The Offer is my father's show (Michael Tolkin- writer/creator/exec producer). This was absolutely FASCINATING!!! Thank you so much for sharing your real life breakdown and thoughts on the series. So glad you're enjoying it. Sending this video to my pops now!
I’ve been a fan of your father’s work from The Rapture to Changing Lanes. He was someone that influenced my writing style when I used to write screenplays. So please thank him for me. Also, The Offer is fantastic.
I think this is such an underrated show. Everything about it is fantastic. Writing, casting, directing, camera work. I tell everyone I meet they should watch it. One of my all time fav shows already. Please thank your Dad. I wish I could shake his hand.
Starting watching with my Wife. She had never seen the Godfather. She's loved this mini series soo much guess what we watched Sunday afternoon. 50 years later still amazing
I'm just starting this video. But I have heard that some of the extras were actually mobsters and Joe Colombo arranged for them to be in the film. Lenny Montana was a collector/worker for the Colombos.
Michael I understand as the fbi was watching joe columbo there were a lot of questions where his money was coming from , especially with no gainful employment, so Joe made the whole family get a job and he got a job by forming the Italian club, but it got out of hand and he was drawing to much attention and certain people were not happy. What is really insulting is that he took his own heritage and made a mockery out of it If you want to read a good book, read Killing Kennedy
@@michaelfranzese I think the reason Colombo was portrayed as a buffoon was to show that he didn’t really understand the movie industry. Kinda hamfisted but that’s the way I think it is.
The funniest scene in the pilot episode of "The Offer" was when Mario Puzo was floating in the pool. He looked like Garfield the fat cat eating lassagne.😂
I really am enjoying The Offer! The actor who plays Al Pacino is amazing, but the whole cast is great. The actor playing Al Ruddy and the actress who plays Betty is wonderful too, so natural.
@@michaelfranzese out of curiosity did Paramount ever approached you during the production of the Offer as a consultant? As I believe that you were around during the production of Godfather and was even on set right?
If only this was Mike answering and not an employee for his social media. He can never answer a question like this and mine asking about don Vito's main kids in the godfather being called Michael and sonny. Just like Michael and his dad. If that doesn't deserve an answer what does lol. I'm not trolling or trying to be rude, I'm simply stating a fact. God bless ya'll
Wow..Micheal should have been hired as "technical consultant" to this series. He could have "straighten all these problems out and answered all their questions".
Thank you for breaking down the various aspects and giving us a bit of a "true or false" on The Offer. I get your point that the portrayal of Joe Colombo, however, I must admit I felt a bit differently, that he wasn't portrayed as a buffoon, but rather someone who's passionate about his League and its work, and that once he understood what the movie was about, he was passionate about the movie as well. Together, with the friendship/loyalty he showed towards Al Ruddy, Joe Colombo actually came across as quite a good guy (criminal activities notwithstanding).
Mike I know you get this a lot but we as mob movie fans and historians are fortunate to have your channel to give us some insight of how the life actually was from someone who was part of it for a long time. It’s very rare for people who were there to still be alive today and live to talk about it freely. Your story has really inspired me and just goes to show that if you can change, then anyone can change. I hope you and your family are well and thank you for everything you do.
Signed , sealed and delivered another great video from the master himself Michael Franzese . Great job again and as your buddy jimmy Burke always says " keep 'em coming "
I absolutely love your inside information on everything. I feel like I am listening to Paul Harvey - 'and now the rest of the story'! They should have consulted you on this... Finally - isn't it funny how in 1971 no one wanted to be affiliated with the mob and now today, everyone and their brother claims to have been... 😁Take care and God bless you!
Al Pacino was excellent in The Godfather and it wasn't for him, there wouldn't been no Scarface, Carlito's Way or any other film! He's the absolute best!
I literally sat up and said Holy F*"k when we first saw Marlon, then the acting! Frank Hughes playing Sinatra was another "holy f*"k moment for me. The scene where Sinatra bawls out Columbo on the phone.. I screamed out "Did he fuck" 🤣
It’s so great that we have Michael, real life mob royalty, massive earner, never ratted, and a great man, to tell us what’s the truth about Hollywood tall tales. Michael is the best ex mafioso out there.
My dad and I share a love for The Godfather I & II. We can’t help but quote something from those movies every time we see each other. I’m so glad I discovered this channel. I take interesting things I learn from Mr. Franzese back to my dad and he eats it up. Just loves the stuff. This channel has so much more to offer but videos like this enriches the priceless time I have left with my father. I don’t know - just thought I’d share that..
Learned a lot of little cool things in the video🔥 Thank you Michael ! Frank Sinatra calling up Joe Colombo and reading him the riot act? Hollywood cracks me up sometimes.
Love mondays for this reason! It’s so cool hearing all these stories from someone who was really there.. a real monster. Thanks for all the videos man! Love from Canada 🇨🇦
Doesn't matter how many times I've seen the film, the restaurant scene where Michael kills Sollozzo and McCluskey, and the music immediately afterwards (and the subsequent music during the newspaper montage) makes the hairs on my arm stand up. Every. Single. Time.
@@bazil83 FunFact fellers: George Lucas created and filmed 🎥 that Montage. He was IN BETWEEN projects, and needed work. I believe the Montage is titled "To the Mattresses". I love that Scene as well, so I went and searched it on CZcams and did some Commet Digging. 😗😂👌👌
I don't know if you'd have any interest in this Michael, but there is a series on HBO max that came out recently called "Tokyo Vice". It's about an American crime journalist who tries to uncover a conspiracy involving the Yakuza and it's loosely based on a true story. It would be interesting if you watched the series and made a compare and contrast video on Yakuza and La Cosa Nostra.
Very cool that Mike Franzese knows this story & was there. I knew a lot of the stuff in “The Offer” didn’t happen. Joe Colombo would not call Mickey Cohen to handle business. He was a boss & had people everywhere to handle stuff. Great video
I'm on episode 2. I love it so far. Love the subject matter. The 70's, Hollywood, mob (fictionalized) history. The Godfather is just a beautiful movie. I love the scenes with Puzzo & Coppola and their passion making this movie.
