On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its first release on March 15, 1972, the Paramount Company, which produced the movie "The Godfather", released a trailer for a new version, which took 1,000 hours to adjust clips and color correction, and 4,000 hours Another hour to fix stains and rips.

The restoration was carried out under the supervision of veteran American director Francis Ford Coppola, who surprised the world with this timeless masterpiece, widely considered one of the greatest films of all time, "as an epic work whose genius was represented in its clarity and brutal strength, and it paints a distinctive picture of Mafia criminals, as A dysfunctional and capable breed, through a family psychological drama, in which bloody, horrific violence is combined with rituals of family commitment and respect," according to critic Peter Bradshaw.

Coppola, the five-time Oscar winner, told Variety that he was thrilled to celebrate The Godfather, "with fans who have loved him for decades, generations who still watch him today, and those who will one day discover him."

The upgraded version of the movie was shown on February 24 for a limited time exclusively on Dolby Cinema and AMC theaters in the United States and other cities around the world, before returning to public viewing. In the second half of March.

The terrible Don Vito was inspired by the mother, Maria.

The Italian-American novelist and screenwriter, Mario Puzo (1920-1999), created the accurate depiction of organized crime in The Godfather in 1969, when he was 45 years old and owed $20,000.

Although he had never encountered a gangster in his life, in his book The Godfather Papers and Other Confessions, he said, "I am ashamed to admit that I wrote The Godfather entirely through research, as I have never met a real gangster";

But his novel has sold more than 21 million copies worldwide;

It turned into a mafia melodrama that earned Pozzo two Oscars.

The irony is that the strong character of Don "Vito Corleone", embodied by the star Marlon Brando, was inspired by Pozzo from the character of his mother, "Maria", who was born in Naples.

"Whenever Brando spoke, it was as if I could still hear my mother's voice," he told the New York Times.

He also revealed that the scene in which “Vito” got rid of the gun in the chimneys of the roofs, was also inspired by a real situation that happened with his mother, “Someone threw his gun into the mouth of our chimney, and my mother took it and hid it for him, until he came back and retrieved it, and said to my mother: Do you want a carpet? So she sent my brother with him to bring it, without knowing that it was stolen."

cobra snake

The Godfather made cinematographer Gordon Willis famous as the "Prince of Darkness" by deliberately lighting most scenes dimly to reflect the dark events that hang over the script.

That dim lighting that made terrifying goosebumps start to run from just the opening scene, and we see the mortuary asks the old Don, Vito Corleone, to avenge the two young men who raped his daughter.

During a grandiose family wedding for daughter Connie (Talia Shire), Coppola skillfully takes his huge band on stage, introducing us at once into the world of his godfather.

The godfather who sits in his darkened office, with his eyes drooped like a cobra, feels for a cat that, by sheer coincidence, has jumped into his lap;

It looks as wide as a bulldog.

Heisting sumptuously quietly to the ambiguous information in his ear, he pointed his finger like a cardinal or the pope himself, "in a wonderful spectacle of vividness, detail and dramatic attention," Bradshaw says.

Challenge bankruptcy and rejection

The author Pozzo was bankrupt, and the Paramount producing company was in a bad financial situation that made many major directors reject the film, forcing her to venture into a young director like Coppola (31 years old at the time), who was also bankrupt, yet he refused the offer, after only reading part of the He did not like the novel, and considered it a "rubbish piece", but under the weight of bankruptcy he returned and agreed in the late 1970's.

Even Marlon Brando, once considered one of the best actors in the world, was also broke, for more than 10 years, and earned such a reputation as being the toughest actor in Hollywood that Stanley Jaffe, CEO of Paramount, challenged Coppola, saying, "Marlon Brando wouldn't do this." role".

However, Coppola did not give up and was able to impose his choice after using delicate make-up techniques that turned 47-year-old Brando into a mafia veteran;

as he stuffed his cheeks with tissue paper, loosened them a little, smeared his hair with shoe polish, and made his face look tired;

Brando won an Oscar for this role.

stardom persistence

The film's hero, 31-year-old Al Pacino, was considered a nobody by the production company, as they saw him as too short, and because he is the son of Sicilian immigrants, he looks "too Italian".

"They tried to shoot him 3 times," he told the Washington Post. Every time he was going for an audition, the producers yelled at him, "He's a dwarf."

But Coppola did not retreat either, and took advantage of Pacino's frustration, which made him seem calm, but hide his anger inside him, to see in this sharpness of mood an accurate reflection of his state of mind, making him suitable for the role in a charming and amazing way.

Talia Shire, or Michael Corleone's iron sister Connie, was actually Coppola's sister, and had no acting experience, so she dropped the camera on her first stop.

But Coppola wanted her to play the role to make it look more "family-friendly", and she actually succeeded and was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress award.

Also, Robert Duvall (Tom Hagen), who appears in a brilliant and unusual performance, as the quiet Vito advisor who oversees the most diabolical acts of violence, such as putting a horse's head in the bed of a sleeping Hollywood producer.

Ironically, Robert De Niro, who did not win the first part by playing a small role, as Don Corleone's bodyguard and chauffeur "Pauli Gato" betrays him.

He was chosen in the second part to play the role of Vito Corleone as a young man, and he won his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and became a world star.

The real mafia was there

Coppola also had to deal with the real mafia that was at the height of its power in the early seventies, when she set her sights on "The Godfather" and tried to stop him;

Had it not been for Albert Rudy, one of the directors of the producing company, had met Joe Colombo, head of one of the "Five Families" that make up the New York Gang, in his office;

He asked him to look at the script.

They agreed to remove any reference to the "mafia" from the text.

A legend that broke all records

"The Godfather" was considered one of the most beloved films in the history of Hollywood, after it became an icon with fans queuing in long queues since eight in the morning to watch it, and it broke all records at the box office, earning more than one million dollars a day.

The Godfather was ranked second in the list of the highest-rated films on IMDb, with 3 Oscars, 31 other wins, and 30 nominations.