The Godfather: the O.G. in screenwriting
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 มิ.ย. 2024
- This video essay explores the genius screenwriting tips found in the screenplay for THE GODFATHER (1972), a true screenwriting masterclass by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo.
Screenwriting Tips in THE GODFATHER:
00:00 Introduction
00:25 Sequences
03:16 Theme
05:11 Respect the Audience
07:06 Push the Narrative Forward
13:14 Character Contradictions
14:37 Scene Agitators
16:09 Triangle of Conflict
18:33 Character Orchestration
20:25 Moral Code
21:44 Conflicting Objectives
23:52 Character Arcs
Subscribe and get more screenwriting tips: bit.ly/3dMJEVj
Support the channel on Patreon:
/ scriptsleuth
WGA's 101 Greatest Screenplays:
bit.ly/3ifZM5c
Screenwriting Secrets in World Cinema:
bit.ly/3eNqwbe
More Great Screenplays:
bit.ly/2D1JuwR
Follow on Twitter:
/ scriptsleuth
#2 on the WGA's 101 Greatest Screenplays
Screenplay by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola.
Based on the novel by Mario Puzo.
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Brenda Garcia
Nicholas Barragan
William Chevalier
#screenwriting #TheGodfather #FrancisFordCoppola - ภาพยนตร์และแอนิเมชัน
![The Godfather Analysis - The Rise and Fall of Michael Corleone [Corruption Character Arc Explained]](/img/n.gif)
This channel has helped my own writing in so many ways. I've read so many bullshit books about screenwriting that just say surface level variations of "make characters relatable" "keep pacing tight" and "Write from the heart." This channel not only has great in depth advice but rock hard examples that are near impossible to refute.
So thank you guys and keep up the excellent work!
Wow, what a great comment. Thanks, Isaiah!
Agreed, I've learned more qbout writing from this channel in a year than over a decade at school
o totally!!
"Make characters relatable" is a suboptimal writing goal
25:25
With the Godfather series.. the more you watch it ( doesn't matter how many times ).. there is always something new that wasn't noticed previously.. and as a result, this movie makes more and more sense the more you watch it.
Yes! Iconic all star 🌟 goodness!! Man listen I will throw on the trilogy and shut the world out! 📺 🍿 🛌
The Godfather is the ultimate definition of iconography and classicism
One example is in the wedding he gets Tom to call sunny in the room with Johnny in it. As soon as he enters he mentions that a man must spend time with his family to be a real man. He does this because he knows he was neglecting his wife, by later scolding at him for turning soft by playing with thay young girl.
Absolute wise father knew his kids and how to give them advice.
I find The Sopranos to be the same in this way. 😃
Totally agree!
When Mario Puzo was asked to convert his book into a script, he had no idea how to write a script, so just turned in the book almost word for word, obviously, he did a good job. However, for The Godfather 2, Mario Puzo decided to undertake some script writing classes to improve his ability. When he arrived on the first day of the class, the teacher used the script of The Godfather as an example of a perfectly written script. Puzo is a genius!
yep. puzo often told that story, and of how he basically gathered up his books and things and left the classroom, figuring he apparently knew all he needed to know about screenwriting.
I always loved that part when Apollonia beeps the horn at Michael after he received the news of Sonny being killed. It was like an alarm that snapped him back to the harsh reality and what he has to become to save the family. You can see Michael kinda staring off and feeling for his brother being dead then once that horn sounds he is called right back. At least that’s how I see it
It's such a well-written scene.
@@ScriptSleuth that's not the meaning of the scene at all.
For justice we must go to Don Corleone
Well, italian young beautiful wife is also portrayed as a stupid spoiled child.
Yea it was a sad scene watching his love of his life getting blowing to peaces.
This channel is heavily underrated. Keep up the good work
Thank you.
This video is a masterpiece itself.
Ah, thanks, but Puzo and Coppola did all the work.
Last month Casablanca was the best script of all time..
I was just thinking the same thing, very well constructed.
@@ScriptSleuth ppp
@@ScriptSleuth it really is!
