In 1972, Francis Ford Coppola directed a film that would change his career forever. The Godfather, the most celebrated crime drama in film history, explains the story of The Corleone family and it’s relationships with the other Mafia families in New York. Don Corleone’s son Michael is reluctant at first to become a part of the family business, but that all changes.

On Saturday April 29^th, 2017, the Radio City Music Hall was packed for a special screening of The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, followed by a panel discussion with the cast members, moderated by Taylor Hackford (former President of the Directors Guild of America). This special screening was closing night of the 16^th Annual Tribeca Film Festival. The Festival ran from April 19^th-30^th.

This dedicated audience of Godfather fans attended this event for over 9 hours. Through both screenings, fans clapped as the iconic characters were first introduced. For instance, when Marlon Brando is first scene in his study, when Al Pacino makes his first appearance at Connie’s wedding, or when Brando says, “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse”. The connection that the live audience made amidst it’s laughs and tears throughout the film was unexplainable.

At the end of The Godfather Part II, a special panel discussion was held with Francis Ford Coppola(director), Al Pacino(Michael Corleone), Robert DeNiro(young Vito Corleone), James Caan(Santorini Corleone), Talia Shire(Connie Corleone), Robert Duvall(Tom Hagan), and Diane Keaton(Kay Adams). The stage was set to resemble The Godfather’s study, a room full of books, a lamp, and a big drown desk accompanied by black leather chairs. The cast enjoyed sitting backstage and listening to a live audience while watching the film. They could hear and enjoy the reactions from the audience throughout both screenings.

Throughout the panel discussion Coppola admitted a few things: he was originally disappointed in The Godfather book, he had to convince Paramount Pictures to cast Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone, and Coppola’s director position was on the line for a good portion of the film’s shooting. He went to Brando’s house for an impromptu improv test with provolone and salami and told him to improvise. Coppola said Brando gelled his hair back with shoe polish, put on a nice shirt, bent the collar, and stuffed paper in his jaws saying “these should be like a bulldog”. Brando turned into the character and this convinced Paramount to cast him. After this Coppola told the audience, “improvisation with food is very lasting and they sort of had who they were gonna be after that”.

Coppola and the actors also discussed the infamous cat that takes place in the opening scene of the movie. James Caan and Robert Duvall recalled that Brando could effortlessly use any prop that was put in front of him. The cat was only used in one take and that take made it to the final cut of the film. Caan went on to reminisce about the guys in the film “mooning” each other during the wedding scene, to which Coppola told them they couldn’t do that because there were children and women around. Caan added, “but we did it anyways”. Pacino told the audience he wanted to excel in his character’s transformation. He hoped to portray Michael’s quiet reluctant character transforming into a whole new person throughout the film as best as he could. The scene where Michael kills Sollozzo and McCluskey is the scene that ultimately convinced Paramount to keep him for the role.

An interesting discussion held by an eccentric and talented group of people. Their opinions, their thoughts, and their memories made an excellent end to The Tribeca Film Festival and commemorated two of America’s greatest films. At the end of the discussion, Hackford mentions the emotional scene where Tom Hagan tells Vito Corleone that his son Sonny is dead. Coppola responded with, “They’re a family. I mean that’s what it really comes down to. That’s what it really is all about”.