The Godfather

Movie · 1972

A nearly three-hour crime drama following the Corleone organized-crime family, rated R and widely considered adults-only. Violence is frequent, graphic, and realistic throughout; mature themes of corruption, murder, and moral compromise are central to the story.

Substance abuseGraphic violence & goreSexual violenceExplicit sexual contentHarm to animalsMedical traumaAbuse & manipulationRacial & cultural stereotypes

If you’d rather skip

Sexual violencethe opening sceneMild

A man describes, in detail, the rape and beating of his daughter; the assault is not shown but the verbal account is graphic and sets a dark tone immediately.

Abuse & manipulationearly in the film, the bedroom scene between Carlo and ConnieModerate

A husband beats his wife with a belt in a scene depicting domestic violence.

Harm to animalsthe horse head scene, roughly the middle of the filmStrong

A character wakes to find a severed horse's head in his bed; the scene is very bloody and widely considered one of the film's most disturbing images.

5 more moments are in the full report. See all of them, checked against your own settings, in Little Later.