On March 24, 1972, The Godfather premiered in the United States and Canada. This year, the famous tape was again released on the screens. In honor of the 50th anniversary, Bemorepanda has collected 50 facts about the legendary film history.

 

Facts about the Godfather movie

 

The epic gangster saga The Godfather is considered one of the best films. The film has been quoted, imitated, and admired. The bright plot, the brilliant direction of Coppola, the fantastic performance of Al Pacino and Marlon Brando, the magnificent music - all this made the film "The Godfather" unforgettable.

 

 

1. In the 1960s, Mario Puzo was not the most successful writer. The father of five children suffered from gambling and was ruined. Creditors threatened to seriously injure him if the writer did not return $11,000 to them.

 

2. to get even with his debts, Puzo wrote the script for the film "Mafia" and brought it to the Paramount film studio. The author was advised to write a book and immediately forgot about him.

 

3. “I am ashamed to say, but I wrote The Godfather solely based on my literary research. I have never met a real crystal-clear gangster, ”the writer later admitted.

 

4. According to rumors, Puzo was inspired by Dostoevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov.

 

5. While the book was being prepared for publication, the publisher leaked information, and Paramount decided to make a film based on Puzo's novel. For the film rights, the writer received $ 2 million.

 

6. The studio did not expect much success from the gangster drama until the book The Godfather, published in 1969, became wildly popular.

 

 

7. A novel by obscure author Puzo stayed on the NY Times bestseller chart for over 60 weeks.

 

8. Director Francis Ford Coppola was practically nobody at that time. He even founded American Zoetrope with friend George Lucas to prove his worth. But success came to Coppola from the other side...

 

9. The film studio wanted to entrust Sergio Leone to shoot The Godfather. But he refused and later regretted it immensely. After 11 years, the director took revenge by telling his story about gangsters - Once Upon a Time in America.

 

10. Directors Elia Kazan and Costa-Gavras also said no.

 

11. Coppola, like Puzo, did not know anything about gangsters. Moreover, he did not even finish reading the book "The Godfather," which many admired, tired of the overabundance of erotic scenes. “A third of the book is devoted to the anatomical problems of a minor heroine,” the director admitted years later.

 

12. The producers signed a contract with Coppola, counting on his Italian origin and the unknown as a director (you could save on the fee).

 

 

13. Through negotiations, Francis increased the film's budget from $2.5 million to $6 million.

 

14. During filming, the producers were unhappy with Coppola. But this continued only until he received an Oscar for the script for the film Patton.

 

15. The prototype of Vito Corleone is the famous gangster Joseph "Joe" Bonanno.

 

16. Corleone is the name of a small town in Sicily.

 

17. Laurence Olivier, Burt Lancaster, Anthony Quinn, Raf Vallone, and Ernest Borgnine were predicted for the role of Don Corleone. It was rumored that they asked for the part of "godfather" Orson Welles and even Frank Sinatra.

 

18. Puzo saw only Marlon Brando as Don Corleone. Coppola was of the same opinion.

 

19. The producers were categorically against the participation of the stellar Brando (he had a reputation, frankly, not very good) and set three, as it seemed to them, impossible conditions: the actor works for free, in case of disruption of filming he pays a penalty of $ 1 million, participates in auditions for general grounds.

 

20. Coppola took two operators and went to Brando's house to make samples. Seeing footage with a "real gangster," the producers found no objection.

 

 

21. Contrary to the producers' fears, Marlon did not disrupt a single day of shooting.

 

22. Brando often joked and arranged practical jokes. For example, in the scene where the guests were photographed at the wedding of Don Corleone's daughter, the actor suddenly took off his pants and showed everyone his butt. At that moment, there were 500 actors and extras on set.

 

23. Samples of unknown James Caan, Robert Duvall, and Diane Keaton, the director, did in his home. Coppola's wife even cut the men's hair to make them look like heroes.

