Originally posted by trinacria:
in case anyone didn't already know this, and bear in mind i love puzo, he totally ripped off true stories for his books GF and the Sicilian. There is not an original idea in there, he just really had a knack for getting the information out there to a mass audience. Beyond that, the guy who plays richie aprile is an amazing actor and deserves a good role in any new mob film.
There is a difference between bting/ripping off and fictionalizing real events.
Puzo created most charcter names from scratch. He blended real events into ONE Historical Family's story.
Puzo's The Godfather is fictional, but is a better source of pre-1970 Mafia Knowledge than any REAL Book.
Real Events Puzo blended:
Fruitstand Murder: Frank Costello
Five Families
Castellamare War
Joe Valachi's Trial
Meyer Lansky's Havana Operations
Lansky's aide: Vinnie Alo
Son of a Don becoming Don: Bonnanos
Innocent Man to Electric Chair: Felix Bocchicchio
Eyeball Murder of Bugsy Siegel
Barbershop Murder of Albert Anastasia
and many others
Events Puzo created:
Horse Head in Bed
Killing of a NYPD Captain
Four Dons murdered in 1950's (Rather than 2)
and many others
Bottom Line: Puzo blended a near-complete History of the Mafia into one Story.
Bella Mafia and Soprano shav etheir own unique stories but settled on the specific names to gain attention rather than rely on their story to draw attention.
Godfather: Puzo blends a history of the Mafia into one classic story.
Bella Mafia: The women of the LUCIANO family
The Sopranos: HBO's R-Rated Tv Series of a Mafia Family in our times.
Sopranos didn't need a charcter anmed Richie Aprile to draw attention, they coudl agve used Richie Parile
Bella Mafia ws unknown and attarcted attention from th enam eLuciano.
Godfather didn't need ANY Real names to draw attention.
Comparing Bella Mafia and the Sopranos to The Godfather is a homocide waiting to happen.
