The Godfather is a crime novel by American author Mario Puzo. Originally published on 10 March 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons,[1] the novel details the story of a fictional Mafia family in New York City and Long Island, headed by Vito Corleone, the Godfather. The novel covers the years 1945 to 1955 and includes the back story of Vito Corleone from early childhood to adulthood.
The Corleone family is one of the Five Families of the New York Mafia. In the years after World War II, the families avoid open warfare in favour of mutual cooperation. The peace is broken after Don Vito Corleone is shot by men working for drug kingpin Virgil "The Turk" Sollozzo. Two of Corleone's sons, Santino (Sonny) and Michael, take an active role in the family business with the help of consigliere Tom Hagen and the family's two trusted caporegimes, Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio. When Michael murders Sollozzo and his bodyguard, corrupt NYPD Captain Mark McCluskey, while meeting with them in a restaurant, the conflict escalates into a full-scale war which results in Sonny's murder. Michael must return from hiding in Sicily to assume control of the family as the new Don. Under his retired father's tutelage, Michael orchestrates a plan to exact revenge, while relocating the Corleone family's power base to Las Vegas in order to further his goal of legitimizing the family and getting them out of organized crime. This encompasses the murder of all of the Corleone family's enemies, including Michael's brother-in-law Carlo Rizzi, who played a part in Sonny's murder. After selling all of the family's remaining businesses in New York, the Corleones permanently move to Las Vegas.
Main characters
The Corleone family patriarch is Vito Corleone (the Don), whose surname represents the Sicilian town of his birth, Corleone. His birth name is Vittorio Andolini, but after immigrating to the United States following the deaths of his parents and brother, he changed it to the name of his home village as one of his few acts of sentimentality. Vito fathered four children: Sonny Corleone, Fredo Corleone, Michael Corleone, and Connie Corleone. He also has an informally adopted Irish son, Tom Hagen, who became the Corleone family's consigliere (counselor). Vito Corleone is also godfather to the famous singer and movie star Johnny Fontane. The godfather referred to in the title is Vito, but the story's main character becomes Michael. The novel's central storyline details Michael's destiny to succeed his father as the head of the family empire, despite his desire to lead an Americanized life with his girlfriend (and eventual wife) Kay Adams.
The Corleone family is a criminal organization with national influence, notably protection, gambling, and union racketeering. Serving as the Don's underboss is his oldest son, Sonny. The operational side of the organization is headed by two caporegimes, Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio. Other significant members of the organization include Connie's abusive husband Carlo Rizzi and enforcers Luca Brasi and Al Neri.
In The New York Times, Roger Jellinek wrote that the book was "bound to be hugely successful, and not simply because the Mafia is in the news. Mr. Puzo's novel is a voyeur’s dream, a skillful fantasy of violent personal power without consequences. The victims of the Corleone 'family' are hoods, or corrupt cops – nobody you or I would actually want to know. Just business, as Don Vito would say, not personal. You never glimpse regular people in the book, let alone meet them, so there is no opportunity to sympathize with anyone but the old patriarch, as he makes the world safe for his beloved 'family.'"[2] The novel remained on The New York Times Best Seller list for 67 weeks and sold over nine million copies in two years.[3]
The novel is #53 on the PBS The Great American Read list of "America's 100 most-loved books".[4] In the UK, the novel was #91 on the 2003 BBCThe Big Read list of the top 200 novels in the United Kingdom, based on the goal of finding the "Nation's Best-loved Novel".
The 1972 film adaptation of the novel was released with Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone and Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Mario Puzo assisted with both the writing of the screenplay and other production tasks. The film grossed approximately $269 million worldwide and won various awards, including three Academy Awards, five Golden Globes and one Grammy. The film is considered to be tremendously significant in cinematic history. The sequel, The Godfather Part II won six Oscars, and became the first sequel to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The film's plot follows the novel except for such details as backstories of some characters that are excluded, although they were filmed. Some of this footage was included in later re-edited versions such as, "The Godfather Saga." The subplot involving Johnny Fontane in Hollywood was not filmed. The most significant deviation of the film from the novel was that the latter had a more positive ending than the film in which Kay Corleone accepts Michael's decision to take over his father's business. The film ends with Kay's realization of Michael's callousness, a theme that would develop in the second and third films, which are largely not based on the original novel. Vito Corleone's backstory appeared in the second film, with his character portrayed by Robert De Niro.
Sequels
In 1984, Puzo's literary sequel to The Godfather was published. Titled The Sicilian, it chronicles the life of "Giuliano" (Salvatore Giuliano) but the Corleone family is featured heavily throughout, Michael Corleone in particular. Chronologically this story sits between Michael's exile to Sicily in 1950 (Book VI) and his return to the United States (Book VII). For copyright reasons, the Corleone family involvement was cut from the Michael Ciminofilm adaptation, which is not considered part of the Godfather film series.
