i guess i should start by saying that one of the movie channels around here has been rolling 'the godfather' a lot the past couple of weeks. well, its notable to me and jean-luc for at least one reason; it won the oscar for best picture the year we were born, 1972. and i used to think the whole thing was dry and over-long and self-indulgent, but the more i watch it, the more i like it. and that brings me to this picture. i actually used this exact picture for a journal cover about seven or eight years ago; indeed, before i'd really ever sat down and watched 'the godfather.' i just ripped the picture out of a film magazine. i remember i used it because, for one thing, i had very limited access to pictures at the time, and also because i loved the stark, black and white, romantic composition... with both of them in perfect profile like that. at the time i had almost no idea concerning the plot that surrounded this shot... i had no idea of context whatsoever. even so... as that old book became handled and weathered and read and re-read, i've always thought of it as one of my favorites. it was one of the few covers i have ever done that had no words, no glitz, no embellishments of any kind. just the serious, lovely profiles of michael corleone and his strange girlbride, appollonia. now that i've seen this movie a few more times, i think its particularly interesting that michael never tells anyone in america of the bride he took whilst he was in hiding. (at least, not in the film... i've never read the book.)
by the way, the beautiful young actress who plays his bride apollonia is named simonetta stefanelli.
(click to enlarge)
