Most Impactful Scene

For me, it has to be the end of GFII, starting with Fredo going out in the boat with Al and on through to the end (before the flashback). I just love the music and I still get the shivers when I see and hear the gull flying overhead. The sky and the clouds give me the impression it's very cold, dark and sinister, which represents how things have become for Michael.

I could watch it over and over again!

BTW, I am so glad I've found this group!

I think for me it's the baptism...the bouncing back and forth between the ceremony and the murders. I just find it very intense.

I'm pretty pleased I stumbled upon all this too. They seem like a crazy bunch but in a good way. Kinda nice to find other people that lean towards being obsessive. LOL

To me, it will always be the silent scream.

Tough question, because of the many Impactful Scenes. One that I feel is most important is the hospital scene when Mike goes to visit his father, and finds all the guards gone. From the time he arrives with the record player stuck, to when he gets punched by McClusky is pure brilliant film making.

Sonny's death, without it, Michael never takes over.

There are just too many to choose from.I agree with Lucylu though.That scene were Fredo is whacked at the end of Part 2 really hits a nerve with me.Michael's silent scream is disturbing.The baptism/murders scene is pure brilliance.

Hahaha like i said theres just too many....

I like the scene when the camera drew slowly close to Micheal while he was plotting the plan to kill M/S. You can see how cold he suddenly became. A new Don was already born. King Athur!

What's especially cool about that scene is when Enzo's hands are shaking so badly he can't operate the lighter. Mike lights his cigarette for him, and looking down at his own hand, sees how steady and calm he's remained.

Yes, that scene is especially poignant and impactful. As the camera slowly draws closer to Michael, one can almost see the change in him from the college kid to a murderer. I think it symbolizes that those kind of chamges in our lives do come about slowly like the movement of the hands of a clock.

I have to ask, what's the "silent scream"?

Michael's silent scream at the end of Part 3, after Mary is killed.

Michael sitting in the chair and calmly taking over the meeting, and in effect the future of the family as he convinces Sonny, Tom, Tessio, and Clemenza that Sollozzo must die, how and why they can get away with kiling McCluskey, that it is business, not personal, and that he is the logical one to do the killing.

There are to many Impactful scenes but i will have to go to the flashback at the end of part 2.

I do have one more memorable scene..in GFII when Kay goes to see the kids and Connie hurries her up because Michael is coming. He walks through the kitchen and stares at Kay and his appearance has shockingly changed into the "Picture of Dorian Gray". There's a resemblence to the "old" Michael, but his evil deeds are written all over his face which is cold and hard.

Speaking of which, ever notice how Mike whenever he sits down immediately crosses his legs....

Bum bladder.

What impressed me the most was the look on both Mike and Kay's faces. For a fleeting moment it looked like they might have gotten back together again, and in one swift movement he calmly closes the door and walks away......

Do you mean when he looks her up and down?

With him, to me, it was the look in her face, that seemed to show some hope, and his making a movement toward her. At first it appeared that he was going to talk to her and possibly ask her back in for glass of wine , but as it turns out, he was just moving toward the door to close it in her face. Also a nice touch that he just calmly closes the door.

I didn't see any emotion in his face at all! He was totally cold and couldn't even be bothered to tell her to get lost and stay lost.

I know I'm going to take a lot of flak for this but I have to be honest, the silent scream in Part 3 did nothing for me. I know a lot of you love that scene, can someone explain why? I watch it and just no emotion, now seeing him dancing with Kay etc.. right after that was just beautiful.

The silent scream is haunting. It's the one absolute moment in Michael's life where he knows 100% that he made the wrong decisions to be a part of this life. You see the 30 or so years of regret flash across his face in that instant. At first I didn't know what was happening. I thought he might die right there of a heart attack. That scene, with the music and the flashbacks afterward and then the final scene with him in the Sicilian courtyard is just heartbreaking. Very fitting end to his character and Pacino played it masterfully. He should have gotten the Oscar.

Correct, but when I first viewed the scene, and saw him make a move toward her, for a very quick millisecond, I sort of thought there was going to be some dialogue between them, and the closing of the door was so dramatic. It was in line with the "Fredo you are nothing to me" speech in the boathouse, but done silently.

LOL. All the guards, and all the patients, too. That hospital was right out of Halloween II.

Most impactful scene: my favorite is when Michael deals with Carlo.

After the baptism, they're all exiting the church. Rocco appears and whispers something into Michael's ear. Michael then stares ahead at nothing for a second, then just his eyes shift over to Carlo.

FFW to the scene when Michael and his entourage enter Carlo's home, and Michael walks towards the camera and says, "You have to answer for Santino, Carlo."

Was that Carlo's home? I thought it was Mike's home.

It does make me wonder though... Michael saw Sonny in action as the acting Don... he was concerned.... he saw that Sonny was a bad Don as Vito said later. Could there have been a sibling battle over Donship at some point if Sonny lived and constantly did things wrong and ran the family in the ground... so to speak...

I think sonny would have been next in line if he survived regardless of mike.

There are so many....

a few of my "impact" scenes are:

"WHO HAD PENTANGELI KILLED"
"WHO GAVE THE ORDER... I KNOW I DIDNT"


When Roth keeps asking for $2 million
"I just want to wait"

"I will see my sister alone"
"I dont know this Merle... I dont know what he lives on..."

