#apollonia vitelli

[lostloveletters]

Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather character notes for the extended Corleone family, based on each character's description in Mario Puzo's original novel (from The Godfather Notebook, 2016)

#the godfather #francis ford coppola #al pacino #michael corleone #sonny corleone #fredo corleone #connie corleone #vito corleone #tom hagen #kay adams #apollonia vitelli

[simonettastefanelli]

SIMONETTA STEFANELLI as Apollonia Vitelli in 'The Godfather' (1972)

#my favorite girl <3 #simonetta stefanelli #apollonia vitelli #the godfather #thegodfatheredit #moviegifs #filmgifs #filmtv #fyeahmovies #tvandfilmdaily #tvandfilmgifs #cinematv #francis ford coppola #al pacino #michael corleone #mobedit #mario puzo #adaptationsdaily #femaledaily #my edit

[coppoladelrey]

— The eyes, chico. They never lie.

#michael corleone #apollonia vitelli #the godfather #al pacino #the godfather part i #coppoladelreygifs

[filmesbrazil]

#filme #filmes #film #movie #movies #cinema #the godfather #o poderoso chefão #michael corleone #apollonia vitelli #al pacino #simonetta stefanelli

[msfbgraves]

So, I love to watch videos of people reacting for the first time to movies. Almost every time I’ve watched people reacting to The Godfather movies, I’ve noticed that a large chunk of people (especially men, true, but surprisingly a LOT of women) all hate or strongly dislike Kay. Even growing up, both my parents disliked Kay lol, I remember.

It’s surprising to me, as I like all the women in the trilogy (yes, even Mary! Her character is sweet and affectionate, and I love how close she is with her dad!), and I always did like Kay…though I admit, I simply don’t like her with Michael after he decides to join the family business. Apollonia would have been the best fit. Besides, in Part 3, Michael sobs when Anthony sings the love song and thinks of Apollonia and their wedding even years later. And he chooses to return to Sicily to sit and brood/die in the place where they spent time together. That says it all, for me.

I can't say I've spent a lot of time on whether or not I liked Kay or Apollonia or both or neither in relation to these films. I remember watching the second film with my mother, and when the dancing scene between Michael and Kay came up, she said: "Hm. She's frightened."

I do find it surprising how many people make it about liking or not liking either or both of Michael's wives, when discussing the films as a whole. Kay doesn't fit into the mob world, that's the whole point of her, that's why Michael chose her initially, and that's why the audience may not like her - she sticks out like a sore thumb. She shouldn't be there. She agrees! That has nothing to do with how good she would have been for Michael. I do like Kay, the girl has guts. And I think that Apollonia and Michael would have made a fantastic mob marriage.

Michael ghosted Kay, and that is a shit way to break up whatever the circumstances, and by rights, they should have stayed broken up. Michael would have been nothing but a cad boyfriend who turned into a criminal, so people would have said she dodged a bullet.

Ah, but it isn't that simple, is it. If you share your time and love with someone, there will always be some form of bond. Whether or not you act on it is a completely different matter, and I feel Michael should have started fresh, and left Kay the hell alone. He could have written to break up, thank her and tell her to build a life without her. Or simply let her be one of those sacrifices you make, the same he later asks of Vincent. This life isn't good for Kay.

Would it have been good for Apollonia? I think she might have been more familiar with the codes of mob life, I think both Vito and Carmella would have adored her, I think it could have worked out beautifully. She probably wouldn't have felt the need to escape, or that the American life was better than what she left, she wouldn't feel so torn because she knew her roots. Maybe her children may have felt less at ease, but their father would have grown up completely American and helped them.

But it was not to be. Michael already gave up Kay for the life, and I believe him when he says he thought of her. And I believe in love at first sight with Apollonia, and he lost her, and I feel that if Apollonia is gone completely, maybe he can rekindle the love bond with Kay? And he does, under force, and they spend more time as husband and wife, and of course this strengthens that bond as well. But Kay is unhappy, so she breaks it off this time, and yet Michael refuses to let go of that bond (who do you think Mary gets it from)?

Apollonia and Michael is more romantic, less stressful - the fairytale his mob life cannot be. Kay is more realistic. They share a strong young love, and later, at Michael's absolute insistence, a very painful marriage, and Michael loves her and he loves Apollonia because I think that this is something that can happen. You can love two different people, if you want -widowed people do love again, and that doesn't negate the love they lost. Now of course, there may be sexism going on. A woman should simply be pretty and quiet, huh? Do we know a single of Apollonia's opinions other than her wanting to drive and not wanting to bother with English? Whereas Kay actually challenges Michael the way a wife has a right to challenge her spouse! And some people don't want to challenge their spouse and that is fine too! The point is that a marriage should work between two people and Michael's and Kay's didn't and Kay was the one calling that long before Michael, if she does love him. And Michael does not want to give it up. It's tragic, but it isn't Kay's sole fault. Again, she did move on. She rejeced his proposal, or tried to, he didn't want to hear no, she left him, he won't let her be, because he can't let go of emotional bonds apparently.