Also a small thing some folks may not or may have started to notice is in certain scenes, the oranges tend to be a spread of doom in a sense for some of the characters dying off. Perfect examples are: when the Don gets shot and then the meeting of the Five heads, as well Vito dying after having the orange in his mouth with his grandson.
Other parts also include the wedding scene where Tessio could be seen grabbing an orange, Tom and Woltz dinner scene where a plate of orange was shown on the table. Seems like every time oranges appear, death or tragedy follows.
@roastedpotatoes3851 Indeed, there is a video explaining somewhere here on the tube that goes in more detail with it as well 👍🏾
In part 2 Michael is eating an orange in the scene right before he goes to talk to Vito who confesses his betrayal leading to Michael disowning him. We all know how that turned out 😳
another example of frustrated expectation: when preparing for the meeting with the tattaglias, luca dons a bulletproof vest and take a gun with him in case anything goes wrong, but he ended up getting garroted
Great example! Thanks for that.
Please cover these:
Vertigo
Blue velvet
Boyhood
The seventh seal
Seven Samurai
Hannah and her sisters
Thanks for the suggestions!
Boyhood is another underrated movie. I can relate to it well because I’m the same age as the parents in the movie and my oldest is the same age as the kids. And filmed in and around my hometown.
I didn't get to watch these until I was in my mid 30s and purchased the Coppola restoration of the trilogy on Blu ray. I am now counting down the seconds until I receive this trilogy in the mail on 4k. Simply because I adore them immensely. Timeless classic films that can never be re-created period.
I think that moment with Luca was actually due to the actor not being an actor at all but adds a wonderful twist to the opening & character.
Yes, Coppola says that in fact, that actor was actually a wrestler who was very nervous so he put in the "practicing" scene to explain why the actor flubs the line when he has to talk to the Don.
@@stevebrophy6691 The guy wasn't a wrestler, he was a real gangster.
@@NingaubleTube The wrestler idea was not mine it was a direct quote from an interview Coppola did.
@@stevebrophy6691 Aye, searched a little more about him and it turns out that Lenny Montana was indeed an ex-wrestler, but I think what's important for the movie still is that he actually was a gangster.
@@NingaubleTube I'll stick with Coppola's opinion, thank you.
The writing, directing, the actors they got, and even came out the right time. The movie is awesome
To be fair about the contrasictions, when Sonny berates Michael for talking it personal, he was in reallity also beefing with Tom.... He was just being a brother who messed with his two brothers... Likley trying to keep morale high as the eldest brother during that horrifying time.
ii was about to write a historical novel, and here u come triggering my outline into complete disarray.
Now ii’m about to write a historical novel MASTERPIECE.
Kudos for raising the bar.
Really Great. Next Time The Dark Knight
Thanks, Shubho!
Goddamn gorgeous work from you and the fine people who made this motion picture.
Thanks for watching!
This may not be the best place to ask this question, but since we are discussing screenwriting and is a design element here, there is a very subtle visual element as well that has mystified me ever since I noticed it a decade ago.
The Scene: Michael and Tom Hagen are seated at the funeral grave site of Don Corleone, both men with faces deep in thought. Now the arrangement of their two bodies in the frame composition keeps coming back to what I have come to think of as the "Madonna Shot " and it is very obvious the frame composition is intentional, as Coppola keeps returning to it time after time.
The face and head of a young but mature woman in mourning veil is framed by the heads of both Michael and Tom, and almost always she is perfectly positioned between the two men in the row behind them. She appears to be pensive in keeping with the gravity of the occasion, but otherwise is silent, no facial motions are made, and eventually the scene breaks up when Tessio approaches Michael with the plan for a meeting with Barzini.
Does anybody here know who this woman was? She was very obviously placed there to fill the negative space between Tom and Michael, but as things go in Coppola's films, even a vacant space can be filled with a meaning.
Any mystery busters out there? For some reason, I have thought it might be Tom Hagen's wife, as she got very little play in the script except for a dinner scene with the whole family when Santino was now at the head of the cable.
