The Godfather

One of the most iconic scene from The Godfather. Here a movie producer Jack Woltz refuses to cast Don Corleones godson Johnny Fontane in his movie. And hence a mafiosi payback for the disrespect. The horse was the prized possession of the producer. The horses head is a real one. Apparently, Francis Ford Coppola, did not like the fake horse in the frame as it was not looking authentic. So the art director was scouting for options. They heard about a slaughter house that was slaughtering horses for dog food. And so the crew went there and found a horse that matched the description of the horse in the script. They told the slaughterhouse to send them the head after the body had been slaughtered. The head was packed in a crate filled with dry ice and sent to the studio.

And lo behold, one of the greatest cinematic shots got captured on film. The scream from John Marley, who plays the producer is a real scream of fear cos the dead horses head was a real one. And apparently he was genuinely frightened.

Every scene from the Godfather is priceless. And the more often you see the film, the more hidden depths you discover of cinema gold.