And who is to say who Apollonia might have become? These films are so very rarely interested in the world of these women, only looking at them in how they affect the men. And that's fine, the films are about Michael. But it's unfair to reduce all the other characters as people to how they relate to Michael. I promise you, if anyone ever made a biopic of my father, you wouldn't get to know everything there is to know about me simply by watching how I relate to him, or vice versa. People are allowed to exist however good they are, or not, for other people.

#kay adams #apollonia vitelli #michael corleone

[melis-writes]

"Apollonia was Michael's soulmate and they were in love–"

#*stares judgementally in tom hagen* #the godfather #the godfather part ii #tom hagen #robert duvall #michael corleone #apollonia vitelli

[pedroam-bang]

The Godfather (1972)

#1972 #film #movie #mafia #The Godfather #Francis Ford Coppola #Mario Puzo #Simonetta Stefanelli #Apollonia Vitelli #Franco Citti #Calo #Al Pacino #Michael Corleone #Angelo Infanti #Fabrizio #Corrado Gaipa #Don Tommasino #Marlon Brando #Don Vito Corleone #Vito Corleone #Corleone #Sicily #Italy

[latristereina]

It’s actually disgusting people ship Michael Corleone and Apollonia… I mean, she was only 16 and she had no say in the marriage while Michael was approaching his 30s. Also, in Mario Puzo’s own words, Michael wanted to possess her, it was pure lust. She might be a good fit for him given her shy and submissive nature although we can only guess about her personality as she was basically an extra both in the book and the movie, we don’t really know anything about her, that’s yet another reason why this ship is weird af. Ewww.

And yes, I like Michael, I like Kay and their difficult relationship in the movies (mind you, in the book Kay is the perfect “Italian” wife, they never split and get their “happy ending”), but I’m glad it failed and Michael got what he deserved because I don’t really believe in a happy ending in such circumstances. I think this character deserves more recognition for its tragism in the movies than just being a “badass” mobster who deserves to have a submissive and meek wife just to get his way.

#the godfather #michael corleone #apollonia vitelli #kay adams

[crazyopinionatedwriterchick]

I don’t trust anyone that believes Michael and Apollonia was a love story

#the godfather #that was the worst part of the adaption #she was a symbol of Sicilian toxic masculinity not the princess snowflake #she represented a man’s desires and lust #she was not Michaels one true love #and Michael and Kay’s arcs suffered because paramount wanted to romanticize it #that is a thirty year old man with sociopathic tendencies basically buying the virginity of a 16 year old sheltered uneducated peasant girl #she’s a child bride not the perfect mob wife that all the dude bros #want #her true love was that car #appolonia #apollonia vitelli #michael corleone #kay corleone #francis ford coppola #mario puzo

[panic-in-needle-park]

I NEED. I WANT. HIM TO HOLD ME.

#al pacino #alfredo james pacino #the godfather #michael corleone #the panic in needle park #bobby axel #the godfather ii #the godfather part 2 #jill clayburgh #diane keaton #apollonia vitelli #simonetta stefanelli #mine #1970s films #1960s Al Pacino #70s Al Pacino

[purelypacino]

love how all you disgusting Kay stans ignore she’s supposed to represent the middle class WASPS that looked down upon Italians and is xenophobic because gen zers who watch this movie have no idea Italians were extremely discriminated against and it goes hand in hand with the godfather

​I'm not sure why you think I needed to hear this 😂 I'm not part of Gen Z. I'm not a Kay stan, nor am I unaware of what she represents.  I don't believe that she's a xenophobe.

I don't think we're on opposite sides here. What I resist is the idea that she is this annoying little gnat who exists only to annoy Michael. She is relentlessly and unfavourably compared to Apollonia and shouldn't be. It's on this basis that I defend her. Much of the criticism that I've seen—or used to see—focused on her as a woman. To some, she's just an ugly harpy who pales in Apollonia's voluptuous shadow.

I say "used to" because I don't know how prevalent that idea is now that more people have read the book. I'm sure some still feel that way, but I don't. (Not that I ever disliked her to begin with.) The people who are married to that opinion are probably not interested in divorcing themselves from it, and I'm not interested in fighting with them. I think the book has given some fans a fresh perspective on the whole story. I know it has for me!

​I also don't think that you can pin this on a single generation. The people I used to talk about this with on insta were my age or older. In my experience, Gen Z is more likely to be sympathetic toward Kay. But I'm not a statistician. 