Tom Hagens wife
"Respect the audience's intelligence, let them figure it out for themself."
Something missing from a lot of cinema today
The godfather 2 has a better screenplay, the juxtaposition between vito rising in sicily and the fall of his son michael is so well executed. What are your thoughts
It's damn good, too. Hard to pick which one I like more!
Part 2 was so well-executed. After the fiasco of Cuba and Michael returning to the states to a Las Vegas motel and finding out a baby was lost, it goes back to 1920 Little Italy for the next 15-20 minutes with Fredo sick, Vito’s dealings with the neighborhood bully and so-called Don Fanucci, execution of the man during a parade, then Vito returning to his family cradling his son Michael how much he loves him. Then flash forward back to the present some 37-38 years later, Michael is returning home by limo to his Tahoe estate in the middle of winter, cold-hearted and lonely. He enters his home and sees Kay in the sewing room and doesn’t even go in to tell her hi and later goes to talk to his mother about his fear of losing his family and how times are changing.
How cute was it when Apollonia said she knows English and started saying the days of the week she was so beautiful and who I really wanted him to be with
It wasn't cute ...it was Coppolas way of showing you she is stupid which is what Puzo told us in.a book. In a book she needed more than a year to memorize what's gas and what is break on a car. In a movie she she can't memorize seven days in a week in a roll.
You wanted them together.....what is the matter with you. Have you no shame?
Apollonia was manipulative brain dead goldigger who married him for money.
When he came into her house she LAUGHED in his face while looking at her brother....mocking him.
Wedding was set up in two weeks bc she thought he was rich....that's the sentence from the book.
He married her bc he needed sex. He had thunderstorm which was biological manifestation of arousal sexual eraction. To satisfy it he had to marry her bc there was no sex before marriage.
He married her at the hight of the danger, never told her about mafia war or the fact that Don Tomassino warned him that his enemies know that he is in Sicily.
Never told her she was in danger of being attached to him at that moment ....spectacle of hypocrisy that was their wedding is how they found him. He murdered her with wedding.
She was manipulative, spoiled immature juvenile brat., semiliteral primitive goldigger. She doesn't have character intellectual hight or emotional depth....which is why she didn't wanna learn anything including English.
Michael in Sicily didn't have job or anything to do. He bought himself a bitch and he was killing time by teaching her spelling. But she doesn't want to learn She only cares about material stuff money and car.
She doesn't want to be a mother or a wife. She certainly doesn't want to be Italian wife.
She doesn't cook or clean she never even made them a breakfast.
In bedroom she was shamless, she fucked like a rabbit. He was fucking shocked how bold she was
Puzo in an interview called character like Apollonia " good for one thing tramp".
Do you now understand why he blew without even giving her a sentence.
Bitch died he came home and told Kay he loved her and cared about her.
Kay left he got diabetes aged over night stopped smoking drinking killing dressing like mafia or wanting to be mafia. Never touched another woman for the rest of his life or took the ring of his finger.
I’m already bought all movies since DVD and Streaming and with all these explanations, make me values the movies even more
I'm currently at the " Italian - American " restaurant part of your video, stopping to (gestures) bow my head to you for revealing the backbone of the bumps
🙂
@@ScriptSleuth and the fact that they were in a rush to finish the film yet still have the presence of mind to be so intentional is remarkable
You should do The Godfather Part II or Goodfellas next
Those are definitely on the list!
@@ScriptSleuth please do! This comment made me subscribe!
Here's Goodfellas:
th-cam.com/video/Q8Lc0cu9Bc0/w-d-xo.html
@@ScriptSleuth watching now! You rule!
@@ScriptSleuth if you like sports cars, especially the Honda S2000, maybe you’ll like my channel
Absolutely superb, rigorous and incisive analysis. Unparalleled
Wow, what a wonderful comment. Thank you so much! 🙂
I was so hooked, I never wanted this video to end. Thank you so much for the great content.
Oh, man, what a nice comment. Thanks for watching!
