The Corleone's Downfall

Its seems alot of people on this board think that if there is a GFIV it will be about the Corleone's downfall, whether is be by Vincent running it into the ground or any other reason....I know tragedy is supposed to be Michael's destiny but is there anyway the Corleone family can live on?

I don't see why it couldn't. We don't know that Vincenso is a bad Don, he might be great, he definately has ambition. Who knows, maybe it could go on well into this century.

FFC and Puzo have always based the GF on real life. Today, the mafia is severely weakened or doesn't exist at all. I think to reflect real life, the Corleone family would have to take on the likeness of the Gotti crime family (or a similar one) with back stabbings and gov't informants to bring down the family.

I also think that is much more interesting than seeing them rise to power again.

I totally agree it should stick to reality, but does it haven't to be total, utter distruction? I know the family has to be on the decline...I guess I'm just too attached to the Corleones and dont want to see them fail...

Well... they've already failed. By the end of Part III I think it's pretty much assumed that the family has nowhere to go but down.

That's not to say that their involvement in drugs can't cause them to become rich and powerful, but like Scarface... or in real life... there will always be a bad ending to it all.

You don't hear or see of many retired drug dealers or drug dealers. They usually end up dead or in prison.

I totally agree with the drugs thing, but I agree at the end of GFIII it seems that the Corleone's are down and out, but noone knows what happens from the time of Mary's death to Michael's....

No.

LoL Well put Apple!

To me the GF movies are the story of Michael : in GF1 Michael comes to power, in GF2 he commits the ultimate sin (killing his own brother) and in GF3 he gets punished (Mary's murder).You can look at it as a sort of a Modern Greek tragedy.

It is true that Don Vito was a great man and a great don, but the real story is the story of his son Michael (and in a way it is the story of America - as wiser people have said :rolleyes: ).

Could the family survive? I suppose it could, in a different way, but it would be another story.

I think that a GF4 film could end up favorably for the Corleones. Vito brought the family to power, Micheal was the savior of the family, and Vincent could be the prreserver of the family.

Victor Rizzi should be killed in a drug deal.

Yeah I agree. Earlier today I was kicking around ideas in my head about a plot for GF4. I was thinking that Rizzi might be a traitor in some way. I also thought about involving the Corleones in some of the drug running done by the CIA with that Iran-Contra scandal stuff as well as the stuff with Manuel Noreiga. There is much information about Richrad Nixon being the mobs president. Although his era was over by the 80's (the time period in which I would set my story) that might be an interesting addition to a story. As far as enemies for the family I thought of the mob in Chicago and a character based on Carmine Galante in New York. As well as the Philadelphia mob getting insulted with Vincent's insistence on operating in Atlantic City. Couple that with the death of a florida crime boss and the families vying for control of Florida.

Yeah good ideas. Are you writing a script?

I'm trying. I think I might be more of a novel writer instead of a script writer but I'm giving it a shot. I actually haved two first acts that I keep going back and forth between. I always thought Vincent was fascinated with the whole idea of being a mobster. So in one act I had the movie start with him actually conducting a ceremony for the new members of the family getting made. I think I named it This Fiery Saint. Also as a later part of the scene I had him explaining to someone te origin of the word MAFIA, you know the story of the Sicilian woman resisting the French offcier and being avenged by her fiance. In the other act I had it opening the classic way at a wedding. It would be Vincent's adopted daughter's wedding (maybe one of his brothers or sister's is dead and he adopted their girl) of course as usual favors would be asked of Vincent. Micheal would show up and ask Vincent to accompany him to the hospital to pay respects to Kay as she is dying and not expected to make it through the night ( sort of like GF 1 with Genco, the deleted scene). I haven't decided but if you got some ideas on how to link this stuff together and what sounds good please let me know.

I would like to see Vincent being set up by Michael Francis. Michael Francis & Sonnys real kids against Vincent in a power struggle. Michael Francis could then turn on Sonnys real kids but then Tony takes him out.

I think if you're going to bring the story into the 90's or up to the present day, the decline of the mob would have to be an integral part of the story.
The Shakesperean overtones of the first 3 movies would not play well today because the average person knows so much more about mob life now, as opposed to 30 years ago.
Now that John Q. Public has seen Tony Soprano go out for the newspaper in his underwear, it will be hard to sell another romantacized notion of the mafia lifestyle.

I think in GF1 its a very elaborate mafia family. In a possible GF4 the mafia sould be gritty and more violent IMO.

Or better yet lets scrap the whole Italian thing. Make it the Russian mafia, You could have a whole new cast of characters in the Korleokoschev Family. Ivan the father figure, and his sons
Zonny, Fredrik and Mikel, and a daughter. The wedding scene would have Russian Fold dancing and vodka instead of wine...
it could go on on.

Borschst instead of lasagna ?

Yes, and potatoes instead of oranges.

I wouldn't necessarily bring the story into the 90's. I would leave it in the eighties and maybe show Micheal's death again and maybe Vincent but that would be it.

The Godfather can live on, there are things that we would need in the plot for this to have any success. We would first and foremost have great characters in the GF4. We already had good ones in 1-3. Then we would need some kind of tragedy, that would make either Michael son (Anthony)want to get into the family business. Maybe Vincent is not running the Family the way a
Corleone should run his Family. Connie son may have an oppurtunity to run the Family.

Yep... and thats their "IN".... between Mary and Michaels death. I think the concentration should be between either;
1. Vincent and Anthony
2. Vincent and preservation of the Corleone family(that IS WHAT he wanted to do)

I read that he is NOT A TRUE Corleone... but even Vito is NOT a true Corleone... he is an Andolini

Let's first tak about some figures who will be in Godfather4
Vincent: new Don, he has bad temper which may bring bad luck to him
Anthony: Like his father, he enventually goes into family business, and does well
Connie's children: take revenge on Anthony
New Caporegimes: use more than knives and guns. They use computers to rob and they send e-mails to muster up manhand.
And the whole family has grown so strong as to be able to influence on the Congress and the President.