Lot 253
Francis Ford Coppola's working copy of the screenplay for The Godfather
Amended
25 November 2013, 13:00 EST
Los AngelesSold for US$22,500 inc. premium
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Francis Ford Coppola's working copy of the screenplay for The Godfather
Mimeographed Manuscript, second draft screenplay of The Godfather by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, 173 pp, 4to, New York, March 1, 1971 (yellow revision pages dated as late as March 19 bound in), heavily annotated throughout by Coppola in blue and black ink and pencil, bound in black gilt-lettered wrappers, mild wear to leaves, moderate wear to covers. In custom clamshell box.
Provenance: Joel Adelman, long-time Coppola assistant (penciled note to verso of final leaf); Serendipity Books (Peter Howard's penciled notation to title page); the Richard Manney Collection.
According to the note from Joel Adelman at the end of this screenplay, this is Francis Ford Coppola's on-set working copy, "not the shooting copy (which looks like a telephone book), but the screenplay copy used for addition, deletion, rough ideas, etc." The title page is heavly annotated with notes regarding scenes to cut, rewrite, or add; page 2 bears 6 panels of rough storyboard ideas; other pages bear sketches of perspectives, set designs, and mise-en-scenes. There are also several additions and deletions to dialogue throughout, as well as queries regarding continuity. This lot represents a rare opportunity for collectors to own one of the primary texts used in making what many critics feel to be one of the greatest of all Hollywood films.
Provenance: Joel Adelman, long-time Coppola assistant (penciled note to verso of final leaf); Serendipity Books (Peter Howard's penciled notation to title page); the Richard Manney Collection.
According to the note from Joel Adelman at the end of this screenplay, this is Francis Ford Coppola's on-set working copy, "not the shooting copy (which looks like a telephone book), but the screenplay copy used for addition, deletion, rough ideas, etc." The title page is heavly annotated with notes regarding scenes to cut, rewrite, or add; page 2 bears 6 panels of rough storyboard ideas; other pages bear sketches of perspectives, set designs, and mise-en-scenes. There are also several additions and deletions to dialogue throughout, as well as queries regarding continuity. This lot represents a rare opportunity for collectors to own one of the primary texts used in making what many critics feel to be one of the greatest of all Hollywood films.
Footnotes
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Saleroom notices
Please note that the American Zoetrope Archive believes that this script may have originated as one of Francis Ford Coppola's copies and some notes may be in his hand, but that it was likely also used by editors and members of the art department during the production of the film.
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