Mr. O'brien

I’m in the mood for ambitious fiction. Earlier this year I was blessed with a run of incredible reads,  topped off by Yvegeny Zamiatin’s masterpiece, We.

Mr. Zamiatin

Since then I’ve taken on more projects that inevitably have eaten into my reading time, and I am becoming more zealous in my quest for inspired reads. Ambition is the only flavor my literary palate wants to taste right now. I’m hungry for books that make me break out the booksdarts and re-read for pure pleasure. I want prose and plots that cause reactions, page turners that remind me how lucky I am to know how to read.

I’m compiling a list (in no particular order) of ambitiously written books and additions are requested in the comments section! I’d love suggestions for a 2010 reading list…

Mr. Baldwin

The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brien

Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

The Inferno by Dante

Morvagine by Blaise Cendrars

Tropic of Capricorn by Henry Miller

Candide by Voltaire

The Electric Koolaid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe

Black Boy by Richard Wright

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf? by Edward Albee

Bowl of Cherries by Milliard Kauffman

The Whapshot Chronicle by John Cheever (as well as many of his shorter works)

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

The Iliad by Homer

If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino

Her by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Geek Love by Katherine Dunn

The Twits by Roald Dahl

Lolita by Vladamir Nabakov

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Monkeywrench Gang by Edward Abbey

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Stranger by Albert Camus

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

Peanuts by Charles Schultz

Mr. Abbey

more:

Bluebeard/Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut

The Aeneid by Virgil

The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger

His Dark Materials Series by Phillip Pullman

At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O’brien

White Noise by Don Delillo

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

The Watchmen by Alan Moore

More..?

VERDICT:
10/10 Bloody Cannolis

Might just the greatest movie ever made and still holds up as the best in the trilogy.

The Godfather is about clean-cut war hero Michael Corleone – of the Corleone mafia family – who returns home only to find himself getting his hands dirty after an attempt is made on his father’s life by a rival family.

Couldn’t really think of a fitting Thanksgiving movie to write about considering I haven’t seen Planes, Trains and Automobiles in ages, but since I feel like AMC is inevitably going to have a Godfather marathon going today, this’ll do.

This is one of those situations where I probably won’t have much to say because there’s only so much you can write about something that’s near-perfect. With that being said, here it goes.

For starters, the acting’s phenomenal. Marlon Brando – who had already established himself as one of the greatest actors of all-time – in what might be the greatest role of his career as Don Vito Corleone. Won the Oscar for it, no one was surprised. Al Pacino in his break-out role as Michael Corleone – one of the few times where he rocks it without going “HOO-WAAH!” all over everyone’s ass. A nice change of pace for Al.

Robert Duvall, James Caan, Talia Shire, Abe Vigoda, and a slew of other side characters that are all great and just as memorable as the next. I could go on, but for fear of dragging on like a bastard, just trust me, everyone here is out of sight.

But the reason I like this movie far more than its sequels (not counting Part III, no one counts Part III) is because Coppola makes this movie about family that happens to be in the mafia, rather than the other way around. Yeah, a lot of people get whacked here – which isn’t all too family-like – but you also really get the sense that these Corleones legitimately care for each other. Sonny protecting his sister from getting her ass whupped, Michael moving his father’s hospital bed, Vito trying to keep Michael out of the family’s affairs, Michael’s entire character arc – every time the Corleone’s make a move, they’re doing it for the good of their family, and that’s something you don’t really get in Part II, at least not in Michael’s story. There’s such great development here for every single character that it doesn’t take long for you to get connected and feel like a part of the family yourself – another thing you don’t really get in Part II, at least not in Michael’s story.

Another thing worth noting is that all the violence and the shock factor this movie had going for it back in ‘72 still holds up impressively well today. The horse’s head, Michael’s shootout in the restaurant, Sonny at the toll booth, the legendary baptism montage – there’s a lot of ‘em (and they all kick ass). I feel like a lot of movies that made people gasp in the ’70s don’t really have the same effect today as they did back then, but somehow The Godfather managed to change all that and will probably still have people going “Good lord!” for years to come while still feeling totally authentic. Well done.

Look, if you haven’t seen The Godfather, you really don’t know what you’re missing. The script is practically perfect on every front. The dialogue is quotable beyond belief and the plot line is only complemented by the flawless pace-setting that Coppola moves it along. The acting – timeless. The directing – incredible. And, man, just such a great, complex, and entertaining story that makes three hours go by in a flash.

Not sure that it’s my favorite movie of all-time, but its easily in the top 3 and it might just be the closest thing to a perfect movie you’re going to find.

Nos primeiros cinco minutos de projeção somos obrigados a perguntar se estamos vendo uma ficção ou um documentário. A figura de Dominic Noonan, chefe de uma famosa família de mafiosos irlandeses, em primeiro plano, dizendo: “Olá, eu sou Don e está é Manchester, minha cidade.”, só pode ter saído de um roteiro de Quentin Tarantino ou das tiras de Frank Miller.

Um gângster bem britânico é a estréia de Donal Macintyre como diretor de documentários e nos mostra o dia a dia de Don e sua família mafiosa. Donal trabalhou como jornalista investigativo da BBC, se infiltrou em diversas facções criminosas na Inglaterra e ainda realizou reportagens em Beirute, na Bósnia e no Congo.

Dominic Noonan e o diretor Donal Macintyre

Macintyre utiliza pequenas câmeras digitais para acompanhar Dominic durante seus passeios por Manchester e realiza uma série de entrevistas onde pergunta tudo ao temido bandido, até se ele é gay! A agilidade da equipe de filmagem permite cenas inusitadas e divertidas. Don é preso numa mega-operação policial, os demais membros da gangue não são detidos e o segundo no comando tem apenas 17 anos. O que vemos a seguir é típico de uma comédia pastelão: os rapazes discutem no meio da rua, minutos após a polícia deixar o local, e as armas são visíveis na altura da cintura. Nem Woody Allen faria melhor.

