I think he is the funniest character in the trilogy. Everything about him is amusing - his name, his appearance, his mannerisms... When young Vito is driving the truck full of dresses, and Fanucci pops up out of nowhere and goes "Eeeeehhhhh!"

I also like the hand signal that he uses. He does it a few times during the festival scene right before he gets shot. He sort of just holds up his right hand, like it's a gang sign for the Black Hand or something.

Funniest of all is Fanucci's death. After the first shot to his chest, he rips open his vest as if to verify, "Yup.. I've been shot." Then after the second shot to the face, he kind of freezes and hangs in the doorway for several seconds before collapsing in a comically theatric way.

Good old Fanucci.

Thought he acted his death really well, conveyed the shock most effectiviely, and i didnt find it humerous, IMO

Fannucci is almost cartoonish. He almost doesn't fit the bad-guy image, but he shows enough meaness and evil-eye that he is believable. His mannerisms are comical. I love the way he takes the money out of the theater owner's cash box.

i think his comical nature made him that much more effective and sinister

Yeah, although he was a comedic character, you were still afraid of him, and knew to stay away from him. It made him more human, i think, more believeable.

Yes. Part of that portrayal was to reinforce that the much-feared Fanucci was mostly bluff, not real Mafia. He sets the stage for Vito, who until then was mostly silent, to credibly take over. A nice transition is shown in two deleted scenes. In one, after the dress heist, young Clemenza, still the boss, orders Vito to deliver some dresses while he dallies with a housewife. In the other, after the Fanucci killing, Clemenza introduces the young Hyman Roth to Vito--first taking his hat off in Vito's presence and referring to Vito as "Mr. Corleone."

I always found this part funny....

When Fanucci gets up from the table after receivng Vito's end then pinches Vito's cheek and gives him some light slaps on his face...

Then after Fanucci walks away, Vito touches his face then looks at his hand as if to say "What the fuck was that shit?"

The "Eeeeehhhhh!" part was my favorite.

Also, if u have the Godfather epic or the dvds, a scene where some young hoodlums cut Fanucci's throat, its strangely animated how he reacts, catching his blood in his hat and not making a mess of his nice white suit.

That part, he seemed really cartoonish

Cartoonish as it may seem, that was actually described in the book that way, him catching the blood w/his het as to not get his clothes bloody.

Fanucci is probably the character I most like to watch. Every part of his body is always in the right position. I'm not saying hes better then pacino but I am just mezmorized my fanucci. There should be a movie just centered around him. Picture it-"Fanucci:The Lost Years" or maybe not hehe

he was indeed a great actor, and i liked the throat slashing bit, should have been in the final cut

The money under the hat part is really amusing!

It's strange that this comical 'cartoon' character is really the most important character in the story - it is the fact that he kills Fanucci that sets him on the road to being the Don - 'every man has but one destiny'

TPM

Fanucci is by far the most comical villian in the whole movie. Dressed in white, cocky as a mofo and always solo, you always wonder about him. The throat slashing scene shows Vito how pathetic he is. Remember in the book it was this scene and the events to follow that paved to way for his assasination.

He was supposedly a Mafioso, but after he got his throat slashed, he (in the book), only killed one of his attackers and accepted payments from the other two for vindication. To Vito, who grew up in the Sicily, this was not he way things were done in the Mafia. A real Mafioso would have had them all killed. So this indicated that his power and connections that everyone feared. He was small potatoes cus the two other attackers got away and he didn't have the power or ability to find them.

This is not added in the movie, I think it's unnecessary, it shows Vito's bravery, I suppose, but still is interesting, showing Vito does have the knowledge of Mafioso needed to be a Don.