Everything should just either be on Netflix or HBO. I don’t have that much time to watch shows but when there’s something good out there I’ll make time for it. Just don’t wanna have 300 different TV and movie apps.
@@BostonsF1nest HBO yes. Netflix uhhh. Unfortunately because of the current climate of Netflix i would have to disagree. However, it would bring back in subscriptions if Netflix was willing to win them back
Coppola's Merlot and Cabernet have been my favorite for the last 7 years. I concur with what Michael said! The wine is legit and made according to the Old European tradition.
Could not believe it ... Couple of weeks ago I turn on UK TV & not just any show But the no.1 daytime TV show on uktv & there you were The most interesting guest This morning TV show had on in years. Topman 👍
So my wife and I just got to The Offer a couple months ago, and we both LOVED it. I keep thinking “Nah, I can’t really believe that I’m thinking that this might actually be better than the film itself.” But here I am. I wanted MORE episodes. I want one done on Part II.
This series was obviously based on the outstanding book by Mark Seal called: LEAVE THE GUN, TAKE THE CANNOLI. I highly recommend this book! It's the best and informative essay on the background, and making of this landmark film. I really enjoyed reading this book, and anyone that would consider themselves an aficionado of this film, must read it to really educate themselves on the background of this film. I'm sure that this series doesn't even come close. I myself, would have liked to see Sinatra as Don Corleone. Although, Brando is hard to beat. However, Sinatra wouldn't have needed all the makeup that Brando wore to make it believable, because Sinatra had the ethnic background, he was from New Jersey, and he actually knew Mafia Godfathers like Tony Accardo, Carlo Gambino,and Lucky Luciano. He had been around that environment his entire life. Obviously, this film is a masterpiece that will never be surpassed.
Thank you!!! I mentioned that phone call in my review and said specifically that I would love to see what you had to say about that phone call and if Sinatra would be able to get away with talking to him like that!
I remember catching my Sicilian father reading the book and embarrassingly admitting he liked it. I was 15 at the time and a lover of books. I borrowed it from my dad and went to see the movie when it came out. The Godfather series is still one of my all time favorites. Lol
Again, another great review of a movie by you Michael.. I too was down a t Columbus circle the day Joe was shot,,, I was there with my Father and Uncle who was president of local 814 at the time and we went to represent him and the Italian Heritage... what a crazy day...
If memory serves me correctly there was a wedding scene in the first Godfather movie that was based on a wedding that took place in the Profaci family in the 1950s.
Greatest content on you tube, you are such an inspiration Michael and REAL. I remember watching your first video on CZcams and along with your amazing life experience and knowledge you help a lot of people all over the world with your wise and honest content, soon be a million plus subs. Congrats 👏 from wales 🏴 uk 🇬🇧
Agree his accent change from British is outstanding.. I like a lot just about all the cast. Besides Miles Teller. Who is a really good young actor. He might b the next best imo
When I was 10 yrs new, I was in grade 5. I sneakily read the book and did a book report on it. My mom and dad were called to come in and see my teacher, turned out I got an A on my report and my teacher told my parents I was highly intelligent and gifted. Lol 🤦🏻♀️😂 imagine that! Thanks for being here. Have a wonderful day, God Bless you and yours.
When I saw that scene where Sinatra was rude to Colombo I thought "i would love to see what Michael has to say about this". Everything you've said on this channel told me there's no way that actually went down
I just watched the series from a mutual friends recommendation (Marty Kove) and I loved it and when it ended I was hoping Michael would do a commentary on it and to my surprise here we are 👍👏
I love The Godfather film so much, my brother got me a behind the scenes book on all three movies. You’re right, they floated Ernest Borgnine for Vito Corleone and Robert Redford for Michael.
I have research all this information before, but hearing it from Former Capo, Colombo Family, Michael Franzese, it just feel different. I'm always obsessed with The Godfather, Michael Corleone and when I found out your chanel, all the similarity between you two, about your life, about everything, I thing I'm in love ! Your youtube video is an offer I could never refuse. Thank you so much, god bless you my idol ! You inspired me and I learned a lot form your video
@@michaelfranzese can't belive I actually got a reply form the great Michael Franzese. Just a young boy, all the way form Viet Nam, and fascinate with the film, the real costra nostra, and with you. You are such a great teacher, every youtube video you upload give me a lot lesson. Wish you and your team stay healthy, be safe, and keep uploading new content. You can not belive how motivated and inspired you are to me. Many thanks for you, and for your team !
I’m a fan of “The Godfather” so I couldn’t wait for this to come out. It’s also interesting because it negates the idea that Gianni Russo had Joe Colombo help him get the part of Carlo.
It's been long since I last commented here, cos I was applying the knowledge I gained from I'll Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse... And it worked... The sit-down everything, everything rhymes.... P.s. I wish you did a sit down with Donald Trump God bless you sir
I've been watching all the snippets they post on CZcams, and the cast looks excellent. I hope they win a SAG award for best ensemble. I also see James Madio (Hook, Band of Brothers) in a lot of scenes which is cool because I've actually met him.
@@michaelfranzeseHello Michael, big fan and part of the crew. Was it true crazy Joe hung out with black people out of jail. Or did they try and woke it up? Just curious. From what I've read and from where I lived back in the day there was very little if at all mixing..
I first saw "The Godfather" when it premired all those years ago. Because it was rated "R" and I was a young teen, I begged my mom to take me because I had fallen in love with Al Pacino. Strange movie choice for a young girl, but it was worth it. When Part 2 came out, I saw that too and loved it. It was only years later as an adult that I could truly understand and appreciate what great movies they were and still are. I can tolerate Part 3, but it is not up to the standards of the first two. So, as a die hard "Godfather" fan, thanks for your commentary on "The Offer" and your suggestion to watch it. Just saw the series today and it was fantastic, really enjoyed it! I also became a subscriber to your channel and I am really enjoy your uploads!