I learned more about screenwriting watching The Godfather than in any creative writing classes. I'm glad I didn't watch it till yesterday. Don't regret it anyway because it allowed me to watch the movie with a more mature mind. I'm still young, barely an adult, with much to learn, but, damn it!, this movie changed me forever.
It's a fantastic movie to study!
Excellent analysis.
The greatest movie of all time and great channel and work on this and other clips on the Godfather Well Done
Thanks for the nice comment, Tommy!
Wow! Wow! And once again: WOW!! I just love this movie (the three of them) and watching your explanations about the screenplay is ... WOW! Thank you!
Now I have to say wow! Thanks so much for the great comment.
My favorite detail in the film that tells you who The Godfather is when he tells the undertaker “one day and that day may never come I may call upon you to do a service for me” looking back at the movie he didn’t use the word favor as in the favor he’s doing the undertaker he literally meant one day and it may never come meaning he hopes he doesn’t lose someone and have to call upon him to prepare them for a funeral because what other type of “service” could the godfather need from him and unfortunately later on in the film he calls on him to prepare his Son who was murdered just insane level of detail
Great point! The level of writing is just excellent.
Excellent video. Very easy to follow. You made everything very understandable to us non-literary types. Thank you.
Thanks for tuning in, Reid!
I watched you great commentary again, start to finish. It was great work. The Godfather 1 & 2 are still the best movies of all time and for everything you put forward in your video shows that. I want to hear more from what you have done?
Keep making more videos on the God father . I subscribed . Great content
Thank you! More is definitely on the way.
Bro, just wow! What a video. Pure classic! Thanks.
Thanks, Vishal! 👊
Wonderful video about my favorite movie ever! My suggestion is Taxi Driver, one of Scorcese's masterpieces
Great suggestion! That's definitely on the list.
Man, Tom Hagen will always be my favorite in the universe. Great character.
Agreed!
Thank you. I learned a lot. It will add much more enjoyment to my future viewings.
You're welcome, Dwight. And thank you for watching!
Great video. These tips are useful for a lot more than just movies.
Exactly! Good storytelling is good storytelling. Thanks for watching!
Man, I learned so much from this video! Great work! I'm subscribing for sure.
Awesome, thank you!
Wonderful breakdown on the screenwriting of the greatest film of all time. The Godfather is the Perfect Storm, Cinematically speaking. Great Writing, Cinematography and the finest Acting ever captured on screen. There is no way to create a film to a higher standard than the Godfather. All the ingredients are there, prepared by a Master Chef like no other. Francis Ford Coppola's Direction must surely be the all time winner in the history of cinema. Please give more videos.
Completely agreed! There is no weak point in the movie (except maybe the poorly choreographed scene where Sonny "beats up" Carlo...)
@@ScriptSleuth
I'm not being picayune to believe that the character of Johnny Fontaine needed a much better actor.
Interesting story about how close Vic Damone came to getting the part. And it's beyond ironic that, in the end, Martino's 'connections' landed him the role.
(Lastly, it was positively unfair that A.M. sang a tune made famous by Damone.)
Your analysis was terrific. Felt like it was a few minutes long. Props.
'The Godfather' was extraordinary at every level - Coppola turned a slick summer read into great art - no hyperbole either.
✨
This idea of breaking these movies and the characters down is a brilliant one. I am new to the channel and I remain intrigued...💋💞💕💞💕💓💋💕
Man these videos are really well done and it's refreshing to see how you analyze it differently than I do. I was wondering if you are writing a script yourself and if perhaps you could do a video on Intouchables, my favorite European film.
Intouchables is definitely in the queue!
This was brilliant. Brilliant research, brilliant analysis. Just brilliant.
Thanks for watching and commenting, Sathwik!
It's interesting that you mentioned Bonasera. Unfortunately, from time to time we do hear about terrible criminals who are as guilty as hell getting off the hook in our legal system. In those circumstances I find myself wishing that we actually did have someone like Vito Corleone. I wish we did have someone like that who could dispense some street justice to criminals like he did for Bonasera.
