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Al Pacino’s Audition Tape for The Godfather
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ก.ค. 2025
- A piece of Al Pacino's audition tape for the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather.
The interesting thing here, was a reason given to me against casting Pacino was not only was he too short, but also too 'scruffy'.
So we got him a haircut and dressed him more non-scruffy and more collegiate, and then the criticism was he so cleaned up, he lost some of his natural appeal. I realized they just didn't want Al no matter whether tall or short, scruffy or collegiate.
The first "too scruffy" haircut was given to him by my wife Ellie. For the second haircut, we went to a local barber and he found out it was for a "Godfather" actor, he had a heart-attack. (The barber really had a heart-attack and was taken off to hospital afterwards)
Omg!!! He’s soooo young. A baby face. I remember when I saw that movie! In Queens, NY in the early summer on 1972. With my mother. The last film I saw with her right before she died. I remember the movie theater too. What a great film. A masterpiece.
Thank your Mr. Coppola for sharing this amazing footage!
@@jessie-laura I second that….
This is like watching the Mona Lisa being painted.
AGREED.
Very well said
Priceless footage
Mr. Coppola: I just want to say you are an inspiration. Some of your work (such as the opening scene of "The Conversation") causes my mind to wonder what is possible with images and sound in storytelling. Thank you!
Love this type of content. Absolute classic film and actor.
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@@TheCinemaofJoelShelton - Agreed! 💯
This michael is vastly different than the one we see in the first film. Al embraced the character perfectly.
Can't believe we get to see this!!!
Thank you for this, Mr. Coppola!
Legendary footage!!
Thanks for sharing.I Love Al Pacino, great actor. Never miss his movies. That tango in Scent of a Woman . WOW! 👍💙
Francis keeps pulling us back IN!
Not only is “The Godfather” a multi academy award winning movie but Al Pacino was THE perfect choice for the role of Michael Corleone.
And Coppola fought tooth and nail to retain him, against the wishes of Paramount and Bob Evans.
fantastic
Amazing. And the later transformation. Al sounded like Woody Allen in this clip.
"Yeah it's kinda exciting and it's immoral but that's my family so there I said it".
Yes, you are watching Al Pacino’s audition tape for the Godfather and yes he's wearing a bow tie.
Yes
Yes
I saw this in 2002 with The Godfather special features disk, it has the deleted scenes too.
I adore Pacino as Michael Corleone. Although he’s brilliant in every role, this one… is something truly special. It feels like it was written just for him. Many people credit Brando as the one who made this film, but to me, it’s Pacino! Every scene with Michael is mesmerizing! He deserved an Oscar for every part of The Godfather.
Thank you so much for sharing this whit us sir,you make my day i look to The Gotfather yesterday really i can say thank you so much for your beautyful films you make !👍👍👍🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻❤❤❤🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻from Belgium Brussels when go Mégalopolis in the theaters?
When Francis was casting “On The Road” in the 1990’s (95’-96’) he met a bunch of up and coming actors in the basement of a church on the upper west side of manhattan- I was one-
He never made the film version of Jack Kerouac’s book which at the time was slated to star Ethan, Hawke, Winona Ryder, and the up-and-coming newbie Brad Pitt
This is pure magic :) Watching Francis Ford Coppola and Pacino becoming the legends they are now :) By the way, am I the only Diane Keaton fan here ?! She was perfect in Woody Allen movies but also in the "Godfather" trilogy :) Wow, just realized writing those words that "The Godfather" and "Annie Hall" are two films with Diane Keaton as an actress and Gordon Willis for the cinematography :) Woooow, just thinking that in "Annie Hall" Alvy Singer, upset because Annie is late for a movie, says to her he's "standing with the cast of The Godfather" in front of a theater (two street guys asking him who is, why he is famous) ! What a cool and funny post modern reference when you think of it, since Annie Hall is played by Diane Keaton ! :)
I’m a HUGE fan of Diane Keaton!!! She’s my idol!!! She’s my muse!!! Annie Hall is in my top 10 films of all times. And of course The Godfather is a masterpiece!!!! Bc of Diane I decided to go grey😉
@@MsLamotta 🥰🥰🥰
Legends in the making.
