Let these The Godfather quotes inspire you to build strong relationships with others and give you courage in your darkest times.
The Godfather is a crime movie trilogy based on Mario Puzo’s novel series of the same title. The plot focuses on the Corleone family and the growth of their son, Michael, into a great mafia boss.
The trilogy had tremendous influence worldwide. So, it is not surprising that The Godfather made it to the list of the highest-grossing movies ever.
It has a refreshing take on how Italians and reality are depicted. But, aside from all these reasons, its lessons about family and loyalty are ones that you should never miss out on.
So, make sure you learn about life through these The Godfather quotes.
Read our complete list below that contains the wisest lines that will change your life for the better!
Start reading here.
And don’t forget to check out Michael Corleone quotes and gangster quotes.
Best The Godfather Quotes
1. “I respect those who tell me the truth no matter how hard it is.” – Michael Corleone
2. “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” – Don Vito Corleone
3. “There are things that have to be done, and you do them, and you never talk about them. You don’t try to justify them. They can’t be justified. You just do them, then you forget it.” – Don Vito Corleone
4. “Finance is a gun. Politics is knowing when to pull the trigger.” – Don Licio Lucchesi
5. “Forgive. Forget. Life is full of misfortunes.” – Don Vito Corleone
6. “When they come, they come at what you love.” – Don Vito Corleone
7. “Politics and crime, they’re the same thing.” – Michael Corleone
8. “Great men are not born great. They grow great.” – Don Vito Corleone
9. “Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgment.” – Michael Corleone
10. “A man who is not a father to his children can never be a real man.” – Don Vito Corleone
11. “A friend should always underestimate your virtues, and an enemy overestimate your faults.” – Don Vito Corleone
12. “Some honorable men spend their whole life preparing for a supreme act of treachery.” – Don Vito Corleone
13. “You cannot say ‘no’ to the people you love, not often. That’s the secret. And then when you do, it has to sound like a ‘yes.’ Or you have to make them say ‘no.’ You have to take time and trouble.” – Don Vito Corleone
Famous Quotes From The Godfather
14. “Keep your friends close but your enemies closer.” – Michael Corleone
15. “Don’t ask me about my business, Kay.” – Michael Corleone
16. “Some day, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me.” – Don Vito Corleone
17. “I trust these men with my life, senator. To ask them to leave would be an insult.” – Michael Corleone
18. “Never tell anyone outside the family what you are thinking again.” – Don Vito Corleone
19. “In Sicily, women are more dangerous than shotguns.” – Calò
20. “Fredo, you’re my older brother, and I love you. But don’t take sides against the family again, ever.” – Michael Corleone
21. “The lawyer with the briefcase can steal more money than the man with the gun.” – Don Vito Corleone
22. “Soldiers are paid to fight. The rebels aren’t.” – Michael Corleone
23. “If I wanted you dead, you would be dead already.” – Virgil Sollozzo
24. “Don’t tell me that you’re innocent because it insults my intelligence and it makes me very angry.” – Michael Corleone
25. “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” – Don Vito Corleone
Also read: Famous Quotes, Quotes to Live By
Short The Godfather Quotes That Are Packed With Wisdom
26. “Power wears out those who do not have it.” – Calò
27. “Time erodes gratitude more quickly than it does beauty!” – Don Vito Corleone
28. “Your enemies always get strong on what you leave behind.” – Michael Corleone
29. “The richest man is the one with the most powerful friends.” – Don Altobello
30. “Friendship and money. Oil and water.” – Michael Corleone
31. “I’m not interested in things that don’t concern me.” – Don Vito Corleone
32. “Just when I think I’m out, they pull me back in.” – Michael Corleone
The Godfather Quotes to Guide You in Life
33. “Friendship is everything. Friendship is more than talent. It is more than the government. It is almost the equal of family.” – Don Vito Corleone
34. “I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.” – Michael Corleone
35. “Let us be separated by wars and pestilence, death, madness but not by the passing of time.” – Don Vito Corleone
36. “Women and children can be careless, but not men.” – Don Vito Corleone
37. “He should be careful. It’s dangerous to be an honest man.” – Michael Corleone
38. “There are negotiations being made that are going to answer all of your questions and solve all of your problems. That’s all I can tell you right now.” – Michael Corleone
The Godfather Quotes to Know What Vengeance Is All About
39. “You talk about vengeance. Is vengeance going to bring your son back to you? Or my boy to me?” – Don Vito Corleone
40. “I believe in America. America has made my fortune, and I raised my daughter in the American fashion. I gave her freedom, but I taught her never to dishonor her family. She found a boyfriend, not an Italian. She went to the movies with him. She stayed out late. I didn’t protest. Two months ago, he took her for a drive with another boyfriend. They made her drink whiskey, and then they tried to take advantage of her. She resisted. She kept her honor. So, they beat her like an animal. Then I said to my wife, ‘For justice, we must go to Don Corleone.'” – Bonasera
41. “I want no inquiries made. I want no acts of vengeance. I want you to arrange a meeting with the heads of the five families. This war stops now.” – Don Vito Corleone
42. “Bonasera, Bonasera, what have I ever done to make you treat me so disrespectfully? If you’d come to me in friendship, this scum who ruined your daughter would be suffering this very day. And if by some chance an honest man like yourself made enemies, they would become my enemies. And then, they would fear you.” – Don Vito Corleone
The Godfather Quotes About Family
43. “You can do anything but never go against the family.” – Don Vito Corleone
44. “The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, lies in its loyalty to each other.” – Don Vito Corleone
45. Don Vito Corleone: “Tell me, do you spend time with your family?”
Johnny Fontane: “Sure, I do.”
