Posted By: J Geoff
GF2 Commentary Notes - 10/10/01 09:49 PM
Here are my quick notes listening to the GF2 commentary track...
> FFC insisted that GF2 be called "The Godfather, Part II"; the sudio didn't want it. He claims it started the whole "[Movie] Part [#]" trend. Alternately, when it came to GF3, the studio wanted "The Godfather, Part III" but FFC wanted "The Death of Michael Corleone" - the studio won this time
> A fish market in Trieste, Italy, stood in for Ellis Island
> The tag on the Vito child represented FFC's lucky number 7
> The song the boys choir sings at Lake Tahoe is called "Mr Wonderful"
> The Lake Tahoe scenes were filmed at the Kaiser Estate there, interiors and exteriors
> FFC's grandfather, Fransesco Pennini, wrote the opereta Senza Mama
> Neri killed the hooker
> Amerigo Tot, who played Michael's bodyguard in Miami and Cuba, was really a renowned stone sculptor
> The interiors of Young Vito's scenes were shot in LA
> There's an ADT security tag on the Lake Tahoe gate - gotta see if they were around then
> Most of the Senate committee members were business acquantences such as lawyers and industry people
> The proper way to address a Don is using his first name - that is, Don Vito - rather than Don Corleone. FFC said Mario got it wrong, but kept it as it became so familiar
> The questionable "Anthony's friends are your buttonmen!" line that Kay screams isn't written in the subtitles
> Pentangeli is based in part on Valachi
> The whole abortion things was Talia Shire's idea (FFC's sister, who played Connie)
> Michael screams "Bitch!" when he slaps Kay
> The younger Tomassino in GF2 was played by a production manager who FFC thought looked like the actor from GF1, but younger
> FFC's own mother laid in Mama's casket as no one else would, thinking it was bad luck
> Oranges! FFC said it's symbol for death was accidental in the beginning, but did admit they represented "forbodding death". It was also a symbol of Sicily
> FFC really used the Hail Mary to catch fish as a youth, and it worked - he caught "26 fish after saying Hail Mary's when no one else caught anything"
> FFC tells how De Niro is waving the child Michael's hand on the train ride ("wave goodbye") like a pupeteer (see the GF logo)
Interesting stuff...!
JG
> FFC insisted that GF2 be called "The Godfather, Part II"; the sudio didn't want it. He claims it started the whole "[Movie] Part [#]" trend. Alternately, when it came to GF3, the studio wanted "The Godfather, Part III" but FFC wanted "The Death of Michael Corleone" - the studio won this time
> A fish market in Trieste, Italy, stood in for Ellis Island
> The tag on the Vito child represented FFC's lucky number 7
> The song the boys choir sings at Lake Tahoe is called "Mr Wonderful"
> The Lake Tahoe scenes were filmed at the Kaiser Estate there, interiors and exteriors
> FFC's grandfather, Fransesco Pennini, wrote the opereta Senza Mama
> Neri killed the hooker
> Amerigo Tot, who played Michael's bodyguard in Miami and Cuba, was really a renowned stone sculptor
> The interiors of Young Vito's scenes were shot in LA
> There's an ADT security tag on the Lake Tahoe gate - gotta see if they were around then
> Most of the Senate committee members were business acquantences such as lawyers and industry people
> The proper way to address a Don is using his first name - that is, Don Vito - rather than Don Corleone. FFC said Mario got it wrong, but kept it as it became so familiar
> The questionable "Anthony's friends are your buttonmen!" line that Kay screams isn't written in the subtitles
> Pentangeli is based in part on Valachi
> The whole abortion things was Talia Shire's idea (FFC's sister, who played Connie)
> Michael screams "Bitch!" when he slaps Kay
> The younger Tomassino in GF2 was played by a production manager who FFC thought looked like the actor from GF1, but younger
> FFC's own mother laid in Mama's casket as no one else would, thinking it was bad luck
> Oranges! FFC said it's symbol for death was accidental in the beginning, but did admit they represented "forbodding death". It was also a symbol of Sicily
> FFC really used the Hail Mary to catch fish as a youth, and it worked - he caught "26 fish after saying Hail Mary's when no one else caught anything"
> FFC tells how De Niro is waving the child Michael's hand on the train ride ("wave goodbye") like a pupeteer (see the GF logo)
Interesting stuff...!
JG
