The Annotated "Godfather": The Complete Screenplay with Commentary on Every Scene, Interviews and Little Known Facts Book

The Godfather is widely considered to be the greatest movie ever made. Its loyal fans are international and legion. Is there anyone unable to quote at least one famous line, among dozens, from the film? Now, for the first time since the film's debut thirty-five years ago, comes an annotated and illustrated edition of the complete screenplay that is fully authorized by Paramount Pictures. Virtually every scene and shot is examined, and the fascinating commentary includes technical details about the filming, set design, and shooting locations; inside stories from the set including arguments, accidents, and practical jokes; profiles of the actors and how they were cast; deleted scenes; goofs and gaffes that remained in the film, and much more. Interviews with former Paramount executives, cast and crew members, as well as director Francis Ford Coppola shed new light on this influential film, and the 200+ photographs form a visual feast for Godfather fans. Fascinating facts from behind-the-scenes of The Annotated Godfather: • Actor Richard Castellano (Clemenza) actually ad-libbed the now-famous line, "Leave the gun, take the cannoli."• Nearly 750 extras were bussed to a location on Staten Island where the wedding scene was shot, along with thousands of cookies, yard-wide trays of lasagna, barrels of beer, gallons of wine, and a six-foot-high wedding cake. The food had to be replenished every day for four days. • Marlon Brando was crowned best prankster on the set and awarded a heavyweight-style belt emblazoned with the title "Moon Champion," in reference to his favorite type of prank. • In order to help actor Al Martino (Johnny Fontane) express emotion in his scene with Don Corleone, Marlon Brando surprised him by whacking him across the face just before the cameras started to roll. • The woman who kisses newborn Michael Rizzi on the church steps is Italia Coppola, Francis's mom.Read More