alfred hitchcock psycho bait and switch this scene also highlights the importance of tom hagan that the first action sunny does is to call the family conciliary the scene is also a reference to a similar one in the book when sonny learns of the shooting and it goes into the fact that santiago tried to keep a lid on his temper because he knew he had a problem with anger and rage and acting out of anger at this point could be fatal later after the phone call from salazo's man sonny goes to his parents home to tell his mother the news what's striking is how dark the house is how empty and gloomy it feels in stark contrast to the jovial wedding scene earlier in the film everything feels cold there's the stench of death the absence of something something taken away from the household and ask anyone whose father has died that's often the feeling that comes about in the household after the death of the head of the family the father and aside from the brief appearance of his mother sonny is completely alone in this large empty dark house at least to us this is what it's like when you take over when the position of defending your family and leading them is thrust into your hands there's no one to hide behind sure you have your capos and muscle but ultimately you're completely alone as mob boss tony soprano puts it you've got no idea what it's like to be number one every decision you make affects every facet of every other thing it's too much to deal with almost and in the end you're completely alone with it all sonny calls out for his mother who is in the kitchen cooking and he tells her the news the only way he knows how bluntly and her reaction is interesting because instead of becoming hysterical or shocked or asking a million and one questions she asks if he's been killed and then shuffles away to get ready in case they can go and see veto sure she might be in shock here but some viewers might think this is a case of poor acting possibly why the scene is deleted but it's so much more her resigned reaction is a testament to the fact that she's waited for this news for years she's expected it as the wife of a mob boss she knew one day it would come so on that day that it did she wasn't surprised this is the business we've chosen as hyman roth would say in fact there's another deleted scene where sonny tells michael that their mother's reaction has been good that she's been through this before she shows incredible strength in front of her son he doesn't need to see her break down and cry he's got enough to deal with at the moment maybe she goes upstairs and cries her eyes out but for now she leaves sonny to it who makes himself something to eat very quickly perhaps it says something about their relationship that he takes comfort in this situation from food as opposed to the warmth of his mother he then goes to his father's office and takes a look at the chair of his father the big seat the throne the seat from which many decisions have been made many men order to die the seat that represents the power of don vito corleone but right now it's empty and perhaps the best moment from this scene is when sunny instead of sitting in his father's chair pulls up one beside it it signifies that he is not his father's son in the sense that he lacks the attributes to become the next head of the family it also foreshadows the fact that he doesn't become the next dawn what with his death and why did sonny look at his father's chair but choose not to sit in it was it out of fear that if he sat in it that would confirm his father's death was it reluctant to take up the mantle was it fear of becoming the new dawn and all the responsibilities that come with it was it guilt because him speaking out of turn was why this entire fiasco started was that of hope that his father might pull through whatever it was it was definitely intentional because if you watch the scene closely sunny makes a conscious decision to sit in the other chair the music also lines up perfectly because it sounds mournful almost like this is the regretful passing of the torch scene until sunny sits in the other chair and the music switches to a more forceful tone as if we're now getting down to business business of fighting revenge and action where sunny is at his best and in his element but again the overall scene highlights something which is not often showcased in the godfather which is sunny's intelligence and wise and sensible reaction to his father's shooting because he remains calm and straightaway phones tessio who if i remember correctly has not appeared in the film yet it's established in the book that tessio's regime is quite distant from the coryonis as opposed to clemenzas to such an extent that many don't even know that tessio's family is part of the kolleoni family but santino's foresight and forward thinking is highlighted by him telling tessio that he doesn't want to use clemenza's men because he knows someone must have betrayed them and that someone must have come from clemenza's regime or the traitor is clemenza himself not only that but tessio's sharpness is also highlighted when sunny says he doesn't want to use clemenza's men tessio doesn't question the decision because it's likely he's also worked out that there must have been a traitor in clemenza's crew and that's why sunny doesn't want to use any of his men right now both clemenza and tessio are senior to sunny but the way he speaks to tessier over the phone is with confidence and conviction and it's a great touch that he rings tessier straight away but then to find luca brasi he has to get the number from a safe i've seen one comment on a youtube video comparing this action to like opening a safe to get nuclear launch codes which when concerning luca brasi is an apt comparison brassy only takes orders from veto so it would have been interesting to see how a conversation between sunny and luca would have gone but of course the phone simply rings out because by this time luca is already dead signing is quite unfocused throughout this segment of the film he squeezes the phone he mumbles his conversation with his mother he's eating throughout he puts the phone to the side instead of on the hook though he does a lot of things right you get a sense that he isn't really in charge unlike the demeanor of michael when he starts to get involved in the family business perhaps there's also something to take in sunny eating the lack of control the impulse to fill his stomach while he's working things out instead of getting right to business and that's about it it's only a few minutes long a very simple scene but it's so rich so full of detail and it showcases sunny's intelligence and also his calmness he didn't lose it here he handled himself well it was only after this second assassination attempt the one at the hospital where sonny really started to get angry and that makes sense that's a very dirty thing to do to kill a man while he's already fighting for his life not to mention his brother michael a civilian is punched by a crooked cop and the book goes into more detail that in the war between the corleones and the other families sonny was actually winning he was extremely effective which is why instead of open warfare barzini resorted to trickery and deceitfulness to get sonny killed sonny isn't just an angry dude he is considered a tactical genius in the book and deleted scenes like this imply that his one weakness was that he struggled to control his emotions he would have been a great underboss or street boss at a level where there is someone to hold his leash but as a boss as don corleone says he would have made a bad don maybe i should make a video exploring sonny's character in great detail if you want to keep an eye out for that 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Channel: CineRanter

Views: 663,826

Keywords: the godfather, the godfather clip, the godfather part 1, the godfather trailer, the godfather best scene, the godfather part 2 clip, the godfather don corleone, the godfather part 2 ending, the godfather part 2 trailer, the godfather 1, the godfather game, the godfather 1972, the godfather cast, the godfather 2021, sonny corleone, santino corleone, sonny death the godfather, the godfather deleted scenes, the godfather complete, the godfather chronological cut

Id: CwFRDpLSSiY

Length: 14min 8sec (848 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 30 2021