Francis Ford Coppola has released Al Pacino’s audition tape for The Godfather.
On YouTube, Coppola’s official account released video footage of Pacino auditioning to play the role of Michael Corleone in 1972’s The Godfather.
Check out the Al Pacino Godfather audition tape below (watch more trailers and clips):
What did Francis Ford Coppola say about Al Pacino’s Godfather audition tape?
“The interesting thing here was a reason given to me against casting Pacino was not only was he too short, but also too ‘scruffy,” the video’s description reads. “So we got him a haircut and dressed him more non-scruffy and more collegiate, and then the criticism was he so cleaned up, he lost some of his natural appeal. I realized they just didn’t want Al no matter whether tall or short, scruffy or collegiate. The first ‘too scruffy’ haircut was given to him by my wife Ellie. For the second haircut, we went to a local barber and he found out it was for a ‘Godfather’ actor, he had a heart attack. (The barber really had a heart attack and was taken off to hospital afterward).”
Widely considered to be one of the best movies of all time, The Godfather also stars Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone, James Caan as Sonny Corleone, Richard Castellano as Peter Clemenza, and Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen. The Godfather won a handful of awards at the 45th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Pacino returned to the role of Michael Corleone twice following The Godfather’s release. The Godfather Part II arrived in 1974, followed by The Godfather Part III in 1990.
Coppola now has a new movie, Megalopolis, starring Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aburey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Laurence Fishburne, and Jason Schwartzman. While it does not yet have a wide release date, Megalopolis premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last month, where it was met with mixed reviews from critics.
