Customer Reviews

The Godfather Legacy

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book makes an *excellent* supplement The Godfather films. It's full of interesting behind-the-scenes info, anecdotes, and recollections. The book is even a bigger "must have" now since the trilogy is finally now out on DVD.

There are some minor discrepancies between what this book says and Coppola's commentary on the DVDs. For instance, the book mentions that Al Pacino twisted his ankle in the scene following the shooting of McClusky and Sollozo, but Coppola believes it happened outside the hospital scene after Michael visits his father. Also, the book claims Clemenza's role was cut from Part II because Richard Castellano (the actor) wanted too much money. Coppola says Castellano wanted to have an associate write Clemenza's dialogue.

There's a wealth of production photos, and great inside stories of a troubling production. Coppola was almost fired several times, and he got into heated disagreements with his crew many times. Pacino had problems during the production (the studio wanted to fire him) and had a rocky road to stardom at this time. He was paid a measily $35,000(!) for the first film. And he never saw any of this money because of legal expenses from a lawsuit. For Part II, his paycheck was $500,000 plus a percentage of the gross.

If you're a movie fan and of this trilogy in particular, get this book!

Great in all aspects (source material, trivia not previously covered in other books/articles, etc.), except that Parts II and III kind of get short shrift!

I know that just getting Brando, Coppola and everybody else on board was a huge undertaking and that's why the launch of the "franchise" gets so much ink, but many of us (including me) are partial to Part II and wanted a bit more on Pacino/Michael's continued character development, as well as more on DeNiro/Young Vito Corleone. Maybe another volume?

I read this book twice in one week and I'm reading it again. I just couldn't put it down! There is so much insider info in here that you must know. If you are a true Godfather Fan, this in one book that you must have. I just couldn't believe the problem that Francis Ford Coppola had in trying to get this movie done. This is a wonderful book to have in your collection. Read this and then watch the movie again. It gives you a whole different perspective on the movie. This is one book you can't refuse!

The reader from Los Angeles is quite incorrect in saying this book was ripped off from the bonus disc in the Godfather dvd 3 pack. This was released in 1997 whereas the collection was released in 2001. So the author must obviously be psychic right?

That said, the book is wonderful. There's lots of behind the scenes info, beautiful photos and tidbits to notice in the films. It's a great companion with Amazon's suggested The Godfather Movies: A Pictorial History.

This book is a MUST HAVE if you enjoyed watching "The Godfather" movies. I have a hard time putting that book down at night, but I have to get some sleep sometimes ;o)At last, we can figure out how they managed, with great ingenuity, to create all those "murders" wich seem so "real" in the films. What strucked me the most is to learn the skepticism of Paramount about the success of the first movie at the box office. I greatly admire Mr. Coppola's tenacity towards Paramount in wanting to keep his own choice of actors. He had to fight for his choices: actors, locations... not to mention the stress he had to endure at the thought of being fired at any moment during the making of the first movie. Not a very good atmosphere for the creation of a masterpiece, to say the very least! But Mr. Coppola kept on going against all odds. "Hats off" Mr. Coppola.

The Godfather Legacy is a great collection of behind the scene stories, rumors, cast interviews, and unpublished film photos. Everything a real fans of the Godfather trilogys wants.

The books delves very deep with the first Godfather movie. From its initial spark of an idea about a "mafia" film, (The word "mafia" is not allowed to be said anywhere in the film.) to the long, arduous process of finding a director and cast, to the many problems on set, to finally, it's raving success in the mainstream world and at the Academy Awards.

I am amazed how Francis Ford Coppola survived such an ordeal where he was continually threatened to be fired, and yet still turn out the epitome of gangster films. The casting of unfavorable actor Marlon Brando, as the aging Don Corleone, was an inspired choice. The casting of, yet unknown, Al Pacino, as the meek turned hardened crime boss Michael, was a fight from the very beginning, but proved to be the films star find.

Harlan Lebo's book speaks also of the 2nd and 3rd Godfather films, but not at length like he did the first film. That would be my only complaint. I wanted to really feel, and understand the difference between the first film, with the tremendous pressure Coppola felt directing, to the complete freedom he was given at doing the 2nd film, and his controversial choices in Godfather III. Hopefully, he'll come out with a more detailed book one day. Fingers crossed.