Thank you for this. I really enjoyed "the Godfather"
Great to hear! Thanks for the comment, Ramon.
Great video, very informative and perfectly paced. Congrats and keep up the good work.
Thank you for the nice comment!
*Yeah… I’ll try to remember all this when I make my next major motion picture!*
Great work. Thank you!
Thanks for the nice comment, Alec!
Great analysis!
Love this channel !
Thanks, Taiga!
Great content as always!
Thank you, my friend!
This is right on time for me. Thank you so much. Imma watch this a few times.
You're welcome, Sherod!
This movie is what led me to finding your amazing channel
When Vito tells Tessio and Clemenza, "Then go listen to Michael," was it to speed up the inevitable treachery? Or was the "brush-off," sincere, coming from a place of confidence in his and Michael's plans?
Fixing to binge all these excellent videos
Hope you find them useful, Melissa!
Absolutely perceptive!
Thanks for watching, Jack!
THIS VIDEO IS BRILLIANT
Cheers, my friend!
This was amazing, thanks :D
Thanks for watching, Michael!
Amazing tips. Thanks 🙏
Amazing! These videos are so helpful as I work through my own pilot
Cool! I'm glad it's helpful. Speaking of pilots, I'll be tackling those as well. Stay tuned.
Script Sleuth Fantastic! I’m so curious what you’re going to cover
@@elliottroses There's one on Breaking Bad now on the channel. Check it out!
@@ScriptSleuth Awesome!
I’d love to see any of Edgar Wright’s films analyzed, especially the Cornetto trilogy.
This video is amazing! I have written my own plays, staged them, and also a small movie. I live in Scotland - theatre is huge here.
I do a lot of the techniques mentioned here, and I didn't even realize it! I thought - as a previous actor - that's what gives me the insight into directing, as I can see things from every POV. This was truly superb - I'm a subscriber now ❣️❣️
Hey, Margaret! That's so cool to hear! That's exactly it: even if we don't know what the stuff is called, or if we're even consciously doing it, if we expose ourselves to master work, then we just absorb it!
@@ScriptSleuth couldnt agree more. I first saw the godfather when i was 6 ( true story) i grew up watching cagney, raft ect.
It still amazes me when your writing can go in a completely different direction! I have been shocked at how twists and conflict have appeared in my plays. And i was the author!! 😆😆
Wow this is a cheatsheet for making a good film. Very nice work!!!
If only it were that easy!
This is great man. Cheers.
Thanks, Kyle!
Excellent Analysis!!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks for watching, Frank!
Since superhero movies are so big, you should look at The Mark of Zorro (1940). It is both a classic film with a classicly crafted screenplay (I think it's by Nunally Johnson). Modern screenwriters could learn from it's efficiency.
I'll check it out!
@@ScriptSleuth How about 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' (1945), or 'The Shop Around the Corner' (1940), two of cinema's most brilliant films and worthy of 'Casablanca'.
Very good analysing
Cheers, Shankar!
Great analysis
Thanks for watching, Sam!
That was very interesting! My two favorite movies are The Godfather and The Best Years of Our Lives. You’ve done The Godfather and you’ve given me a new appreciation for the craft of screenwriting. If it’s possible to do the same for my other favorite, it would be much appreciated! And l suspect there are many others who would appreciate it as much as l would! In any event, you did a great job with this great film! And l thank you!
I love that movie as well. I had never seen a movie from the 40s be so subversive when it comes to a romantic female character. And I love the tremendous honesty that went into all the acting in that film.
Amazing content!
Thanks, 4inches!
this was such a great video and now i want to re-watch this movie right now-which i'm going to. 😂
Wonderful. Learnt soooo much. Thanku.
You're welcome, Francesca! Thanks for watching.
Thank you for the carefully prepared content.
Could you talk about Eye’s Wide Shut by Kubrick, please?
Great content! Just discovered your channel and really like what you are doing! Subscribed!
Thanks, Robin!
