54 Years Later, The Godfather's Greatest Line Tastes Even Sweeter

As one of the best movies of all time, The Godfather has some of the greatest quotes in cinema history, and its best line is even better now, 54 years later. One of the most influential movies of all time, and not just in its genre but in cinema history in general, is Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. Based on Mario Puzo's 1969 book of the same name, The Godfather was released in 1972, becoming a critical success and breaking records.

The Godfather introduced the world to the Corleone mafia family, led by Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando). The Godfather takes a look into the family’s dynamics and role in the mafia, and chronicles the journey of Vito’s youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), who goes from distancing himself from his family’s business to becoming a ruthless boss. The Godfather has been a blueprint in the crime genre, and one of the most notable TV shows influenced by it is The Sopranos.

Created by David Chase, The Sopranos follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), the boss of the DiMeo crime family. The Sopranos ranks high among the best TV shows of all time, and it continues to be praised for its performances, writing, characters, complexity, depth, and overall quality. The Sopranos was heavily influenced by The Godfather, and it even used its best line in a very clever way, making it even better.

The Sopranos Has Made The Godfather's Iconic Cannoli Quote Even Better

Some of The Godfather’s best and most memorable quotes are Vito’s “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse” and Michael’s “It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business,” but the movie’s greatest line is simple but extremely important: Peter Clemenza’s “Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.” Clemenza (played by Richard Castellano) was a caporegime in the Corleone family and Sonny’s godfather, so he was a trusted member.

As such, Clemenza was sent to kill Paulie Gatto, as he dared betray the Corleone family by selling out to Virgil Sollozzo and leaving Don Corleone unprotected during an assassination attempt. As a result, Sonny ordered his murder, and so Clemenza, Rocco Lampone, and Paulie drove out to get some of Clemenza’s wife’s favorite cannoli. Clemenza took a bathroom break and left Rocco to kill Paulie in the car. When Clemenza returned, he said to Lampone, “Leave the gun, take the cannoli.”

The line was improvised by Castellano, who added the “cannoli” part, which was what made the quote so great. The Sopranos took note, but instead of reusing the line, it paid homage to it in a brilliant way. In its first season, The Sopranos has a scene where Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli) goes to a bakery and, frustrated by the slow service, when it’s his turn, he demands the counter boy to give him a box of cannoli, Napoleons, and other baked goods as quickly as possible. When the counter boy ignores him, Christopher reacts by shooting him in the foot.

Christopher struggled to be recognized and respected by his fellow gangsters, and in this scene, he saw a chance to assert his dominance. In addition to that, the scene, like the one in The Godfather, brings together the character’s two worlds: gangster life and family, juxtaposing the violence of the mob with trivial stuff like buying pastries.

The Godfather and The Sopranos have more in common than just both being about mafia families. The cannoli line from The Godfather perfectly captures the duality of the characters: they are ruthless gangsters, but they are also family men. It’s such a normal dynamic for them that they have grown desensitized to the gruesome parts of mob life, and that’s brilliantly shown in this line, with Clemenza treating the murder like something unimportant.

The same goes for The Sopranos, with Christopher using violence and intimidation as his go-to methods in his daily life, which to him are normal, but to those outside that lifestyle are shocking. The cannoli scenes in The Godfather and The Sopranos show mob life and ordinary stuff coexisting, and these dualities are a huge part of what makes the movie and the show so interesting and engaging.

Few gangster stories have portrayed these two sides as well as The Godfather and The Sopranos, and a simple, half-improvised line ended up encapsulating the core essence of the movie and making way for one of the best TV scenes of all time.