Please show us Brando next!
If they still have the "make-up test," that would be amazing. The studio wanted Brando to do a screen-test, which Coppola knew Brando would never agree to. He told the Brando the studio had concerns about Brando being able to play so much older than he was, so he convinced Brando to do a make-up test to prove to the studio he could be convincing as someone Vito's age.
This kid seems pretty good. I think he might go far.
It's like visiting a film museum...👌
Wow from this tape I can see why the studio people didn't want him but I'm glad Francis won because I love Micheal
The Legend ⚡
More, please!
"The Offer" did a really good job casting everyone
He ended up playing Michael with a more serious tone and with a more sophisticated accent.
Thank you, Francis Ford Coppola.
The barber story is crazy
👏👏A wonder!,..love this guy
Currently listening to Al Pachino’s autobiography book
Life changing example
Legend....
I need to say again I can't stop thinking about Megalopolis. I just watched Tucker for the first time...I love the creative direction! I can't believe I've not seen all of Coppola's movies, but it's something I'm working on.
I've seen this many times before there is one thing that Francis has not shown us is all the auditions I've seen De Niro I've seen Cann there's a clip of Martin Sheen auditioning and of course Pacino but they said there was tons of actors auditioning where is all of that like Jack Nicholson Dustin Hoffman thank you
This boggles my mind because knowing Coppola; I don't get why he was auditioning non-Italians to play M. Corleone. He was dead on Al not only because he had Sicilian heritage but because since the very beginning, Coppola wanted an up-and-coming actor.
@@tenestetubo Francis Ford Coppola went in knowing who he wanted to cast for most of the main lead roles. The studio fought him and made him do endless screen-tests only to spend an insane amount of money, and ultimately, Coppola ended up with the cast he originally wanted.
@@RetroGirl1967 I guess it does make sense when you want to keep your vision. You gotta them like a fiddle. Love your comment :)
Goddamn that man is fine! I love me some Al Pacino😊
He sure improved for the film. Wonder if this was when Pacino iirc said he'd given up and didn't try very hard to win the part.
I think it worked out pretty well.
More...please!
Michael Corleone is one of my favorite movie characters of all time. He is so calm when he is insulted by his enemies. Michael does respond to those insults in the most life altering ways. Al Pacino is excellent in his portrayal of Michael Corleone.
Legend!❤ I Love You..
I can't picture anybody else playing that part but "Al Pacino". And I think a few other actors were going to play that part, can't think of the names right now. but I think some actors turned it down or didn't get the part.
VERY VERY THANK YOU SO MUCH WOW..
Filmed Jan. 7th, 1971. Hands up if Sonny Boy brought you here.
He should have won Best Actor for The Godfather, it was a travesty.
The Academy did him wrong really wrong that year.
Adding insult, they not only put him in the supporting actor category, but why the hell did the Academy nominate Duvall and Caan?
They were the two biggest weak links in the film.
Awesome
Thought it was pee wee for a quick sec..
The kid stayed in the picture. 😉
Madonna Santissima borderline com'è giusto !
Grandi tutti.
Historical footage.
20 years later his voice got raspy and deeper
His voice is so high pitched. No wonder he screamed all his lines after GF2
He sure looked nervous here. Talk about performing like there's no tomorrow when he acted in the original scenes, though!
Agreed, hard to believe he was cast from that audition.
When you had to be good at your craft and practice and not make a silly short and go viral for no logical reason. Al is an example of practice until you become the best. Great actor. Great films.
❤
Pleasure to watch
I was always a part of the corleone family
Need more Megalopolis news
¡The best! ❤
Wow, back when actors and directors actually knew these characters inside and out, and frequently collaborated in making them even better? Disney should take a page from this video. 😂
She was a huge star at this moment, Al was nobody.
