

As a result you’re paying much more attention to how things are said and the body language being used, and you’re perceiving things in a very different way. “It is very bold, even today, to have an extended scene between two main characters in an English-language film speaking another language with no translation. Walter Murch ( The Godfather’s Film & Sound Editor) explained Coppola’s decision. To begin with, Coppola, the director, claims in the DVD commentary that the actors spoke too quickly for the subtitles to be read correctly, which was a distraction for the audience, so he decided to let the scenario play out visually instead. Then why did such an important scene ensue in Italian? Is there an explanation from the filmmakers why there were no English subtitles provided for this particular scene? The Godfather is an American film with English dialogue. Why were there no English subtitles provided for the conversation between Michael and Sollozzo in the Italian restaurant? We do not need to know the dialogue when the scene is about how Michael will pull off the murder and getaway. The scene’s intensity comes from wondering when Michael will kill these guys? Is the gun in the bathroom? Will Michael be killed? How will this play out? We focus on Michael’s face without hearing the words or seeing them, and we feel his anxiety. The words are not necessary and probably would’ve been a distraction.

The question itself highlights the brilliance of the technique used in this scene. The latter is too intelligent to be taken in by such an empty answer. But here, Sollozzo is trying to make it sound like he’s giving Michael a guarantee but gives Michael nothing. Conceivably, if Sollozzo had given a real promise, maybe Michael would’ve relented at the last moment. You might even conclude that Michael is so tense here because he is trying to decide whether to go through with the hit finally. Sollozzo only cared about his end, and Michael understood it. He was trying to offer a fake apology and gauge where the Corleone family stood. Even though he was talking to Michael, he was still trying to find a way to kill Vito and Michael if need be. He was nervous about his failure to eliminate Don Vito. Sollozzo was trying to justify his position because it was a business deal. He makes it sound like he isn’t going to try to kill Don Vito Corleone again, but Sollozo gives Michael no such promise and says being the hunted one, he could not give him any guarantee. It is noteworthy how clever Sollozzo is when Michael asks for an assurance that there would be no further attempts at Don Vito’s life. We will have peace, but your family should interfere no longer.” (the sound of the whistle covers most of Sollozzo’s final words, making it a bit unclear) Sollozzo is chewing words here) No vengeance will be taken. We will stop fighting until your father is well and can resume bargaining. No disrespect intended but if your father were in better health, without his eldest son running things, we wouldn’t have this nonsense. What happened was unavoidable, and I had the unspoken support of the other families’ dons. Sollozzo: “Everything all right? I respect myself and cannot allow another man to hold me back. I want peace, and let’s cut all this bullshit and work through where we go.” I’m not that smart, and you give me too much credit. Sollozzo: Michael, what guarantees can I give you? I’m the hunted one.

What I want, what’s most important to me, is a guarantee that there’ll be no more attempts on my father’s life.” Michael: “You don’t need to tell me these things. But your father and his thinking are old-fashioned, and you must understand why I had to do that. Sollozzo: “What happened to your father was business. Here is the English translation of the Italian dialogues between Michael and Sollozzo. English translation of dialogues in The Godfather If you have been looking for an English translation of the conversation, this article gets you covered. It is a significant scene where the discussion continues in Sicilian, which does not have English subtitles. It is an American film, and the dialogue is in English, except for a few, one of which is the dialogue between Virgil Sollozzo and Michael Corleone in the Italian restaurant. The Godfather series, without any doubt, is one of the most iconic movies of all time, with an excellent depiction of the mafia and the underworld.
