Every time I find the definitive book, someone comes out with another.
Because the film is now fifty years old many of the creators are no longer with us. At the Academy Awards this year even Francis is showing his age, but he graciously gave credit to Robert Evans publicly for the movie coming together. If you want to know why that was a monumental moment in the history of cinema- or at least this terrific movie, this book will help. The author almost certainly did some interviews himself, but he openly admits that he has drawn from fifty (or more) years of interviews, articles and documentary information. Mark Seal has delivered an authoritative history of one of the greatest films in cinema history.
The detail is amazing, even before the film is a thought in anyones mind. He tells a detailed, yet still concise history of Mario Puzo creation of the novel, the deals he went through, risks he took, and recklessness he embraced. It’s a great story even before a brilliant, yet still young and untried, director named Francis Ford Coppola entered the picture.
If you’re a fan of The Godfather, cinema history, or filmmaking in general this book will be right up your alley. It’s well told and detailed. It surpasses The Godfather Legacy by Harlan Lebo (a darn good book in it’s own right) and uses it as a primary source. Then it includes 25 more years of scholarship to create the definitive book on the subject- and maybe the last one while several key players are still with us.
The narration was well done. Phil Thron didn’t do impressions, but he changed his voice enough to match the characters he was quoting- those who have a distinctive cadence or voice.
I know I’ll listen to it again, probably on my next long road trip. There are lots of great stories associated with this film. If we’re very lucky Mark Seal will have culled enough material for books on G2 and G3 as well.