I can’t imagine how much worse it was for Italians in the 70s and before but, when I was a kid in the 80s, I had non Italian kids asking me if my family was in the mafia when they heard I was half Italian. So yeah, many people back in the days thought if you were Italian, you were related to the mob somehow.
In Canada , it was much worse , back then . It was before the people from India , Pakistan and The Caribbean immigrated to Canada in large numbers .So the insults were thrown at Italians in large numbers and the degrading jokes were nasty and I got into a lot of fights , over the insults . It is still so bad , in the respect that not people with Italian last names are not involved in politics , police dept or medicine .Many Chinese and Indians are involved in politics , government but not Italians .
Happened to me as well. From a working class, 2nd generation background born and raised in the Midwest. We were what passed for exotic back in the fifties and sixties in the land of Wonderbread.
I remember back in 1984 when Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman running for vice president on the ticket of a major party there were ugly hints by her political enemies that she had ties to the Underworld "somehow". You still see such subtle prejudice when Trump called Chris Cuomo, Andrew Cuomo's kid brother, as "Freddo", the bumbling middle Coleone brother implying that Chris Cuomo was ineffectual. Of course the only connection between the real Cuomo and the fictional Freddo was that they were Italian Americans, so there is still a tenuous remant of Anti Italian American prejudice. So with predominantly white ethnic groups, nti Irish prejudice is dead, so are anti German and Eastern European bigotry (but anti Semitism is still around and powerful) and other ethnics, but anti Italian snideness is still detectable.
Many were and even more faked that they were or wanted to b in some way or another. I also lived in an almost all Italian area. And hung out in a few others as well and in everyone there was a guy who was connected with many in with him. However they were the safest, cleanest area's by far of all the areas. They made sure nothing happened bad. The food. Omg the food. The people. The music. The vibe. The atmosphere was amazing. Miss it very much. It's funny. Almost all ethnic areas now are very bad with no safeness or character.. Not even close... It's sickening.
@@Jay-vr9ir That's gross and if it's like 🇺🇸 Italians by far are the most patriotic. Productive. Cleanest. Most inventive. Artistic and Have done the most for society by far esp if your comparing them to the dregs of society mostly not all just leach off the backs of the success of people like Italians. It's time to try and save once great places.. I didn't know 🇨🇦 had that many Italians or those neighbourhoods. I never thought about it but I've never heard of an Italian prime minister or whatever in 🇨🇦.. That's crazy and they have those others.. If I had to guess it's the overly "woke" French their, that's at fault. It doesn't seem in general they're the nicest people.
I was anticipating your review on “the offer” I knew that that took creative liberty with some parts especially the scene where Frank Sinatra picks up the phone to curse Joe Colombo out. Just like you said, you dare not disrespect a Mob Boss like that no matter how important you think you are. Thank you for all you do.
Michael, I love how you present your videos in such a clear and organized way. You anticipate the arguments people will put up and answer them perfectly like in the Cohen situation. That is surely a result of your experiences from your days of "Sit Downs" when you needed to know what your opponent would say beforehand. Thank you for these videos and God Bless you and your family. Praise God!!!🙏
I love how Michael picked up a sign and protested, knowing full well that his dad was literally one of the biggest contributors to that negative stereotype 😅
Hey Michael!! Nice video! Say Michael...have you ever thought about interviewing Francis Ford Coppola to talk about the making of the Godfather movies?? You both are fellow Italians and as he made some movies about the Mob...maybe he'd get a kick out of meeting You! BTW, Coppola owns a Vineyard out there in California......maybe you guys could come up with a "Godfather Wine" together sometime!
As I've been into bodybuilding since right after HS it was a pleasant surprise to see Lou Ferrigno (The Hulk, Mr.Universe) portraying Lenny Montana in "The Offer.
this is how cool Mike is... I left a comment last week to do this idea and they messaged me back about it. a week later and they already have a wonderful professional video up. What an awesome guy. Thanks Mike!
Recently picked up "Leave the Gun, Grab the Cannoli" by Mark Seal, its an incredible book that tells about the making of the film and some of the stories in there are just incredible and insane to read.
@@mjov6655 It's not the violence, its the storyline, the brutality, the authenticity of it all, its phenomenal!!! I've seen it all, watch The Immortal after season 4 before season 5, season 5 is the final season but just watch The Immortal before season 5.
@@jaysauce13 You will thank me. 5 seasons, every scene, every character, the music, everything is perfect. It's brutal but it's so authentic and fckn brilliant. When you get to the final season, as soon as you watched season 4, watch The Immortal, then season 5.
Micheal, Why don’t you know who Joe Gallos “black friend” is? Obviously it’s Nicky Barnes. He’s kind of a big character in the story since it was supposedly one of Nicky Barnes people who helped Joey Gallo set up the hit on Joe Colombo. No disrespect, I just find it strange you didn’t recognize the character, because I knew it was Nicky Barnes before they even said his name.
@@Hanover-ek4jy If your take on Frank Lucas is based in any way shape or form from the movie American Gangster starring Denzel Washington then do yourself a favor and stop right there, while it's a good movie and the usual excellent performance from Denzel it's not one bit correct when it comes to Lucas. The fact is in the New York scene back then Lucas was generally considered a bitch, and he wasn't "the man" when it came to smuggling heroin into the US, there was another guy in New York that had the connection in South East Asia that was bringing everything in, he was the guy that the Fed's were after and Lucas rolled on him after they got him all jammed up. If you poke around here on CZcams by entering things like "The real story behind Frank Lucas and the movie American Gangster" you can find a documentary that tells the real story behind all of that, and like so many other movies American Gangster would have been even better if they'd have told the real story instead of making Frank Lucas out to be something he wasn't, but then again I guess Denzel's part wouldn't have been that good had they done that, no one wants to see him being the bitch.