 

24. The role of Michael Corleone could be played by Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, and Robert de Niro.

 

25. "Unknown Ugly Shorty" Al Pacino did not suit anyone except Coppola. During filming, the producers could not understand for a long time when the actor would start acting.

 

26. Pacino agreed to a fee of $35,000.

 

27. Sinatra was considered the prototype of Johnny Fontaine. He thought that this image in the book was written off from him and even yelled at Puzo, meeting him by chance in a restaurant. So Fontaine practically does not appear in the film.

 

 

28. The scene where Sonny beats up Carlo takes four days to shoot. Seven hundred extras participated in it.

 

29. Real gangsters created the League for the Defense of the Rights of Italian Americans. One of the directions of their struggle was the eradication of the frequent use of the word "mafia." The producers of The Godfather were subjected to surveillance and intimidation. One of them even had to go to a meeting with gangsters. Fortunately, the word "mafia" appeared in the text only once...

 

30. The film "The Godfather" was filmed in 4 months.

 

31. A special secret show was arranged for the Mafiosi. The producers did not know about this "misconduct" at the film studio. However, the guests were delighted. The film became a cult classic for American gangsters.

 

32. The Godfather started on 400 screens at once. But people still paid resellers for tickets 3-4 times more to get to the session quickly.

 

33. On the day of the premiere, 32-year-old Coppola was nervous: “I think failure is inevitable. What I've done? Took a popular, full of piquancy and "strawberry" novel, and turned it into the endless chatter of a gang of bandits in dimly lit interiors.

 

 

34. Shortly before the premiere, Coppola joked in a conversation with the producers. If the film collects $ 50 million, they will buy him a Mercedes 600 limousine. When fees exceeded $ 100 million, Coppola went to order a car driven by the Pope and Francisco Franco.

 

35. A few months later, The Godfather became the highest-grossing film in US history, breaking the record for Gone with the Wind.

 

36. During the election campaign of Richard Nixon, he was compared to Vito Corleone. And it sounded like… a compliment. The term "godfather" also took root after the film's release.

 

37. At the Oscars in 1973, Coppola received the highest film award for the screenplay. And The Godfather became the best film.

 

38. Brando was named the best actor in 1972. But he refused the Oscar awarded to him, thus expressing a protest against discrimination against the indigenous population of America.

 

39. Composer Nino Rota was nominated for an Oscar for the best film score. Still, the nomination was canceled when it turned out that he did not write new music entirely but used and reworked his melodies from the film Fortunella.

 

 

40. According to the American Film Institute, "The Godfather" is ranked #1 in the list of the ten best gangster films.

 

41. Two years after the premiere, Coppola decided to build on the success and shot the film The Godfather 2.

 

42. The Godfather 2 won 6 Oscars.

 

43. In the Soviet Union, Roman Puzo first went to samizdat, until in 1987, it was published by the Znamya magazine.

 

44. The film "The Godfather" was one of the major hits in the underground video market of the USSR. But even those who did not have a "Vidik" knew him.

 

45. In 1985-1989. The USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs blocked Coppola's tape as "propagating a cult of violence."

 

 

46. ​​The Soviet Union bought all parts of The Godfather only in 1990 when the third part of the legendary film saga came out. According to unofficial information, for $200,000.

 

The presentation of the film in the USSR took place at the Rossiya cinema. The sponsor spent 100 thousand rubles. The host was Nikita Mikhalkov, who is called Coppola's friend. Tickets cost 17-25 rubles.

 

48. The song "Speak Softly Love" to the melody of Nino Rota from the movie "The Godfather" was sung by Muslim Magomayev - in Italian, Sofia Rotaru - in Ukrainian, Renat Ibragimov, Emil Gorovets, and Nina Brodskaya - in Russian.

 

49. The restoration of the three parts of the film for the 50th anniversary of the premiere of The Godfather took three years. Experts studied 300 boxes of film. For more than 4,000 hours, they eliminated stains on negatives and restored color—more than 1000 hours of color grading.

