Did they really speak Italian in The Godfather?

Did they really speak Italian in The Godfather?

Trivia (143) Robert De Niro spent four months learning to speak the Sicilian dialect of Italian in order to play Vito Corleone. Nearly all of the dialogue that his character speaks in the film was in Sicilian.

What actors speak fluent Italian?

Robert De Niro has alweys been proud of his Italian roots, as a matter of fact his great-grandparents were from Molise. Clint Eastwood acted in Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy. Colin Firth met his wife Livia Giuggioli.

Is Pacino a Sicilian?

There is in fact Sicilian blood running through the veins of this real cornerstone of the Seventh Art: his paternal grandparents were from San Fratello, in the province of Messina, and the maternal ones were from Corleone, the village that has then made him famous all over the world.

Does Michael Corleone speak Italian?

Michael Corleone was born and lived in the USA. English was his first language. He and his siblings were (probably – I haven’t read the book) taught Italian by his parents. The children weren’t exposed to Italian all the time and didn’t have to use it outside home.

Is there a difference between Sicilian and Italian?

The Sicilian language has been shaped by many years of foreign influence, occupation, and conquest. Unlike Italian, which is almost entirely Latin based, Sicilian has elements of Greek, Arabic, French, Catalan, and Spanish.

Why does Vito Corleone talk like that?

Don Vito Corleone’s distinctive voice was based on real-life mobster Frank Costello. Marlon Brando had seen him on television during the Estes Kefauver hearings in 1951, and imitated his husky whisper in the film.