Dominic passeando pelas ruas de Manchester

A montagem dinâmica e sugestiva deixa espaço para o público respirar e rir livremente. É impossível segurar o riso quando Don explica ao diretor que obriga o bando a se vestir com terno e gravata porque “Estamos sempre sendo fotografados e filmados. Não quero ir preso sem estar bem vestido.” Na seqüência, o diretor faz um pequeno clipe com a música clássica de Pulp Fiction e fotos dos bandidos em preto e branco. Hilário.

Gang em estilo Vincent Vega

Alguns críticos ingleses disseram que Macintyre deu toques de sofisticação ao mafioso e não revelou sua verdadeira face. O filme acompanha quatro anos na vida de Dominic Noonan, incluindo suas idas e vindas do tribunal e da cadeia, e se isso não é o suficiente para deixar claro quem é o personagem principal, bem, só com uma confissão de culpa assinada.

No momento mais tenso do documentário vemos a reação de Don ao assassinato do irmão, o mais temido membro da família, e suas palavras deixam claro o que vai acontecer a seguir: “Eu sei quem foi. Ele está morto, ele já está morto. Ele sabe que está morto. Está acabado.”

O funeral de Desmond Noonan parou Manchester

Macintyre abusa das perguntas inconvenientes e dispara: “Você não acha que já correu sangue demais?” Dominic responde sem pestanejar: “O quê? Isso está só começando. Esse é só o começo“. No primeiro dia que passa na cadeia, o traficante que matou Desmond Noonan é esfaqueado e transferido para uma prisão de segurança máxima.

Poucas vezes o mundo da máfia foi retratado tão de perto e de forma tão simples e direta. Macintyre não usa câmera escondida ou filma disfarçado, ele anda na rua com sua PD-150 em punho, lado a lado com Dominic Noonan e freqüenta os bares e restaurantes com a gangue. “Não estou vendo você comer nada, Donal. Coma.”, sugere calmamente o chefe mafioso.

Católico como todo bom mafioso

O documentário não registra apenas o cotidiano de Don, o diretor também quer saber como é a família Noonan na intimidade e conversa com a irmã, sobrinhos e amigos. A relação de Dominic com os filhos recebe uma atenção especial no filme – seria uma homenagem à saga O poderoso chefão de Mario Puzo e imortalizada por Francis Ford Coppola?

Um gângster bem britânico está longe de ser um filme que faz apologia ao crime organizado, é uma denúncia, um tapa na cara das autoridades britânicas. Macintyre usa elementos da cultura pop para contar uma história tão antiga quanto a coroa da rainha.

Um gângster bem britânico (A very british gangster)

Reino Unido, 2007. 87 minutos

Direção: Donal Macintyre

Through it all, Junior Gotti sits in his impeccable suits and designer eyeglasses, free for a few hours to hear the latest case against him.

In a downtown federal courthouse, Gambino family scion John A. (Junior) Gotti sits, yet again, to see if he’ll spend the rest of his life behind bars            

ஒரிஜினல் லிஸ்ட் இங்கே. பாஸ்டன் பாலாவுக்கு நன்றி!

சைரனோ டி பெர்கராக், Cyrano de Bergerac – எட்மண்ட் ரோஸ்டாண்ட் எழுதிய புத்தகம். வெகு நாட்களுக்கு முன் படித்த நாடகம், கதை மட்டுமே மங்கலாக நினைவிருக்கிறது. ஹோசே ஃபெர்ரர் நடித்து ஒரு முறை, ஜெரார்ட் டிபார்டியூ நடித்து ஒரு முறை வந்திருக்கிறது. இரண்டையும் கமல் குறிப்பிடுகிறார், இரண்டையும் நான் பார்த்ததில்லை.

ஸ்பார்டகஸ், Spartacus – ஹோவர்ட் ஃபாஸ்ட் எழுதிய நாவல். ஸ்டான்லி குப்ரிக் இயக்கி கிர்க் டக்ளஸ் நடித்த புகழ் பெற்ற படம். என் கண்ணில் சுமாரான படம்தான். நாவல் படித்ததில்லை.

எ க்ளாக்வொர்க் ஆரஞ்ச், A Clockwork Orange – அந்தோனி பர்ஜஸ் எழுதிய நாவல். படித்ததில்லை. ஸ்டான்லி குப்ரிக் இயக்கி மால்கம் மக்டொவல் நடித்தது. பிரமாதமான படம். குப்ரிக் கலக்கிவிட்டார்.

லாஸ்ட் டெம்ப்டேஷன் ஆஃப் க்ரைஸ்ட், Last Temptation of Christ – நிகோலாய் கசான்ட்சாகிஸ் எழுதிய நாவல். மார்டின் ஸ்கொர்ஸஸி இயக்கி இருக்கிறார். பார்த்ததுமில்லை, படித்ததுமில்லை.

பீயிங் தேர், Being There – ஜெர்சி கொசின்ஸ்கி எழுதிய நாவல். ஹால் ஆஷ்பி இயக்கி பீட்டர் செல்லர்ஸ் நடித்தது. படித்ததில்லை, ஆனால் படம் பார்த்திருக்கிறேன். சுமாரான படம்.

ட்ரெய்ன்ஸ்பாட்டிங், Trainspotting – இர்வின் வெல்ஷ் எழுதிய நாவல். ஸ்லம்டாக் மில்லியனர் புகழ் டான்னி பாயில் இயக்கியது. பார்த்ததுமில்லை, படித்ததுமில்லை, கேள்விப்பட்டதும் இல்லை.

பர்ஃப்யூம், Perfume – யாரோ பாட்ரிக் சுஸ்கிண்ட் எழுதியதாம். டாம் டைக்வர் இயக்கியதாம். பார்த்ததுமில்லை, படித்ததுமில்லை, கேள்விப்பட்டதும் இல்லை.

