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Arnie Bernstein's avatar

Interesting comparison/contrasts here. The opening credit title of "The Godfather" read's "Mario Puzo's The Godfather." Rarely does a writer get credit like that (the same "writer above the title" credit is also in GF Parts II and III). Puzo's book is semi potboiler stuff to be sure, but the scenes and characters are indelible and the book is a good read on its own (save for the strange plot line about Lucy Mancini and her anatomy). There are a few things in the book I would have liked to have seen in the movie (the deleted scene where Don Corleone and his sons visit the dying consigliere Genco in particular), but in any event the novel does fill in some of the backstory that is only hinted at in the movie, especially a riveting chapter of Puzo's that explains how Michael was able to return to the US. And yes, I am just like one of those Kens in the Barbie movie when it comes to The Godfather!

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Jo Paoletti's avatar

I run a “Lit Flicks” film group in my retirement community. We started with nearly two years of Jane Austen adaptations, including the South Indian version of Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Matt Smith as Mr. Collins!). The last year we branched out to other authors. Selections ran the gamut from The Commitments (totally better than the book, thanks to the soundtrack) to The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants to Zorba the Greek to the 1935 Les Miserables. Looking forward to the rest of your series!

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