Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli: The Epic Story of the Making of The Godfather

Product Description

The behind-the-scenes story of the making of The Godfather, fifty 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 for irresistible insights into how the movie whose success some initially doubted roared to glory.

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 classic 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.” ​

Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli is the lively and complete story of how a masterpiece was made
, perfect for anyone who loves the movies.

Review

“Mark Seal’s seductive book about the making of
The Godfather – often with help of the men it was about – could be a movie itself. He couldn’t have gotten any closer and lived to type about it.”
—
Nicholas Pileggi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wise Guy: Life in a Mafia Family and Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas

“As gloriously Homeric and entertaining as
The Godfather itself. I learned something new on almost every page.”
—
Graydon Carter, editor, Air Mail

“Rollicking and entertaining,
Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli lays bare not only the massive executive egos at war during
The Godfather’s journey to the screen, and the artistic struggles of the young and despairing Francis Coppola who thought he had a failure on his hands, but also the fascinating tales of how the mob muscled in and protected its production. Mark Seal has chronicled a classic cinematic history that conjures all the alchemy of
The Godfather’s magic.”
—
Maureen Orth, international bestselling author of Vulgar Favors: The Hunt for Andrew Cunanan, the Man Who Killed Gianni Versace

“If you love
The Godfather, or American movies, or American gangsters, or just a truly great read, Mark Seal’s
Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli is the book for you. It’s the rollicking inside story behind the making of what may be America’s greatest movie – I couldn’t put it down.’’
—
Bryan Burrough, #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of Barbarians at the Gate and Forget the Alamo

“Absorbing and unforgettable. As sweeping and vivid as
The Godfather itself,
Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli captures moviemaking at its most tumultuous. Mark Seal is a master storyteller, bringing to life the embattled young director Coppola, the unpredictable Brando, and the upstart Pacino with made-for-Hollywood panache.”
—
Robert Draper, New York Times bestselling author of To Start a War: How the Bush Administration Took America into Iraq

“A revealing and entertaining look at the behind-the-scenes machinations of Francis Ford Coppola’s epic film. Masterpiece yields masterpiece with this exuberant page-turner.”
—
Publishers Weekly, starred review

“If you think the 1972 movie
The Godfather is dramatic, wait until you hear its backstory—from how Mario Puzo wrote his 1969 novel (the basis for the film) in a desperate frenzy to pay