You are right about the Frank Lucas thing. Bumpy Johnson’s wife said Frank barely knew Bumpy. He was definitely misrepresented and made to look a lot better than he was in that movie.
Many of the greatest works of art, music, movies, even cars - the process from which they come from a single person’s mind to a finished product that the world considers a masterpiece is more often than not a terribly difficult, confrontatious, near project-destroying process. From Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody where the band had no idea what Freddie was doing with all the different takes and studio execs calling the final cut rubbish refusing to release it, to the Chevrolet Corvette almost being cancelled completely in 1955 due to awful sales and GM execs refusing to put a V8 engine in it until they were pressured into it by engineer Zora Duntov, to some of the worlds most iconic skyscrapers being a fight of budget, design, and deadlines until the end. Very rarely do these magnificent achievements come easily with everyone getting along and being on the same page.
Love Your Channel Michael, I”ve been following your story since The 1980”s, my Family and I have Been Enjoying watching The Offer and will see it through to the End, Your Content is Amazing! Never miss a Video!🔥✨
I watched the entire first season of this show last night. Very good, very entertaining but I would guess very very loosely based on fact. They have to make a 10 hour mini series so I think they added a lot with the mob that did not actually happen. The movie also shows scenes with Robert Redford that did not have to be in there but again they need to fill 10 hours. There are a few scenes in this that I think are more insulting to Italians then the Godfather movie.
Mike was Gianni Russo involved with American Cosa Nostra during that period? Becouse he says a lot of things but he seems like a charlatan to me. He also appears in episode 4
Growing up in NY my Mom was a Mazza and my grandparents were from Calerbia Italy. If you used the word Mafia to my Mom she was wash her hands of you. My poor Dad had to come to my house and watch the Sapranos because to her it made the Italians look bad. I can go on but will stop. Love your posts Micheal and always look forward to them.
The Offer is my father's show (Michael Tolkin- writer/creator/exec producer). This was absolutely FASCINATING!!! Thank you so much for sharing your real life breakdown and thoughts on the series. So glad you're enjoying it. Sending this video to my pops now!
That’s awesome! Your dad did a great job, I’m recommending it to all my friends. ❤️
That is super cool. Tell him Loved Gleaming the Cube and also Escape from Dannemora as they were both so well done!!!!
I AGREE WITH STEVEN!!
I’ve been a fan of your father’s work from The Rapture to Changing Lanes. He was someone that influenced my writing style when I used to write screenplays. So please thank him for me. Also, The Offer is fantastic.
I think this is such an underrated show. Everything about it is fantastic. Writing, casting, directing, camera work. I tell everyone I meet they should watch it. One of my all time fav shows already.
Please thank your Dad. I wish I could shake his hand.
When Micheal Franzese uploads it’s always an offer I can never refuse.
@Michael Franzese Some clever ones on CZcams yeah? As for your fine wine, no bebe! Lol!
@@saltycreole2673 your CZcams name does suit you very well, because you sound "salty"
@@michaelfranzese haha didn’t expect a reply from a ex mob boss haha! Thank you
@@michaelfranzese could the mafia have took on the Russians or the Mexican cartels in a war
@@michaelfranzese Tekashi SixNine is way more of a gangster than you
Great series and the guy that played Robert Evans deserves an Emmy more so than anybody else.
I agree. The entire cast was great but Matthew Goode (The Lookout, Watchmen) was the best as Robert Evans. Incredible.
Starting watching with my Wife. She had never seen the Godfather. She's loved this mini series soo much guess what we watched Sunday afternoon. 50 years later still amazing
I binged the series and went and started watching The Godfather right after as well. I had seen 1 and 2 years ago but had never seen 3.
It’s insane that Joe Colombo had part in The Godfather. No wonder it was so good.
I'm just starting this video. But I have heard that some of the extras were actually mobsters and Joe Colombo arranged for them to be in the film. Lenny Montana was a collector/worker for the Colombos.
@@michaelfranzese thank you sr for sharing with us.
I wonder how he felt about the TV show Colombo.
Michael I understand as the fbi was watching joe columbo there were a lot of questions where his money was coming from , especially with no gainful employment, so Joe made the whole family get a job and he got a job by forming the Italian club, but it got out of hand and he was drawing to much attention and certain people were not happy.
What is really insulting is that he took his own heritage and made a mockery out of it
If you want to read a good book, read Killing Kennedy
@@michaelfranzese I think the reason Colombo was portrayed as a buffoon was to show that he didn’t really understand the movie industry. Kinda hamfisted but that’s the way I think it is.
The funniest scene in the pilot episode of "The Offer" was when Mario Puzo was floating in the pool. He looked like Garfield the fat cat eating lassagne.😂
😂😂😂Agreed.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Love that scene. The pasta looked so good!!!
my wife said the same thing lol
Love chonky cats
I really am enjoying The Offer! The actor who plays Al Pacino is amazing, but the whole cast is great. The actor playing Al Ruddy and the actress who plays Betty is wonderful too, so natural.
YES FINALLY i was hoping we’d get your breakdown since it involves the Colombo family.
@@michaelfranzese out of curiosity did Paramount ever approached you during the production of the Offer as a consultant? As I believe that you were around during the production of Godfather and was even on set right?
Wondering the same.
Me too!
If only this was Mike answering and not an employee for his social media. He can never answer a question like this and mine asking about don Vito's main kids in the godfather being called Michael and sonny. Just like Michael and his dad. If that doesn't deserve an answer what does lol. I'm not trolling or trying to be rude, I'm simply stating a fact. God bless ya'll
YY
Wow..Micheal should have been hired as "technical consultant" to this series. He could have "straighten all these problems out and answered all their questions".
@@michaelfranzese Not Yet. But I enjoyed your commentary and analysis.
Thank you for breaking down the various aspects and giving us a bit of a "true or false" on The Offer. I get your point that the portrayal of Joe Colombo, however, I must admit I felt a bit differently, that he wasn't portrayed as a buffoon, but rather someone who's passionate about his League and its work, and that once he understood what the movie was about, he was passionate about the movie as well. Together, with the friendship/loyalty he showed towards Al Ruddy, Joe Colombo actually came across as quite a good guy (criminal activities notwithstanding).