 

50. The film was re-released in 4K Ultra HD.

 

Football is one of the most popular sports - the "king sport," which provokes great passion and emotions among the supporters.

 

Top football memes

 

FIFA (International Football Federation) statistics show that more than 270 million people worldwide, from more than 200 countries, especially in Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa, play regular football: professionals or amateurs, men, and women who love this sport.

 

1. Two, please

 

2. He’s just a child

 

3. A free kick

 

Read here 50 fascinating facts about the UEFA Champions League that you need to know.

 

Football's (official) birth in Europe dates back to the 19th century, 1863, when rugby football split into rugby and football in England, with the latter establishing stringent rules. Clear. However, the distant origin of football is in ancient China, around the third century BC, in a game called "cuju," which was practiced as a kind of training for soldiers. They had to control the ball (which was filled with animal hair) with their foot, chest, calves, and shoulders.

 

The oldest football club, recognized internationally, was established in England in 1857 - FC Sheffield - still operating today, but at the amateur level. Initially, as there were no other clubs, the matches were played between FC Sheffield members; the criteria according to which the teams were formed were: married versus unmarried, unemployed versus employees, etc. In 1860, when a second club was set up in the same city - FC Hallam - the first club match was held every year.

 

The first football league was also created in England in 1888 by the president of the Aston Villa club in Birmingham and consisted of 12 teams.

 

 

4. Hear me out

 

5. Coming through

 

6. Good meme

 

The first international football match took place in 1872, between England and Scotland, in Glasgow and ended 0 - 0. The players wore "knickerbockers" (shorts) and hats or caps, this clothing detail (hat/hat) being preserved until the beginning of the twentieth century.

 

At the first club matches, the balls were not spherical. It was customary to inflate a pig's bladder, tie it at both ends, and wrap it in leather, giving it an oval shape. Also, the balls were lighter at first (340 - 425 grams), but in 1937, increasing to 396 - 453 grams. The first modern soccer ball was made in 1870, with an elastic rubber insert in a leather cover, an invention of Richard Lindon, who is said to have revolutionized the game of football with his idea.

 

The rules of the football game, established in 1863 at the time of its establishment, did not mention, until 1875, the existence of a crossbar for the goal, only the vertical bars. Therefore, to score a dream, it was enough for the ball to pass between the vertical bars, regardless of height.

 

The old tactics of the game were very similar to those of rugby today - the teams had strong attackers and, when offside, they attacked in groups to take the ball to the opponent's goal.

 

7. Tom and Jerry

 

8. Babbage

 

9. Off the palette

 

The fouls and the arbitrators did not appear in the initial regulations, considering they do not commit intentional "mistakes." Various events on the field could be challenged in discussions with the captains and then with the players. The referees first appeared in the area in 1891.

 

The penalty kick appeared in football only in the twentieth century and could be executed from a line 11 meters from the goal and parallel to it. The goalkeeper could approach up to 5.5 meters of the executor.

 

Until about 1912, goalkeepers could use their hands in play on their entire half of the field, and the goalie's suit could only be blue, white, or orange/yellow.

 

FIFA Chief Referee Ken Aston inspired the yellow and red cards at a traffic light on Kensington High Street in London during a walk as he thought of ways to mark warnings and exclusions in the game. 

 

At first, the breaks between innings did not have a pre-determined duration. The break lasted as long as the players could wash, change equipment, have a snack, and drink tea before the second half.

 

10. I Just lost

 

11. Dear diary

 

12. OMG, a ball

 

The fastest goal in football history was scored in the second 2.8, by the Uruguayan Ricardo Olivera, in 1998.

 

Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo holds the most records - the most goals scored by a footballer in the Champions League in a season (17), the most FIFA World Player trophies (3), the first Portuguese footballer to win the Golden Ball five times, and the second, after Messi, who won the "Golden Ice" three times, etc.

