Essay examples of The Godfather

Many people will agree that films are one of the most significant consolations as they help relax and restore energy. According to the psychological investigation, cinematography is art that can achieve one’s dream and give people what they want. Perhaps it sounds funny, but scientists confirm when person wants to visit some country, for instance, it is enough to watch an adventurous movie in order to plunge into the emotional atmosphere. Perhaps, we should state that once cinematography will substitute our daily things and entertain us around the clock.

There are moments when cinematography can serve as encyclopedia which reflects exact peculiarities of the historical epoch. It is possible to recollect numerous examples of movies that can broaden erudition and improve knowledge related to world history.

Nowadays, movie industry is at the highest point of the development, and we can be witnesses of the magic on screens. It is obviously that there are numerous types of films that will impress you with its quality and fascinating plot.

As it turned out, there is tendency to make movies in accordance with plot of books; there are a lot of literary masterpieces that deserve to be screened. That is why we are intended to devote this article to revealing of the differences between cinematography and book plot. Hope it will get acquainted the audience with new facts and help make the parallel within book and screened variant.

Have you ever heard about a film “The Godfather”? If no, keep reading this information as we will not summarize the main ideas and reveal the most interesting moments. We aim to highlight the difference between the scenario of the movie and plot of Mario Puzo’s book. It will be a full analysis of Godfather film. Let’s get started with the events the movie has made different.

The question related to the plot and problem of the film is rather controversial, many people confirm that the scenario is very annoying and monotonous. Other are sure that it is a masterpiece of the cinematography as it has the hidden plot and magnificent ending of the story. We can conclude that the people are different, so the points of views are not same.

One of the biggest differences is that most of the life story of the heroes are cut out, in particular, the film does not show Johnny Fontaine’s failures with women and his voice problems. Also, the story of Santino and Lucy Mancini’s love affair and his street hooliganism committed in adolescence. We should admit that the line related to the life of Dr. Julius Segal is also hidden.

The significant feature that differs novel from the movie is the retrospective of Don Corleone’s early life, including the circumstances of his emigration to America, a description of his family’s life, the assassination of Don Fanucci, and the development of a career in the Mafia world.

Let’s recollect the first scene. The film begins with a situation where the gravestone Amerigo Bonassera is seeking justice at Don’s place. Later comes baker Nazorin, then Luke Brazy and Johnny Fontain. In the book, we can notice the following order: Baker, Luke, September, and Fontaine. We have illustrated such moment because this scene makes the audience feels confused about the scenario.

According to plot, producer Jack Wolz is regarded as wealthy representative of the show business. In contradistinction from a movie, according to the book, Wolz is also a popular man in government – he is an adviser to the US president, and also claims his friendship with the director of the FBI, which is probably only a brag.

If to read the book carefully, we can find out that the scene begins with such expression:

“They made it private by shooting on the street. Violence is not a business; it’s a private one”.

At the same time, the film offers us another statement:

“Nothing personal. This is just a business.”

In the novel, Kay calls mother and finds out the fact that Michael returns from Sicily by accident. She arrives in Long Beach and meets with Mike; in the film Michael finds Kay himself. That case proves that the film is away from the plot of the book in some extent.

We are not required to be analytic in order to notice that in the movie most of the characters had “weak” personalities and lost the distinct features of their characters. These roles were reduced to a minimum: Johnny Fontein, Lucy Mancini, Rocco Lampone, and Ala Neri. Another key thing to know is that completely removed from the movie were Dr. Julius Segal, Nino Valenti, and Dr. Tazzi of Sicily. Also in the book, Michael and Kay have two sons, but in the film, they have a son and daughter.

The film and book have two different endings: the film ends with Chapter 31 when Kay realizes that Michael is the man who suffers from the family, and the book ends with Chapter 32, in which Hagen tells of all her husband’s deeds.

The main drama of the film lies in the tragedy of Michael Corleone. His transformation into a cruel and insidious boss is one of the most skillfully shown metamorphoses in the history of world cinematography. The image of Don Corleone has become a prototype of Сarmine Falcone from the DC Comics universe, Batman’s enemy. Nevertheless, the film criticized the romanticism of the crime and demythologization. In connection with the fact that Mario Puzo wrote the movie scenario, he knew about all differences.

Briefly about the history of the film

After the reading of the book, Coppola was pleasantly impressed with its deep idea and variety of the scenes. The majority of critics didn’t believe in the success of movie. Some years later the book became the most popular writing and film – the most expected project. That was the only one movie that was shot in a classic and simple manner; it was clear that the director aimed to follow the mood and aesthetics rules of that time. According to the words of witnesses, there was no helicopter photography or lenses with variable focal length. From the operator’s point of view, “Godfather” was shot as a “live picture” – the actors entered the frame and emerged from it, everything was very straightforward. From other side, everything had distinct features and spirit of real human destiny. Moreover, viewers could notice that each character lives life of real person. Director recalled: “We thought a lot how to denote contrast between good and evil in this scene, light, and darkness on the screen. How to paint picture in bright light on door painted in black. Identified with the work of the camera, they decided that the two cameras will be static, and the movement will begin only when moving in the frame of people and events; because the audience feels that everything is dynamic and diverse.”

So, the film is compared with the meeting of the past and future, brightness and darkness. Speaking about popularity of “Godfather” we should mention that it is in range of the best movies; according to testimonials, this masterpiece of cinematography deserves your attention. Hope our investigation will be useful for you.

References:

• Larkin, Mike. “’There Should Have Only Been One’: Francis Ford Coppola Regrets Making Godfather Sequels.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 22 Nov. 2011, www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2064528/Francis-Ford-Coppola-regrets-making-Godfather-sequels.html.
• Staff, THR. “’The Godfather’: THR’s 1972 Review.” The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Mar. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/godfather-review-1972-original-movie-986404.
• “MenuDramatica®The Next Chapter in Story Development.” The Godfather – Analysis – Dramatica, dramatica.com/analysis/the-godfather.