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  • Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli

  • The Epic Story of the Making of The Godfather
  • Written by: Mark Seal
  • Narrated by: Phil Thron
  • Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (12 ratings)

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Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli cover art

Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli

Written by: Mark Seal
Narrated by: Phil Thron
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Publisher's Summary

This “wickedly pacey page-turner” (Total Film) unfurls the behind-the-scenes story of the making of The Godfather, 50 years after the classic film’s original release.

The story of how The Godfather was made is as dramatic, operatic, and entertaining as the film itself. Over the years, many versions of various aspects of the movie’s fiery creation have been told - sometimes conflicting, but always compelling. Mark Seal sifts through the evidence, has extensive new conversations with director Francis Ford Coppola and several heretofore silent sources, and complements them with colorful interviews with key players including actors Al Pacino, James Caan, Talia Shire, and others to write “the definitive look at the making of an American classic” (Library Journal, starred review).

On top of the usual complications of filmmaking, the creators of The Godfather had to contend with the real-life members of its subject matter: the Mob. During production of the movie, location permits were inexplicably revoked, author Mario Puzo got into a public brawl with an irate Frank Sinatra, producer Al Ruddy’s car was found riddled with bullets, men with “connections” vied to be in the cast, and some were given film roles.

As Seal notes, this is the tale of a “movie that revolutionized filmmaking, saved Paramount Pictures, minted a new generation of movie stars, made its struggling author Mario Puzo rich and famous, and sparked a war between two of the mightiest powers in America: the sharks of Hollywood and the highest echelons of the Mob.”

“For fans of books about moviemaking, this is a definite must-read” (Booklist).

©2021 Mark Seal. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A lot of time wasted for a few gems of film history

Although the reading of “Leave the Gun” held my interest to the end, the author’s fascination with the often tenuous connections between the book and movie’s story and that of the real life Mob grows tiresome.

Worse, Phil Thron’s narration of the women who worked on the film is genuinely off-putting. Thron raises his vocal tone for each smart, capable woman so ridiculously, that each one comes off sounding childish. It’s embarrassing and misogynistic.

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