Just Finished Reading Last Don And Have A question About The Mini-TV Series

Hey! I just finished reading The Last Don. What a mesmerizing novel. And now I am thinking about buying the Mini-Series. But I have a few questions first.

1. Where does the first part(1st DVD)end?

2. How accurate is the 1st part? I heard from someone a long time ago, that it followed the novel quite closely.

3.Does the 1st part follow the chronological order of the events in the novel? Remember what they did with Once Upon A Time in America? They reversed the order, and released it cut. The outcome proved to be a disaster.

4.How accurate is part 2? I heard it wasn't that accurate. And did they change the ending? I know how Hollywood writers always think they can come up with a better ending, rather than using the one that given to them. Also did this part include the Santadio mansion massacre?

CAUTION: MY ANSWERS MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS

Thanks a lot for the reply.

"Where cross is banned from the Family(if banned is the right word)"

I am a bit confused by this. Are you talking about the part where the Don decides to send Cross to work at the casino? Because he is not a good number one family hammer. Or at the end of the book when Don sends him away, and Cross goes to France.

Yeah, when he goes to France, but in the movie he just pays Lea and his ransome. It doesnt tell you where he goes from there.

Spoiler Warning!!!


The movie starts with the Santadio war?! Doesn't that ruin it? When I read the book the anticipation just kept building as I heard small mentions of it. That was one of the great things about the book, I wasn't disappointed when I read about the war but it helped that it had become so important. How can the movie start off with that? That must mean they really changed the story or at least it's not as enjoyable.

Spoiler Warning

The movie starts with the Santadio war?! Doesn't that ruin it? When I read the book the anticipation just kept building as I heard small mentions of it. That was one of the great things about the book, I wasn't disappointed when I read about the war but it helped that it had become so important. How can the movie start off with that? That must mean they really changed the story or at least it's not as enjoyable.

Yes, I completely agree with you. The Santadio War doesn't belong in the beginning, but Hollywood writers probably thought that there should be some action in the beginning to capture viewers attention. The war was the highlight of the book; it was really the most complicated part. What I mean is that The Last Don is really a very simple novel when compared to Godfather, but that only makes it more powerful. Only Mario Puzo could create something like that. I remember when I read it; I wasn't bored for a single second. I even enjoyed the Hollywood episodes, which weren't really about the Mafia. But then again those studio executives are like Don's.

I recently finished reading The Family, and was pleasantly surprised. I have to say it was a bit slow in the beginning, but after that point it's really exciting. Various users commented on how Mario Puzo didn't go in to great details, but I believe that makes the book more interesting.