10 Sopranos Scenes Ripped Straight Out of the Godfather Trilogy (2025)

The Sopranos is a brilliant mafia show that follows Tony Soprano and the challenges of being a mafia boss. It touches on every reference to the mafia previously depicted in films and elevates them to an even more realistic height. Through its realism and strong story arcs, it redefined the gangster and mafia genre. While it transformed the genre, The Sopranos also honored the traditions of the mafia narrative.

Among the many mafia films, The Godfather series is referenced dozens of times throughout The Sopranos. Sometimes, this occurs through a character quoting a line from one of the movies. Other times, a scene in the show seems almost identical to a moment from one of The Godfather films. Throughout The Sopranos, some references to The Godfather series are taken directly from the film series.

10 Silvio Does a Ridiculous Impression of Al Pacino From The Godfather Part III

Season 1, Episode 2, "46 Long" & Season 2, Episode 13, "Funhouse"

In The Sopranos, Silvio Dante acts as consigliere to Tony Soprano, advising him on some of the biggest decisions to be made for the DiMeo crime family. One thing that Silvio also does is occasionally cheer Tony up with an over-the-top impression of Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part III. What makes Silvio's impression hilarious is how well Silvio thinks he does it. He does it repeatedly throughout the show and even does it when he's feeling himself while trying on a new suit.

The character of Silvio is already a loose impression of Al Pacino, so it's almost a double impression when he pretends to be Michael Corleone. When Tony Soprano has some stomach-virus-induced dreams, Tony imagines Silvio dressed exactly like Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part III, and he quotes Michael, saying "Our true enemy is yet to reveal himself."

9 Tony’s Assassination Attempt Mimics Vito Corleone’s Assassination Attempt

Season 1, Episode 12, "Isabella"

Oranges have always been tied to death or near-death situations in The Godfather. When Vito Corleone is out shopping on the streets, he stops and talks with a produce vendor but is ambushed by assassins with guns. While attempting to buy some oranges, Vito is shot five times. As he tries to evade them, oranges fall everywhere in the background.

The Sopranos is known for putting a focus on food, and it puts a modern twist on the oranges from The Godfather series. Just like when Vito Corleone is shot while shopping for oranges, Tony Soprano is attacked while he buys a newspaper and a half gallon of orange juice. While the scene is not exactly the same, Tony's mortality comes into play when he buys some orange juice.

8 Ralph Ciaferetto Showing Jackie Jr. How To Cook Was Just Like When Peter Clemenza Gave Michael Corleone a Gun

Season 2, Episode 9, "From Where to Eternity"

After Jackie Aprile passed away, his son Jackie Jr. acted as if he was in the mafia and put himself on a tragic trajectory toward his demise. Before this, though, he started to make decisions about things that he had no authority over. He has a sit-down, acting like Michael Corleone in the process, and approves of Matush selling drugs in Adriana's club. When things go awry, Jackie Jr. reaches out to Ralph Cifaretto for a gun. Jackie Jr. does this while Ralph is making pasta and breaking down the right way to make it.

Jackie Jr. receiving a gun from Ralph Cifaretto is almost identical to when Michael Corleone reaches out to Peter Clemenza for a gun. Initially, Clemenza shows Michael how to cook a specific dish, and it evolves into Clemenza providing Michael with a gun.

7 Livia’s Funeral Arrangements Are Just Like Sonny’s Funeral Arrangements

Season 3, Episode 2, "Proshai, Livushka"

When Livia Soprano passes away, the family comes together for her funeral arrangements. While Livia made it clear that she didn't want a big fuss about her funeral, Janice tried to turn it into a big thing, which led to some family squabbles. However, Tony still did the right thing and honored his sister's wishes, booking a viewing for her at the funeral parlor.

When Tony Soprano and his siblings ride the elevator down to the basement, it nearly matches the same shot in The Godfather when Vito goes to see Sonny's corpse at the funeral parlor. The biggest difference between these scenes is Tony's emotions compared to Vito's. Tony just wanted the arrangements to be over with, while Vito broke down at the sight of his murdered son. One constant between the two scenes was the funeral directors, who were both ready to do whatever the grieving families wanted.

6 AJ Says the Exact Line From The Godfather While Discussing a Similar Revenge Plot

Season 6, Episode 3, "Mayham"

In The Sopranos, Uncle Junior's dementia affects him randomly and becomes more progressive later in the show. In a state of confusion, Junior shoots Tony Soprano, almost killing him in the process. While they had some issues with one another previously, the incident was caused by his dementia and not bad blood. However, it didn't stop people from wanting to seek revenge. AJ Soprano talked with Bobby and Christopher about possibly shooting Uncle Junior and said that would be difficult but not impossible.

The line that AJ Soprano tells Christopher and Bobby is the exact line said by Rocco, a loyal soldier to the Corleone family, in The Godfather Part II. Rocco's thought process was like AJ's, workshopping a plan to kill Hyman Roth, who was a Jewish mobster causing issues for the Corleone family. Like AJ, Rocco was unsuccessful in his assassination attempt.

