The Godfather trilogy is among the most significant works of Hollywood cinema of the last quarter century. They provide a richly complex look at a whole segment of American life and culture spanning almost the whole century. In six essays, written especially for this volume, The Godfather trilogy is re-examined from a variety of perspectives. Providing original analyses on the form and significance of Coppola's achievement, they demonstrate how the filmmaker revised the conventions of the American crime film in the Viet Nam era, his treatment of the capitalism of the criminal underworld and its inherent violence, the power struggles within Hollywood over the film, and the contribution of opera to the epic force and cinematic style of Coppola's vision of an American criminal dynasty. The Godfather articulates the themes, styles, mythologies, performances, and underlying cultural values that have made the film a modern classic.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; List of contributors; Fearful a-symmetries: violence as history in the Godfather films Nick Browne; 1. If history has taught us anything ... Francis Coppola, Paramount Studios, and The Godfather Parts I, II and III Jon Lewis; 2. The Godfather and the mythology of Mafia Alessandro Camon; 3. The representation of ethnicity in The Godfather Vera Dika; 4. Ideology and genre in the Godfather films Glenn Man; 5. Family ceremonies: or, opera in The Godfather trilogy Naomi Greene; Filmography; Reviews of the 'Godgather' trilogy; Select bibliography; Index.