@@ScriptSleuth You're welcome! I would appreciate it if you check out my channel too :)
This is one of my favorite movies not only cause its brilliant but cause it has a character named Enzo in it.
I will lose my mind if you are also a baker!
fantastic job
Cheers!
Great information!
They upload great content snd like every comment from their fans !!! Legendary!!!!
Grazie, Don Vito 😎
정말 재밌고 흥미진진하게 봤습니다. 감사.
댓글 감사합니다!
I have been enjoying the videos that I have checked out on your channel. Their insightful and I’ve learned quite a bit. I did make sure to subscribe. Thanks for putting them together.
As far as it goes to answering your question of films to possibly cover: I’ll just say I’d be curious to see your perspective and hear your notes on- “Parasite”, “Mad Max Fury Road”, and “Saving Private Ryan”.
Thanks so much for your nice comment! I've already done Parasite in a collaboration with Script Lab: th-cam.com/video/aKwQkALYkow/w-d-xo.html
Best video about the movie I have seen in Yt
Thanks, Bruce! I mean -- Batman.
You have great videos. Waiting for your channel to blow up. It's certainly coming!
Thanks, Pradyumn!
Could you please analyze "Marty"? I think it's one of the best written movies ever made.
I love that movie. Definitely on the list of to-dos!
Great analysis of a classic movie. :-)
Thanks for watching, Philip!
What other films would you like to see me cover? Let me know in a comment below!
I would love to see Carlito's Way by Brian de Palma!
@@dennisnaturalsound Great suggestion. Thanks!
@@ScriptSleuth Thank you for your dedication! I would love to see "Mother" by Bong Joon-Ho and "To Be Or Not To Be" by Lubitsch too and see how do you analyze comedy!
@@dennisnaturalsound Thanks, and great suggestions!
JAWS
Great stuff. Do The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (English) and Jeepers Creepers.
Subscribed! Great video
Cheers, David!
Nice video
Fantastic video! I enjoyed it very much thanks bro!👊🍻👌
Would you please make a video about Once Upon A Time In America?
Great movie! Noted.
I had to pause again, needing to find another hat to take off to you -Jeez man!
Tessio and Clemenza at Connie's wedding? Their dancing scenes ?
How did you catch the seemingly fleeting details of character contrast between them -Tessio(having to make adjustments) is being stepped on and he has to bow down for the girl ( humbling himself to Mike), while Clemenza is carefree with intoxication, living in the moment, not being as 'smart' or as 'sober' as Tessio
It's also great how the first scene with Sal shows him catching an orange - oh wow - I just remembered that in the 70s, Abe Vigoda starred in a sitcom called
Fish - it probably would've been a hit if it co-starred Luca Brasi!
Just wondering if you noticed the decorative fishes on the window/wall at the entrance to the Tataglia's club - shown as Luca goes to get killed?
Thanks! I make note of everything that happens in every scene, and end up watching the movie several times. Honestly, it ends up being a lot of work.
@@lash570 Wow, I didn't notice the fish! Good catch (pun fully intended).
@@ScriptSleuth oh I'm sure it was utterly completely intended, way before your reply was typed😊
LIFE IS ALL MEMORY
Great video
Thanks for watching!
I would love to see your take on "The Lion in Winter"
Very good!
Thanks for watching, Hank!
The best of 70s filmmaking.
Thank you for these brilliant videos. I would really like you to breakdown "Black Rain" by Ridley Scott. thank you.
It's been a long while since I've seen that film. Thanks for the suggestion!
Amazing video, a true 10/10. If i could suggest a future screenplay analysis id love to see you do Lawerance Of Arabia
Excellent choice. Thanks!
What the title fo the background music you keep using throughout the video, specifically at 23:57 - 24:19 ?
Can't quite remember. Something from the TH-cam audio library.
@@ScriptSleuth How would I search for that?
Subscribed!
Thank you so much! You're the best!
Nicely done
Can we have Good fellas on the menu pls?
Already been done:
th-cam.com/video/Q8Lc0cu9Bc0/w-d-xo.html