Counting the front cover and chapter headers cropped from larger photos, there's 139 snapshots in THE GODFATHER LEGACY, most of them behind-the-scenes glimpses.

This minutiae-intense book is primarily for devotees of Francis Coppola's original film. Reading about and seeing snaps of deleted scenes or perusing pages of dialogue that were later rewritten are sure to intrigue these folks. It's doubtful however if anyone else will be interested in how much each antique streetlight cost, or which props were vintage and which repros.

Whether or not one cares the way special effects were achieved, such as the murders of McCluskey, Luca Brasi, Sonny Corleone or Moe Greene, depends on what you think of magicians who reveal how they saw ladies in half or make audience members levitate.

The book is most engaging when it tells the off-camera story of Coppola's many clashes with PARAMOUNT execs and how their interference and penny-pinching made an already enormous job that much more difficult for the young director. Had Paramount prevailed in casting for example, Robert Redford would've played Sonny Corleone. Al Pacino was their last choice for the plum role of Michael, and Coppola had to fight like hell to get final say.

These are common knowledge. Less known perhaps is that Coppola wanted Robert De Niro for the Don's traitorous driver, Paulie Gatto, but in a sort-of ballplayer swap, De Niro's services were offered to and accepted by the producers of THE GANG THAT COULDN'T SHOOT STRAIGHT, a comedy based on Jimmy Breslin's novel. In exchange, Pacino was allowed to escape from a contract his agent had previously signed for that now rather obscure movie.

A lucky break for Al, and us too, as De Niro was thus available to portray Don Corleone as a young man in THE GODFATHER PART II, a masterpiece that just may be the greatest sequel ever made. Yet, only 32 pages of Godfather Legacy's 257 are devoted to it. The story of the often maligned PART III is condensed even further, into 10 pages, all but two of which include half-page photos.

As if they don't exist, we are given nothing on the murders of Don Tommasino, Don Ciccio, Don Altobello or my favorite villian of the series, Joey Zasa. It IS revealed though why Richard Castellano wasn't in the second film or Robert Duvall in the final one. Money was the main reason, but Castellano also demanded that his own writer supply Clemenza's dialogue, an impossible condition for control freak Coppola to accept.


As a real fan of this motion picture trilogy, I enjoyed Harlan Lebo's book, and even slogged through the many pages describing how sets were built and decorated. If you've read right to this point, you're probably prepared to do so, as well.

My husband loved the movie. This was the best book I ever bought him--he loves the background information about what happened on the set and other tidbits.

The story of how the first Godfather movie was made is detailed here. The sequels get short sheeted, but the book is well worth the price... just for the story of how the first movie was made.

As any fan of classic film knows, Harlan Lebo's books on the making of certain films are must-haves in the savvy cinemaphile's personal library.
I have found all of his books to be tremendously informative, and I find myself repeatedly turning to them both for research purposes and elective reading. Lebo's The Godfather Legacy is no different.

The author presents the behind-the-scenes drama of the making of these films in incredible detail while also managing to keep the reader's interest piqued. Lebo maintains an element of suspense as he reports the unfolding of events that have to led to the making of one of the most important and influential films of all time. Lebo approaches his subject respectfully, yet he isn't afraid to present the films' artists and businessmen as they are, showing the stark, unadultered truth. For someone who truly loves Hollywood, reading about the banalities of the day-to-day craft of filmmaking, as well as the intrigues of the making of the Godfather films, is equally fascinating. Lebo's in-depth picture of the director, the producers, and the actors as they worked on these projects is captivating, and his perspective has created a much deeper connection to the films for me. I find myself watching the films in several different realities because of this book: I see the story of the film itself while simultaneously identifying with the experiences that occured during the shooting of specific scenes.

Finally, the photos and stills are a wonderful visual layer that back up the book. I was also impressed with the amount of research and fact-checking that seem to have gone into this book. No stone is left unturned. It is that attention to detail that has left me feeling as if I know the true, insider story of how the Godfather films have come to be made.