The scene in which Don Barzini is assassinated was filmed on the steps of the New York Supreme Court building on Foley Square in Manhattan, New York City. Interiors were shot at Filmways Studio in New York.Ī side entrance to Bellevue Hospital was used for Michael’s confrontation with police Captain McCluskey. The Sicilian towns of Savoca and Forza d’Agrò outside of Taormina were also used for exterior locations. Locations around New York City were used for the film, including the then-closed flagship store of Best & Company on Fifth Avenue, which was dressed up and used for the scene in which Pacino and Keaton are Christmas shopping.Ī scene with Pacino and Keaton was filmed in the town of Ross, California. Caan’s suit, rigged with 127 squibs of fake blood, and 200 squib-filled holes in the small toll booth building and the 1941 Lincoln auto, simulated the submachine gun ambush. Filmed for more than $100,000 on a small Long Island airport runway at the former Mitchel Field, it was accomplished in just one take with at least four cameras. The most complicated scene was the death of Sonny Corleone at the Jones Beach Causeway toll plaza midway through the film. The plug was quickly yanked out with monofilament fishing line, making a bloody hole suddenly appear in Hayden’s head. A gap was cut in the center, filled with fake blood, and capped off with a plug of prosthetic flesh. The scene of McCluskey’s shooting was done by building a fake forehead on top of actor Sterling Hayden. The other tube then released the fake blood. When the gun was shot, the compressed air shot the BB through the glasses, shattering them from the inside. One had fake blood in it, and the other had a BB and compressed air. Actor Alex Rocco’s glasses had two tubes hidden in their frames. The shooting of Moe Greene through the eye was inspired by the death of gangster Bugsy Siegel. This scene was cut from the theatrical release but can be found on the DVD.
In the novel, Jack Woltz, the movie producer whose horse’s head is put in his bed, is also a pedophile as Tom Hagen sees a young girl (presumably one of Woltz’s child stars) crying while walking out of Woltz’s room. Coppola later stated that the horse’s head was delivered to him from a dog food company a horse had not been killed specifically for the movie. Animal rights groups protested the inclusion of the scene. One of the movie’s most shocking moments involved the severed head of a horse.
The cat in the opening scene used to hang around the studio, and was simply dropped in Brando’s lap at the last minute by the director. This move, which lasts for about three minutes, was shot with a computer-controlled zoom lens designed by Tony Karp. The opening shot is a long, slow pullback, starting with a close-up of Bonasera, who is petitioning Don Corleone, and ending with the Godfather, seen from behind, framing the shot. There were a total of 77 days of shooting, fewer than the 83 for which the production had budgeted. Principal photography took place from March 29, 1971, to August 6, 1971, although a scene with Pacino and Keaton was shot in the autumn.