I don't think Michael ever thought Santino a bad Don, per se. I never really thought Michael was concerned about the fate of the Family...after all, his brother managed to get Michael out of the country and out of harm's way (the tragedy that befell Michael in Sicily only occurred after Santino's demise). Santino may or may not have been able to "get Sollozzo" without getting the Cop, but Michael figured it out first (in the book, the narrative said that Santino's biggest mistake was sending Michael to kill Sollozzo and McCluskey).

Santino was no diplomat, and in that kind of occupation, you need to be. Michael was, as was his father before him.

If you watch Michael watching Sonny(and Tom) in action... to me he is observing a man... acting as Don as a "rudderless ship"(someone else's descriptor of Sonny's donship on this board)

I think Michael became VERY "concerned" when he tells Sonny "he's my father too, I want to stay" at the Tom and Sonny meeting.

Michael had just gotten in from hearing his father had been shot, so he was concerned over his father and over what his brother was planning to do. True, he disapproved of Santino's "hit list," saying that's not the way Pop would play it, etc. But, in times like that, times of great stress, its hard to know the right answer. Santino was enraged that his father would be hit; Michael's reaction was slow and steady wins the race. Michael thought Santino was wrong, but was he really? We all know that Michael himself was not a good Don (lacking humility and heart), so what makes Michael a judge over Santino?

"We all know".... LOL

Debatable.
He was a Great Don.

We have the luxury of hindsite and ALL knowledge of ALL situations. He didnt. There is not one move that I would question or do differently.

He wasnt the greatest husband, father. Buts thats not a Don issue.

As far as "humility and hear"... well... different times called for different measures... he wasnt like his father in many ways because it was dangerous to be like his father... obviously his father's way of doing things was over.

True, in the deleted scene he counsels Sonny to wait and consult with Vito. But after the hospital he changes his tune fast. Michael realizes that Santino was not wrong at all. He sides with Sonny over Tom by supporting (and committing) Sollozzo's murder.

Michael and Sonny are more alike than most realize. Michael's thinking is every bit as aggressive as Sonny's, but Michael adds a cerebral, strategic dimension that Sonny lacks.

I don't consider Michael "slow and steady" at all. He moves boldly and forcefully once he has identified a goal or an enemy.

...But I'm going to wait, til after the Baptism...
Michael plans, and allows his enemies to get comfortable before striking. He allowed Carlo to live in the mall, all the while knowing he was going to kill him.

I think youse are both right...

"slow and steady" THEN "once he has identified his goal or enemy" THEN "BOLD and FORCEFULLY"

At that point Michael was acting reasonably, thinking things out, not acting or making decisions out of haste. It is at that point that we see that Michael is the son most like his father.

It was not that Michael was a bad Don in the sense that he could not run the family and bring them to power. He was an excellent Don in doing what he did for The Family. He became a bad Don in the sense that in re-building the Corelone reputation and bringing The Family to greater things, he sacrificed his family for the sake of The Family. He lost sight of what was really important in life. His ego and lust for control and power blinded him to what he was doing to his blood family. That's what made him a bad Don compared to his father. Not what he did for The Family, but what he did to his family.

Sonny on the other hand was a good wartime, street savy tactioner. A wartime strategist. Sonny could run a war with the best of them. Sollozo and Tattaglia knew this and that is one of the reasons that they kidnapped Tom and told him that he'd BETTER convince Sonny to make peace and make the deal. But they also knew that if they played their cards right, and Tom was not able to convince Sonny to make the peace, that eventually Sonny's temper would make him slip up and give them an opportunity to make their move against him. And that's exactly what happened.

Sonny was a bad Don in the sense that he could not reason and would let his temper cloud his judgement. Sonny was not a negotiator. Michael, much like his father, was. And there is a time in every war for street fighting and then negotiation. Michael had the ability to differentiate when to war, and when to negotiate. Sonny on the other hand did not have that ability to differentiate when to war and when to negotiate.

Michael was a much better Don because he did not act in haste, made calculated and well thought out decisions, and used reason instead of letting his temper cloud his judgement.


Sonny on the other hand did not have that ability.

Never said Sonny was wrong.
Never said Sonny and Michael werent alike in their thinking.

I am saying that Sonny didnt have the Don-like skills to pull it off. Women and children can be careless... Don's cant.

Read my post above.

Great post.

Question: I think Michael ever had to "think or plan" anything for a war... he never went to war... he wiped everyone out before it got to war, right? or is there time he was at war?

LOL... probably was posting when you sent this

Well Michael was in a war alongside of Sonny. He had to go to the matresses himself by fleeing the country and hiding out in Sicily.

But if you are asking if he was ever in a war while he was the Don, then the answer is no. He was never in the type of war where the family had to go to the matresses. The closest that he probably came, to that kind of a situation, was the hit attempt on him in Tahoe. In the non-traditional sense the family did go to the matresses because the Tahoe compound was locked down and Michael fled the compound to seek out Roth and Pentangeli. But in the traditional sense, he really never had to go to the matresses while he was The Don.

I always loved that scene because I have the same striped fabric on my sofa as is on the chairs!

What are you confused about, DC?

It makes as much sense as some of the OTHER posts today.

Are we discussing the godfather or what?
Childish name calling and such. Unreal.


Just ask yourself. Everything you say and do on a bulletin board... would you say and do the same thing if you met the person?

Its rhetorical. You know your real answer. Go with that.