Should I read the book first or watch the movie?

[Sona]

I have heard a lot about The Godfather, and have also heard that it is one the few movies that is as good or even better than the book? How should I go about it? I'd be grateful if I could get some opinions

[Wendy]

The movie is really good although part 3 was just a waste of time, I think you should read the book first. I watched the movie first and I wish I read the book first 😊.

[Jhazway]

The book provides a lot more detail and background, and filled in a lot of holes from the movie. I wish I had read the book first, but either way you will find yourself comparing the book and movie constantly

[FY]

I read the book first. And just recently, I watched the movie in Netflix. I am glad I read the book first as I think the movie didn't age well. Al Pacino and Don Corleone's acting is top notch, no doubt. It's just that the movie is too old for my taste. I have only seen Part 1 and 2. I don't have the urge to go into Part 3.

[Carol]

Sona wrote: "I have heard a lot about The Godfather, and have also heard that it is one the few movies that is as good or even better than the book? How should I go about it? I'd be grateful if I could get some..."

As a rule of thumb, always read the book first - and on my short list of books transferring to screen that were as good or better than the book - The Godfather is on that list.

[Guillermo]

I watched the movie first and then read the book and I think it went well because the book has more details. So when I read it I already had in my imagination the characters and everything from the movie. This I liked. Either way both are really great and you will enjoy.

[Staša]

Sona wrote: "I have heard a lot about The Godfather, and have also heard that it is one the few movies that is as good or even better than the book? How should I go about it? I'd be grateful if I could get some..."

You should most definitely read the book first. The film (especially the part one) IS the masterpiece. There is no doubt about that. But so is the book. Besides, as somebody already said, the book provides a lot more details, and a lot more explanations. You will like the film, but should you read the book first, you will like the film a lot more.

[Mike]

The book does a much better job of explaining who everyone is, and their rank in the hierarchy. Maybe I just pay better attention when reading?

I read the book after watching the movie, and there was a lot of moments that I hadn't caught the full grasp of in the movie.

[Betty]

I read the book when it was first published.Then I went to the 1971 CSEA convention in NY City at The Waldorf Astoria and got asked out to lunch with 3 of the real guys who were all very nice and I got to order anything and everything I wanted.They got a kick out of all I could eat (I was a skinny little thing in those days) it was memorable. Then I saw the movie in 1972 when it was released, I'm glad I did it in that order.

[Fran]

I always tend to say the books are always better than the movie because they are so much more detailed than a movie can be. It fills you in on the inner thinking of characters which gives more insight into why things are done. This is absolutely true of the Godfather books. It will bring more depth and meaning to the movie. So obviously my recommendation is read the book first.

[Carol]

I too have a short list of books that were better are as good on screen - The Godfather is one of them, but having said that my opinion is read the book first. Movies from books leave out details that are interesting . And wrap the story line up nice and neat - I thought the book and the movie were fantastic,

[HollieCharlton]

I am a student of the Faculty of Cinematography. Now I am learning to write scripts and at the moment, I am writing a paper on how important it is that the script conveys the meaning of the book as fully as possible. Since this process is very difficult for me, I use a website https://writix.co.uk/report-writing-s... that can help me write various papers. With this website, I can get help in writing a report. As for this question again, I think it is necessary to read the book from the beginning in order to get the full feeling.

[Joseph]

I watched the movie then read the book. Both were great. I rewatched the movie after reading the book and enjoyed it that much more.

[Saraf]

Both is recommended.

[Mark]

Definitely do both

[Ryan]

I would recommend reading the book first. From my own experience, I tried watching the movie first but found it to be boring and had trouble following the plot. The book was way more interesting and now I will have a better chance of knowing what's going on once I rewatch the movie.

[Arthr]

Okay, so I saw the movie first, and then read the book. But the gap between them was a lot. so by the time I started reading the book, it all felt new to me, even though I did remember a few scenes of the movie. But I still enjoyed it because the book has a lot of more details than the movie, and in someway, I guess that helped me to enjoy the book. see, it is not a mystery book, where the mystery would be spoiled if you saw the movie first. So, I guess it is up to you. both are great!

[Steve]

Most people here will probably advise you to read the book first and then watch the movie, but personally I'm glad that I did it in the reverse order. The book is SPRAWLING with multiple complex arcs which are merely referenced in the movie, if even at all. If I had read the book first, I think I would have been disappointed with how much was cut. Of course, every scene and every arc cannot be adapted into a movie without it being obscenely long, and the movie does a pretty good job of abridging the story into the parts that matter most. But the fact remains that there is more plot in the book that didn't make it into the movie than plot that did. Since I watched the movie first I was able to appreciate the abridged version as a full piece of work. And then upon reading the book, I could appreciate all the additional arcs and detail. If I had read the book first, the movie would have seemed incomplete to me and inferior. But now I can appreciate them both for what they are.

[Annie]

If you have not read nor watched The Godfather, do NOT read the introduction written by Francis Ford Coppola, it is full of spoilers. Read it after the book, it is intresting.

[Pramod]

Book First, A No Brainer.

[T]

This is one of those rare occasions when the movie is better than the book. The book was great, along with its follow up The Godfather Returns (a different author i believe wrote it due to Puzo's death) and Puzo's 'Omerta' is a great read as well. But The Godfather movie, considered by many to be one of the greatest movies of all time, leaves more of an impression on you than the book, is quoted often and is just a masterpiece. Again, the book was great but not the cultural phenomenon that the movie evolved into.

[Jj]

The movie is, of course, a classic. But without the having read the book, unless you are a good obserer with a knack for names, it's something like: Italian name, Italian name, Italian name HORSE HEAD, Italian name, Canolli, Italian name, Italian name.