The guy that played Joey Gallo was excellent.
Mike I know you get this a lot but we as mob movie fans and historians are fortunate to have your channel to give us some insight of how the life actually was from someone who was part of it for a long time. It’s very rare for people who were there to still be alive today and live to talk about it freely. Your story has really inspired me and just goes to show that if you can change, then anyone can change. I hope you and your family are well and thank you for everything you do.
Signed , sealed and delivered another great video from the master himself Michael Franzese . Great job again and as your buddy jimmy Burke always says " keep 'em coming "
I absolutely love your inside information on everything. I feel like I am listening to Paul Harvey - 'and now the rest of the story'! They should have consulted you on this... Finally - isn't it funny how in 1971 no one wanted to be affiliated with the mob and now today, everyone and their brother claims to have been... 😁Take care and God bless you!
Al Pacino was excellent in The Godfather and it wasn't for him, there wouldn't been no Scarface, Carlito's Way or any other film! He's the absolute best!
I would add Coppola, Pileggi, and De Palma as well
@Frankie D Reacts 1932
He was , he should retired
I would love to see the actor playing Al Pacino play a younger Tony Montana in Cuba.
@Frankie D Reacts made by Howard Hughes who had alot of mob dealings buying into Las Vegas.
Finally the movie I was waiting to be reviewed... Thanks sir for this
The Offer is excellent the guy playing Brando is incredible.
I literally sat up and said Holy F*"k when we first saw Marlon, then the acting!
Frank Hughes playing Sinatra was another "holy f*"k moment for me.
The scene where Sinatra bawls out Columbo on the phone.. I screamed out "Did he fuck" 🤣
I read the Godfather years after I saw the movie. And I was amazed how much of the dialogue came straight from the novel.
I’m so exited to see what you think of this series because I love it and The Godfather so much. ❤️
It’s so great that we have Michael, real life mob royalty, massive earner, never ratted, and a great man, to tell us what’s the truth about Hollywood tall tales. Michael is the best ex mafioso out there.
My dad and I share a love for The Godfather I & II. We can’t help but quote something from those movies every time we see each other. I’m so glad I discovered this channel. I take interesting things I learn from Mr. Franzese back to my dad and he eats it up. Just loves the stuff. This channel has so much more to offer but videos like this enriches the priceless time I have left with my father. I don’t know - just thought I’d share that..
@@michaelfranzese Wow, yes sir! Keep up the great work!
"I frisked him. He's clean. I frisked a thousand young punks."
Composer Carmine Coppola, father of Francis, contributed to the soundtrack of the film.
Gen Ripper: psychotic military commander
Capt McCluskey: crooked cop
You are 100% correct sire! I believe that's HIM, playing the Piano in the Montage that follows after Michael kills the dirty cop and Solanzo.
Learned a lot of little cool things in the video🔥 Thank you Michael ! Frank Sinatra calling up Joe Colombo and reading him the riot act? Hollywood cracks me up sometimes.
“Nobody liked?” It was a major best seller be honest
I've been waiting since The Offer came out for this review. Thank you for making my Monday Great!
Love mondays for this reason! It’s so cool hearing all these stories from someone who was really there.. a real monster. Thanks for all the videos man! Love from Canada 🇨🇦
@@michaelfranzese I fart
One of the greatest movies of all time, I saw it in the Theater in Beirut in 1972!! :)
My husband was born in Beirut in 1956
Without Nino Rota it still would’ve been a good film but his musical score is what’s remembered
Doesn't matter how many times I've seen the film, the restaurant scene where Michael kills Sollozzo and McCluskey, and the music immediately afterwards (and the subsequent music during the newspaper montage) makes the hairs on my arm stand up. Every. Single. Time.
@@bazil83 agree I still get a little on edge when I see that scene. We need more non woke shows.. I mean this is a tiny bit. But that I can take..
@@bazil83 FunFact fellers: George Lucas created and filmed 🎥 that Montage. He was IN BETWEEN projects, and needed work.
I believe the Montage is titled "To the Mattresses".
I love that Scene as well, so I went and searched it on CZcams and did some Commet Digging. 😗😂👌👌
I would love to see a further breakdown of the Italian American Civil Rights League and how it affected the Columbo family as a whole.
Yess!!! Micheal thank you so much for another video your the best. Lots of love from California! God bless you.
I don't know if you'd have any interest in this Michael, but there is a series on HBO max that came out recently called "Tokyo Vice". It's about an American crime journalist who tries to uncover a conspiracy involving the Yakuza and it's loosely based on a true story. It would be interesting if you watched the series and made a compare and contrast video on Yakuza and La Cosa Nostra.
Honestly looked pretty damn terrible tbh
Very cool that Mike Franzese knows this story & was there. I knew a lot of the stuff in “The Offer” didn’t happen. Joe Colombo would not call Mickey Cohen to handle business. He was a boss & had people everywhere to handle stuff. Great video
The Offer was so good. It was very well written and portrayed. Need more!
Youre videos are great much love and respect from the netherlands
@@michaelfranzese its great here thanks for asking hope you will visit the netherlands one day !!
I love we get to hear from you on this! The shows sooo good.
I'm on episode 2. I love it so far. Love the subject matter. The 70's, Hollywood, mob (fictionalized) history. The Godfather is just a beautiful movie. I love the scenes with Puzzo & Coppola and their passion making this movie.
I love it and the actor who played Marlon did great in EP4
Didn't realize the Godfather was 50 years old?! Its so well made that it looks and sounds like a more recent movie; ahead of it's time I guess
I do wish “The Offer” wasn’t on paramount plus. Would’ve been great to watch it in theaters!
@@michaelfranzese i agree. The same can be said for The Many Saints of Newark! But you know, It is what it is.
I agree!
