One of the most memorable scenes in the movie The Godfather involves Michael Corleone (played by a young Al Pacino) avenging two assassination attempts on his father, Don Corleone, by agreeing to murder Virgil Sollazzo (who ordered the first attempt) and Police Captain McCluskey (who pulled his police forces away from the hospital where Don Corleone was recuperating for the second attempt). Michael makes an agreement to meet Sollazzo and McCluskey at a restaurant for dinner under the false pretenses of settling the dispute between Sollazzo and his father. Knowing hed be searched for weapons, Michael has one of his associates hide a handgun behind a bathroom stall. Michael excuses himself during dinner and goes to the bathroom. He retrieves the gun, then returns and shoots both men. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSQqv2UuvC0 There are a number of Godfather references throughout The Sopranos (remember Silvio repeating Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in in the second episodes cold open?), and it was obvious that the film had a big influence on David Chase. Thats why he used the movies most pivotal scene as his muse for his seriess most pivotal scene. If you think of the ending of The Sopranos like a game of Clue, we had the culprit, now we have a weapon and a location. It was Man in Members Only Jacket in the Bathroom with the Handgun!
