The Godfather

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The Godfather (English original title The Godfather ; Italian Il Padrino ) by Mario Puzo from 1969 is one of the most successful novels in trivial literature with over 21 million copies sold . It describes the history of fictional, from the Sicilian town of Corleone coming New York Mafia family Corleone and was completed in three feature films and several sequels. The popularity of author and novel were the same film for which Puzo, the later with the Oscar -winning screenwriter wrote from 1972 by director Francis Ford Coppola significantly increased.

action

The description begins in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century: the Sicilian boy Vito Andolini, whose parents were murdered by the local mafia, comes to New York and rises there under the name of his home village Corleone to become the most powerful mafia godfather. When he refuses to participate in the burgeoning drug trade, he is gunned down in the street, whereupon a bloody war breaks out between rival Mafia families. The eldest son Sonny takes on responsibility for the family business for the godfather who is unable to act. When he is lured into a trap and shot at a toll station, the recovered Vito Corleone rises from his sickbed to make a strategic peace that will enable his youngest son Michael to return from Sicily. Michael went into hiding in Sicily after he murdered the drug dealer responsible for the attack on his father and his bodyguard (a corrupt high-ranking police officer). Michael eventually takes over the family business, fights back the enemies and extends the power of the family clan even further.

construction

The first part begins with the wedding day of the “godfather's” daughter and ends with the murder of Sollozzo. The second portrays part of the life of Johnny Fontane. The third part describes Vito Corleone's prehistory in Sicily and New York. The fourth and fifth parts are mainly about the murder of Santino "Sonny" Corleone. The sixth part describes Michael's life in Sicily and the assassination attempt on him; the seventh his return to the United States and the death of Don Vito Corleone. In the eighth part, the bodyguard Albert "Al" Neri plays an essential role. The ninth and last part is about the relationship between Michael "Mikey" Corleone and his wife Kay.

Sequels

There are various continuations of the material, which are largely based on material left by the original author Mario Puzo and complement the plot from the novel The Godfather . In addition, after the sale of 20 million copies of the original novel , the publishing house Random House announced a competition for the continuation of the story. According to his own statements, the publishing editor Jonathan Karp checked over a hundred submissions. On February 7, 2003, Mark Winegardner , professor of literature at Florida State University , was announced the winner and was allowed by Puzo's heirs to continue the saga, which he did in two novels of his own in 2004 and 2006.

  • In the novel The Sicilian by Puzo, published in 1984, the future head of the family Michael Corleone appears as a marginal figure because, corresponding to the original novel , he is currently hiding in Sicily in order to return to the USA later.
  • Winegardner's 2004 novel The Godfather Returns describes the period in the late 1940s and early 1950s when Michael Corleone took over the running of the family.
  • Winegardner's second novel, The Godfather's Revenge from 2006, takes place in the 1970s and 1980s, and describes Michael Corleone's attempts to bring the family's business into legality. The action takes place before the last chapters of the original novel.
  • The Corleones , a novel completed by Ed Falco based on an unpublished screenplay by Mario Puzo, was published in 2012 and tells the story of the family in the 1930s and 1940s.

Film adaptations

Video games

On March 23, 2006 Electronic Arts released the video game The Godfather for the PC , PlayStation 2 , PSP , Xbox and Xbox 360 and on March 27, 2007 also for the Wii and PlayStation 3 . The game content is based on the film adaptations by Francis Ford Coppola and ties in with the first part of the series and, towards the end, solves some of the secrets that remained open in the films. On April 10, 2009, The Godfather 2 came out for the PlayStation 3, the PC and the Xbox 360.

literature

Web links

Wikiquote: The Godfather  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Judy Stoffman: Before Harry, there was Little Nell. In: The Toronto Star. July 21, 2007, accessed on May 3, 2013 : " According to the Official Mario Puzo Library website, the book sold 21 million copies in hardback and paper by 1997. "
  2. ↑ Mario Puzo. In: caliber .38. Retrieved May 3, 2013 .
  3. ↑ Dieter Wunderlich: Mario Puzo: The Godfather (book tip). In: www.dieterwunderlich.de. 2003, accessed May 3, 2013 .