Everything should just either be on Netflix or HBO. I don’t have that much time to watch shows but when there’s something good out there I’ll make time for it. Just don’t wanna have 300 different TV and movie apps.
@@BostonsF1nest HBO yes. Netflix uhhh. Unfortunately because of the current climate of Netflix i would have to disagree. However, it would bring back in subscriptions if Netflix was willing to win them back
@@mr.patriotjol i love the offer so far, sopranos = one of my favorite shows of all time. but many saints was a horrible movie.
Coppola just started filming "Megalopolis", a movie he has been working on since the 1990s, a passion project. He's an amazing man.
Coppola's Merlot and Cabernet have been my favorite for the last 7 years. I concur with what Michael said! The wine is legit and made according to the Old European tradition.
He's Italian. What do you expect. They put care and excellence in Every thing. Even if it is that thing of theirs.lol
@@63002 I feel you! 😂
Cheers! with a glass of that franzese wine 🍷.. Can't wait to see you hit a million subscribers.. 👍
Could not believe it ...
Couple of weeks ago
I turn on UK TV
& not just any show
But the no.1 daytime TV show on uktv
& there you were
The most interesting guest
This morning TV show had on in years.
Topman 👍
So my wife and I just got to The Offer a couple months ago, and we both LOVED it. I keep thinking “Nah, I can’t really believe that I’m thinking that this might actually be better than the film itself.” But here I am. I wanted MORE episodes. I want one done on Part II.
This series was obviously based on the outstanding book by Mark Seal called: LEAVE THE GUN, TAKE THE CANNOLI. I highly recommend this book! It's the best and informative essay on the background, and making of this landmark film. I really enjoyed reading this book, and anyone that would consider themselves an aficionado of this film, must read it to really educate themselves on the background of this film. I'm sure that this series doesn't even come close. I myself, would have liked to see Sinatra as Don Corleone. Although, Brando is hard to beat. However, Sinatra wouldn't have needed all the makeup that Brando wore to make it believable, because Sinatra had the ethnic background, he was from New Jersey, and he actually knew Mafia Godfathers like Tony Accardo, Carlo Gambino,and Lucky Luciano. He had been around that environment his entire life. Obviously, this film is a masterpiece that will never be surpassed.
Thank you!!! I mentioned that phone call in my review and said specifically that I would love to see what you had to say about that phone call and if Sinatra would be able to get away with talking to him like that!
@@michaelfranzese I knew it . No way a made man would let a crooner speak to them with disrespect.
@@donnamyers2025 Sinatra I'm sure got away with way more than others but I agree. He'd NEVER do that. At least to that degree. He wasn't stupid
@@63002 I’m sure if he had , he would have been where others have disappeared to.
I remember catching my Sicilian father reading the book and embarrassingly admitting he liked it. I was 15 at the time and a lover of books. I borrowed it from my dad and went to see the movie when it came out. The Godfather series is still one of my all time favorites. Lol
They say in this series that the movie is way different than the book.
Again, another great review of a movie by you Michael.. I too was down a t Columbus circle the day Joe was shot,,, I was there with my Father and Uncle who was president of local 814 at the time and we went to represent him and the Italian Heritage... what a crazy day...
If memory serves me correctly there was a wedding scene in the first Godfather movie that was based on a wedding that took place in the Profaci family in the 1950s.
Yes, Joe Bonnano married off his son Bill to Profaci's daughter Rosalie. It was a lavish affair, and Tony Bennet sang for free.
GIANNI RUSSO IS SOLEY RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING THE GODFATHER MADE...JUST ASK HIM
Ha!!
Lmao 🤣
Lol
Hahhahahahaha
One thing I noticed in the first two episodes is they have Tommy Lucchese, who died in 1967, discussing a novel that was published in 1969.
The Offer is the best thing I've ever seen.
Greatest content on you tube, you are such an inspiration Michael and REAL. I remember watching your first video on CZcams and along with your amazing life experience and knowledge you help a lot of people all over the world with your wise and honest content, soon be a million plus subs. Congrats 👏 from wales 🏴 uk 🇬🇧
There's nothing real about his God claims you fool,learn to think for yourself
Peace from Sunny Scotia🏴
I've really enjoyed this show so far ....Mathew goode as the seedy Robert Evans is exceptional
Agree his accent change from British is outstanding.. I like a lot just about all the cast.
Besides Miles Teller. Who is a really good young actor. He might b the next best imo
When I was 10 yrs new, I was in grade 5. I sneakily read the book and did a book report on it. My mom and dad were called to come in and see my teacher, turned out I got an A on my report and my teacher told my parents I was highly intelligent and gifted. Lol 🤦🏻♀️😂 imagine that! Thanks for being here. Have a wonderful day, God Bless you and yours.
You know the drill Michael In the press they always say : when confronted by the truth and a legend - print the legend.
Thanks For the Upload!! I can't wait to watch!! Mob Mondays are the best, Thankyou!! Godbless!!🙏🙏
personally i didn’t see Columbo portrayed as a buffoon
He wasn’t. Not the most verbal or articulate guy (true) but he was cagy and had decent judgement on this.
When I saw that scene where Sinatra was rude to Colombo I thought "i would love to see what Michael has to say about this". Everything you've said on this channel told me there's no way that actually went down
I'm so happy to have found the series The Offer. It you haven't watched the Godfather you won't understand the meaning of the series. Love it!
I just watched the series from a mutual friends recommendation (Marty Kove) and I loved it and when it ended I was hoping Michael would do a commentary on it and to my surprise here we are 👍👏
interesting to here al pacino was excellent in movie such a great cast the godfather godfsther of all mob movies take care god bless
I love The Godfather film so much, my brother got me a behind the scenes book on all three movies. You’re right, they floated Ernest Borgnine for Vito Corleone and Robert Redford for Michael.
I have research all this information before, but hearing it from Former Capo, Colombo Family, Michael Franzese, it just feel different.
I'm always obsessed with The Godfather, Michael Corleone and when I found out your chanel, all the similarity between you two, about your life, about everything, I thing I'm in love !
