Sam Mendes: “It’s so simple and so complicated at the same time, when Michael Corleone goes to the restaurant and picks up the gun in the first Godfather. It’s a staggering scene on so many levels. It’s a masterpiece in how to build tension. Sonny says to him, ‘You come out of the bathroom and start shooting’, and so you’re waiting for him to open fire. He doesn’t. He sits at the table with Sollozzo and McCluskey. It’s so breathtaking. Has there ever been a better death shot on film than those shootings?”
I NT. LOUIS’ RESTAURANT — NIGHT
Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) emerges from the toilet, where he’s just retrieved the gun left for him behind the cistern. The gun intended for him to assassinate Sollozzo and McCluskey, the rival gangster and police chief responsible for the recent assassination attempt against his father, Don Vito Corleone.
The sound of a passing train can be heard loud on the soundtrack. As it fades away, Michael walks back into the restaurant, where Sollozzo (Al Lettieri) and McCluskey (Sterling Hayden) are still sitting at the table, eating.
Michael walks over and sits down. Sollozzo starts speaking to him in Italian, but we aren’t told what he’s saying because Michael isn’t really paying attention either. The camera slowly pushes in on Michael as he steels himself for what he’s about to do.
In the background, a passing train can be heard approaching. It gets louder and louder. As it slows down, its brakes squealing, Michael suddenly reaches into his pocket, produces the gun, stands up and shoots Sollozzo square between the eyes. Sollozzo slumps back in his chair. A pink mist rises in the air.
McCluskey, mid-bite, looks on in horror. Then Michael shoots him in the throat. McCluskey gargles and grabs his throat. Michael shoots him once more, also between the eyes. McCluskey wrestles for a second with the notion of being dead, and then pitches forward onto the table, sending it crashing to the ground.
In a wide shot, we see Michael grab his jacket and walk quickly towards the door, as the shocked patrons and staff look on. As he leaves, he drops the gun. In the background, McCluskey’s body finally hits the floor.