The Godfather (1972) - Parents Guide Movie Rating

MPA: R BBFC: 15 Maturity Rating 16+

BBFC Reason: Contains strong violence

BBFC Ratings info: THE GODFATHER is a 1972 US drama about a New York crime family. Violence: There are scenes in which men are shot. There is also a scene in which a hit man has his hand pinned to the counter of a bar whilst being throttled from behind with a ligature. In another scene, a man wakes up in bed, covered in blood, and with the severed head of his favourite horse in bed next to him. There are some moderate sex and sex references, infrequent strong language (eg 'f**k'), and some racist language (eg 'nigger', 'wop' and 'guinea').

Sex & Nudity

moderate

Gangsters barge in on a man having sex with a woman clothed. No nudity shown. The scene stops almost instantly (very brief) Though there is some non graphic and short lasting sex scenes and some sexual references, think of the sex more in-between mild and moderate. There are a few sexual references (non-graphic, will fly over younger viewers' heads). The Godfather could maybe pass as a PG-13 movie if it were made today. The nudity/sexual content isnt any worse than whats in Titanic (a PG-13 film) and the violence isnt too graphic or bloody. This movie has the most sex of the trilogy, but still hardly any overall. A clothed sex scene lasts about 5 seconds but no nudity as we only see the upper half of the characters' bodies. A woman reveals herself to her new husband. We see her bare breasts for a few seconds. A woman makes a hand gesture implying her husband has a large penis, this may fly over some viewers' heads. Someone kisses his mistress briefly.

Violence & Gore

severe

Lots of shootings, usually not that graphic. The violence is pretty moderate. It mostly just includes shootings with some blood shown. The famous "mattresses" montage sequence features various newspapers with real-life photographs of killings of gangsters and mobsters. Although they a quite brief and relatively unimportant to the plot, the idea that those are real events and not pictures taken for the film might be a bit disturbing. For a movie made in the early 70s it's pretty violent, think about as violent as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly just more graphic. The Godfather is a pretty violent movie but it's not as gory as a movie like Pulp Fiction or Saving Private Ryan, it's still violent just not as realistic or bloody. Probably one of the only reasons it's R is for its violence, but even for being a very violent movie (killings, shootings, bloodied wounds) it's not too graphic. There is more blood in some PG and PG-13 movies, for example Jaws. Some of the shootings may catch you off guard with how little blood there is compared to modern day films, while there is blood often times it's no more than a little drizzle. It's important to know that everybody who is harmed and/or killed is also a criminal and is nowhere near innocent, this could take away from the violence if you think about it like that. Compared to other gangster movies like "Goodfellas" and "Casino", the movie is more tame. Still, it does contain some graphic violence and a short sex scene and would most likely to be R rated now too. Keep in mind that the movie is 3 hours long so while there is blood, shootings, fights, and stabbings it's not as constant as it seems. A man is shot four times by another man through a glass door. A bullet wound and later some blood on the glass is briefly seen. A man and woman in bed are shot to death with machine guns and blood spraying, bullet wounds are visible. The scene lasts a couple seconds. A man is stabbed in the hand and then garroted, a trickle of blood is seen on his hand. Lasts for roughly 18 seconds before the scene cuts. A man is shot in the eye, he slumps down dead. We see his glasses crack, and blood streaming for a second. Not too graphic. A man shoots two men, one in the head (we briefly see a bullet hole and red mist shooting from it), the other in the neck, then head with blood dripping from the bullet hole for two seconds. A man is shot 5 times in the back (from a distance), a dripping bullet wound is shown for a second or two. A man is shot dead in a car (not visible), a bullet hole in his head with blood trickling down is then seen for several seconds. Three men are shot by a policeman imposter; they die. Some blood is around two of the bodies briefly and a bullet wound dripping blood is shown on a man's back for two seconds. A man is strangled to death in a car, lasts for 13 seconds. He kicks through the windshield while struggling. A man is punched once. He is then seen with a rather swollen face and subtle black eye. A woman who is mad at her husband destroys some of the plates in her house, he hits her with his belt a couple of times and eventually corners her in the bathroom, and beats her up offscreen. Nothing is shown, but you can hear her scream and cry. A man gets into a brutal fist fight while children are watching. One of the opponents brutally bashes and kicks the other guy until he's unconscious. He also bites his hand, throws a garbage can over him and finishes by kicking him in the face. A man dies of a heart attack. This can be upsetting for some. There is a montage where many people are killed with some blood shown. Not too graphic but somewhat disturbing. A man is brutally gunned down by machine guns. Some blood sprays, he is screaming throughout the sequence. At the end his whole body is littered with bullet holes and there's some blood on him. He is then shot a few more times while he's dead. Some blood is shown but not too graphic.. A man wakes up in his bed to find blood on his bedsheets. He begins to panic, removes his quilt and sees the severed head of a horse in his bed. Blood completely soaks the bed and the pyjamas he is wearing.

Profanity

moderate

Two uses of the word "Vaffanculo", Italian for "F you". 7 uses of "goddamn" and 1 use of Jesus' name in vain. Mostly mild profanity and the word vaffanculo is used in which mean f you in italian and this is 1972 and f words were barely used back then 7 uses of 'bitch', 5 of 'ass' (nonsexual), 3 of 'bastard', and 1 of 'dick' and 'crap'. Also 1 use of 'piece of ass' and 'banging' in a sexual context. And some racial slurs (mainly against Italians, but towards other races also; this includes two uses of the n word).

Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking

mild

Some of the movie's plot is centered around drugs and drug dealing. But no actual activity is shown with drugs Some casual smoking and drinking. A minor theme of drug trafficking is present in the movie. It is presented as a lucrative, but dirty, dangerous business. Also, the issue of child drug use is briefly raised, and the Commission (the Sicilian American Mafia's top organization) decides not to deal in drugs near schools to avoid it.

Frightening & Intense Scenes

moderate

The depiction of domestic violence in the movie is very intense and can be upsetting. The overall tone of the movie is very dark and depressing, especially during the latter half. Multiple major character deaths that may upset some viewers. Although almost every character is a criminal some deaths may still be emotional. Compared to other gangster movies like "Goodfellas" and "Casino", the movie is more tame. Still, it does contain some graphic violence and a short sex scene and would most likely to be R rated now too. The film is definitely violent and dark but it hasn't aged as frightening as it was upon its first release, the scene where a man gets his hand stabbed is the only disturbing scene. Suggested Ratings - MPAA: R / TV Rating: TV-14 / BBFC: 15 / CHVRS: 18A / Mexico: B15 Some of the assassinations are intense, the tollbooth and revolving-door shootings especially. Apollonia, a Sicilian girl who has married Sicilian American mafioso Micheal, is blown up in a car bombing, intended for her husband, who screams attempting to stop her from getting inside the Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 as he realises the threat. As he shouts her name, the car explodes with a loud bang. This scene is shocking and very sad, especially as she had nothing at all to do with the Mob or her husband's business. One very famous scene has a character (Jack Woltz) waking up to find his bed full of blood and, while removing the sheet, he discovers the severed head of his stallion (which was an actual horse's head). He screams repeatedly in a very dramatic sequence.