The Godfather’s famed wedding day scene fabricated a Sicilian tradition for the sake of the film. Having achieved legendary status with his three-part crime-family saga, Francis Ford Coppola’s success with The Godfather can be attributed in some part to its authentic depictions of Sicilian and Italian culture. Although in no way a summation of these cultures, the first Godfather film was released in 1972 and brought with it a taste of a world that so very few people had any knowledge or experience with.
Today the incorporation of any culture in a film needs to be handled with care. For so long, Hollywood productions were liable to pick and choose whatever particular aspects of any given culture they wanted, often resulting in disrespectful, insensitive, and downright fabricated representations. Despite being released in 1972, The Godfather was ahead of its time in this respect. The film was made with the intention of staying true to the specifics of the Sicilian mafia and Coppola was hired partly due to his Italian-American heritage. That being said, Coppola is not Sicilian, nor was The Godfather author Mario Puzo. Regardless, this link to Italy was considered authentic.
The Wedding Day Request Is Godfather Fiction
One of The Godfather’s most famous scenes comes when audiences are first introduced to Don Corleone. A lavish wedding is taking place for Connie Corleone and audiences are informed that, according to tradition, no Sicilian can refuse any request on their daughter’s wedding day. Don Corleone is featured in his study, meeting with guests who come to relay their congratulations and offer up their requests for help. It’s no secret that Robert Evans – then head of Paramount Pictures in 1972 – was adamant about how authentically Sicilian The Godfather was to be. When it comes to the wedding day request aspect of the film, however, the truth betrays Evans’ aims.
There is no indication that refusing any request on a Sicilian daughter’s wedding day is an actual part of Sicilian culture. It’s odd that The Godfather would portray this as authentic because even if it were a true Sicilian tradition, it would undoubtedly be an old one. If the film had been serious about reproducing old Sicilian marriage traditions, then Connie’s marriage would’ve been an arranged one, which it clearly was not. In this way, it’s obvious that for all its talk about being an authentic Sicilian portrayal, The Godfather does pick and choose (and fabricate) its cultural aspects for the sake of the film and its storytelling.
Why Would The Godfather Lie About A Tradition?
For many fans of The Godfather, the plot point about no Sicilian being able to refuse any request on their daughter’s wedding day was taken at face value. When considered even a little, however, it does present a rather confusing aspect of the film. It leaves the question of why Coppola would include something so seemingly random and above all, inaccurate. If Paramount wanted to make an authentic depiction of a Sicilian crime family, making up a tradition regarding obligations during a family member’s wedding is an odd choice. The truth, it seems, all comes down to maintaining the momentum of the film’s plot.
As previously mentioned, the wedding is the audience’s introduction to both Don Corleone and the Corleone crime family. It’s imperative during this time that the Godfather is seen as the source of power and respect that he is, and an easy way to do this is to show how he can grant any request presented to him. What’s more, these requests introduce new characters (Johnny Fontane, Luca Brasi, Amerigo Bonasera), who in turn provide vital plot points for the film as a whole. These could have arguably been realized without the wedding day no refusal aspect, but ultimately The Godfather was richer for the fabrication.