5 Brendan Filone Gets “The Moe Greene Special” From Uncle Junior

Season 1, Episode 3, "Denial, Anger, Acceptance"

In The Sopranos, Brenda Filone and Christopher Moltisanti rob Uncle Junior's trucks, reaping the profits for themselves. After Tony instructs them to stop, Brendan decides to do it again anyway and the robbery goes south. In retaliation, Junior has Mikey Palmice shoot Brendan while he's in his bathtub. Mikey shoots him right in his eye, which Big Pussy refers to later as the "Moe Greene special" from The Godfather Part II.

Brendan's death was a literal callback to The Godfather Part II, in addition to being a subtle nod to another death in the movie. In The Godfather, Moe Greene is shot through the eye while in a massage parlor, prompting the comparison between Greene and Filone by several characters in The Sopranos. Filone's death also alluded to Frank Pentangeli's death, who was also killed in his bathtub in The Godfather Part II.

4 The Opening of Season 5 of The Sopranos Is Like the Opening of The Godfather III

Season 5, Episode 1, "Two Tonys"

In the finale of The Sopranos, Season 4, Tony and Carmela split up after an intense fight. Carmela knew about Tony's cheating ways and Tony lied when he said that he'd stop. When she finally had enough, she kicked Tony out of their home in the season 4 finale. When the fifth season opens, it shows an abandoned yard overrun with leaves. The unkempt yard alluded to Tony and Carmela's crumbling marriage, but it also was a callback to the opening of The Godfather Part III.

At the end of The Godfather Part II, Michael decides to kill his brother Fredo for betraying the family. Arriving at this decision was no easy feat but living with it was even harder. Michael had Fredo killed in the water in his backyard, so it made perfect sense for the beginning of The Godfather Part III to show the abandoned yard. Michael's guilt and grief made him abandon his house.

3 Phil Leotardo’s Death in Tony’s Dream Looks Eerily Similar to Sonny’s Assassination

Season 5, Episode 11, "The Test Dream"

In The Sopranos, Tony Soprano is worried about his cousin Tony Blundetto after Phil Leotardo kills one of Blundetto's close friends that he met in prison. In one of Tony's many vivid dreams, Tony dreams that Blundetto shoots Leotardo in his car, finishing the job after he crawls onto the pavement. As Tony watches in horror, the crowd asks him why he didn't intervene. In Tony's dream, Leotardo's death looks just like Sonny's death in The Godfather.

In The Godfather, Sonny Corleone is stopped at a toll booth and assassinated by several men with automatic machine guns. Even after he's been shot several times, he's shot even more as his body lies halfway in the street. Phil Leotardo's outfit in The Sopranos is almost the same gray color as Sonny's suit in The Godfather, making the similarities between the two no coincidence.

2 Tony Checks for a Gun Stashed in the Bathroom Just Like Michael Corleone

Season 5, Episode 11, "The Test Dream"

In the same episode where Tony is worried about Tony Blundetto, Tony's dream sequence expands to other references in The Godfather. When Tony Soprano uses the bathroom, he goes through a set of swinging doors to the toilet and instantly starts checking behind the toilet tank for a hidden gun, exactly like Michael Corleone in The Godfather. He walks back out of the bathroom with no weapon though.

In The Godfather, Michael seeks revenge against Sollozzo for attempting to kill his father. Initially, Michael wasn't a violent man, but he quickly showed the audience just how ruthless he could be in The Godfather when he deemed it necessary. Michael sets up a sitdown with a cop and Sollozzo where a gun is stashed at the restaurant. When Michael goes to the bathroom, he retrieves the gun and kills the men who did him wrong after.

1 Tony Watches Meadow Proudly While She Sings Just Like Michael Corleone Does With His Son

Season 1, Episode 3, "Denial, Anger, Acceptance"

In The Sopranos, Tony Soprano attends his daughter's performance in the school choir. While Tony sits in the audience, looking at his daughter with admiration while she sings a solo, Uncle Junior takes action against some of Tony's mafia soldiers. Junior kills Brendan Filone and puts Christopher Moltisanti through a mock execution to send Christopher a message. The scene mirrors a very similar scene where Michael Corleone sees his son perform in an opera in The Godfather Part III.

In The Godfather Part III, Michael and most of his family attend an opera where Anthony Corleone sings and performs. As Michael watches on in admiration, malicious behavior lurks in the background. Numerous people try to assassinate Michael, but no one comes close to doing so. In these separate scenes, both Tony and Michael show a deeper, humane side to their more ruthless characters.

• The Godfather Saga

  Crime

  Drama

  Release Date

  November 12, 1977

  Network

  NBC

  Directors

  Francis Ford Coppola

  Writers

  Mario Puzo

  Cast

  • 

    Al Pacino

    Don Michael Corleone

  • 

    Diane Keaton

    Kay Adams-Corleone

  • 

    James Caan

    Santino "Sonny" Corleone

  • 

    Joe Spinell

    William "Willie" Cicci

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  The Sopranos

  TV-MA

  Crime

  Drama

  Release Date

  1999 - 2006

  Network

  HBO Max

  Showrunner

  David Chase

  Writers

  David Chase

  Cast

  See All

  • 

    James Gandolfini

  • 

    Lorraine Bracco

  • 

    Edie Falco

  • 

    Michael Imperioli

  New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano deals with personal and professional issues in his home and business life that affect his mental state, leading him to seek professional psychiatric counseling.

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