Fiction, of course, allows for anything. However, to escape the helicopter hit, both Zasa and Altobello had to be out of the room in a timely manner. Getting out of the room was predicated on Zasa's display of temper which had to be keyed by what - his not getting a check from Michael? What if he had gotten a check from Michael? Maybe he might have gotten angry because it wasn't as large as he thought he should have gotten. After his initial outburst, Zasa strolls casually around the room. Why? He is aware of the impending hit, right? Why doesn't he just exit? In fact, why have Zasa and Altobello show up anyway and put themselves in danger. Anything could have gove wrong. Your thoughts.

Well, I guess they needed to be there, not to throw up any warning signs to anyone.

And maybe Zasa radioed the chopper when he was clear from the meeting room so the hit could begin.

Altobello knew in advance that Joey wasnt going to get anything

he could of ordered the hitters to not make a hit until he and altobello left the room as altobello obviously knew about it as he pleaded michael to come with him , i think he would of tried a hit anyway as it was clear it was a well planned hit and the disrespect, as he says, shown to him at that meeting just gave him a good reason to leave quickly

my thoughts

If Zasa left quickly, Mike would have picked up that it was a hit.

In the GF making of Docu on the DVD, you can see Altobello rushing back in and being dragged out again, why was that lost? too goofy?

The "logical" reason was that Zasa intended to have all of them whacked, whether or not he got a check. Then he'd be undisputed boss.
The real reason was to provide FFC with an opportunity to put on a showy, hi-tech massacre--to compete with the showy, hi-tech massacres in the other films of that era.

So was the AC hit carried out by Zasa and Altobello alone or was the Vatican behind it too?

In GFIII there is a scene where Michael, Neri, Vincent and that godforsaken George Hamilton are in a meeting at Don Tomassino's Italian Villa and Michael asks Don Tomassino who could have approved a hit like that. I believe that Tomassino tells him that only one man can reach between both worlds ( Italy and America )....Don Luchessi.


Don Cardi

Whats your beef with Hamilton? Steeping into Duvall's shoes was an impossible job. He did ok

Whats your beef with Hamilton? Steeping into Duvall's shoes was an impossible job. He did ok

Stepping into Duvall's shoes may have been impossible, but they might've cast an actor who was to be taken a bit more seriously than George Hamilton.

It's great that he was 'ok'...however, for a film of the magnitude and anticipation of The Godfather Part III, a bit more should've been required from each performance than just 'ok'.

Apple

That may have been the worst case of miscasting that I've ever seen in a movie. Hamilton was absolutely horrible, with that fake tan and his terrible acting. The man was not the right man for that part. It has absolutely nothing to do with Duvall either.

Hamilton should stick to movies like Love at First Bite!


Don Cardi

Say what you will about his acting or his mother, but leave his tan alone....

I agree with Apple that only actors of the highest calibre shuld be selected for the Godfather films, on that basis alone, yes, Hamilton wasn't good enough. But i've seen GFIII a good few times and I've never seen anything that bad about his acting, I suppose with Sofia about, she tkaes the brunt of the poor acting spoils.

Will you please leave that poor girl alone!

If poor George is left alone to cancel it out

----Oh Sooooooooooooo True..First Bite is where he needs to stay!

First time I heard that man's name, I could have sworn he was a beatle, then I realized, it's George Harrison who's the beatle, George Hamilton who's the excellent actor in GFIII...

What were the two worlds that Don Luchessi was able to transit and why would he have to transit them? A hit is a hit, right? And the more I watch GFIII, the more I see Luchessi as a German officer in Stalag 17.

He was about as convincing as a Sicilian as Eli Wallach was as a Don.

Ok, aside from the merits of GH's acting or how good/bad Sofia was...

I have always had a thought about the Atlanta hit. In a meeting like this, I would think that each family would get a negotiator from the Bocchicchio clan. Hitting all these guys, and thus having a bunch of Bocchicchio's dead is taking a HUGE risk, but this was never mentioned at all.

Any thoughts on this?

That may have been the worst case of miscasting that I've ever seen in a movie. Hamilton should stick to movies like Love at First Bite!


Don Cardi [/QB][/QUOTE]


Not only was he miscast, but he was given terrible speaking lines like "Why do you think I got all this grey hair?" He is especially awful at that breakfast table scene where Michael is signing all the paperwork and Hamilton is saying "No different than any big corporation.


As for Love at First bite, DC, I think Vincent Mancini took the first bite in GFIII.

I think the worst casting ever was John Wayne as Ghengis Kahn - even worse than Hamilton.

...but the Duke had a certain charm in that role:
There he is, eyebrows shaved, oriential bishop's mitre on his head, but he's still The Duke. Susan Hayward has just been captured, and The Duke is leering at her. She puts on her best injured-royalty demeanor: "And how does a leader of the Mongols [sneering] intend to keep a daughter of the Empire in the style to which she is accustomed?" The Duke,squinting (as if riding into the Asian sunset) leers: "By day, the pelts of my sheep shall keep thee warm...and by night, the heat of my body shall protect thee from the desert winds."

You'd be right if the Bocchicchios had been mentioned at some point in any of the three films, but they weren't.

You would think that Bocchicchio hostages might also have been arranged for the day of the Michael-Barzini meeting, which presumably was the same day Barzini was killed on the courthouse steps and Tessio went for his last ride, but that's never mentioned in the film(s) either, since the hostages(s) guaranteeing Barzini's safety would have had to have been killed also, thus placing Michael in danger.

While the name of the Bocchiccios is never mentioned in any of the films, there is a reference made to them in GFI by Clemenza, right before Michael goes to the meeting with Sollozo.


TOM

What about the negotiator?

CLEMENZA

He's over at my place playin' pinochle with a couple of my men. He's happy, they're lettin'

him win...

TOM

There's too much of a risk for Mike -- maybe we outta call it off, Sonny.

CLEMENZA

The negotiator keeps on playing cards until Mike comes back safe and sound.


Yes, the actual name 'Bocchiccio' is never used in the film, but the families DID use a negotiator. Assumably The Bocchiccios.


Don Cardi

The story of the Bocchicchios and how they helped get Michael back from Sicily is one of the best tales-within-a-tale in the novel that, alas, didn't get into the film.

Agreed Turnbull. I believe that we discussed this very issue the last time that we were together.

It was such a mistake for FFC to leave out the whole tale of how Vito arranged to get Michael back into America safely and how the Bocchicchios were part of his plan. This was one tale, from the book, that IMO should have definitely been shown in the movie.


Don Cardi

Turnbull, I completely agree w/ you about the story of the Bocchicchios aid in getting Michael home. I found it truly fascinating.

However, being quite a detailed tale-within-a-tale...it really had no place in the film for it would've bogged down the story. Depicting it in the way it deserved would've eaten up at least 15 minutes of precious film-time, maybe more. The lack of even any deleted scenes dedicated to this story indicates it was never even considered as a part of the movie. And rightfully so.

Similarly Luca's, Neri's, and Lucy's 'background' ... for as FFC (and his budget) knew, film version of The Godfather had to be primarily about The Corleones, and could not have worked any other way.

Apple

I agree that the film was so well made that it didn't suffer by not having included the best of Puzo's tales. And, as we know, FFC was already under great pressure to cut the film's length. Still, I can dream...