Interesting!
Mafya babası papyon takıyor ya la dkdkdkd
Yup!
…and how gorgeous is Diane Keaton!
Yes beautiful!!
Coppola wanted Pacino because he resembled the actor he wanted for Vito....actor Joseph Calleia
Polka dot man
Did he get the role?
No - he originally auditioned to be Sonny
Lol, feels like I'm watching Adam Sandler.
🙏
The upcoming fall will bring us Francis Copolla's new film "Megalopolis" in Imax and Al Pacino's book autobiography entitled "Sonny Boy" (maybe in his memoirs he will explain what possessed him to wear that damn bow tie😜). I'm looking forward to both works.
I found the YT clip via an article... In the article it stated that Coppola was really keen on Pacino for the role of Michael Corleone, but the studio said that he was short and too scruffy. So he got him cleaned up, new haircut and made him dress/look more collegiate (hence the bow tie!) However, the studio were still wanting to go with someone else/a more established actor. Coppola obviously got his way though.
Francis, is it true that Marcia Lucas was there at the audition too or did she look only at the tape? I'm familiar with the quote she made saying, "Hire Al. He undresses you with his eyes"
Fun fact: The local barber who cut Al's hair had a heart attack when he learned that Al was starring in the movie 'The Godfather'.
As wonderful an actor Pacino is he never worked with the GOAT director Spielburg because in the 70's Pacino was a complete a.h. to Steven Spielberg at the beach. (Easy Riders, Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind.)
I was just emailing a friend in Bali about Megalopolis. I've encountered Mr. C. here in town at Pucchini, and once when he showed Twixt in a theater and took questions after, and once when I called out to him while he sat outside his cafe about a tune called Purple Avenue, by Tom Waits, because it was in his film One From The Heart as another named song, but missing on the first album. A year or so later, a re-release was out with two more songs. (one is really a suite) Wonderful. But when I saw the Chrysler Building preview for Megalopolis, with Adam Driver jumping off the building, I was struck by it, as the opening of my short film, Bum Rap Andre Hunt, is my protagonist jumping off the Chrysler Building. So, you can imagine the buzzing in my head, and of course I wonder if Mr.C. has ever seen my short noir. I might as well post a link: th-cam.com/video/CwQ84VaeJ-s/w-d-xo.html
I like the accent lol
He’s much better in the movie.
His voice was so squeaky as a young man by 1990 he sounds like hes smoked 40 a day for years
FFC obviously wanted Woody Allen but couldn't get him.
Jeremy Strong vibes with this.
Pacino looks dead-on like J.D. Salinger here.
He looked more like Dustin Hoffman when he was young.
@shrim1481 he did! In the Godfather he looks like a cross between Hoffman and Leonard Cohen (or rather Hoffman looks like a cross between Pacino and Cohen) - but here on this tape Pacino looks dead-on like Salinger.
AND TO THINK JACK NICHOLSON TURNED DOWN THE PART OF MICHAEL........
FREE AT LAST!!!
I don’t remember everybody’s voice being so squeaky? 🥴🤥
Nah...I would've offered it to Chris Sarandon
Directors wish they could act, so they become directors instead.
This is golden....but Pacino is no Wolfgang a.motzart...
I can't understand why he thought his best acting work was Scarface. What a terrible movie it was, and what great films GF and GF part 2 were.
It's not terrible, but it's not the showcase that the first "Godfather" films are. Also, he is amazing in "Dog Day Afternoon." His performance is why the movie is the classic that it is.
Why is he talking like he has braces in his mouth?
I thought it was Pee Wee Herman at 1st glance
NoW HİSTORY MUSEUM
BJ Novak lite
Francis Ford Corolla is as good as a great coach. Talk about motivation.
bowtie?
Who-haaaa!
And then the coke started
He looks like PeeWee Herman
He would be perfect for The Joker. And James Caan is Bruce Wayne.