Al Pacino found fame for portraying the role of Michael Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s magnum opus, The Godfather. Starring in the iconic role earned the actor critical acclaim and accolades which essentially kickstarted his Hollywood journey.
While talking about the trilogy that made him famous, Al Pacino had quite the reply when he was asked about Coppola’s iconic films. When asked about the summation of The Godfather Trilogy, the actor has been quoted saying that it is just a long and tiring story!
Al Pacino Referred To The Godfather Trilogy As A Tiring Story
The world changed when Francis Ford Coppola decided to make a film on an Italian mafia head on the verge of retirement and his son taking over the empire. With Marlon Brando in the role of Don Vito Corleone, the question of who to cast for Michael Corleone was an important one.
Director Francis Ford Coppola went to extreme lengths to get Al Pacino in the lead role for the 1972 film. Pacino, who was not famous at that time, was given the underdog treatment and went on to defeat several champions of acting with his remarkable performance in the 1972 movie. Finding fame unaccountable, the actor was once asked his thoughts on The Godfather Trilogy. As reported by IMDB Quotes, the actor had only the following line to say.
“A long, awful, tiring story.”
That’s not the only thing that Pacino had to say about the iconic trilogy. The Godfather Part III, which was released in 1990 was a very hot topic for people. Since the movie was deemed as a normal ending to a magnificent trilogy, Al Pacino had some thoughts to share on why that movie underperformed.
Don Michael Corleone Doesn’t Cry Over Coffins
In the final part of the trilogy, Michael Corleone realizes that he should end his reign of crime. Giving the reins to his nephew, Corleone is shown to have remorse and guilt for the killings that he did during his time as the head of the family. As per IMDB quotes, Al Pacino stated that his character broke the code in the final film which in some parts, contributed to the film underperforming.
“You know what the problem with that film is? The real problem? Nobody wants to see Michael have retribution and feel guilty. That’s not who he is. Michael has this code; he lives by something that makes audiences respond. But once he goes away from that and starts crying over coffins, making confessions and feeling remorse, it isn’t right.”
The actor ended his note by complimenting Francis Ford Coppola for having that ending and saying that Michael Corleone was indeed sorry for his mistakes but he got what was coming towards him. The Godfather Trilogy is one of the most acclaimed films of all time with the first two films available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
Source: IMDB
