Chris Champeau - Final Project

The Godfather
Cinema Under Influence


In American culture people have a funny ways of showing respect for one another. However, in film there is one common way of showing respect for another film, to reference it or compliment a film’s influence with reference. The Godfather has been argued to be the greatest film ever created. With greatness comes influence, and there is little argument against the fact that The Godfather is the most influence film in history.
Many films have influenced us. Some films influence you to drive fast, or to smoke, while some films influence you to make films, however regardless of what a film tells you to do, the influence is always there. When someone makes a film they tend to pay tribute or reference the films in which they love, in which inspired them to be where they are in life today. In The Godfather: Cinema Under Influence there is a very defiant structure to the film. It begins with the roots of the Godfather; it is very important that before you can identify ones influences, it needs to be understood where those influences began. The first section discusses the challenges Francis Ford Coppola had in created the film; he was a young director who had his own ideas and thoughts as far as casting was concerned and those ideas were a bit different than Paramount’s. Part of what makes the Godfather so great is the chemistry in which all the actors have in the film. The Cinema Under Influence briefly discusses the production of the film, but quickly goes onto the influence itself.
Al Pacino played Michael Corleone war hero and son of family mobster Don Corleone. Al’s acting in the Godfather was so amazing it pretty much set him up for life. His character is still referenced today in films. There are so many scenes and lines from Pacino that it is nearly impossible to find all the references. However just the term Michael Corleone is considered to go in there and take care of business. In Cinema Under Influence there are several films that reference the Godfather, a common reference is the Sopranos which discusses the Godfather several of times, in one particular episode the gun behind the toilet is referenced, this shot is discussed or referenced several times in films. Not only is Michael Corleone influential in the Godfather, but so is Don Vito.
Marlon Brando won an Oscar for his role as Don Vito Corleone in the Godfather. His character was amazing it has sparked influence and reference across the world. Star Wars a famous sci-fi trilogy by George Lucas even indirectly references the Don. According to Lucas Jaba the Hut is the Vito Corleone in that part of the Universe. Other films such as She Hate Me actually take the original audio from the Godfather and play it as a voiceover. Robert De Niro plays the Don in the second film and also earned an Oscar for his performance. In several of his films he would play a Don like character including Goodfellas, and Analyze This.
Even video games have been made after the Godfather. Three games all have been created to continue the Godfather story. Each game allows you to play as several different characters from the game including Sonny, Fruedo, Michael and more. In each game there are additional storylines, and actual actor based dialogue.
Near the end of the Cinema Under Influence the clips tend to branch out to scenes and quotes that have been used in other films. A few of these references would include shots of the attempted assassination of the Don, and the line “offer you can’t refuse,” the line has been used hundreds of times, and at the end of the film there is a few shots of the line being used. Then a list of all the awards and nominations the films have earned.
The Godfather films have influenced many film makers and people in cinema in many different ways. To pay their respects in return they reference the godfather to show their respect and gratitude to the Greatest Film Ever Created.