The Godfather: An Adaptation of the American Novel to Film - Case Study Example

The Godfather: An adaptation of the American novel to film.

Introduction:

The adaptation of the Godfather to film was faithful to the book and the characters successfully translated the story. The film became a worldwide sensation when it was released in 1972 based on the novel authored by the Italian American, Mario Puzo. Published in 1969, the Godfather tells the story about a mighty Mafia family in New York. The manner in which the author captured the essence of being part of the Mob in the book was amplified in the movie through vivid characters and a stellar cast. The inner details on the workings of the mysterious world of organized crime had not been before exposed to the public so sensationally. The way he tells about the Mafia subcultural world in the story leads the reader to the core that is ever carefully hidden from the law abiding population. While the reader’s imagination is effectively led to this underworld in the novel, it comes to life in the movie. This essay looks at the novel and the adaptation to film with the aim of ascertaining the effectiveness of the translation to the media. It examines the factors that led to the success that followed and also the way the characters were portrayed on screen from the novel.

The themes in the story, the drama, rage and terror of the Mafia underworld will be discussed with the aim of establishing its effect on American culture and way of life today. This work is a modern American classic and has been awarded many accolades including placement at the Library of Congress for its contribution in highlighting the aspects of American culture.

Body:

The story in brief;

The Godfather tells the story of Vito Corleone, who is the “Godfather”; a man of power and reason. He is a man who does all it takes to gain and maintain power including through murder and terror. The “Don” is said to be a just man who comes to the aid of weaker friends and family and grants their desires at often very high costs to their enemies. His offer of friendship cannot be turned down and the influence he wields transcends all spheres of American life. From politicians to law enforcement, the hand of the godfather extends and buys him immunity from all the illegal businesses of the mob. From Long Island which is his fortress, Corleone commands his vast underworld empire whose interests include rackets, bookmaking, blackmailing, extortion, arson and murder (Malta, 2008). The recreation of the feudal world of organized crime or the mob explodes to life electrically in the film because of the spellbinding story from the novel and the authentic knowledge of the master story teller who authors it.

Vito Corleone was born into poverty in Sicily, Italy but later his family moved to New York. There he established a vast criminal empire with his foot soldiers unleashing terror and murder in the event that the rivals proved “unreasonable”. Honor in terms of behavior was therefore central to the mob and this way, Corleone earned the respect of the other crime families. He had a daughter (Connie) and three sons including the eldest Sonny who is impulsive and violent lacking his father’s foresight. The second child was Fredo, whose traits included weakness and being impressionable and in the end he betrayed his family. Michael, the youngest had initially chosen to keep away from his father’s business until the rival Mafia families sensed there were growing conflicts within the Corleone family (Malta, 2008). The godfather is attacked and the assassination attempt only falls shy of success.

Due to this, Michael became immediately sucked into the underworld effectively transforming from an ideal war hero and innocent young man to a ruthless Mafia boss. The Don cautions Michael that men cannot be careless even as a young man unaware of the true nature of his family (Hulsman and Mitchel, 2009).

Essentially, the godfather was a protector of those who were willing to acknowledge him as such with the agreement that when he needed a favor, it would be returned in kind. In other words, he enforced the laws of his old country in the new in the only manner he knew how, that is eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth. For instance, in the opening scene, Bonasera comes to the boss to ask a favor concerning his daughter. This was after two men who had accompanied her out on a date physically abused her after she defended her honor and refused to lay with them. Consequently, she was hospitalized and her beauty irreparably damaged causing much grief to Bonasera the father. He took it upon himself to report the matter to the police who arrested then culprits. In court, the perpetrators were handed three years of suspended sentences (a slap on the wrist) and to Bonasera justice was lost. Insultingly, they gloated over their victory to which Bonasera tells his wife that for justice to prevail in the matter, the Don Corleone would have to be seen (Puzo and Coppola, n.d).

