Trivia I ran across just yesterday when tossing around summer film series ideas: The Godfather is the Best Picture winner with the highest imdb user rating.
Two things: 1. Adam, I think you mean Robert Evans'The Godfather. :) 2. Looking at how the rest of the Oscars went that year, it's a little surprising that The Godfather won Best Picture. Cabaret won Actress, Supporting Actor, AND Director, and also Editing and Cinematography. (It's appalling that Gordon Willis's work on The Gadfatherwasn't even nominated.)
Ha, that would have been unfortunate. Her dog, Pixie, was in the scene when Micheal comes back from Italy and sees Kay. They filmed it in front of my mom's elementary school, around the corner from where my grandparents live. There were no leash laws back then, so my mom wasn't there when the scene was filmed, but someone decided that they wanted a dog running behind the boy on the bike who yells hello to Kay. Apparently they thought the little dog who was running around neighborhood would work well, so they used a dog whistle and put her in the scene. My mom was 13 at the time and wrote to Coppola that she would like either a credit for Pixie or a year's supply of dog food, but he never wrote back.
Anyone else jump on Amazon's recent Gold Box offer of Godfather I, Godfather II, and some other movie Coppola made on Blu Ray for $25? Perhaps this weekend would be a good time for me to crack that open...
It's really not all that surprising in the context of the way movies were released in the early 70s. If I remember my industry history right, it wasn't until Jaws in 1975 that Hollywood started releasing films in the same-day, wide-release manner we are now so used to -- though it was more like hundreds of screens back then, versus thousands of screens today. Before that, films typically opened in one or two major cities, usually in "exclusive" engagements, and then after a few weeks rolled out slowly (and depending on where you lived, sometimes r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w-ly) across the country.
Not surprising for then - all I meant was that "the way things are done" in movie releasing has really changed. This movie was certainly Oscar-bait back then, and those sorts of movies are NEVER released in March now. And the only real reason to release a big movie on five screens initially today is to qualify for Oscar consideration when you're releasing at the end of the year.
Trivia I ran across just yesterday when tossing around summer film series ideas: The Godfather is the Best Picture winner with the highest imdb user rating.
ReplyDeleteCan you imagine a film like that opening now (a) in mid-March and (b) on five screens?
ReplyDeleteCoppola was a nobody then, as was Pacino, though Brando was Brando and Duvall was on the rise.
ReplyDeleteTwo things:
ReplyDelete1. Adam, I think you mean Robert Evans' The Godfather. :)
2. Looking at how the rest of the Oscars went that year, it's a little surprising that The Godfather won Best Picture. Cabaret won Actress, Supporting Actor, AND Director, and also Editing and Cinematography. (It's appalling that Gordon Willis's work on The Gadfather wasn't even nominated.)
the GADfather? what kind of typo is that? "A" and "O" are nowhere near each other.
ReplyDeleteSuper random, but my mom's dog was in The Godfather.
ReplyDeleteDo tell!
ReplyDeleteJust glad it wasn't her horse.
ReplyDeleteHa, that would have been unfortunate. Her dog, Pixie, was in the scene when Micheal comes back from Italy and sees Kay. They filmed it in front of my mom's elementary school, around the corner from where my grandparents live. There were no leash laws back then, so my mom wasn't there when the scene was filmed, but someone decided that they wanted a dog running behind the boy on the bike who yells hello to Kay. Apparently they thought the little dog who was running around neighborhood would work well, so they used a dog whistle and put her in the scene. My mom was 13 at the time and wrote to Coppola that she would like either a credit for Pixie or a year's supply of dog food, but he never wrote back.
ReplyDeleteBut the book was a blockbuster.
ReplyDeleteIs *that* Pixie?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voNs3aHZmQM
Precisely - this wasn't some little arthouse flick that grew.
ReplyDeleteAnyone else jump on Amazon's recent Gold Box offer of Godfather I, Godfather II, and some other movie Coppola made on Blu Ray for $25? Perhaps this weekend would be a good time for me to crack that open...
ReplyDeleteIs this where I confess I've never seen any of the Godfather movies?
ReplyDeleteI just watched them for the first time after we finished The Wire. I say go for it.
ReplyDeleteAnd the studio was all over it, and Robert Evans wasn't exactly a nobody.
ReplyDeleteIt's really not all that surprising in the context of the way movies were released in the early 70s. If I remember my industry history right, it wasn't until Jaws in 1975 that Hollywood started releasing films in the same-day, wide-release manner we are now so used to -- though it was more like hundreds of screens back then, versus thousands of screens today. Before that, films typically opened in one or two major cities, usually in "exclusive" engagements, and then after a few weeks rolled out slowly (and depending on where you lived, sometimes r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w-ly) across the country.
ReplyDeleteNot surprising for then - all I meant was that "the way things are done" in movie releasing has really changed. This movie was certainly Oscar-bait back then, and those sorts of movies are NEVER released in March now. And the only real reason to release a big movie on five screens initially today is to qualify for Oscar consideration when you're releasing at the end of the year.
ReplyDeleteThey take much less time to watch than The Wire. Especially since you're not going to watch Part III.
ReplyDelete