‘The Godfather’ Turns 50: Film and TV Homages Likely Seen Before the Francis Ford Coppola Masterpiece

The Godfather is arguably the greatest film ever made. But at 50 years old, it’s a good bet today a decent portion of viewers saw an homage to the Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece before watching the actual masterpiece.

And that makes perfect sense. The film, based on the best-selling novel by the late Mario Puzo, has several classic scenes and highly quotable lines that have become ingrained in the pop-culture lexicon.

From a horse head in bed to an offer that can’t be refused to remembering the cannolis to brutal mob snuffs to a raspy Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone, there is a bevy of Godfather moments TV shows and movies have mined for clever and hilarious call-backs.

To celebrate the Oscar-winning motion picture at its half-century mark, The Hollywood Reporter has collected five stupendous “Oh, that’s what that’s from!” parodies and homages to The Godfather over the decades.

The Simpsons

The Simpsons has included numerous nods to The Godfather over the years — including Bart getting pelted with snowballs in a scene mimicking Sonny Corleone’s violent demise (“Mr. Plow”) and Homer imagining himself as The Godfather: Part II’s Don Fanucci (“Last Exit to Springfield”) —  but the best tribute stole the episode.

In “Lisa’s Pony” (season three, episode eight), Homer breaks his daughter’s heart for the last time when he goes to Moe’s for a beer and fails to get her a new reed for her saxophone in time for her school concert, which in turn leads to her humiliation. In an attempt to salvage their relationship, Homer buys Lisa the one thing she’s always wanted: a pony.

The Godfather nod is a perfect re-creation of the moment when studio head Jack Woltz (John Marley) awakens to find his prized horse’s severed head in his bed, the result of denying a request from the Corleone family. With that exact music cue, Lisa wakes up to her pony’s head and lets out the same scream as Woltz — but her animal is very much alive.

Mel Brooks 

Comedy icon Mel Brooks certainly knows his way around a joke or two, but even he couldn’t help himself from borrowing from the Mafia saga. In his 1993 classic Robin Hood: Men in Tights, the late Dom DeLuise plays a character named Don Giovanni, who is essentially Vito Corleone.

The legendary DeLuise does an excellent Brando impression, which is highlighted by a classic joke when Roger Rees’ Sheriff of Rottingham asks why he sounds so muffled and Giovanni pulls wads of cotton out of his mouth, saying he was at the dentist earlier in the day. Godfather director Coppola has told the story several times about how Brando put some cotton in his mouth during a Godfather screen test to find the character’s voice and “bulldog” facial features.

The Robin Hood: Men in Tights moment is punctuated with Giovanni’s right-hand man doing a splendid impression of Luca Brasi (Lenny Montana). In The Godfather, Luca is a deadly enforcer. Despite his massive size and terrifying reputation, Luca is fairly awkward when he speaks, a byproduct of Montana being super nervous when his scenes were filmed, hence his stuttering.

Seinfeld 

Seinfeld dedicated an episode to Godfather references and themes, the ending being the cherry on top. In The Bris (season five, episode five), Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) agree to be godparents to their friends’ newborn. To celebrate the moment, Jerry does his best Brando, but no one is impressed.

Naturally, the situation spirals out of control in the run-up to the baby’s bris. Kramer (Michael Richards) is staunchly against the practice and attempts to talk the parents out of their religious custom before he hatches a plan to save the child. The baby is finally, successfully circumcised at the hospital after the mohel selected by Elaine accidentally cuts Jerry’s finger.

Unimpressed with Jerry and Elaine’s buffoonery, the baby’s parents strip the pair of their godparent duties and bestow the godfather title onto Kramer since he showed such concern for the child. At the end of the episode, Kramer returns to his apartment, where the parents greet him much the same way Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) is greeted in the final moments of The Godfather. And with that same music cue playing, Kramer’s door closes with Jerry, Elaine and George (Jason Alexander) looking in, the exact way the door closes on Kay Adams (Diane Keaton) to end The Godfather.

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

The Star Wars homage to The Godfather is far more subtle than most, and it could easily go over the head of someone who already saw the Coppola epic. But it’s clear what late director Richard Marquand was going for in the scene where one of the trilogy’s most vile characters meets his demise.

Audiences were first introduced to Jabba the Hutt in 1983’s Return of the Jedi. One of the galaxy’s most powerful and notorious gangsters, Jabba had first been mentioned by name in The Empire Strike Back and had his scene put back in via a CG character for 1997’s A New Hope Special Edition.

In Jedi, Han is finally turned over to Jabba. In his palace, the gangster proudly displays the one-time smuggler frozen in carbonite. During the attempt to rescue Han, Jabba is killed, strangled to death by Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher). And that moment is the Godfather homage to the murder of Luca Brasi.

Vito sends Luca to spy on rivals Bruno Tattaglia (Tony Giorgio) and Virgil Sollozzo (Al Lettieri). While there, he is brutally strangled to death. His bulbous facial reaction in that instance is what Marquand was trying to evoke when Jabba meets his end.

Animaniacs

In addition to The Simpsons, another popular cartoon borrowed from The Godfather. This particular parody is notable as it reached a very young audience, who most likely had no idea what, exactly, was being parodied.

The “Goodfeathers” was a reoccurring segment on the original Animaniacs that spoofed both The Godfather and Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas.

A trio of goofy pigeons — Squit, Pesto and Bobby — are based on the characters Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci played in the 1990 Oscar-winning mob picture.

Of course, their harebrained plans always crumble into silly antics. However, they quickly get their acts together whenever they are paid a visit by the Godpigeon. And yes, the round bird is exactly what comes to mind from the name alone. The Godpigeon is a poke at Brando gaining weight later in life, on top of parodying Vito Corleone.

Honorable Mentions

* The Sopranos references the Godfather trilogy several times throughout the series, as the gang loves it. The best homage occurs in the first season during the failed assassination of Tony (James Gandolfini) in “Isabella.” At the time of the shooting, Tony is carrying orange juice, a nod to Vito carrying oranges when he was gunned down.

* Family Guy features a few nods to The Godfather through the seasons, but the best is a moment that takes place in “The Griffin Family History” (season four, episode 27) when Peter reveals he does not like the film. His family is shocked anyone could dislike the Coppola movie. Among his reasons is, “It insists upon itself.”

* In Fletch, Chevy Chase’s titular character, an investigative reporter for the Los Angeles Times, uses “Moe Greene” (Alex Rocco) as an alias.

* In City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold, Glen Robbins (Jon Lovitz) does the entire Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg) speech from The Godfather: Part II when the gangster talks about the murder of his friend, Moe Greene. Michael (Pacino) ordered the Greene hit in The Godfather.