Never let anyone know what you are thinking, Al Pacino as Michael Corleone declares with trademark dash in The Godfather Part III [1990]. The line is one of countless unforgettable dialogues in the trilogy, defining the essence of the character that delivers it.
The world of the Corleones, however, would not quite be the same if the protagonists did not occasionally let the world know what they were thinking. Dialogues of The Godfather trilogy are definitely among the most powerful narrative tools Francis Ford Coppola uses to carry forward the gripping gangster drama across three films, which continue to mesmerise legions of fans decades after release.
To recreate the spirit of Mario Puzo’s original novel of the same name, Coppola roped in the author to collaborate on the writing of all three films, Apart from replicating the mafia milieu from book to screenplay, the idea also enabled Coppola to recreate some of the truly memorable lines that various characters mouth in the novel.
Few films demonstrate an all-round significance of dialogues as The Godfather trilogy does, beyond the obvious function of providing entertainment value.
The dialogues of The Godfather films also set the parameter for drama, angst, romance, humour, violence, fear, and tragedy that makes the trilogy the classic that it is. Dialogues are the tools to assert the credo and codes that dictate life in the underworld whose story the films narrate.
Interestingly, such lines are often delivered by minor characters. Consider the quote of Enzo Robutti’s shady Don Lucchesi in The Godfather Part III: “Finance is a gun. Politics is knowing when to pull the trigger.” The dialogue does more than underline the treacherous personality of the mobster. It extends the scope of observation to the larger socio-politics of the US, including governance and the law. In the same vein, the final film leaves a note on the capitalist mindset in these words of Don Altobello, played by Eli Wallach: “The richest man is the one with most powerful friends.”
In the case of its major protagonists, the trilogy’s dialogues are used brilliantly to define character traits. The crux of Marlon Brando’s no-nonsense Don Vito Corleone finds resonance in this line of the second film: “I am not interested in things that don’t concern me,” just as a dialogue in the first film outlines the ruthless streak that keeps him ahead of the mob: “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” Elsewhere, Don Corleone reveals a hint of vintage sexism not out of place for a mob boss of yore with Sicilian roots: “I spent my life trying not to be careless. Women and children can be careless, but not men.”
One of the most remarkable conversations to draw up a character sketch occurs between Michael Corleone and the priest Cardinal Lamberto in the final film. Corleone is in confessional mood, he has spoken about betraying his wife, betraying himself and being a killer of many men. He confesses: "I ordered the death of my brother. I killed my mother’s son. I killed my father’s son.” To this, the Cardinal replies: “Your sins are terrible, and it is just that you suffer. Your life could be redeemed but I know that you don't believe that. You will not change.” The exchange portrays how a man who has systematically achieved it all is, in the end, helpless while facing his own conscience.
An interesting use of dialogues in the trilogy lies in how even minor characters are defined through their lines, often in a single scene. Italian actress Simonetta Stefanelli as Michael’s first wife Apollonia, for instance, displays the innocent charm of her character in the humorous sequence where Michael tries to teach her driving. “It’s safer to teach you English!” he finally says. She quips back in Sicilian: “I know English: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, Saturday.” The dash of humour helps multiply the effect of the tragedy around Apollonia’s sudden end that follows immediately after.
A similar, one-line impact is created for Virgil ‘The Turk’ Sollozzo [played by Al Lettieri] when he tells the Corleones’ lawyer Tom Hagen: “I don’t like violence, Tom. I’m a businessman. Blood is a big expense.” The line crisply sets apart The Turk as a mobster who normally values money over violence, and who would rather focus on profits than bloodshed.
An interesting use of dialogues in the trilogy also lies in demonstrating hierarchy of power. In the first film, Brando’s Don Corleone inevitably has the last word in every conversation or exchange. The focus slowly drifts to Pacino’s Michael in the second and third films. Conversations all along maintain protocol, exhibiting an adherence to the mafia code of respect.
While the first two films were all-roundly a rage among critics, classes and the masses alike, The Godfather Part III received mixed critical response. Yet, the film somehow has managed to survive the test of time — mainly because it concludes a story of truly classic appeal but also because the film has its moments laced with unforgettable dialogues.
The Godfather films have too many great dialogues, defining the essence of everything that the films stand for. It is next to impossible to compile a handful of lines as pick of the trilogy, but we managed to settle on a few great dialogues that will always resonate. We choose not to rank these, because each dialogue is a gem that inspired similar lines in films across the globe, cutting across language divide. Read on.
“It’s not personal, Sonny. it’s strictly business”
[Michael Corleone tells elder brother Sonny in The Godfather]
Al Pacino as Michael Corleone delivers what must be the most enigmatic dialogue of the film. At this point, we know Michael, Sonny, their lawyer Tom Hagen, and others are planning to get back at Virgil ‘The Turk’ Sollozzo and the police captain Mark McCluskey for the attempt on the life of Don Vito Corleone in the hospital. Yet, Michael says it is not personal, but business.