The Godfather Returns picks up the story immediately after the end of Puzo's The Godfather. It covers the years 1955 to 1962, as well as providing significant backstory for Michael Corleone's character prior to the events of the first novel. The events of the film The Godfather Part II all take place within the timeframe of this novel, but are only mentioned in the background. The novel contains an appendix that attempts to correlate the events of the novels with the events of the films.
The Godfather's Revenge covers the years 1963 to 1964.
Winegardner uses all of the characters from the Puzo novels and created a few of his own, most notably Nick Geraci, a Corleone soldier who plays a pivotal role in the sequel novels. Winegardner further develops characters from the original novel, such as Fredo Corleone, Tom Hagen, and Johnny Fontane.
The Corleone family closely resembles the Karamazov family in The Brothers Karamazov: a powerful father, an impulsive oldest son, a philosophical son, a sweet-tempered son, and an adopted stepson who is maintained as an employee. Honoré de Balzac's novel Le Père Goriot (1835) has been the inspiration for notable lines that have gained wide popularity in cinema history. Similarly, Puzo opened his 1969 novel with an epigraph popularly attributed to Balzac: "Behind every great fortune there is a crime." The saying is most likely evolved over time from Balzac's original text: "The secret of a great success for which you are at a loss to account is a crime that has never been found out because it was properly executed."[5]
"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse" was included in both the original Puzo novel and in the film adaptation. It is the second-ranking cinematic quote included in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes (2005) by the American Film Institute. Its origin may be from the same work to which Balzac is credited with the opening epigraph. Balzac wrote of Vautrin telling Eugene: "In that case, I will make you an offer that no one would decline."[6]
Real-life influences
Large parts of the novel are based upon reality, notably the history of the "Five Families", the Mafia organization in New York and the surrounding area. The novel also includes many allusions to real-life mobsters and their associates. For example, Johnny Fontane is based on Frank Sinatra,[7][8] and Moe Greene on Bugsy Siegel.[9][10] In addition, the character of Vito Corleone was a composite of real-life organized crime bosses Frank Costello and Carlo Gambino.[11]
Notes and references
↑ "Trio of Best-Sellers?", Books Happening column by Gene Shalit, Los Angeles Times, February 23, 1969, "Calendar" section, p46 ("'The Godfather'... could be the sleeper of the season... Putnam is the publisher, March 10 is the publication date, and a second printing is already off the press.")
↑ Jellinek, Roger (4 March 1969). "Just Business, Not Personal". The New York Times. New York.
↑ ""The Godfather" Turns 40". CBS News. CBS Interactive Inc. March 15, 2012. Archived from the original on July 17, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
↑ Quote Investigator: Comédie Humaine by Honoré de Balzac, Edited by George Saintsbury, Old Goriot (Le Père Goriot) (1896), Translated by Ellen Marriage, Quote Page 124, J. M. Dent and Co., London and New York. "Le secret des grandes fortunes sans cause apparente est un crime oublié, parce qu’il an été proprement fait. 1834, Revue de Paris, Volume 12, Le Père Goriot by Honoré de Balzac, Seconde Partie: L’entrée dans le monde, Start Page 237, Quote Page 258, Au Bureau De La Revue De Paris, Paris, France. (Google Books full view); http://www.e-corpus.org/notices/150840/gallery/1947340/fulltext; viewed 10-2-2014.
↑ http://www.literaturepage.com/read/balzac-father-goriot-104.html (Father Goriot, page 104 in Chapter 1); "Dans ces conjunctures, Je vais vous faire une proposition Que personne ne refuserait. Honoré de Balzac, Œuvres complètes de H. de Balzac (1834), Calmann-Lévy, 1910 (Le Père Goriot, II. L'entrée dans le monde, pp. 110–196); viewed 10-2-2014.
↑ "The Not-so-famous Alex Rocco". Boston Globe. November 13, 1989. Retrieved 2008-07-20. Until this year, Alex Rocco was best known as Moe Greene, the Bugsy Siegel character who was shot in the eyeglasses at the end of "The Godfather. ...
↑ "Snap Judgment: Betting against the odds". The Jerusalem Post. January 31, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-20. Moe Greene is, of course, Lansky partner Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, who spearheaded the building of Las Vegas's first luxury casino-hotel, The Flamingo, ...
