The three Godfather films from Paramount have left an incredible mark on cinema history. All three were nominated for Best Picture, and the first two both won. Both are considered among the very best movies ever made. While The Godfather Part III doesn't have the same immense reputation, in more recent years, critics have come around on the movie. One reason all three resonate so much with viewers is the incredible dialogue. This is a list of some of the very best lines from all three movies, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and The Godfather Part III.
A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man.
Family is very important to the Corleones, and this is made very clear early in The Godfather when Vito (Marlon Brando) tells his godson Johnny Fontaine that it is important to spend time with them. Johnny had a breakdown before it, so Vito was making sure he was still "a man."
Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.
Maybe of the most famous quotes from the movies is said by Michael (Al Pacino) while reminiscing about something his father told him. While sitting in the room that once served as his father's office, he offers a bit of advice that has been used many times over the years by many people. It's one of the most iconic lines ever.
That's my family, Kay, that's not me.
Early in the first movie, when we first meet Michael and his girlfriend Kay (Diane Keaton), he tells her a story about his father, Luca Brassi, and Johnny Fontaine. She is horrified by the violence in the story, but Michael assures her that he is different. Oh, how tragic that quote would become.
Fredo, you're my older brother, and I love you. But don't ever take sides with anyone against the Family again. Ever.
Poor Fredo (John Cazale) can almost never get anything right. Long before his betrayal of Michael in the second movie, he sides against Michael in a discussion with Moe Green (Alex Rocco). It's a mistake Michael quickly corrects and offers a stern warning to his older brother.
Senator, we're both part of the same hypocrisy. But never think it applies to my family.
Early in The Godfather Part II, Michael meets with Senator Pat Geary (G. D. Spradlin) at the new Godfather's son's party. When the Nevada senator gets lippy with Mike, insulting him and his family, Mike points out that they both are playing the same game, but his family has nothing to do with it. The fire and anger in Michael's eyes are downright scary.
Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgment
The Godfather III, released more than a decade-and-a-half after the second installment, doesn't have the same reputation as the first two movies, but it does have some classic lines that fit right in with the franchise. Michael spends all of his time thinking and worrying about his enemies, but he never hates them. Don't hate the player, hate the game, so to speak.
I have a sentimental weakness for my children and I spoil them, as you can see. They talk when they should listen.
Sonny Corleone (James Caan) is a bit of a hothead, to say the least. He often lets hir mouth get ahead of his brain. It's something that Vito is working on. When Sonny speaks out of turn in a meeting, much like Fredo does with Moe Greene, Vito is quick to shut him down and apologize to Sollozzo for the outburst.
Do me this favor. I won't forget it. Ask your friends in the neighborhood about me. They'll tell you I know how to return a favor.
Young Vito, as portrayed by Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II, is already full of sage advice and, as is evident by this quote, quite the reputation. Returning favors would be very important to Vito for the rest of his life.
I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.
Early on, while Michael is talking to Kay, we learn what making an offer someone can't refuse means. The first time we see it in action is when Vito promises that Johnny will get the movie he is hoping for, but thus far has been denied by the owner of the production company. Vito makes the offer, and Johnny gets the part. It leads to one of the most memorable scenes in The Godfather involving an innocent horse.
Every time I think I'm out, pull me back in!
While many rank the third movie a distant third when ranking the three Godfather movies, there is one line that people constantly quote and is as big a part of the series as any other. Michael is trying to go legitimate, but in the end, he's always pulled back into the underworld he has operated in for years.
Leave the gun, take the cannoli.
One of the most famous lines in the movie, after Paulie is killed, comes from Peter Clemenza. The oft-quoted line was actually made up on the spot by the actor who played Clemenza, Richard Castellano.
I've loved baseball ever since Arnold Rothstein fixed the World Series in 1919.
For baseball fans, the story of the 1919 Black Sox (immortalized on the big screen in Eight Men Out) is the most infamous in all of baseball history. For a gangster like Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg), his memories are all positive.
My father is no different than any powerful man, any man with power, like a president or senator.
Famously, it took decades for Al Pacino to watch The Godfather in its entirety. He'd seen bits and pieces on TV, and you have to wonder if he ever saw this gem of a line. It's something that rings true in almost any era. Powerful men do powerful things; where they stand is the only difference.
I don't feel I have to wipe everybody out, Tom. Just my enemies.
In The Godfather II, Michael reaches a point when he feels he must eliminate all who have betrayed him and fight him. The dark side of Michael is very dark. Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) tries to reason with his adopted brother, but there is no turning back for Michael. Everyone must be eliminated, including his own brother, eventually. At least in the first one, it was only his brother-in-law who betrayed him and got dealt with.
It's not personal, it's strictly business.
Everything the characters do in the movies is business. Vito and Michael know not to take anything personally. If someone needs to die, make sure there is a business reason to kill them. Never get emotional, never get personal.
I know it was you, Fredo, you broke my heart.
Fredo isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, and his stupidity is eventually his downfall. Sure, he feels slighted by his family, and that's fair. The way he tries to remedy the situation, though, by betraying them, is the wrong thing to do. The kiss of death Michael plants on his older brother in The Godfather II is emotional, but not nearly as heartwrenching as when Fredo gets his comeuppance.