The line is probably meant to project sarcasm on Michael’s part towards the hothead Sonny. It could have to do with the fact that in the mafia code, personal vendetta is also deemed business. The idea of sarcasm finds logic also because in Mario Puzo’s original novel, Michael says: “It’s all personal, every bit of business. Every piece of sh*t every man has to eat every day of his life is personal. They call it business.”
“I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse”
[Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather]
The line is first uttered by Marlon Brando as Don Corleone. The sentence underlines the raw power, wealth, influence, and most importantly, fear that the family wields to get what they want.
Vito Corleone’s line is repeated by Michael later, when he tells his wife Kay [Diane Keaton]: “My father made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.” In turn, Kay asks what the offer was and Michael replies: “My father assured him that either his brains or his signature would be on the contract.” The conversation refers to the fictional music star Johnny Fontane [played by singer Al Martino], who is forced to sign a contract with the Corleones if he values his life.
“If anything in this life is certain, if history has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone”
[Michael Corleone to the lawyer Tom Hagen in The Godfather Part II]
Pacino as Michael Corleone was a picture of confidence, dealing with whatever he did in life with sheer assuredness. The line is his retort when the Corleones’ lawyer Tom Hagen says a certain action would be as impossible as trying to kill the President because "there’s no way we can get to him." The dialogue is one of the key lines that underline Michael Corleone’s dogged determination in life.
“Politics and crime. They’re the same thing”
[Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part III]
Michael Corleone delivers the line in the final film of the trilogy. Characteristically, you spot a note of quiet cynicism in Pacino’s voice as he delivers the dialogue, almost to stress on the fact that by this point in life as a mob boss, Michael has accepted the inevitable rot in the system.
"My father taught me many things here… He taught me, 'keep your friends close but your enemies closer'"
[Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II]
Friendship and enmity are two of the most important tenets in the code of the mob, and conversations around the subject open up time and again in the trilogy. Pacino’s Michael Corleone is seen reiterating the notion in the third film, too, when he says: “Friendship and money. Oil and water.” In the same film, he also says: “Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgement.”
Brando voices Don Corleone’s ideology around the subject in the first film when he says: “A friend should always underestimate your virtues, and an enemy overestimate your faults.”
“I don’t fear you, Michael. I just dread you”
[Kay Adams-Corleone to husband Michael in The Godfather Part III]
A line that defines the darkest phase in Michael and Kay’s marital equation, the quote also highlights a disturbing streak about Michael Corleone as a husband and family man when he feels wronged by his wife. By the last film of the series, the couple’s relationship is in shambles. Diane Keaton as Kay delivers the line when Michael asks: “Do you still fear me, Kay?"
“Soldiers are paid to fight; the rebels aren’t”
[Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II]
The line highlights a rare political view in The Godfather series. It occurs in the second film when Michael Corleone airs his opinion on the Cuba crisis to the Jewish mobster Hyman Roth [Lee Strasberg]. The sentence opens up a conversation that reveals Michael has served in war, revealing a very different side of his strong persona.
“’Cause a man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man”
[Don Vito Corleone to Johnny Fontane in The Godfather]
The fictional Johnny Fontane is said to be based on the pop legend Frank Sinatra. In the trilogy, Johnny is Don Corleone’s godson. In a particular sequence of the first film, Don Corleone asks the busy star Johnny if he spends enough time with his family, to which the singer replies in the positive. “Good, ’cause a man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man,” the don then says.
“Some day, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me”
[Don Vito Corleone to the mortician Bonasera in The Godfather]
Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone delivers the dialogue in conversation with Amerigo Bonasera, who owns a funeral parlour. The pun is one the word "service." In the scene, Bonasera, who always maintained safe distance from the mob, has approached Don Corleone, seeking justice for his raped daughter. The don eventually agrees, but on condition that he may ask for a favour from the mortician someday. The line simply highlights a thumb rule of the mob — there are no free favours.
“Just when I think I’m out, they pull me back in”
[Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part III]
Pacino as Michael Corleone in the final film of the trilogy delivers a line that is reflective of the overall crime world milieu. As the old cliché goes, it is easy to enter the world of crime but almost impossible to get out of it. By the time the events of the third film roll, Michael wants to go glow on his criminal activity, and legitimise his businesses. He plans to go big with real estate but his partners in the mob are out to jeopardise his ambition. The line reveals an element of emptiness on Michael’s part, who seems to realise he is actually powerless over fate despite having achieved everything materialistically.
Vinayak Chakravorty is a senior film critic, columnist, and film journalist based in Delhi-NCR.
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