Your youtube video is an offer I could never refuse. Thank you so much, god bless you my idol ! You inspired me and I learned a lot form your video
@@michaelfranzese can't belive I actually got a reply form the great Michael Franzese. Just a young boy, all the way form Viet Nam, and fascinate with the film, the real costra nostra, and with you.
You are such a great teacher, every youtube video you upload give me a lot lesson. Wish you and your team stay healthy, be safe, and keep uploading new content. You can not belive how motivated and inspired you are to me. Many thanks for you, and for your team !
I’m a fan of “The Godfather” so I couldn’t wait for this to come out. It’s also interesting because it negates the idea that Gianni Russo had Joe Colombo help him get the part of Carlo.
Russo is going around trashing the series and saying he won't watch it. Russo is a lying scumbag. Ruddy negotiated with Colombo not Russo.
It's been long since I last commented here, cos I was applying the knowledge I gained from
I'll Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse... And it worked... The sit-down everything, everything rhymes....
P.s. I wish you did a sit down with Donald Trump
God bless you sir
The best part of The godfather was the way italian-American family life was depicted. My ex's family came from Sicily and they were exactly like this.
So we all owe a Big Thank you to Albert S. Ruddy .
god bless you mike
I've been watching all the snippets they post on CZcams, and the cast looks excellent. I hope they win a SAG award for best ensemble. I also see James Madio (Hook, Band of Brothers) in a lot of scenes which is cool because I've actually met him.
As a criminologist and teacher. This is great information from an inside source!
Thank you Mr Franzese!
@@michaelfranzeseHello Michael, big fan and part of the crew. Was it true crazy Joe hung out with black people out of jail. Or did they try and woke it up? Just curious. From what I've read and from where I lived back in the day there was very little if at all mixing..
I first saw "The Godfather" when it premired all those years ago. Because it was rated "R" and I was a young teen, I begged my mom to take me because I had fallen in love with Al Pacino. Strange movie choice for a young girl, but it was worth it. When Part 2 came out, I saw that too and loved it. It was only years later as an adult that I could truly understand and appreciate what great movies they were and still are. I can tolerate Part 3, but it is not up to the standards of the first two. So, as a die hard "Godfather" fan, thanks for your commentary on "The Offer" and your suggestion to watch it. Just saw the series today and it was fantastic, really enjoyed it! I also became a subscriber to your channel and I am really enjoy your uploads!
I can’t imagine how much worse it was for Italians in the 70s and before but, when I was a kid in the 80s, I had non Italian kids asking me if my family was in the mafia when they heard I was half Italian. So yeah, many people back in the days thought if you were Italian, you were related to the mob somehow.
In Canada , it was much worse , back then . It was before the people from India , Pakistan and The Caribbean immigrated to Canada in large numbers .So the insults were thrown at Italians in large numbers and the degrading jokes were nasty and I got into a lot of fights , over the insults . It is still so bad , in the respect that not people with Italian last names are not involved in politics , police dept or medicine .Many Chinese and Indians are involved in politics , government but not Italians .
Happened to me as well. From a working class, 2nd generation background born and raised in the Midwest. We were what passed for exotic back in the fifties and sixties in the land of Wonderbread.
I remember back in 1984 when Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman running for vice president on the ticket of a major party there were ugly hints by her political enemies that she had ties to the Underworld "somehow".
You still see such subtle prejudice when Trump called Chris Cuomo, Andrew Cuomo's kid brother, as "Freddo", the bumbling middle Coleone brother implying that Chris Cuomo was ineffectual. Of course the only connection between the real Cuomo and the fictional Freddo was that they were Italian Americans, so there is still a tenuous remant of Anti Italian American prejudice. So with predominantly white ethnic groups, nti Irish prejudice is dead, so are anti German and Eastern European bigotry (but anti Semitism is still around and powerful) and other ethnics, but anti Italian snideness is still detectable.
Many were and even more faked that they were or wanted to b in some way or another. I also lived in an almost all Italian area. And hung out in a few others as well and in everyone there was a guy who was connected with many in with him. However they were the safest, cleanest area's by far of all the areas. They made sure nothing happened bad. The food. Omg the food. The people. The music. The vibe. The atmosphere was amazing. Miss it very much. It's funny. Almost all ethnic areas now are very bad with no safeness or character.. Not even close... It's sickening.
@@Jay-vr9ir That's gross and if it's like 🇺🇸 Italians by far are the most patriotic. Productive. Cleanest. Most inventive. Artistic and Have done the most for society by far esp if your comparing them to the dregs of society mostly not all just leach off the backs of the success of people like Italians. It's time to try and save once great places.. I didn't know 🇨🇦 had that many Italians or those neighbourhoods. I never thought about it but I've never heard of an Italian prime minister or whatever in 🇨🇦.. That's crazy and they have those others.. If I had to guess it's the overly "woke" French their, that's at fault. It doesn't seem in general they're the nicest people.
The Colombos should’ve stopped part three from being made 😖
I was anticipating your review on “the offer” I knew that that took creative liberty with some parts especially the scene where Frank Sinatra picks up the phone to curse Joe Colombo out. Just like you said, you dare not disrespect a Mob Boss like that no matter how important you think you are. Thank you for all you do.
Michael, I love how you present your videos in such a clear and organized way. You anticipate the arguments people will put up and answer them perfectly like in the Cohen situation. That is surely a result of your experiences from your days of "Sit Downs" when you needed to know what your opponent would say beforehand. Thank you for these videos and God Bless you and your family. Praise God!!!🙏
I love how Michael picked up a sign and protested, knowing full well that his dad was literally one of the biggest contributors to that negative stereotype 😅
That's true. Michael did whatever they told him to do in those days.
Do the new hbo show: Tokyo vice!
I just hope we can all agree on this.... NO MARLON BRANDO, NO GODFATHER FILM, PERIOD! God bless you, all.
Another Great Mob Movie Monday!!!
