Sonny had it coming.

I''m watching "The Godfather." When he beat the tar out of Carlo, well, the screenplay writes itself.

Carlo set up Sonny, which is why Michael had him killed. Sonny''s beating up of Carlo had nothing to do with his death, except for the fact that the Tataglia family knew that his temper would be his undoing. He was killed in revenge for Philip Tataglia''s son being killed after the shooting of Don Corleone by Sollozzo''s men.
In the book, Carlo''s beating was witnessed by an associate of the Tattaglias. That person passed the info to the family, who used it to set him up.
I was shocked at how personally gratified I was by his death. I consider it a personal character flaw, but it was downright shit what he did to Chasity, who had considered him her greatest advocate. Even she said she had to overcome being pissed with him to properly grieve. It was probably an instant death anyway. And on a skiing vacation is a better setting than he deserved.
Yup, r1. I marvel at how Michael wants to make.damn.sure. Carlo dropped the dime on Sonny. He needs to be perfectly sure, because, after all,Carlo is his brother-in-law.
Della
It took me a few re-readings, r3, but, now I get it.
Della
Della, if it''s your favorite film, can you tell us haters what you like about it? \ \ I''m genuinely curious. I dislike these films because I hate the characters, and bashed them all over the "Overrated Films" thread. I wonder if anyone can tell me what I''m missing, what gets these movies to the top of the critics all-time lists.
I''ll do the same if anyone wants to know what I see in "Vertigo"
No he didn''t. He was the most unforgettable character I''ve ever met.
Cher
Yes he did.
Cher
The movie is much better than the book(or the two thirds of it I read before getting bored).
r6- kissed hands and closed doors; the sum of humanity.
Della,waxing...,well, just waxing
R6, it's hard to explain to someone what is great about the first two "Godfather" films if she's immune or oblivious to great writing, great characters and characterizations, relevant themes that touch on larger issues concerning the fundamentals of American life, superb cinematography and editing, excellent direction (with a lot of help from the editors), and wonderful music. Every scene is iconic and memorable, with snap and menace, to those of us who like it. But if your dislike revolves around distaste for the characters (because they're not nice people?), certainly the same is true for the characters in "Vertigo." I find Jimmy Stewart's character to be one of the most offensive assholes on film. But I love the movie. Is it something to do with the embodiment of stereotypes in vivid characters? I suppose it comes down to wondering how liking movies that are near-universally acknowledged as great requires an explanation. It seems more to the point that someone who doesn't like them explain what it is they don't like.
What r11 said. The cliche "there is nothing new under the sun" is exactly what "The Godfather" films declare.\ \ Family, loyalty ,money, love/lust, heartbreak, betrayal, loneliness then Death. And it''s all wrapped up in a gorgeous package,to boot.
Della
Ditto R11. I''ll never understand people who can''t at least appreciate the skill of the film, regardless of whether or not they "like" the characters. I also think people who have to "like" the characters in order to enjoy a film are mentally stunted and usually have a poor sense of humor.
I have never liked ''The Godfather''. It insists upon itself.
Even "The Godfather, part III" has its compelling moments. The clunky dialog- "reason, backed up by murder.", aside, I love when Michael tells Vincent that he and Sonny fought, but he knew Sonny would anything for him.
Della
An Italian man, in those days, would not have beaten another man for slapping his wife around, even if it was his sister. It was considered a man''s right to slap his wife around if she pissed him off.
No it doesn''t, R14. I''m not even sure what you mean by that.
Mood and cinematagrophy, granted, take you only so far. Still, I''ll take that ride with all three of "The Godfather" films.
Della
No, it was my fault, Sonny. I started it.
Teresa
grinning at r19.
Della
How do you possibly keep the Tataglias and the Sollozzos straight? Every time I watch the Godfather I get more confused.
And the fucking Rosatos?
Characters are usually introduced in a film, R21. You just have to pay attention.
r21- the Tatagglias were established aristocracy; the Corleones were , so to speak, the Royal Family.\ \ Sollozzzo was a ballsy usurper. He was the would-be Coriolanus that rolled the dice and did not get a re-throw.
Della, indulging in an attempt at Shakespereian analogy
"Tataglia is a pimp.......it was Barzini all along."
Vito
so of course op lied about sonny having it coming. they always lie.
Barzini?\ \ Damn!
Michael Coleone says "Hello"
haha
don''t worry R14, I got it.
bg
The original Godfather is slightly better than part II, which is still a great movie. Although Ebert ludicrously gave The Godfather Part II a 3 star review, I still mostly agree with his criticisms of the early 20th century Vito scenes(which are still very well done). They do take away from the present narrative a bit, and do have the tone of "If only Michael was like this"(vito).\ \ The events in the original seems a bit more of primary importance(perhaps with the exception of the scene in which Hagen goes to hollywood).
sorry I''m a bit drunk
" Leave the gun...take the cannoli." It''s a great philosophy for life.
Fat Clemenza
The marraige of Michael and Kay is the most interesting relationship within the films. Michael married "up", with the blonde, WASP Kay. You just know that if Appollonia hadn''t killed and Michael broght her back to NY, Kay would be his mistress.
Della
I love it when Carlo gets strangled in the car.
little wife beating piece of shit
These movies always make me hungry for Italian food.
"These movies always make me hungry for Italian food."\ \ OMG me too. I once followed the recipe for gravy in Godfater 1. So good.
Vertigo sucked. Totally unbelievable.
Sonnny hated Carlo and would have beaten the shit out of him on the slightest pretext. He had a hair trigger temper. I want to watch the movie again now, for the 1000th time.
Sonny would have beaten the shit out of A LOT of guys on the slightest pretext. He was known for his temper.\ \ PS, in the book Sonny was said to have a massive penis. The movie alludes to it during the opening wedding sequence - its very brief, but you see his wife doing the big, bigger, biggest hand signal with her girlfriends.
By the way, Della, you have great taste and a good eye for detail.
Brando said he knew just how to act, mimic the old style dons he knew.
He did a damn good job, too.
Thank you, r40. Back at ya.''\ \ Sonny himself brought Carlo (his eventual betrayor!) into the family by introducing him to Connie. Both the book and the final scenes of Part II (sob)show that. The Don always knew Carlo was trash- "give him a living, but never discuss the family business with him."\ \ In fact, that bit of dialog is necessary to establish the Don''s distase for Connie''s choice of Carlo. You''d have thought, however, that Hagen would have asked him that before thier wedding day ; just a quibble on the illogic of that bit of dialog.
Della