சிட்டி சிட்டி பாங் பாங், Chitti Chitti Bang Bang – ஜேம்ஸ் பாண்ட் புகழ் இயன் ஃப்ளெமிங் எழுதிய சிறுவர்களுக்கான புத்தகம். டிக் வான் டைக் நடித்தது. படம் சிறுவர் சிறுமிகளுக்கு பிடிக்கும். நாவல் படித்ததில்லை.

க்யூரியஸ் கேஸ் ஆஃப் பெஞ்சமின் பட்டன், Curious Case of Benjamin Button – ஸ்காட் ஃபிட்ஸ்ஜெரால்ட் எழுதிய சிறுகதை. ப்ராட் பிட் நடித்து டேவிட் ஃபிஞ்சர் இயக்கியது. இந்த வருஷ ஆஸ்கார் போட்டியில் ஸ்லம்டாக் மில்லியனருக்கு பெரும் போட்டியாக இருந்தது. படித்ததில்லை, இன்னும் பார்க்கவும் இல்லை.

ஃபாரஸ்ட் கம்ப், Forrest Gump – வின்ஸ்டன் க்ரூம் எழுதியது. டாம் ஹாங்க்ஸ் நடித்து ராபர்ட் ஜெமகிஸ் இயக்கியது. சராசரிக்கு மேலான படம். பல ஆஸ்கார் விருதுகளை வென்றது. ஆனால் அந்த சமயத்தில் வந்த பல்ப் ஃபிக்ஷன், ஷாஷான்க் ரிடம்ப்ஷன் ஆகியவை இதை விட சிறந்த படங்கள். புத்தகம் படித்ததில்லை.

மாரத்தான் மான், Marathon Man- வில்லியம் கோல்ட்மான் எழுதிய நாவல். டஸ்டின் ஹாஃப்மன், லாரன்ஸ் ஒலிவியர் நடித்து ஜான் ஷ்லேசிங்கர் இயக்கியது. பார்த்ததுமில்லை, படித்ததுமில்லை.

மாஜிக், Magic – இதுவும் வில்லியம் கோல்ட்மான் எழுதிய நாவல். அந்தோனி ஹாப்கின்ஸ் நடித்து ரிச்சர்ட் அட்டன்பரோ இயக்கியது. பார்த்ததுமில்லை, படித்ததுமில்லை, கேள்விப்பட்டதும் இல்லை.

டிராகுலா, Dracula – ப்ராம் ஸ்டோகர் எழுதிய நாவல். கமல் ஃப்ரான்சிஸ் ஃபோர்ட் கொப்போலா இயக்கிய படத்தை சொல்கிறார். நான் பார்த்திருப்பது பழைய பேலா லுகோசி நடித்த படம்தான். லுகொசி ஒரு eerie உணர்வை நன்றாக கொண்டு வருவார். நாவல் சுமார்தான், ஆனால் ஒரு genre-இன் பிரதிநிதி.

காட்ஃபாதர், Godfather – மரியோ பூசோ எழுதியது. அல் பசினோ, மார்லன் பிராண்டோ நடித்து ஃப்ரான்சிஸ் ஃபோர்ட் கொப்போலா இயக்கிய மிக அருமையான படம். நல்ல நாவலும் கூட.

கமல் கொஞ்சம் esoteric படங்களை விரும்புவார் போல தெரிகிறது. எனக்கு மிகவும் பிடித்த, மிக அற்புதமான நாவலும், அருமையான படமும் ஆன To Kill a Mockingbird-ஐ விட்டுவிட்டாரே!

கமலின் லிஸ்டில் காட்ஃபாதர் மட்டுமே நல்ல புத்தகம், மற்றும் நல்ல படம் – என்னைப் பொறுத்த வரையில். நான் படித்திருக்கும் புத்தகமும் அது ஒன்றுதான். கமல் சொல்லி இருக்கும் படங்களில் நான் பாதிக்கு மேல் பார்த்ததில்லை. பார்த்த வரையில் காட்ஃபாதர் மற்றும் எ க்ளாக்வொர்க் ஆரஞ்ச் மட்டுமே பார்க்க வேண்டிய படம். ஆனால் அவர் சொல்லி இருக்கும் படங்களில் பல பிரபலமான படங்கள் – ஸ்பார்டகஸ், ஃபாரஸ்ட் கம்ப், பெஞ்சமின் பட்டன், சிட்டி சிட்டி பாங் பாங் – இருக்கின்றன. பார்த்திருப்பீர்கள். படித்திருப்பீர்கள். நீங்கள் கமலின் தேர்வுகளைப் பற்றி என்ன நினைக்கிறீர்கள்?

தொடர்புடைய பதிவுகள்
கமல் சிபாரிசுகள் – சிறந்த திரைக்கதைகள் உள்ள தமிழ் படங்கள்

Maybe it’s the Italian in me, or maybe I’m more hardcore than I thought, but I love any book that involves Italy and(or) the mob. I was first drawn into the mob genre with Mario Puzo’s, The Godfather. It was an amazing book that made me feel as though I was actually caught up in the middle of several vendettas. I’m highly interested in this genre that holds never-ending surprises and wording that would make anyone feel a great passion for characters who commit horrible crimes and murders.

The Sicilian, another Mario Puzo book, takes place at the end of Michael Corleone’s exile in Sicily. Michael is told by his father, Don Corleone, who lives in America, that he is to ensure the safe travel of Sicily’s most ruthless bandit, Salvatore Guiliano, to America.

The book is split into several time periods, which tell of the events leading up to Guiliano becoming a bandit. You are also led into the crimes that occurred during his days as an outlaw and how he became a Sicilian hero to some and a Sicilian bastardo to others. The book comes to an end with Guiliano’s hopeful flee to America.