To illustrate the way this worked in honor, the Don at first reluctantly refuses insisting that Bonasera had come disrespectfully without offering his “friendship”. In the past he had also decline the Don’s offers of the same fearing involvement with the mob. Due to the perceived failure of the legal justice system, the option left is the Don. When Bonasera gives a bow and calls Corleone “godfather”, the respect is accepted and sealed with a kiss on his finger ring. The don responds immediately and says “someday, and that day may not come I’ll call upon you to do a favor for me but until then accept this justice as my gift to you on my daughter’s wedding day (Puzo and Coppola, n.d). Summarily, this was the manner that the Don gained and maintained his power in the new country.

Themes and characters’ translation from the novel to the film;

There are several themes that can be identified within the story beginning with contradiction that is central to the story. In the mind of the reader, the mob is supposed to be bad and thus the godfather also is. The contradiction comes in when the reader discovers that Don Corleone is not the average brute and sociopath that one would expect of a criminal. Contrary to it, he is intelligent, loyal and conducts business with a high sense of integrity. The cold blooded murderer begins to warm their hearts through his many acts of love for family and friend, again something that is not supposed to happen ordinarily. He takes risks on behalf of his family and friends in order to protect and obtain “proper” justice for them. Through the plot, his cruelty and seemingly cold heart are slowly blamed on the circumstances of his upbringing and the type of justice he learnt almost innocently.

In advancing this theme, the translating of the novel to the film is both effective and useful because watching the characters on screen provides better representation of the author’s intention. The film version is more vivid and eliminates the diverse interpretations of the author’s view that readers encounter as they rely on imaginations of their individual minds. For instance, the role of Don Corleone played by Marlon Brando in the film illustrates the contradiction highlighted. Marlon Brando cuts an elder, fatherly and gentle figure around his family. His stance is soft and his manner is mild which immediately thwarts the mental image of gangsters assumed by many readers, which is often associated with ruggedness and chaos. Through the use of the physical attributes of Brando, the film conveys contradiction between the expected world of crime figures and that shown by Don Corleone.

In fact after the huge success of the movie Brando’s image has now become “the face” of organized crime, a feat the book did not achieve.

The old Sicilian justice laws in the new country (America).

The old ways of revenge and honor embodied in the age old mantra “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” acknowledged by the godfather prior to moving to America are put to test in America. He does not believe that the American legal system can deliver the type of justice that he and other “reasonable” men of their society expect. He thus sets out to create his own system of justice which often administers lethal sentences and torture.

The violence dedicatedly described in the novel only comes to life on the screen. The adaptation of the story to film brought with it the talents of the film industry to telling the saga. The director of the film, Francis Ford Coppola with the team brought expert writing, directing and production to the story. Coppola worked the screenplay alongside the author of the novel Mario Puzo himself and together they brought the story to visual reality for the audience. Coppola at the time was accomplished in portraying cinematic violence and the visuals from his earlier film titled “Dementia 13” were critically acclaimed for their effects (Phillip, 2013). In the story, after Don Corleone is attacked by the rival crime families, there is retaliation for their family. Sonny, the boss’ son leads the assault and the ensuing scene is one of the bloodiest and violent in the film. The use of a stellar cast and crew made showing the story in this manner possible.

Outstanding cast members convincingly portrayed the story making it as real as possible for the audience. While the book describes characters in detail for the readers, it is only the film that gives the audience the exact thought intended by Mario Puzo who also was present during the making (doing the screenplay). The plot was executed on the screen flawlessly, through the talents of actors and actresses such as Al Pacino (Michael Corleone) and Diane Keaton (Kay Adams-Corleone).

Others included, Lenny Montana (Luca Brasi), Robert Duvall (Tom Hagen) among many other listed alongside Francis Ford Coppola the director (Giglio, 2010). Their performance remains vivid in the mind of the audience long after the film is through and this is demonstrated by the many awards that the film and the cast garnered. For instance, Marlon Brando won the Best Actor Academy Award in 1972 and Coppola took the director’s award. Al Pacino got nominated for the best supporting actor and in total the film took three academy awards and had seven nominations.