#the godfather #michael corleone #kay corleone #apollonia vitelli #al pacino #anonymous

[ireneead]

❤️ Michael & Apollonia ❤️

#Al Pacino #Simonetta Stefanelli #Michael Corleone #Apollonia Vitelli #(já Corleone! haha) #The Godfather #LINDOSSS #FOFOSSS #SAFADOSSS #hahaha #The fact that there are people #who don't think they were in love #is hilarious to me! #povo que se acha #mas nem conhece o cânone direito! #uahaha

[simonettastefanelli]

friendly reminder that this blog loves both apollonia vitelli and kay adams and won't tolerate any hate on my posts <3

#some fans really need to fuck off with the kay hate on my apollonia posts #kay rocks as well get out of her ass!! #kay adams #diane keaton #simonetta stefanelli #apollonia vitelli #the godfather #godfather

[violasmirabiles]

The Godfather + Onion Headlines (part 7)

#the godfather #virgil sollozzo #peter clemenza #michael corleone #sonny corleone #apollonia vitelli #fredo corleone #al neri #connie corleone #godfather meme #headlines meme #e

[filmesbrazil]

#filme #filmes #film #movie #movies #cinema #the godfather #o poderoso chefão #michael corleone #don corleone #don michael corleone #al pacino #apollonia vitelli #simonetta stefanelli #kay adams #diane keaton #mary corleone #sophia coppola

[msfbgraves]

The first Godfather movie is on Y*utube for free now! I rewatched it and it was just as great as I remember, so on to Part 2. But then I went on redd*t to check out some Godfather threads, and was disappointed to see so much discourse on who was hotter, Apollonia or Kay. And why there is so much hate against Kay, mainly because she is “too feminist” and “educated”, doesn’t “obey or support” Michael, and that she’s not as beautiful as Apollonia. All in all a disappointing experience. I didn’t see any male characters reduced to how handsome they were or were not : /

Let me help you there, then, Nonnie - of course Michael was destined to become the new Don - he is far prettier than Fredo, Sonny or Connie. And Vito was prettier than Don Fanucci all along! 😎

All this "Kay isn't good enough for Michael" discourse - he pursued her. Both in film 1 and 3. And the only time I felt Kay was weak, was when she said yes when he returned. Imagine, here is your war hero boyfriend who says he wants a clean American life... and then he shoots two people, leaves the country, ghosts you for a year, tells you he has become a career criminal and then proposes marriage. She should have said no, she really isn't open to this, but is this man, who she knows has people killed with no repercussions, a man she can refuse? As little as Vitelli could really refuse Michael's request to court Apollonia. The first thing Michael says to him is: "If you don't do what I want, I will kill you, and what I want is meet your daughter."

But alright maybe love isn't rational. Maybe they loved each other still. Kay really wasn't suited to mob life and that is on Michael. He knew who she was and it didn't matter, he wanted her. He had barely a clue who Apollonia was, her with no English and he with broken Italian. It didn't matter, he wanted her. Kay would have been perfect for Michael Corleone, aspiring senator, which is what he was when they met. But he didn't care Kay was not suited for who he was now. Why didn't he grieve Apollonia and find another mob wife? Why didn't he remarry after their divorce? Even when he proposes Kay is already reluctant and Michael pushes and pushes and pushes. She must represent something he actually does want, still.

But it's always the woman's fault when relationships don't work out, isn't it? No Kay wasn't a good mob wife. She didn't want to be one. She got out with her children - that is something Michael never managed. And Apollonia is something many men imagine they want, but when they have it, they get bored. I am not saying Apollonia wasn't intelligent, but if you get told to completely erase yourself into motherhood, which means you can't offer more than comfort and sex - that's not enough for a lot of people. And it's not like these women wouldn't have had more to offer but everytime they try they get shut down. And what you get then is Carmella, which may have suited Vito - that man who craved domesticity above all else - but even Sonny and Michael needed more input from her than she could give. So Michael fell for the total opposite. And maybe Apollonia was a fierce presence who might have become to Michael what Connie became, but we can't know. We don't know what she and Michael talked about. We know she was very beautiful and made Michael laugh, and she may or may not have had a slight independent streak. That's it.

I feel that they might have worked because they clicked emotionally and Apollonia knew the life. But Michael didn't look for someone like her again. He looked for Kay, again and again and again.

If she doesn't suit him - and no, she doesn't suit a Don - Michael should try to figure out what itch he was trying to scratch with her. Oh, and that obedience shit - in my experience, boys who go on about that are deeply insecure about something. They couldn't get a well trained dog to obey them, let alone a person!

All these men who think they're owed power while being unwilling to do what they'd have to to obtain it, always want women to fawn. Men who have what it takes to gain power, should they aspire to, usually spend time honing a skill. They rarely throw their weight around putting others down. No matter where they start, the bottom or the top - they put the work in. Michael did, Sonny did, and Fredo mostly complained. As much as we see anyway. If Fredo had done a good job with what he was given, or would have found himself an opportunity, he would have won Michael's respect. Not position,but respect, like Tom. Instead Fredo demanded respect for his position as an older brother.

That's the type of man who whines about having women obey him.

#the godfather #michael corleone #kay adams #Apollonia Vitelli #fredo corleone