The Godfather almost never happened
trungphan.substack.com
trungphan.substack.com
Funnily enough, Die Hard is similar. It’s a great action movie, legendary and timeless. The book on which it’s based is awful.
It’s so rare that this happens, when usually it’s the reverse — a great book is made into a bad or mediocre movie. The true exceptions — great books made into great movies — seem vanishingly rare to me. Off the top of my head I can only think of a few: Lawrence of Arabia (from The Seven Pillars of Wisdom), The English Patient, The Name of the Rose. Apocalypse Now from Heart of Darkness, perhaps?
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jan/23/bestbooks-fict...
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Lush Life by Richard Price
The Godfather by Mario Puzo
V by Thomas Pynchon
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Adaptations are tricky and although it is very common for a sublime piece of literature to become a mediocre film, and somewhat common for a fantastic book to become a fantastic film -- it is rare for a film and a screenplay that are inarguably among the greatest of all time to come from a book that would likely not be memorable without the film.
Everything about The Godfather should have been a failure. From the casting, to the production, to the monetary situation at the studio, to the lawsuits, to the source material. But it's a near-perfect film. And that sort of anomaly coming out of such chaos (again, Gone with the Wind is probably the closest similarity when it comes to English-language film) is almost as remarkable as the film itself.
I think The Shining is a great example of a good book, while the movie is one of the best horror movies ever made. And yet, reportedly Stephen King hates the Kubrick film. As someone who enjoys both, I simply think he’s wrong and I guess as the author he will always come at it with a unique viewpoint.
* The Silence of the Lambs * The Shining * Shawshank Redemption (novella but I'll allow it) * Brokeback Mountain (same) * No Country for Old Men * Little Women (there are a few versions to choose from but I would choose the 1994 adaptation myself, thought he 2019 version was very good) * Requiem For a Dream * Lolita * Roots (mini-series but I think we should allow it)
That's what I can think of off the top of my head.
Heart of Darkness was a way better book, I mean it was published 120 years ago and people still talk about it, the only thing I think people really remember from Apocalypse Now was loving the smell of napalm in the morning.
It's funny that I started reading the book many years later, not knowing that it was the inspiration for the movie. I realized almost half way through the book.
The English Patient - didn’t read it but the movie is pretty terrible. Exactly nothing interesting happens for 3 hours.
Reasonable people can disagree, but at least don’t present these examples as universally acclaimed books and movies.
I think it's a bit of a weirdly paced novel though, and from recollection it's really easy to miss certain implied meanings if you miss a single sentence or so towards the end.
Dissinterest is different from uninteresting.
As for English Patient - look, you might not like romantic sagas, but it's rather flippant to call it pretty terrible given the awards it won. Clearly someone enjoyed it.
I loved the Three Body Problem trilogy, remains to be seen how good he series/movie will be.
Fight Club
A Clockwork Orange
Planet of the Apes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabaret_(1972_film)
"The film also brought Minnelli, daughter of Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli, her own first chance to sing on screen, and she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. With Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor (Grey), Best Director (Fosse), Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Sound, Best Original Song Score and Adaptation, and Best Film Editing, Cabaret holds the record for most Oscars earned by a film not honored for Best Picture."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Godfather
"At the 45th Academy Awards, the film won Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando), and Best Adapted Screenplay (for Puzo and Coppola)."
I like both films.
My problem with The Godfather is that it makes Italian gangsters look like some chess-playing intellectuals, when in reality they were the crazy low-lifes that you see in Goodfellas.
The Godfather (1972) The Conversation (1974) The Godfather II (1974) Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Godfather is absolutely timeless, and I totally get why people love it so much. I like it too, and feel Interstellar hits like the Godfather in that same class of movies that capture both the anxieties and nihilism of current culture.
The Godfather
The Conversation
The Godfather II
Dog Day Afternoon
The Deer Hunter
Sad to see he died of cancer at age 42. :(
The problem in my view is that EWS's failure was in that most people just didn't identify enough with the characters or their struggles other than a superficial 'affluent married couple with divorce lawyer on speed dial with illuminati'.
In fact, it's just become a favorite topic of conspiracy theorists that have largely decoupled from the story line, and in my view, simply did not do Kubrick justice since an artisan or creator's final work is always scrutinized. I remember large parts of the movie being edited out which allegedly enraged Kubrick and put him at odds with producers.
Is that a real quote?
Coppola and Puzo wanted it to be its own film, titled "The Death of Michael Corleone," and believed (rightly) that a duology of Godfather films based on the original novel was the right decision.
Its a fantastic trilogy. If you become a super-fan, there's also a complete chronological cut that is ~10hrs. :)
My point is that every day thousands of things don’t get made or started. Some of them could have been masterpieces.
All the elements that make a good movie are hard to wrangle into a cohesive product. It’s amazing any movie turns out well.
Indiana Jones meets his long lost brother King Tut?! This movie writes itself!
[1] With the possible exception of Johnny Fontane, who can't help but fail upward, and Enzo the baker, who got his immigration issues sorted out.
When/if you're done reading, please tell me who defends the little guy when both the legislators and enforcers are corrupt and/or willing to turn a blind eye?
Not murderers, racketeers, and traffickers, that's for damn sure.