The relationship between good and bad.

Don Corleone through his character portrays the relationship between evil and good and he shows both sides in the story. It is fascinating how Don Corleone is both a bad man and also a good man (Pearson Education, 2008). He is bad because he is a murderer and operates illegal businesses. In the same man there are traits of loyalty and love for his friends and family and this show him to be good. It is left to the reader or the film audience to ponder on the theme of good and evil; how so much bad can be done in the pursuit of qualities that are so good. The film adaptation increases the authenticity of the characters and enriches the experience of the story. However, there are differences between the book and the film which are highlighted in brief below.

In the book Michael’s bodyguard in Sicily named Carlo dies in a car explosion along with Apollonia while in the film he survives. The second bodyguard Fabrizio was an accomplice to the bombing in the book and so he is tracked down operating a pizza shop in Buffalo and killed. In the film, the scene differs from the novel in that he does not die. Johnny Fontane is a major character in the book which substantially tells of his troubles with women and even details of his voice are discussed.

In the film, he is but a minor role appearing only to sign at Connie’s wedding and to ask a favor from the Don (Oscar Revote, n.d). He wants a role in a film and Corleone takes it up with the studio boss who can’t refuse the type of deals he gives people.

Also, in the novel, Lucy Mancini who was Sonny Sollezo’s mistress was a bigger character and she was not pregnant for Sonny when she went to Vegas. In the film her name is only mentioned albeit fleetingly. Connie apologizes to Michael when Carlo is killed. This is because she initially accused him of the death and this departs from the film where she only accuses him of being responsible.

Arguably the film was better than the book because it provided the audience with the author’s original intent in the characters and the story. It also eliminated the need to use the mental theatre which is imaginary as the only means though which readers experience the story. The story is enriched by the talent and experienced of cast and crew utilized in the production therefore watching the film is recommendable.

At the time of making the film, the studio was struggling and needed urgent redemption. The author also wanted to make money from a book as the earlier earning from his work were decent but not satisfactory. The studio was ranked ninth in the country thus competition was high and the budget was limited. However, the movie did not inly rejuvenate the studio but also the author made money from the film.

The film used music to enrich the story which is impossible with the book form. The narrative was enriched by the composer of the Score, Nina Rota who also incorporated writing contributions of Carmine Coppola (Sciannameo, 2010).

The music pulls in the audience and captivates and suspends them throughout the movie and even lingers when it is over and done. The hypnotic score has been cited by many as part of the reason the movie has continued its popularity more than four decades after its release. Ingenuity at the actual filming added specifics to the story that was not possible with the book. For instance, the Don cradles a cat that is symbolic of his care for the weak and friendly. Surprisingly, the cat actually strayed on set and Coppola’s genius incorporated the part on site (Browne, 2000).

Conclusion:

The Godfather novel adaptation to film was faithful to the story and in it the characters in the story came to life. The story is about the godfather who is Vito Corleone head of the Corleone family in New York. This role is vividly portrayed by the actor (Brando) alongside the others. The adaptation to film increases the authenticity of the characters and the audience experience is enhanced. In addition, they are able to see the exact thoughts of the author in the story thereby eliminating the distortions that rise from imagining the scenes in mind while reading. The talent and expertise from the film industry including the director and cast enhanced the story for the audience. The effect is evident from the many accolades and awards that they received which were indicative of mass appreciation for the work.

There are slight differences however, between the film and the novel perhaps due to the limited time available for the film medium. Characters generally have been shortened in the film and the book gives more details in contrast. The directing and production however, compensates for the omissions by fast forwarding to the next significant events in the novel. The film also had the advantage of the score that enriched the experience of the audience concerning the story.