 

In football, most consider that the greatest footballer is the Argentine Maradona, sharing with the Brazilian Pele the title of "Player of the Century" award by FIFA.

Most own goals in a match belong to Stade Olympique de L’Emyrne, Madagascar, which, in 2006, in the game against A.S. In addition, he scored 149 own goals.

 

The opening match of the famous Wembley Stadium in London (where the EURO 2020 UEFA final will also take place), which took place in 1923, was attended by 190,000 spectators.

 

The highest number of spectators present at a football match was recorded in 1950, during the final of the World Cup in Brazil, the game being played between the national teams of Brazil and Uruguay, in the Maracana stadium. One hundred ninety-nine thousand eight hundred fifty-four spectators were about to see this match.

 

13. They going to kiss

 

14. Spot the ball

 

15. Cool handbag

 

16. Snickers

 

The game rules were outlined in the mid-19th century to standardize the practices of a wide variety of similar games played in UK schools. Cambridge rules, identical to those of today, were created at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1848, at a meeting of representatives of several colleges: Eton College, Harrow School, Rugby School, Winchester College, and Shrewsbury School. But they were far from universal rules. In the 1850s, many clubs were formed, independent of schools or universities, that played various forms of football. Many used their own rules, the best example being Sheffield F.C. (former Harrow School students). It was founded in 1857, and its rules led to the formation of the Sheffield & Hallamshire Football Federation in 1867. In 1862, John Charles Thring of Uppingham School created another commonly used set of rules.

 

These efforts led to the founding of the Football Federation (FA) in 1863, which first met on October 26, 1863, at Freemason's Tavern in Great Queen Street, London. The only school that was represented at this meeting was Charterhouse School. Freemason’s Tavern was the meeting place for the Federation for another five meetings, between October and December. During this time, the first comprehensive set of rules was born. At the last meeting, the first treasurer of the FA, who was the Blackheath representative, withdrew his club from the FA, due to the exclusion from the rules, at the previous meeting, two basic rules: the first was the one that allowed running with the ball in his hands and the second, the possibility of stopping the opponent by hitting him in the "whistle, by shooting, or by holding. Other English rugby clubs followed suit and did not join the FA. But in 1871, they formed the Rugby Football Union. The remaining 11 clubs in the FA, led by Ebenezer Cobb Morley, have ratified the first 14 rules of the game. Despite this, the Sheffield club continued to play by its own rules until the 1870s.

 

Today the rules of the game are set by the International Football Association Board (IFAB). It was founded in 1886 after a meeting of the English Football Federation, the Scottish Football Federation, the Welsh Football Federation, and the Irish Football Federation in Manchester.

 

In 1888, Aston Villa club president William McGregor formed the first football league in England. The original format contained 12 teams from central and northern England.

 

The FIFA International Football Federation was formed in Paris in 1904, and its representatives decided to adopt the rules created by IFAB. The growing popularity of the game led to the union of the representatives of the two federations (FIFA and IFAB). Today, their leadership consists of 4 FIFA representatives and 1 representative from each British federation.

Football is popular with both children and adults.

 

17. Mom, I’m in

 

18. Screenshot

 

19. Innocent

 

20. At twitter

 

21. Yes

 

22. Still open

 

23. Cheerleading

 

24. Last month

 

25. Blade grass

 

26. Messi coming

 

27. What?

 

28. Bad boy

 

29. Love football

 

30. About relationship

 

31. Sold

 

32. Not coming home

 

33. Ronaldo

 

34. Happiness

 

35. Championship

 

36. In my head

 

37. Nutshell

 

38. Let’s dance

 

39. Something in the air

 

40. It’s gone

 

41. Nothing

 

42. Messi

 

43. Evolution

 

44. I got two

 

45. Football season

 

46. That’s why

 

47. Kane

 

48. Headphones

 

49. Slow motion

 

50. Complete list

 

Read here 50 fascinating facts about the UEFA Champions League that you need to know