If anything in this life is certain, if history has taught us anything, it is that you can kill anyone.
As Michael and his underlings plan out how to exact revenge on their enemies, Tom argues that Hyman Roth may be untouchable, at least for a while. Michael disagrees and explains that everyone can be reached.
Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.
There are some that think The Godfather Part II is the best of the trilogy, and others, including Al Pacino, who believe the first is the best–possibly the best movie ever–and it's because of iconic lines like this. Luca Brasi never saw it coming, and when the fish is delivered to Sonny wrapped in Luca's bulletproof vest, everyone in the room understands what it means for Vito's loyal hitman.
Senator, you can have my answer now, if you like. My offer is nothing.
The conversation between Michael and Senator Geary is intense. There is an amazing tension between the two powerful men, and while Geary thinks his standing as a U.S. congressman trumps Michael's place as the godfather, Geary would be proven very wrong. It starts when Michael tells him exactly how much he will bribe the senator for a gaming license.
Women and children can afford to be careless, but not men.
Vito Corleone is one of the greatest characters in film history, but he's not the most enlightened, as evident by this quote in the first movie. He gives Michael all kinds of good advice before his death, and while this one works for its day, it's not something you want to be throwing out there in the 21st century.
I didn't want your son, Michael! I wouldn't bring another one of you sons into this world!
One of the most intense scenes in the whole series comes in the second movie when Michael and Kay fight over the nature of Michael's business. Kay has reached her breaking point, and while Michael believes she lost a child due to a miscarriage, Kay bravely tells him she terminated the pregnancy. It sets Michael into a rage, and the couple never recovers from it.
Do you know who I am? I'm Moe Greene! I made my bones when you were going out with cheerleaders
In the long line of gangsters who attempted to go to battle with Michael Corleone, Moe Greene is one of the boldest. He insults Michael right to his face when Mike tries to explain that Moe's casino will be controlled by the family. Moe is a great character and has one of the best deaths in the whole trilogy.
I said to myself, this is the business we've chosen; I didn't ask who gave the order, because it had nothing to do with business!
Hyman Roth, like his old friend Vito Corleone, never lets things get personal. At least, he tries not to and puts up a facade that he does. Of course, that's not true, he goes after Michael for both personal and financial reasons, but not before pretending it's never personal.
I've always taken care of you, Fredo.
Fredo, Fredo, Fredo. It's so hard not to feel sorry for poor, hapless Fredo. Even Mike tries to do his best for Fredo, but the middle Corleone son just doesn't have what it takes. Michael spent a long time trying to help his brother, but in the end, the godfather had to do the worst thing imaginable.
Mr Corleone is a man who insists on hearing bad news at once.
Tom Hagen is the most loyal of all of the Corleone Family members, first to Vito, then to Michael. He's also a lawyer with a very special practice, serving only the family. When he tries to make a movie producer an offer that makes sense, giving a part in a movie to Johnny Fontaine, he is met with resistance. Later, the producer found it was an offer he couldn't refuse.
Your enemies always get strong on what you leave behind.
In the third movie, audiences get to see Michael return to Italy, and Michael delivers more sage advice about how to deal with enemies of the family.
Listen, whoever comes to you with this Barzini meeting, he's the traitor. Don't forget that.
Vito Corleone spends a lot of time advising his son after he retires as head of the family. One of the most important bits is about uncovering a traitor in the family. After the don dies, it's Sal Tessio who approaches Michael about a sit-down with his rival, Barzini. Michael then knows it's Tessio who has betrayed him.
I always thought that when it was your time, that you would be the one to hold the strings. Senator Corleone, Governor Corleone, something.
Vito knew that one of his sons would take over the family business, but he always assumed it would be Sonny. After Sonny is killed, there is only one option. Vito always wanted something different for Michael, but understood that Michael had the smarts and the skills to do anything, including yield real political power. Either way, Michael was going to be holding the strings.
Good health is the most important thing. More than success, more than money, more than power.
According to Michael in The Godfather Part II, Hyman Roth had been dying of the same heart attack for years. In Cuba, Roth admits that he is in poor health and seemingly doesn't have long to live. Even he senses his own mortality. Michael later helps the process along with the help of Al Neri.
I'm smart and I want respect!
Fredo does have a point that he legitimately feels passed over, but that doesn't mean he's right. His outburst in the den overlooking Lake Tahoe is intense, and it doesn't do Fredo any favors. First, he is cut out of the family, and later, after their mother dies, he is cut out altogether.
Tell Mike it was only business.
After Michael figures out that it was Tessio who betrayed him, there is only one option. Tessio goes out like a standup traitor, though, explaining it was about business, and Tom acknowledges that Michael understands that. But he still won't get off the hook, for old times' sake.
I believe in America. America has made my fortune.
One of the most powerful lines to open any movie has to be the one delivered by Amerigo Bonasera (Salvatore Corsitto) at the beginning of The Godfather. The whole trilogy is a uniquely American story, and that is clear from the very start.