Michael Corleone is a fictional character and the protagonist of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather. In the three Godfather films, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Michael was portrayed by Al Pacino, for which he was twice-nominated for Academy Awards. Michael is the youngest son of Vito Corleone, a Sicilian immigrant who builds a Mafia empire. Upon his father's death, Michael succeeds him as the don of the Corleone crime family.
Vito Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and in the first two of Francis Ford Coppola's film trilogy. Vito is originally portrayed by Marlon Brando in the 1972 film The Godfather, and later by Oreste Baldini as a boy and by Robert De Niro as a young man in The Godfather Part II (1974). He is an orphaned Italian (Sicilian) immigrant who builds a Mafia empire.
Frederico "Fredo" Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather. Fredo is portrayed by American actor John Cazale in the Francis Ford Coppola 1972 film adaptation and in the 1974 sequel, The Godfather Part II.
Santino "Sonny" Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and its 1972 film adaptation.
Vincent SantinoCorleone is a fictional character in the 1990 feature film The Godfather Part III. He is portrayed by Andy García, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance.
The Corleone family are fictional characters in both the novels and the films created by Mario Puzo, first appearing in his 1969 novel, The Godfather. They are an organized crime family originating from the Sicilian town of Corleone, and based in New York City.
Thomas Hagen is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and Francis Ford Coppola's films The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974). He is portrayed by Robert Duvall in the films. He also appears in the Mark Winegardner sequel novels The Godfather Returns and The Godfather's Revenge, as well as Ed Falco's novel The Family Corleone. Duvall was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA for his performance in the first film.
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic gangster film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast including Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, and Diane Keaton. It is the first installment in The Godfather trilogy, chronicling the Corleone family under patriarch Vito Corleone (Brando) from 1945 to 1955. It focuses on the transformation of his youngest son, Michael Corleone (Pacino), from reluctant family outsider to ruthless mafia boss.
Peter Clemenza is a fictional character who first appeared in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather. He is played by Academy Award-nominee Richard Castellano in Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film adaptation of the novel, and by Bruno Kirby in The Godfather Part II (1974).
Luca Brasi is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather, as well as its 1972 film adaptation. In the film, he was portrayed by Lenny Montana, an ex-wrestler and former bodyguard and enforcer for the Colombo crime family.
Carmela Corleone (1897–1958) is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather. Carmela is portrayed by Italian-American Morgana King in Francis Ford Coppola's 1972 film adaptation of the novel, and in The Godfather Part II (1974). King also played Carmela Corleone in the 1977 television mini-series, The Godfather Saga.
Salvatore "Sal" Tessio is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather, as well as two of the films based on it: The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974). His given name was created for the films; in the novel he is referred to only as "Tessio". In the film The Godfather, Tessio was portrayed by Abe Vigoda. In The Godfather Part II, John Aprea portrayed the younger Tessio, while Vigoda reprised the role in a flashback, set in late 1941, at the end of the film.
Emilio "The Wolf" Barzini is a fictional character and the main antagonist in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and in its 1972 film adaptation, in which he is portrayed by Richard Conte. The Barzini crime family was inspired by the Genovese crime family.
The Godfather Returns is a novel written by author Mark Winegardner, published in 2004. It is the sequel to Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather and The Sicilian (1984). The publisher, Random House, selected Winegardner to write a sequel after Puzo's death. As the original novel covered the years 1945 to 1955, and included significant backstory on Don Vito Corleone's life, Returns covers the years 1955 to 1962, and includes significant backstory on Michael Corleone's life prior to the first novel. It is the third book in The Godfather series of novels.
The Godfather's Revenge, a 2006 novel written by author Mark Winegardner, is the sequel to his 2004 novel The Godfather Returns. It is the fourth book in The Godfather novel series and is chronologically set last.
Carlo Rizzi is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather. In the 1972 film adaptation, he was portrayed by Gianni Russo.
The Family Corleone is a 2012 novel by Ed Falco, based on an unproduced screenplay by Mario Puzo, who died in 1999. It is the prequel to Puzo's The Godfather. It was published by Grand Central Publishing and released May 8, 2012. It is the fifth and final book published in The Godfather novel series but, being a prequel, it is chronologically set first.
Constanzia "Connie" Corleone is a fictional character in The Godfather, a 1969 novel by Mario Puzo, and the 1972 film The Godfather. In the film, Connie is portrayed by Talia Shire, the sister of the director Francis Ford Coppola. Shire was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Connie Corleone in The Godfather Part II.
The Godfather book series is a series of crime novels about Italian-American Mafia families, most notably the fictional Corleone family, led by Don Vito Corleone and later his son Michael Corleone. The first novel, The Godfather, written by Mario Puzo, was released in 1969. It was adapted into a series of three feature films, which became one of the most acclaimed franchises in film history.
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