With Thanksgiving approaching, that can only mean that it’s time for AMC to do their annual showing of The Godfather movies.
This gives me an excuse to put up one of my favorite clips, Robert De Niro auditioning for the role of Sonny Corleone in the original 1972 Godfather.
(The role, of course, went to James Caan and De Niro went on to play the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Part II. Caan was nominated for an Oscar while De Niro actually won.)
This audition, by the way, can be found in the extras of The Godfather DVD set.
Through the Shattered Lens 
As great as that audition was I’m glad he didn’t get the part, but got the one which suited him best in the second film.
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That’s one reason why I love this audition tape — it’s so electrifying but, at the same time, it also shows why James Caan was the right actor for Sonny. Caan fit nicely into the ensemble but a young De Niro would have dominated things to such an extent that you would have spent the final half of the Godfather acutely aware of his absence.
Or at least I would have. 🙂
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It’s crazy to say that Robert De Niro is the best actor alive? I believe he’s perfect in both drama and comedy, a quality that I don´t see in any actor. Bang the Drum Slowly, Mean Streets, The Godfather: Part II, Taxi Driver, 1900, The Last Tycoon, New York, New York, The Deer Hunter, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, Once Upon a Time in America, Falling in Love, Brazil, The Untouchables, Goodfellas, Awakenings, Cape Fear (my favourite)…
Maybe it’s crazy but, to me, only Marlon Brando was better …
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