Don Vito Corleone: “Good. Because a man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.”
46. “I have a sentimental weakness for my children, and I spoil them, as you can see. They talk when they should listen.” – Don Vito Corleone
The Godfather Quotes That Are All About Business
47. “We don’t discuss business at the table.” – Sonny Corleone
48. “It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business.” – Michael Corleone
49. “Now we’re talking business, let’s talk business.” – Michael Corleone
50. “Tom, don’t let anybody kid you. It’s all personal, every bit of business. Every piece of shit every man has to eat every day of his life is personal. They call it business, okay. But it’s personal as hell. You know where I learned that from? The Don. My old man. The Godfather. If a bolt of lightning hit a friend of his, the old man would take it personal. He took my going into the Marines personal. That’s what makes him great. The Great Don. He takes everything personal Like God. He knows every feather that falls from the tail of a sparrow or however the hell it goes? Right? And you know something? Accidents don’t happen to people who take accidents as a personal insult.” – Michael Corleone
51. “They made it personal when they shot Pop. It is not business. It’s personal.” – Michael Corleone
Unforgettable The Godfather Quotes to Revisit the Trilogy’s Best Scenes
52. “I have learned more from the streets than in any classroom.” – Don Vito Corleone
53. “Mr. Corleone is a man who insists on hearing bad news immediately.” – Tom Hagen
54. “You come to my house on the day my daughter is to be married, and you ask me to do murder for money.” – Don Vito Corleone
55. “I want reliable people, people who aren’t going to be carried away.” – Don Vito Corleone
56. “A man in my position can’t afford to look ridiculous.” – Jack Woltz
57. “Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.” – Peter Clemenza
58. Michael Corleone: “My father made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.”
Kay Adams: “What was that?”
Michael Corleone: “Luca Brasi held a gun to his head, and my father assured him that either his brains or his signature would be on the contract.”
59. Michael Corleone: “I’m working for my father now, Kay. He’s been sick, very sick.”
Kay Adams: “But you are not like him, Michael. I thought you weren’t going to become a man like your father. That’s what you told me.”
Michael Corleone: “My father’s no different than any other powerful man—any man who’s responsible for other people, like a senator or a president.”
Kay Adams: “You know how naive you sound?”
Michael Corleone: “Why?”
Kay Adams: “Senators and presidents don’t have men killed.”
Michael Corleone: “Oh, who’s being naive, Kay?”
The Godfather Quotes That Live in Our Heads Rent-Free
60. “I don’t like violence, Tom. I’m a businessman. Blood is a big expense.” – Virgil Sollozzo
61. “I refused to be a fool dancing on the strings held by all of those big shots.” – Don Vito Corleone
62. “You let women dictate your actions, and they are not competent in this world, though certainly, they will be saints in heaven while we men burn in hell.” – Don Vito Corleone
63. “I don’t trust society to protect us. I have no intention of placing my fate in the hands of men whose only qualification is that they managed to con a block of people to vote for them.” – Don Vito Corleone
64. “You can act like a man! What’s the matter with you? Is this what you’ve become? A Hollywood finocchio who cries like a woman? ‘Oh, what do I do? What do I do?’ What is that nonsense? Ridiculous!” – Don Vito Corleone
65. “Don Corleone, I am honored and grateful that you invited me to your home on the wedding day of your daughter, and may their first child be a masculine child. I pledge my never-ending loyalty.” – Luca Brasi
More The Godfather Quotes for Everyone Who Read the Novels
66. “Italians have a little joke, that the world is so hard a man must have two fathers to look after him, and that’s why they have godfathers.” – Mario Puzo, Author
67. “Do not count on the gratitude of deeds done for people in the past. You must make them grateful for things you will do for them in the future.” – Mario Puzo, Author
68. “Many young men started down a false path to their true destiny. Time and fortune usually set them aright.” – Mario Puzo, Author
69. “He’d always been a man who followed his head and not his heart. The heart was just a bloody motor. The head was meant to drive.” – Mario Puzo, Author
70. “Behind every great fortune, there is a crime.” – Mario Puzo, Author
How Do You Stay Strong in the Darkest Times and Lowest Points?
Many of us have experienced low points in life. During these times, it seems we have lost all hope in the possibility of rising and standing again.
This is the period when we need the most support from others. Sadly, we often feel alone and forget the loved ones who have our backs. We are too drowned in negativity to remember that there are people who will help us.
This is the primary basis of the lessons we can get from The Godfather. In the trilogy, we learn about the value of family and building a strong and solid community. By never leaving people when they needed help, the Corleone family built a reputation that helped them flourish in many ways.
The Godfather might be centered on crime, vengeance, and business. But, it also contains meaningful lessons about integrity and love.
Indeed, The Godfather is an eye-opening trilogy about family and everything that comes with it. Like Don Vito, be generous and devoted to your community and friends. After all, they are the people who will lift us from the lowest points of our lives.
We hope these quotes were able to help you reflect on your relationships with other people. Remember to build strong connections that will stand the test of time!
