Movies

Here's the Godfather connection you might've missed in The Batman

When you have gangsters, it's hard to avoid it, but the parallels go deeper.

By

Published on March 8, 2022 10:50AM EST

Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes — or maybe it's the bats, cats, and penguins: Sharp-eared fans of The Batman noticed a specific song playing during a tense moment between Zöe Kravitz's Selina Kyle and Gotham gangster Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), "I Have But One Heart." On the surface, it's an odd choice for the backdrop of a bunch of gangsters playing pool. But the tune is better known as the song Johnny Fontane sings at Connie's wedding in The Godfather.

That's just one of several connections to Francis Ford Coppola's all-time classic, which is getting more than its usual play during The Batman's press tour. Colin Farrell told Empire magazine back in December that his prosthetics-heavy take on Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot (a.k.a. the Penguin) was partly inspired by Fredo Corleone, a character that director Matt Reeves mentioned during the actor's prep. "He's weak, he's kind of broken, and he's in pain," Farrell said. "There is a kind of fracture at the core of Oz, which fuels his desire and his ambition to rise within this criminal cabal."

Turturro himself now tells EW that his take on Falcone also has a bit of Coppola's red sauce in it. "I went back to the Frank Miller comics," Turturro says, "and those are obviously influenced by The Godfather. And The Godfather was obviously influenced by a lot of real gangsters. And some of those gangsters imitated the gangsters from the 1930s Warner Bros. films, and all the film noir films that followed. So there's all sorts of flattery and imitation of each other."

You can hear more of Turturro's insights into Falcone's "subterranean life" in the full Around the Table video above, along with comments from his castmates Robert Pattinson, Kravitz, Farrell, Paul Dano, and Jeffrey Wright. The Batman is in theaters now.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:

Here's the Godfather connection you might've missed in The Batman

Related Articles