Anyone who dares call themselves a film fan has no doubt seen Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. More than perhaps any other film in history, it is listed by critics and fans as one of the best films ever made. The epic saga of the Italian-America mafia family, the Corleones, is filled with iconic moments, unforgettable performances and an engrossing story.

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Despite being one of the most famous movies ever made, there are still details about the film and its creation that even the biggest fans might not know. If you're looking for an excuse to revisit this masterpiece, have a look at some of the things you might have missed. Here are some of the hidden details in The Godfather.

Low Budget Beginnings

Al Pacino in The Godfather

Looking back now, this film is one of the most respected and successful films ever made, but there was a time that there wasn't a lot of confidence in the project. The rights to the novel by Mario Puzo were purchased before the novel was even finished, but the sweeping crime epic was too ambitious for the producers' tastes.

Puzo was originally asked to write a script for the film that was set in modern time instead of the period setting of the novel. They also wanted more shoot-em-up sequences, turning it into a low-budget gangster film. Coppola was the one that insisted on the period setting and re-established the more epic tone.

Nervous Luca Brasi

Though he has a relatively small role in the film, Luca Brasi is a very memorable character. The enormous and intimidating gangster is best remembered for his memorable end, but his introduction scene is just as interesting.

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While at the wedding of Don Corleone's daughter, Luca nervously pays his respects to the Godfather, fumbling over his words. Apparently, this was unplanned and was the actual reaction of actor Lenny Montana who was nervous to share the screen with Marlon Brando. The scene of Brasi practicing his speech beforehand was included as a way to explain his nervousness.

Brando Behind The Scenes

Vito promises to take care of Johnny Fontanes Hollywood problem in The Godfather

Marlon Brando has a reputation for being one of the most brilliant actors of all time and a nightmare to work with. His performance as Vito Corleone in this film speaks for itself, and while his behavior was better in this film than others, he did make for some interesting behind the scenes stories.

Brando refused to learn his lines beforehand, insisting that he read them as the scene plays out on camera. This led to cue cards and script pages being posted throughout the set. He is known for his love of practical jokes and he embraced that passion on this set, even mooning all the extras during the wedding scene.

The Cat

Vito Corleone strokes his cat in The Godfather

It's hard to picture Vito Corleone in this film without that white cat perched on his lap. Seeing the head of a mafia family calmly petting a cat as he conducts business says a lot about the character. It's an image that has been adopted and parodied endlessly.

However, the iconic moment what not originally included in the script. In fact, the cat is not even a trained animal but rather a stray that Brando found on the film lot. It is said that the cat was so content to sit in Brando's lap that dialogue in the scene had to be re-recorded due to the cat's loud purring.

Period-Accurate Cars

James Caan as Sonny, Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone, Al Pacino as Michael and John Cazale as Fredo in The Godfather

Part of the reason the studio was hesitant to make the film a period piece was the expensive and painstaking details that are needed to recreate the proper era. With an auteur like Coppola at the helm, you can bet he went the extra mile to achieve that accuracy.

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The film is filled with cars from the era which is to be expected, but many of these cars feature an extra bit of period recreation. During the war, people used to remove their chrome bumpers and send them in to help with the war effort. The bumpers were replaced with wood which you can see in the movie.

The Mattress Montage

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During the 70s emergence of New Hollywood, there was a group of young directors making some of the most ambitious films of the time. Two of those filmmakers were Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas who were also close friends.

After Coppola produced Lucas' film THX 1138, Lucas returned the favor by filming the so-called "Mattress Montage" for The Godfather. Taking place during the war between the families, the montage shows various real-life crime scene photos of mob assassinations. There is even an image of Al Capone's right-hand man, Frank Nitti after his suicide.

Alex Rocco

Moe Greene meets Michael for the first time in The Godfather

Despite the often-praised authenticity of the film, Coppola maintains that no real-life mafia people participated or consulted on the film. However, there appears to be one exception with Alex Rocco who memorably plays Las Vegas mobster, Moe Greene.

Greene is based off mobster Bugsy Siegel but Rocco had real experience to draw on for the role having been a member of the Boston Irish mob gang known as the Winter Hill Gang. It is even reported that a mobster hitting on Rocco's girlfriend ignited a deadly gang war.

John Cazale's Debut

Fredo and Michael Corleone talk in The Godfather Part 2

While he doesn't get the showiest role in this first film, John Cazale is still unforgettable as the black sheep of the Corleone family, Fredo. As the screw-up brother of Michael and Sonny, Cazale is funny, heartbreaking and captivating.

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Sadly, Cazale died at the age of 42 from cancer. Remarkably, he had appeared in five feature films in his lifetime, all of which were nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. They are The Deer Hunter, Dog Day Afternoon, The Conversation, The Godfather: Part II and The Godfather which was his feature film debut.

Corleone, Scilly

The movie explains that Vito Corleone hails from a small Italian village in Sicily called Corleone. After killing Sollozo and McCluskey flees to his father's hometown to hide out in a memorable extended sequence.

As it turns out, Corleone is, in fact, a real place in Sicily. However, the sequences that are set in Corleone were not filmed in the actual village as it had become too modernized to fit the time period. Interestingly, Al Pacino's family emigrated to America from Corleone.

Horse Head

Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen in The Godfather

There are so many iconic moments in the film, but few are as shocking as the infamous horse head scene. After Tom Hagen pays a visit to a Hollywood producer and tries to get him to hire a specific actor, the producer refuses. In order to convince him, the head of the producer's prized horse is placed in his bed.

The scene is made even more shocking by the fact that the horse head was real, taken from a god food plant. This angered many animal rights groups and Coppola even admits some of the crew were turned off by the idea.

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