The Godfather movies and books [spoilers likely]

The Godfather and The Godfather Part II movies have long been favorites of mine, and I bet I'm not alone here. A month or so ago, I watched The Godfather again in a few Netflix viewings and keep meaning to go back and see The Godfather Part III. I've seen parts of it on cable TV before but really don't know the plot or how it ends. I understand it's considered to be not nearly as good as the first two movies, but being a completist when it comes to books, movies, and music, I'd like know I've seen them all one day.

I'd also like to recommend two books (well, three, for those who haven't read The Godfather by Mario Puzo). Of course the original book is a must-read, as it explains things I hadn't understood after repeated weekend cable TV viewings of The Godfather movie. Example: who was the guy driving the car just before the famous "leave the gun, take the cannoli" scene? Can you figure that out from watching the movie? Certainly, but it was one of several things I didn't really understand before reading the book. There are lots of those "a-ha!" moments to be had while reading The Godfather once you think you know the first movie pretty well.

There are two other books any Godfather movie fan would like.

1. The Sicilian by Mario Puzo. It's a story of what happens during Michael Corleone's time in Sicily, after he has to leave New York for a while after he has dinner where they reportedly serve the best veal in the city. It's not directly about Michael, but he's around and so are some other characters we know. The Sicilian lets us see some things Michael must have learned in Sicily (beyond what we saw in the movie) and comes back to New York a different man than when he left, and why he later takes the actions he does toward the end of the first movie.

2. The Family Corleone by Ed Falco. I listened to this several years ago on audiobook from the library. Guess what I just found at the library again? Yep, and I'm looking forward to it again, since I don't remember many details beyond some gory stuff involving Luca Brasi. From the wikipedia article:

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...The novel, set in the Great Depression, is the story of how Vito Corleone consolidated his power to become the most powerful Don in New York City. Also, it tells of Sonny Corleone's inauguration into the family business and Tom Hagen's graduation from being an adopted member of the Corleone family before becoming the consigliere. The novel also reveals how Luca Brasi first became associated with the Corleones...

Luca Brasi was not a nice man.

Godfather fans and curious onlookers, let the discussion begin.

I own all three but deny owning the third. In the early '90s I found a two VHS tape set that had I & II edited together into chronological order.

Once Upon A Time In America is another good one that was directed by Sergio Leone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedpimp

In the early '90s I found a two VHS tape set that had I & II edited together into chronological order.

My wife and I saw that on TV years ago. We must have just stumbled upon it, and I remember thinking it was really good but was confused by it. I hadn't seen I and II enough times by then to know for sure which parts came from which movies but remember being confused at how DeNiro and Brando were in the same movie, and how Sonny Corleone and Hyman Roth were in the same movie, and so forth.

I've always thought the scenes with DeNiro were some of the best in all Godfatherdom and should have been expanded into an entire movie. As I recall, The Family Corleone by Ed Falco scratches part of that itch.

Turns out it's called "The Godfather Saga" and aired on NBC over four nights in 1977(when sweeps were still a thing).

The Godfather Epic, which is basically the same thing but not edited for TV, is available for streaming on HBOGo. It's something like 7 hours long, watched it a year or so ago.