Vito's death... book & movie

I'm rewatching GFI for the umpteenth time and I noticed something.. as we all know, in the novel when Vito dies, Michael is there with him and he says something like "Life is so beautiful" before he dies.

Anyone else think that this should have been done in the movie as well? It would make the series a LOT more tragic given the way that Michael dies... they could have added a flashback to that at the end of GFIII, to show that Vito died appreciating what he had done for his family; Michael died regretting everything.

Maybe I'm just crazy But I personally think it would have made Michael's death that much sadder... thoughts?

Wayne, in hindsight your idea is a fair one. However when they made The Godfather, there was never even a thought of a Godfather II, nevermind a Godfather III.

I think that the way that they showed Vito die in the movie was just fine.


Don Cardi

There was a discussion on this topic before, here

Lovely as Vito's end was in the novel, I think that for the sake of the film his end needed to be as quick and sudden as it was.

Michael's own death was plenty sad, and his overall story sufficiently tragic as it was depicted...and I think the contrasts between the father & son Dons is made pretty clear throughout the trilogy. There was no need to do it any differently than it was done.


And speaking of flashbacks, if I recall correctly (and perhaps I don't)...there was absolutely NO flashback which included Marlon Brando's Vito in either GFII or GFIII. Even if Vito's death had been recreated as it was in the novel, that moment probably would not have been used to counter Michael's.

Apple

Was Vito's death in novel not an unexpected and sudden one as in the movie? I don't remember the novel version that well, can someone please refresh my memory here.

The novel noted that Vito had suffered at least one heart attack prior to his death. So, his "sudden" death probably was not unepected. Anyway, nearly all heart attacks are sudden.
As Apple said, the film ending called for a quick death. Brando ad-libbed the orange peel chase scene--even scaring the kid actor into crying real tears. Elegant as it is, I don't think "Life is so beautiful" would have fit in that context.
It'd be interssting to see a flashback to Vito's death after Michael's death. But that would have slanted the ending so that viewers would have been drawn to a comparison of Vito and Michael. Fair enough, but I don't think FFC intended that.

Not of a GF II?

No, not while GF was being made. In fact, according to Harlan Lebo, Paramount was doubtful until the last minute that GF would be successful.

I don't remember the book death very well, but Vito saying "Life is so beautiful" is kind of Puzo's way of hitting you over the head. We get it, Vito was a wonderful man when you look at him through the scope of that way of life.

However, the way he dies in the film is much more open to interpretation... and much more artistic. We're not told that "life is beautiful." The image of Vito playing in a garden with his grandchildren tells us in a different way. it works on so many different levels. "Life is so beautiful" really only works on one.

And when you compare Vito and Michael's death, I think that the movie deaths work better. Vito died with his grandchild with him, Michael died alone.

Am I the only one who thinks that the "life is beautiful" line in the novel was kind of cheesy? I think that Vito's death scene in the film was much more appropriate. The Godfather was made in a real-world setting. Vito's death scene reflects that reality. Nobody utters the words, "life is beautiful" as they're dying. It would have seemed out of place, IMO.

Exactly what I was getting after... nice post JB!