Behind The Scenes With Ed

Francis Ford Coppola reportedly used four cameras to capture the ambush murder of Sonny Corleone in 1972’s The Godfather, and for the same reason — multiple takes were just out of the question. The machine-gunning of Sonny, his 1941 Lincoln, and the Jones Beach Causeway toll plaza required over 200 squibs in the car and tollbooth and between 110 and 149 (depending on whose story you believe) in Caan’s suit. His agony wasn’t just good acting — each squib is, in fact, a tiny explosion, and the experience wasn’t exactly pain-free for the actor. At $100,000, it was also the most expensive single scene in the entire film.