The Godfather is arguably one of cinema’s most influential and important films. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the film based on Mario Puzo’s eponymous best-selling novel is considered one of the best movies of all time nearly four decades after its release. One of the most shocking and iconic scenes in The Godfather features the Corleone family intimidating producer Jack Woltz by sending him the severed head of his prized horse.
While filming the scene, director Francis Ford Coppola utilized the real head of a deceased horse. As a result, John Marley, the actor playing Jack Woltz, was truly terrified while filming the scene, resulting in one of the movie’s most shocking moments and dark moments. However, Coppola has also explained the real reason behind his demand for a real horse’s head to film the scene in The Godfather.
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Francis Ford Coppola Used a Real Horse Head in The Godfather
In The Godfather, the Corleone family, headed by patriarch Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone, intimidates Hollywood producer Jack Woltz into doing their bidding. When Woltz initially refuses to listen to the Corleone family, he finds the severed and bloodied head of his prized stallion in his bed. The horrific scene demonstrates the brutality of the Corleone family, and director Francis Ford Coppola wanted the head of an actual horse to capture the moment on camera.
During the DVD commentary for The Godfather, Coppola stated that he was unsatisfied with the prop horse heads made to film the scene. As a result, he resorted to using the real head of a deceased horse acquired from a slaughterhouse. Coppola had his art director scout New York City’s slaughterhouses since horses were often killed to make dog food. The art director found a horse that resembled the horse in The Godfather and asked for the head to be delivered when that horse was slaughtered.
“But we got the head packed in dry ice from a dog food company after the horse had already been slaughtered.”
In the DVD commentary, Coppola also revealed that the realism of the deceased horse’s head resulted in the production team receiving complaints from animal lovers. However, Coppola later clarified that the horse was not killed particularly for filming the movie. Ultimately, Coppola resorted to using a real horse’s head only when he could not achieve the desired result with a prop.
John Marley Was Terrified While Filming the Horse Head Scene in The Godfather
In The Godfather, actor John Marley plays Jack Woltz, who is on the receiving end of the Corleone family’s ire. While filming the infamous horse head scene, Marley was entirely unaware that a real horse’s severed head would be placed inside his bed. Furthermore, Francis Ford Coppola used a prop head for rehearsals but replaced it with a real horse’s cutoff head on the day of filming. As a result, Marley’s agonizing screams in the film are very much real.
During an appearance on The Dick Cavett Show in 1972, Marley opened up about how the scene terrified him. Marley recounted that he is reacting to the severed head as a character in the movie. However, upon reflecting on the scene and hearing the audience’s reaction, he realized its gruesome nature. Marley stated that he gets a terrible reaction when thinking of the scene and its ugly nature and expressed a desire to erase it from his memory.