Guiliano was a poor peasant before his years as a bandit; his goal – to steal from the rich and give to the poor. It’s hard to imagine that I could feel for someone who commits such horrible violence on innocent people; it was a true fight of morals throughout. But, Guiliano’s insistence on helping the poor in Sicily is almost endearing and I found myself strongly rooting for him. I wanted to see him help people, to make it home to America.

The Sicilian was by far one of the greatest books I’ve read. And with a one-line ending that will leave you breathless, you can sit the book down when you’re done and be greatly satisfied with the outcome.

Posted by Patience

]]> http://ihidalgov.wordpress.com/2009/10/14/el-padrino/ Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:35:06 +0000 ihidalgov http://ihidalgov.wordpress.com/2009/10/14/el-padrino/

Uno de mis libros favoritos, el Padrino, escrita por Mario Puzo.

Cuenta la historia de la familia Corleone, inserta en el mundo de la mafia siciliana, asentada en Nueva York. La familia es encabezada por el gran Don Vito Corleone, un mafioso de esos que ya no quedan, que conserva sus tradiciones al pie de la letra, quien tiene un respeto por su familia y enseña a sus hijos a seguir sus tradiciones, aunque en el camino equivoquen y sucedan hechos drámaticos que cambiaran el curso que quizo alguna vez dar Don Vito a su familia.

“Un hombre que no sabe ser un buen padre, no es un auténtico hombre.”

Al Pacino as Mike Corleone in Godfather part II. Click for credits

The theme of the mafia has come out in many discussions. While reading up on it I was surprised how well the mafia seems to fit into the topics of this blog.

Here just a few notes freely based on the book Padrini, by Roberto Olla, Mondadori 2003, Milano [translated into English with the title Godfathers], and on the novel The Godfather, by Mario Puzo.

Men of Respect, Intelligent and Cynical

The word “Don” is used in Italian when referring to a priest or to an aristocrat. A godfather is in fact a man of respect. He is an aristocrat of crime, a prince of evil, no matter his appearance or his clothes – this may be one reason why Hollywood movie-goers have found the mafiosi so attractive.

One common mistake – argues Roberto Olla – is in fact that of considering the mafiosi as simple gunmen to defeat. Don Vito Cascio Ferro had no guns. He was one of the first godfathers who operated both in Sicily and in the United States. His force lay in his cynicism and intelligence and in the network he was able to create thanks to well ingrained traditions. He distributed favori, favours, to everybody, but something was asked in return.

In short, mafia had/has history. How a mafia network was / is built is well expressed by Mario Puzo in The Godfather:

“Don Vito Corleone [Puzo’s fictitious character] was a man to whom everybody came for help, and never were they disappointed. He made no empty promise (…) Only one thing was required. That you, you yourself, proclaim your friendship. And then, no matter how poor or powerless the supplicant, Don Corleone would take that man’s troubles to his heart (…) His reward? Friendship, the respectful title of “Don” (…) some humble gift – a gallon of homemade wine etc.
It was understood, it was mere good manners, to proclaim that you were in his debt and that he had the right to call upon you at any time to redeem your debt by some small service.”

This network implied protection, various forms of exchange but also ruthless exploitation (for example the pizzo or protection money one could not escape).

Sicily, a photograph from the Nasa Multimedia Gallery

Long centuries of oppression or absence of the state had favoured in Sicily a kind of anti-state or alternative organization. The American police officers and the ‘nordic’ Italian state found themselves unprepared – Olla continues.

Focusing on America, “the US policemen were searching in the underworld. But it was in the upper world that they should have searched. They should have searched among the ’similar’ and not the ‘diverse’, since those men came from an ancient culture.”

How to Face Aliens From an Ancient World?

Let us try to better understand. America at that time – Olla observes – distinguished between the good guys and the bad guys, and reacted severely to the latter. When though meeting the ‘men of respect’ the US found themselves facing unheard-of souls. They were unprepared when fighting these mafiosi who were too similar to the people from the upper world. It was not a matter of jacket and tie or of wearing a social mask.

“It was a blend of morality and immorality which produced people able to commit the most ferocious crimes and, at the same time, to show respect for religion. People capable to plan a massacre while in everyday life they defended the good principles and healthy traditions.”

An unheard-of humanity? Well, my readers know well what I think about it: we are dealing here in my opinion with alien moral codes stemming from pre-Christian, Greco-Roman antiquity, something more or less unknown to [Christian] northern Europe where the American culture mostly came from.

The mafioso had to be seen – as  Giovanni Falcone, a famous Sicilian magistrate killed by the mafia in 1992, once said – like the old sage who administered justice sat under the big oak tree in the name of a non-existent state.

The Irish had no Chance

“Morality and immorality, respect and abuse, honour and violence.” When in the American ports the Italian and the Irish organized crime faced each other [Olla, again], the latter didn’t have any chance, regardless of the many advantages the Irish had had – they had migrated earlier, they spoke the language, and some of them were perfectly integrated: Irish crime had to face a more ancient and mysterious culture.

Surprise attacks, great speed and extreme determination in their raids – behind the big godfathers I remember Mario Puzo flashing the shadow of the Roman emperors [imperatores], with their ruthlessness and organization. It is exaggerated, but certainly the mafia the Americans had to fight had already in its genes some formidable military qualities, among the rest.

Different from the Irish is the case of the Jewish criminals, some of which (like Meyer Lansky associated with Lucky Luciano) well integrated themselves into the Italian mafia (due to their common Mediterranean origins? It is tempting to think so.)

Joseph Petrosino, a New York City police officer, pioneer in the fight against the mafia (1860 - 1909)

It is not by chance that the first serious blows to the Mafia were given by Italians, like the police officer Joe Petrosino and many others, who were able to understand the intricacies of the Italian mind.

Ψ

Other related posts and blog themes:

The Human Mind is Like a Museum
“Italians are Cynical, Amoral, Religiously Superficial”
Traces of Paganism in Italians

have their very own wikipedia page. The following are some of my favorite (mostly tangentially) New School-related pop culture moments:

-John Popper leaves Eugene Lang College to focus on Blues Traveler.

