James Caan has revealed that he walked out of a screening of The Godfather after he realized that director Francis Ford Coppola had cut one of his scenes.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Caan revealed: "When Michael [Pacino] tells me he is going to take care of the cop and Sollozzo [Al Lettieri], I say, 'You’ll get brains all over your nice Ivy League suit.' There was a scene before in the same room that I had with Bobby [Duvall] that was like 10 pages long – and Francis cut all of it out! I was so pissed off, I couldn’t watch the rest of the film. But otherwise, he gave me a great honor."
Released in 1972, The Godfather celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The story spans 10 years between 1945 and 1955 in New York City, and follows the Corleone family under Marlon Brando's patriarch Vito Corleone as youngest son Michael (Al Pacino) evolves from family outsider to mafia boss.
Caan played Sonny, the oldest son of Vito in the movie, which also starred Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, and Diane Keaton. He reprised the role in flashback scenes in The Godfather Part 2, which was released in 1974. A third sequel, The Godfather Part 3, followed in 1990. Coppola re-cut and re-released Part 3 in 2020, retitled Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone.
Already rewatched The Godfather recently? For more viewing inspiration from more recent times, check out our picks of the best movies of 2021.
