Summary
- The Godfather used a real horse’s head in the infamous scene, as the fake prop was deemed unrealistic by Coppola.
- Coppola’s attention to detail and patient framing maximize tension in the brutal reveal of the horse head.
- The transition from Vito to Michael’s era in The Godfather trilogy is messy, with many bloody incidents leading up to the iconic ending.
Few viewers could forget the gruesome scene involving a severed horse head in The Godfatherand many audience members were left wondering whether a real animal was used to provide the prop. Adapted from Mario Puzo’s novel of the same name, The Godfather is an epic gangster movie by director Francis Ford Coppola. Often listed among the best movies ever made, The Godfather tells the story of an aging mafia don who looks back on his criminal legacy. As Vito Corleone prepares to pass his empire on to the next generation, his son Michael struggles with the responsibility this entails.
While Vito is central to the original movie, The Godfather trilogy as a whole centers on Michael’s story. The transition from Vito’s leadership of the mob family to Michael’s era is messy, and there are a lot of bloody incidents before The Godfather’s iconic ending. One of the most memorable is the off-screen killing of producer Jack Woltz’s prized race horse Khartoum. After Woltz refuses to give the mob-affiliated entertainer Johnny Fontane a role in his next project, he is cajoled by Vito’s consigliere Tom Hagen. This results in one of the nastiest scenes in all three of The Godfather movies.
Yes, That’s A Real Horse Head In The Godfather
The 1972 Gangster Epic Used A Real Horse’s Head For The Infamous Scene
Tom fails to convince Woltz to cast Fontane since the Hollywood hotshot isn’t afraid of the mob’s potential reprisals. As a result, Woltz wakes up to find Khartoum’s severed head in his bed surrounded by a pool of blood. Shockingly, The Godfather used a real horse’s head in this scenewith Coppola complaining that the fake prop looked too unrealistic. According to Time Magazinethe art director selected a horse that was soon to be slaughtered from a New Jersey dog food plant. Coppola himself claimed that the selected horse’s head arrived in a crate of dry ice.
It is tough to imagine a fake horse’s head looking as convincing as the one that Woltz wakes up beside, so Coppola’s choice was understandable. Although The Godfather’s cast were universally superb, the movie’s success can also be partially attributed to this sort of granular detail that went into its production. The Godfather’s horse head scene is infamous partially because it uses a real horse’s headbut this is only one of the many elements that make the moment so effective. Tom’s nonchalant attitude toward Woltz’s insults in the preceding scene sets up a menacing tone that soon escalates.
Why The Godfather’s Horse’s Head Scene Is So Effective
Coppola’s Adaptation Maximizes The Tension Before Its Brutal Reveal
As the camera creeps into the producer’s lavish bedroom, the patient framing makes the growing tension almost unbearable. The jangling, incessant score ramps up the uncertainty further, adding a playful element of dark humor to proceedings. When the big reveal finally happens, Coppola stays with Woltz’s horrified screaming just a moment longer than viewers expect, resulting in a uniquely disquieting scene. This sort of attention to detail explains how The Godfather’s Marlon Brando pulled off playing an aging mafia don at only 47. The Godfather’s impeccable artistry allowed Coppola’s gangster saga to smooth over an array of production problems.