-Mario Puzo writes The Godfather, which will eventually be made into two of the greatest movies of all time.

-Sufjan Stevens writes:
“Oh the glory that the lord has made
And the complications when I see his face
In the morning in the window

Oh the glory when he took our place
But he took my shoulders and he shook my face
And he takes and he takes and he takes”

-Peter Falk is Colombo.

-Project Runway (The Santino Season)

Sure, there are weightier, heavier things.  But there are also doorbells and sleighbells and schnitzels with noodles.

( Note: This post first appeared in cinebuff.wordpress.com. b)
The kernel of the film is same as what Machiavelli in his book The Prince seems to say. The book was meant for Lorenzo de Medici, the Magnificent. Of course the Medicis of another age and clime hold parallel to the Corleone family in as far as that they could acquire power and maintain it. As Medicis before them the Corleone family embody the American Dream and in it they didn’t have such taste or luck as the Medicis had. Michaelangelo under the aegis of the Corleone family surely would have churned out kitsch by dozens. The film has no pretensions to art and culture but is a crime drama. In order to ensure success what a bloody trail the Corleones leave in their wake? The Machiavellian methods dictated a course that is violent and amoral. After all given the stakes involved, the warring parties cannot then as now afford to let their objectives clouded by fine sensibilities. In this context the film quote “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer,” has the directness of a thrust from a stilleto or a spray of bullets from a machine gun. The second part of the Godfather is the saga of Vito Corleone from his childhood in Sicily (1901) to his founding of the criminal Corleone Family in New York City while still a young man (1917–1925) and like the Prince is a modern treatise for any one who would want to maintain his position acquired by fair means or foul.
The plot includes two parallel storylines. One involves Mafia chief Michael Corleone following the events of the first movie from 1958 to 1959 and the other his father is a series of flashbacks. In the present, Michael Corleone attempt to steer the family business towards respectability but at great cost to his own relationships. Even his own brother, Freddie (John Cazale) is sacrificed to Michael’s grim and ultimately pointless determination. The Godfather Part II became the first sequel ever to win the Academy Award for Best Picture and garnered and even bigger Oscar haul than The Godfather. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script co-written with Mario Puzo the film stars Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, John Cazale, and Talia Shire. New cast members include Robert De Niro( who won the Best Supporting Actor) , Michael V. Gazzo and Lee Strasberg.
Trivia: Paramount was initially opposed to name the movie The Godfather Part II. According to Coppola, the studio’s objection stemmed from the belief that audiences would be reluctant to see a film with such a title. The success of The Godfather Part II began the Hollywood tradition of numbered sequels.
Cast
Al Pacino as Don Michael Corleone
* Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen
* Robert De Niro as Young Vito Corleone
* Diane Keaton as Kay Corleone
* John Cazale as Fredo Corleone
* Talia Shire as Connie Corleone
* Lee Strasberg as Hyman Roth
* Michael V. Gazzo as Frankie Pentangeli
* Morgana King as Mama Carmella Corleone
* G.D. Spradlin as Senator Pat Geary
* Richard Bright as Al Neri
* Marianna Hill as Deanna Corleone
* Gastone Moschin as Don Fanucci
* Troy Donahue as Merle Johnson

The Godfather Part II ranks among the most critically and artistically successful film sequels in movie history, and is the most honored. Many critics praise it as equal, or even superior, to the original film.
…a sumptuous flamboyant entertainment – not a work of art perhaps but a rich, enjoyable wallow of a movie.
~ Barry Norman, 100 Best Films of the Century

benny

“Sou a favor de tudo que ajuda a atravessar a noite – seja uma oração, tranquilizante ou uma garrafa de Jack Daniels.”

Filho de pais italianos, de origem napolitana, (e não de  sicilianos, o que tornam mais desculpáveis suas atitudes de “finoccio de hollywood“, afirmação pela qual nosso cantor comprou briga com o grande mestre Mario Puzo, devido á Johnny Fontane, personagem do livro O Chefão), Frank Sinatra aprendeu a cantar sozinho, sem aulas de técnica vocal, desenvolvendo um estilo próprio que o transformou em um ícone da juventude de sua época. E como qualquer ícone dos jovens, não é nenhum assombro que Frank Sinatra tenha sido um putanheiro selvagem, que adorava ver a mais alta roda da sociedade se refestelar com a boa moral que cuspia, embora o fato de ter sido um canastrão drogado,  não faz de Mr Blue Eyes, alguém menos respeitoso enquanto artista. Sabe Porquê? Porque ele era Mestre, então tem meu aval pra isso. Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Axl Rose não podem. Eles que se fodam, por que pra mim eles são nada haha.

Durante os anos 50, o homem conhecido como a Voz, (apelido que conquistou, participando da campanha das eleições de Roosevelt), foi acusado de estar envolvido com o crime organizado, fazendo parte do círculo de relações importantes de grandes figurões do submundo de Chicago. De fato, quando sua carreira entrava em decadência, um gangster conhecido como Sam Giancana, mexeu seus pauzinhos para ajudar o cantor a sair da fossa (fato que Mario Puzo não deixou passar desapercebido, criando em cima disso o querido Johny Fontane ). Também causou grande reboliço na Imprensa, seu caso fora do casamento, com a atriz Ava Gardner, lembrada pela mídia como “o animal mais belo do mundo” por ter um “olhar de gata“. Encerrou suas atividades na música em 1995, aos 80 anos, falecendo três anos depois.

Escolhi a dedo essa coletânea. Ela  contém grandes sucessos do Voz de veludo, com a finalidade de apresentá-lo a um público jovem e curioso,  não contendo Girl From Ipanema como as outras diversas coletâneas do Sr Sinatra espalhadas por aí, um dueto detestável com Tom Jobim, pela justa razão de que, como uma amiga, apreciadora de boa música, certa vez afirmou, “Tom Jobim fazia música pra gringo”.

