The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola has revealed his favorite scene from the film.
Released in 1972, the film stars Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone, with Al Pacino playing his son Michael. The film, which is widely regarded as one of the best ever made, celebrates its 50th anniversary this March.
"I think my favorite scene is when the little boy is with his grandfather, and Marlon surprised him with the orange in his mouth in the garden," Coppola told Hollywood Insider at an event for the film's anniversary.
The scene starts out fairly light-hearted, with Brando's Don Corleone playing around with his grandson – but disaster strikes when Corleone suffers a heart attack and dies.
Coppola has previously revealed that Brando came up with the idea of using the orange peel, telling Playboy that, while Coppola was wondering how to make the scene believable, the actor offered his thoughts. "[Brando] said, 'Here's how I play with kids,' and took an orange peel, cut it into pieces that looked like fangs and slipped them into his mouth," he said (H/T People).
The director added: "I thought, 'What a ridiculous idea.' Then suddenly I saw it: of course! The godfather dies as a monster! Once I'd seen him with orange peel fangs, I knew I could never shoot it any other way."
A series about the making of The Godfather, titled The Offer, is currently in the works for Paramount Plus. Dan Fogler will play Coppola, while Miles Teller, Juno Temple, Michael Gandolfini, and Colin Hanks also have roles.
The Offer is set for release April 28, 2022. In the meantime, check out our roundup of the best Netflix shows to fill out your watchlist.
