The Godfather - Luca Brasi Sleeps with the Fishes

In an attempt to draw out rival mobster Virgil Sollozzo and the rest of the Don's enemies, Luca Brasi pretends to switch allegiances and meets with Bruno Tattaglia. Luca was always cautious, as he brought a bullet-proof vest with him everywhere, but it would not save him this time. Sollozzo stabs Luca's hand with a knife, pinning it to the bar as Tattaglia's henchmen garrottes him from behind. No easy task, as you can tell from the expression on the henchman's face. Luca is a big man and isn't going to go down without a fight. Another iconic death from a iconic film.....

Later on, a message is later sent to the Corleone family: a fish wrapped in Brasi's bulletproof vest. The meaning is made clear to the Corleones.

"It's a Sicilian message. It means Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes."
―Peter Clemenza

The Godfather - Michael's Rise to Power

Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather series is filled with one iconic death scene after another. Sonny's ambush, Fredo's fishing trip, and of course.....the Moe Greene Special. But perhaps the most important death scene takes place at Louis' Restaurant, where Michael met Sollozzo and McClusky to resolve their hostilities. Important because it is Michael Corleone's first brush with the family business, THE key moment for Michael as he sacrifices everything for his family....

After Michael returns from the bathroom the tension builds. Sollozzo converses in Italian, but the film provides no subtitles because what he's saying doesn't matter. Coppola wants you to focus on Michael Corleone and his state of emotion. The tension builds further as the camera slowly zooms in on Michael, suddenly the sound of a subway train drowns everything else in the room. That's when Michael leaps to his feet and shoots Sollozzo in the forehead, killing him instantly. He quickly shoots McCluskey in the throat, and then again in the forehead. McClusky violently spasms and smashes his head on through the table as Michael flees the scene. Not only is it a great death because of what it signifies, but holy shit, he shoots him in the throat man. You don't see that too often. Michael has now taken the first step to his own downfall.

The Godfather, Part II - The Death of Fredo

Fredo knew what was coming the moment his nephew canceled the fishing trip at the last minute and Michael’s henchman filled in. But he went anyway and all you hear is a gunshot that echos all the way to the boathouse.

The Godfather - Sonny gets Whacked!

The demise of Sonny Corleone was one of the most violent scenes of its time. Death by a hail of gunfire from a Tommy Gun, Sonny's death was painful to watch not just because of the brutality of the death, but because Sonny was everybody's favorite Corleone. Coppola was a fan of Bonnie and Clyde, so he staged Sonny's death in The Godfather to be reminiscent of the final death scene. In this clip, Sonny gets ambushed by Barzini's men at a toll booth with a barrage of bullets and to top it off, a kick in the face. Poor Bastard.

The Godfather - The Moe Greene Special

Moe Greene Special at 3:45
When a headshot gets it own nickname, you know it's good. In the climax of the Godfather, Michael Corleone has Moe Greene and other enemies of the family killed on the day of his nephew's baptism. Greene is shot clean through the eye by an unseen Corleone assassin while getting a massage in one of his hotels. The method in which he was killed, where the victim is shot through the eye, came to be known as a "Moe Greene Special".

Related HEADSHOT Deaths

Dawn of the Dead - Headshot!
Saving Private Ryan - Sniper Headshot
Maniac - Shotgun Headshot
Bad Boys 2 - Slow Motion Headshot