Tracklist

• 01. My Way
• 02. Strangers in the Night
• 03. New York, New York
• 04. I Get a Kick out of You
• 05. That’s Life
• 06.  All the Things You Are
• 07. As Times Goes By
• 08. Blue Moon
• 09. Fly Me To The Moon
• 10. In The Wee Small Hours of The Morning
• 11. It Can Happen To You
• 12. It Had To Be You
• 13. Just The Way You Look Tonight
• 14. Love and Marriage
• 15. Luck Be a Lady
• 16. Mack The Knife
• 17. My Funny Valentine
• 18. Night and Day
• 19.  Our Love is Here to Stay
• 20. Send In The Clowns
• 21. Swinging on a Star
• 22. The Best is yet to Come
• 23. The Way You Look Tonight
• 24. Three Coins In a Fountain
• 25. Witchcraft
• 26. You’re Nobody ’till Somebody Loves
• 27. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Baixar

Senha: osubmundo.wordpress.com

Aus der Amazon.de-Redaktion
Es heißt Abschied nehmen von einem Schriftsteller, dessen Charaktere unauslöschlich in unsere Köpfe eingebrannt sind. Sonny und Michael Corleone, Solozzo, der Türke, Luca Brasi, der Killer der Familie — und natürlich das Familienoberhaupt, Don Corleone selbst, kommen einem längst wie alte Bekannte vor. Unvergessen des Dons sinistre, fast schon in die Umgangssprache eingegangene Überredungsformel “machen wir ihm ein Angebot, das er nicht ausschlagen kann”.
Mit dem Paten und seinen Einblicken ins komplizierte mafiöse Strukturgeflecht hat sich Mario Puzo unsterblich gemacht. Umso schmerzlicher, dass dem im Juli 1999 verstorbenen Schriftsteller mit seinem letzten Werk, einem lang gehegten Herzenswunsch, nicht der ganz große Wurf gelungen ist: Den Bogen zu schlagen ins 15. Jahrhundert, zum Vorbild und Archetypus der Corleones, einer Dynastie, die vielen Italienern als Urbild der Korruption und des Verbrechens gilt: den Borgias!

1492 war Rom alles andere als eine Heilige Stadt. Die Pest hatte gewütet, Italien war eine Anhäufung von Stadtstaaten, die sich gegenseitig bekriegten. Der Klerus vergnügte sich mit Kurtisanen und war gegen Zahlung angemessener Bestechungsgelder nur allzu gewillt, selbst die scheußlichsten Verbrechen zu rechtfertigen. Kardinal Rodrigo Borgia sah seine Chance gekommen, durch Manipulation bei der Papstwahl als Alexander VI. den Heiligen Stuhl zu besteigen. Sofort begann er, seine Feinde auszumerzen und seine berüchtigte Brut, Lieblingssohn Cesare und dessen Schwester Lucrezia, als Schachfiguren in sein grausames Intrigenspiel um die Vorherrschaft in Italien einzusetzen.

Dass Puzo an klare historische Fakten gebunden war, ist ein Manko des Romans. Seine sprichwörtliche Fabulierlust und sein erzählerischer Schwung sind spürbar gebremst. Im Spagat zwischen Historiendrama und Renaissance-Mafiakrimi rieb sich Puzo, sonst berühmt für sein untrügliches Gespür für Höhepunkte, mehr und mehr auf. Eingefleischte Fans werden dieses Werk, das nach seinem Tod von seiner Lebensgefährtin Gino vollendet wurde, dennoch verschlingen.

(Ein kleiner Tipp zum Schluss: Als Ergänzung zur Puzo-Lektüre eignet sich hervorragend Manuel Vazquez Montalbans Historienroman Kaiser oder nichts). –Ravi Unger — Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

Kurzbeschreibung
Es war Mario Puzos lebenslanger Traum, einen Roman über die mächtige Familie der Borgias zu schreiben – der Familie, die in Italien zur Zeit der Renaissance eine so herausragende und bestimmende Rolle gespielt hat. Aus ihrer Mitte kamen Päpste und Politiker, sie hatte Einfluß auf die Geschicke des Landes im 15. Jahrhundert und stand als Sinnbild für eine üppige und verruchte Lebensführung – eine skandalumwitterte Dynastie. Die Borgias gelten in vielerlei Hinsicht als die erste wirklich kriminelle Familie Italiens.
Und so war zum Aufschreiben ihrer Geschichte niemand prädestinierter als Mario Puzo – der Schöpfer der legendären Mafiasaga. Er verwob Fakten und Fiktionen zu einem grandiosen Familienepos – ein allerletzter Beweis seiner meisterhaften Erzählkunst.

Mario Puzo (* 15. Oktober 1920 in New York City; † 2. Juli 1999 in Bay Shore auf Long Island) war ein US-amerikanischer Autor italienischer Abstammung.

Als Krimiautor weltweit bekannt wurde Mario Puzo durch seinen Roman Der Pate (engl. The Godfather) von 1969, ein Mafia-Familienepos, das den Aufstieg einer italienischen Mafiafamilie über eine Generation zeigt, und den gleichnamigen Film von Francis Ford Coppola. Für die Drehbücher zu Der Pate und Der Pate, Teil II erhielt er, zusammen mit dem Regisseur Francis Ford Coppola, je einen Oscar in der Kategorie bestes adaptiertes Drehbuch.