Thanks Michael!!!!❤❤❤❤❤❤
Miles teller is terrific in this. Just about everybody is good in this
Hey Michael!! Nice video! Say Michael...have you ever thought about interviewing Francis Ford Coppola to talk about the making of the Godfather movies?? You both are fellow Italians and as he made some movies about the Mob...maybe he'd get a kick out of meeting You! BTW, Coppola owns a Vineyard out there in California......maybe you guys could come up with a "Godfather Wine" together sometime!
@@michaelfranzese Great!..Thanks for your Reply Michael! !! You and your Family have a Blessed week!
There was a Godfather wine on the market, I save the label.
As I've been into bodybuilding since right after HS it was a pleasant surprise to see Lou Ferrigno (The Hulk, Mr.Universe)
portraying Lenny Montana in "The Offer.
this is how cool Mike is... I left a comment last week to do this idea and they messaged me back about it. a week later and they already have a wonderful professional video up. What an awesome guy. Thanks Mike!
You should do a video reviewing love hate or the daniel kinahen case
Mike you should interview freeway rick ross and larry lawtown both guys with great redemption stories like yours
He’s got some with Larry for sure just search it
@@DLHarv he was in larry channel not vice versa
@@michaelfranzese thanks Mike god bless hope your daughters doing better
The actor who plays Coppola looks exactly like him, fantastic casting.
Recently picked up "Leave the Gun, Grab the Cannoli" by Mark Seal, its an incredible book that tells about the making of the film and some of the stories in there are just incredible and insane to read.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Michael do a review on Gomorrah La Serie!!! GREATEST SHOW EVER!!!
I still want to sit and watch that
Man. Most violent show of all time. Just started season 4.
@@jaysauce13 It’s on HBO Max.
@@mjov6655 It's not the violence, its the storyline, the brutality, the authenticity of it all, its phenomenal!!! I've seen it all, watch The Immortal after season 4 before season 5, season 5 is the final season but just watch The Immortal before season 5.
@@jaysauce13 You will thank me. 5 seasons, every scene, every character, the music, everything is perfect. It's brutal but it's so authentic and fckn brilliant. When you get to the final season, as soon as you watched season 4, watch The Immortal, then season 5.
Micheal, Why don’t you know who Joe Gallos “black friend” is? Obviously it’s Nicky Barnes. He’s kind of a big character in the story since it was supposedly one of Nicky Barnes people who helped Joey Gallo set up the hit on Joe Colombo. No disrespect, I just find it strange you didn’t recognize the character, because I knew it was Nicky Barnes before they even said his name.
How about the relationship between Bumpy Johnson and Frank Lucas and the mob?
@@Hanover-ek4jy
If your take on Frank Lucas is based in any way shape or form from the movie American Gangster starring Denzel Washington then do yourself a favor and stop right there, while it's a good movie and the usual excellent performance from Denzel it's not one bit correct when it comes to Lucas.
The fact is in the New York scene back then Lucas was generally considered a bitch, and he wasn't "the man" when it came to smuggling heroin into the US, there was another guy in New York that had the connection in South East Asia that was bringing everything in, he was the guy that the Fed's were after and Lucas rolled on him after they got him all jammed up.
If you poke around here on CZcams by entering things like "The real story behind Frank Lucas and the movie American Gangster" you can find a documentary that tells the real story behind all of that, and like so many other movies American Gangster would have been even better if they'd have told the real story instead of making Frank Lucas out to be something he wasn't, but then again I guess Denzel's part wouldn't have been that good had they done that, no one wants to see him being the bitch.
You are right about the Frank Lucas thing. Bumpy Johnson’s wife said Frank barely knew Bumpy. He was definitely misrepresented and made to look a lot better than he was in that movie.
Many of the greatest works of art, music, movies, even cars - the process from which they come from a single person’s mind to a finished product that the world considers a masterpiece is more often than not a terribly difficult, confrontatious, near project-destroying process. From Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody where the band had no idea what Freddie was doing with all the different takes and studio execs calling the final cut rubbish refusing to release it, to the Chevrolet Corvette almost being cancelled completely in 1955 due to awful sales and GM execs refusing to put a V8 engine in it until they were pressured into it by engineer Zora Duntov, to some of the worlds most iconic skyscrapers being a fight of budget, design, and deadlines until the end. Very rarely do these magnificent achievements come easily with everyone getting along and being on the same page.
some of the best actors and directors too suffer in life mentally or for whatever reason and that's usually what makes their work so great.
Love Your Channel Michael, I”ve been following your story since The 1980”s, my Family and I have Been Enjoying watching The Offer and will see it through to the End, Your Content is Amazing! Never miss a Video!🔥✨
I watched the entire first season of this show last night. Very good, very entertaining but I would guess very very loosely based on fact. They have to make a 10 hour mini series so I think they added a lot with the mob that did not actually happen. The movie also shows scenes with Robert Redford that did not have to be in there but again they need to fill 10 hours. There are a few scenes in this that I think are more insulting to Italians then the Godfather movie.
Can you review the game mafia 3
@@michaelfranzese review the latest Mafia Definitive Edition instead, Michael! Would love to hear your opinions about it!
@@michaelfranzese yes
I love all the details that wasn’t on the Show,this is one of the reasons why I love this Channel
Mr. Franzese, I really enjoy your channel and thank you for taking time to release so much quality content.
Mike was Gianni Russo involved with American Cosa Nostra during that period?
Becouse he says a lot of things but he seems like a charlatan to me.
He also appears in episode 4
Mike is such a hustler it’s in his bones. But I do admire the guy regardless of his shortcomings as a honest hard working American citizen.
Michael, we appreciate all your hard work and the great content. All the best!
Growing up in NY my Mom was a Mazza and my grandparents were from Calerbia Italy. If you used the word Mafia to my Mom she was wash her hands of you. My poor Dad had to come to my house and watch the Sapranos because to her it made the Italians look bad. I can go on but will stop. Love your posts Micheal and always look forward to them.