We've all seen it, and thanks to someone on the mailing list who pointed out this link , we know that Roger Ebert has finally seen it, too. Ebert asked Coppola about it, and apparently he never knew about it!

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'Godfather' still surprising, even to Coppola

December 2, 2001

While watching the new "Godfather" DVD, I noticed a startling image. During Vito's funeral, Tessio comes over to tell Michael about the upcoming meeting. As Michael stands up, in the crook of his left armpit a half picture of a woman's face can be seen. Who is it? How did it get into the frame? My roommate says it's Kay, and since it's over his heart, it's symbolic of their love. That sounds like hogwash to me, but I don't have a better answer.

--Tony Bates, Norman, Okla.

Roger Ebert: Good gravy! I see her, too. I owe an apology to Jeffrey Horowitz of Syosset, N.Y., who wrote earlier with the same sighting. I couldn't find the woman, and told him so. Now your description sent me back for a frame-by-frame creep through the sequence, and there she is, ghostly red against black, fading in and out. Is this a real ghost image, or only an optical illusion, like those Elvises people see on screen doors?

I asked director Francis Ford Coppola, who replies: "Gee, I know nothing about this. Will look, I guess. The funeral scene was shot really quickly, and I was disgruntled that they removed one day from its schedule. So nothing elaborate was done: we shot it as fast as we could."