Wikipedia

Eine der faszinierendsten Epochen der Geschichte ist zweifelsohne die italientische Renaissance, wobei die Borgia wiederum eine der interessantesten Familien darstellen – es hätte also ein ausgesprochen Unterhaltsamens Buch sein können. Leider scheint es mir nach wie vor nicht vergönnt zu sein, einen guten Roman über die Borgia zu lesen (Die bis jetzt schlimmste Lektüre war *Ich, Lucrezia*, welche jede Seite mit einem Mord oder einer Vergewaltigung aufwartete, wahlweise auch beides aufwies) und Puzos Werk reiht sich in diese Serie ein: Teilweise hatte ich das Gefühl, ein Lehrbuch über Kirchengeschichte in den Händen zu halten. Ich empfand die historischen Hintergründe der Zeit schon *Der Name der Rose* nervig (vor allem, weil sie nichts mit der Handlung zu tun hatten, wie z.B. Ludwig der Bayer) und in dem Borgia-Buch wurden wieder Hintergründe erklärt (Der Papst darf nach kanonischen Recht nicht zur Jagd gehen), die eigentlich geläufig sein sollten; Schlachten und Bündnisse wurden in 2-3 Sätzen abgehandelt. Anstatt durch Dialoge davon zu erzählen, hielt der Autor es für nötig, sein Publikum zu belehren.
Die Geschichte war zwar flüssig zu lesen, aber auch blutarm, so ging der Beischlaf Cesares mit seiner Schwester Lucrezia überhaupt nicht an mich; zudem schien der Autor begierig, sämtliche Gerüchte über die Prunksucht und Unmoral der Borgias abzuhaken – wobei sie es sicher wüst getrieben haben, und andere Bücher die Skandale mehr auskosten. Die Figuren bleiben von allem mir bekannten Romanen über die Familie am farblosesten, es gab keinen, der wirklich interessiert hat oder dessen Schicksal mir nahe ging. Auch gab es keine gefühlte Hauptperson, da der Autor von allen zu gleichen Anteilen berichtete, lediglich Lucrecia als bedeutendste Borgia neben dem Papst, kommt hauptsächlich in Gesprächen vor.

Fazit:
Ich warte weiter auf einen vernünftigen Borgia-Roman.

Jedoch ist “Die Familie” vollkommen leidenschaftslos und langweilig ohne Sinn und Verstand, es fehlt ein charismatischer “Held”, sowie jegliche Spannung und die Beziehung zwischen den Kindern von Papst Alexander VI. ist auch nicht jedermanns Sache. Rom wird zwar als Ort des Geschehens angegeben jedoch vermisst man jeden Funken Flair den diese herrliche Stadt ausmacht

Der Ullstein Verlag hat dem Roman “Die Familie” jedoch nicht das Prädikat “historisch” verliehen, was in Anbetracht von vielen, nicht nur geschichtlichen, sondern auch geographischen, sprachlichen und anderen Fehlern durchaus plausibel ist (und außerdem das verfehlte Buchcover, einen Gemäldeausschnitt aus “Tod der Kleopatra” entschuldigt). Die folgenden Kostproben sind nur besonders krasse Beispiele für die Missgriffe:

Papst Alexander VI. war noch nicht unfehlbar, weil die “Unfehlbarkeit des Papstes” erst bei Pius IX. auf dem 1. Vatikanischen Konzil (1869!) festgestellt und dogmatisiert werden sollte. Da die Eroberung Südamerikas erst einige Jahre nach Cesare Borgia’s Tod begann, können die Conqistadores auch nicht seine Ahnen gewesen sein. Während der Renaissance gab es in Italien keine Tomatensauce, denn die Strauchfrucht wurde erst zum Ende des 16. Jahrhunderts, zunächst als Zierpflanze, nach Europa gebracht. Als Gemüse wurde sie gar erst 300 später verwendet, da man sie bis dahin für giftig gehalten hatte. Alexander IV. konnte seiner Geliebten Vanozza Cantaneis keine Kette aus “Südseeperlen” geschenkt haben, den der heute als “Südsee” bekannte Teil des Pazifiks wurde erst 1521 von Magellan entdeckt. Entgegen dem Roman lag das Ghetto von Rom nicht im Stadtteil Trastevere, sondern auf der anderen Seite des Tiber, wo sich heute noch die “Villagio degli Ebrei” befindet. Der Scheiterhaufen, auf dem 1498 in Florenz der Dominikaner Girolamo Savonarola verbrannt wurde, stand nicht auf der Piazza vor der Markuskirche, sondern 1 Km Luftlinie südlich davon, auf der Piazza de la Signoria. Zur Zeit der Romanhandlung gab es zwar eine geradezu inflationäre Vielzahl von Herzögen, jedoch waren weder Rimini, noch Perugia Herzogtümer, sondern unabhängige kommunale Stadtherrschaften (Signorien). König Ludwig XII. von Frankreich war nicht der Bruder seines Vorgängers Karl VIII., sondern sein Cousin und Schwager. Italienische Familiennamen, wie Medici, Pazzi, Orsini usw. benötigen, um eine Mehrzahl ihrer Familienangehörigen zu benennen, nicht der Anhängung des Buchstaben “s” (z. B. “Medicis”), da der Name an sich schon ein Plural ist. Zum Familiennamen Colonna lautet der Plural hingegen Colonne, statt “Colonnas”. Die Romanakteure bedienen sich in direkter Rede manchmal Begriffe, die aus späterer Zeit stammen. Neben “Tee” (17. Jh.), “Rabauken” um 1900) mag auch der Anglizismus “Baby” in einen amerikanischen Mafiafilm passen, ist aber in einem “Renaissance-Dialog” als Bezeichnung für einen Säugling anachronistisch und daher fehl am Platz.

Trotz reichlich Krieg, Mord, Vetternwirtschaft und Erotik wirkt “Die Familie” oft eher ermüdend, als spannend. Ähnlich wie bei “Die Borgia” von Eberhard Cyran bietet der Roman für den historisch interessierten Leser einen gewissen Informationswert, der in der kritischen Überprüfung seines Inhaltes liegt. Da auf visualisierende Zugaben (Landkarte, Genealogie, Zeittafel o. ä.) verzichtet wurde, bleiben zusammengenommen nur 2 Amazonsterne.

Amazon-Kritiken

Wikipedia:

Borgia

Ceasare Borgia

_____

Krimi-Couch

Acho que nenhum livro marcou de forma tão forte a minha vida, quanto a obra prima do Mario Puzo,  o Chefão, que gerou o clássico de ouro do cinema que todos conhecem como  O Poderoso Chefão. Funcionou, com um certo exagero, e eu confesso, como uma Bíblia, á qual recorria nos momentos de fraqueza,  para que passasse pelo período que me tornaria mais maduro em relação á vida.  Desde então é incontável o número de vezes que li o livro, além de ter devorado uma quantia enorme de livros do Mario Puzo, mesmo aqueles vistos com mais preconceito por quem é fã do escritor.

Deixo aqui á disposição, como um presente pessoal á quem como eu, é fã do Grande Mestre Mario Puzo, e da trilogia O Poderoso Chefão, a trilha sonora do primeiro filme, composição de Nino Rotta.

Tracklist

1. The Godfather Waltz or Main Title
2. I Have But One Heart (O Marenariello)
3. The Pickup
4. Connie’s Wedding
5. The Halls Of Fear
6. Sicilian Pastorale
7. Love Theme From The Godfather (Speak Softly Love)
8. The Godfather Waltz
9. Apollonia
10. The New Godfather
11. The Baptism
12. The Godfather Finale

Baixar

If you’re one of the many keen to be gripped again by the power and drama of Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, rejoice at the appearance of his new book Omertà. We are once again in the dark, fascinating world of the Mafia. And this is a saga perfectly suited to the audiobook medium: a compelling tale that unfolds with a cold, glittering fascination. And who better than Joe Mantegna, star of Homicide, Bugsy and (most tellingly) the Godfather saga itself? His perfectly nuanced, dispassionate reading is spot on.

Omertà is the Sicilian code of silence, and is the essential element by which the Mafia has maintained its power over the centuries. But (as in the Corleone saga) Puzo is interested in the way in which changing times force organised crime to adapt, however painful the process. The code is tested when a mob boss is brutally murdered in New York, and both his nephew, Astorre, and the New York FBI chief, Cilke, inaugurate investigations into the killing. It soon becomes clear to both men that a grim conspiracy has spread its tentacles across rival gangs, corrupt bankers and even the courts. Astorre and Cilke both find that much blood must be spilled before the killers of Don Aprile are found–and there are many (on both sides of the law) who will do their best to stop them.

Puzo handles his themes with customary panache, and remains an old hand at moral equivalence: however much we may disapprove, we remain riveted by the implacable cold-bloodedness of his protagonists. –Barry Forshaw

Download:

http://www.ziddu.com/download/6331216/Fiction-MarioPuzo-Omerta.rar.html

From the Publisher

‘As for fiction, there can only be one choice – The Godfather’  – The Times

The story of Don Vito Corleone, the head of a New York Mafia family, inspired some of the most successful movies ever. It is in Mario Puzo’s The Godfather that Corleone first appears. As Corleone’s desperate struggle to control the Mafia underworld unfolds, so does the story of his family. The novel is full of exquisitely detailed characters who, despite leading unconventional lifestyles within a notorious crime family, experience the triumphs and failures of the human condition.

Download:

http://www.ziddu.com/download/6331349/Fiction-MarioPuzo-TheGodfather.rar.html

The President of the US, cousin of JFK, faces the greatest crisis of his career. His only child has been seized by terrorists making impossible demands, while at the same time, two scientists are holding the nation to ransom with a secretly planted nuclear device.

President Francis Xavier Kennedy is elected to office, in large part, thanks to the legacy of his forebears–good looks, privilege, wealth–and is the very embodiment of youthful optimism. Too soon, however, he is beaten down by the political process and, disabused of his ideals, he becomes a leader totally unlike what he has been before.

When his daughter becomes a pawn in a brutal terrorist plot, Kennedy, who has obsessively kept alive the memory of his uncles’ assassinations, activates all his power to retaliate in a series of violent measures. As the explosive events unfold, the world and those closest to him look on with both awe and horror.

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http://www.ziddu.com/download/6331294/Fiction-MarioPuzo-TheFourthK.rar.html

The latest from the author of The Godfather is a surefire success, a political novel that starts with a terrorist assassination of the pope on Easter Sunday, a deed that sends global aftershocks to jolt the power strongholds around the world, from the palace of the sultan of Sherhaben to the White House. The U.S. president is charismatic Francis Xavier Kennedy, scion of the famed and ill-fated clan. Still mourning his dead wife, Kennedy turns his energies to the country’s betterment, forging an idealistic “new social contract.” But Kennedy is also a target of the terrorists, whose mentalities the novel deftly probes: Romeo, a “Christ of Violence,” needs to atone for his pampered upbringing; Yabril, a fierce Arab, privately thirsts to smite–like the angel Azazel–the president’s daughter Theresa. After an appalling crime is committed, Kennedy coldly vows to bomb Sherhaben off the map, despite the American fortunes invested there. His cabinet and the wily, aged members of the Socrates Club–who control grain, real estate, oil, the media and Congress–plot to impeach him. Random acts of violence by young Americans (e.g., naive MIT scientists who plant a mini-atom bomb in Manhattan) enliven and multiply the dangers. Within the male power hierarchy, capable women like vice-president Helen Du Pray calculate their moves. Astute characterizations, vivid drama and Puzo’s shrewd analyses of the paradoxes of evil detonate a top-notch thriller.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“[A] CLASSIC PAGE-TURNER . . . THE FOURTH K HAS ALMOST EVERYTHING YOU LOOK FOR IN A THRILLER.”
–The Washington Post

“FAST-PACED, SATISFYING . . . FINE ENTERTAINMENT.”
–Los Angeles Times

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Sequel to “The Godfather”, this describes the ending of Michael Corleone’s exile in Sicily, his search for Salvatore Giuliano and his troubles, as he confronts brutal and unfamiliar treacheries in the deceitful society within which he moves.

From the Publisher

The sequel to The Godfather

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