An Offer You Can’t Refuse. Behind the scenes of Coppola’s masterpiece

As special photographer on the sets and locations of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather trilogy, Steve Schapiro had the remarkable experience of witnessing legendary actors giving some of their most memorable performances. This book gathers more than 300 of Schapiro’s finest photographs to take us behind the scenes of this epic and inimitable cinematic saga.

“It’s dangerous to be an honest man.”
— Michael Corleone, Godfather III

As special photographer on the sets and locations of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather trilogy, Steve Schapiro had the remarkable experience of witnessing legendary actors giving some of their most memorable performances. Schapiro immortalized Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, James Caan, Robert Duvall, and Diane Keaton in photos that have since become iconic images, instantly recognizable and endlessly imitated.

Gathered together in this book are Schapiro’s finest photographs from all three Godfather films, lovingly reproduced from the original negatives. With contextual essays and interviews covering the trilogy in its entirety, this book contains over 300 color and black-and-white images. Schapiro’s images take us behind the scenes of this epic and inimitable cinematic saga, revealing the director’s working process, capturing the moods and personalities involved, and providing insight into the making of movie history.

The photographer:

American photojournalist Steve Schapiro has documented six decades of American culture, from the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy to Andy Warhol’s Factory and the filming of The Godfather trilogy. He has published a dozen books of his photographs, has exhibited his work in shows from Los Angeles to Moscow, and is represented in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the J. Paul Getty Museum, among others.

The editor:

Paul Duncan is a film historian whose TASCHEN books include The James Bond Archives, The Charlie Chaplin Archives, The Godfather Family Album, Taxi Driver, Film Noir, and Horror Cinema, as well as publications on film directors, film genres, movie stars, and film posters.

About the series:

TASCHEN is 40! Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible publishing, helping bookworms around the world curate their own library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia at an unbeatable price. Today we celebrate 40 years of incredible books by staying true to our company credo. The 40 series presents new editions of some of the stars of our program — now more compact, friendly in price, and still realized with the same commitment to impeccable production.

Schapiro’s Heroes brings together an extraordinary collection of stories in the photo-journalistic tradition of people who have shaped our lives, our politics, and our tastes by the celebrated documentarian Steve Schapiro. In behind-the-scenes photographs, we visit the young Muhammad Ali and his Monopoly set, followed everywhere by the neighborhood kids; glimpse the warm family life and campaign of Robert Kennedy, who was so suddenly struck down; see Andy Warhol in photographs never before published; watch Ray Charles perform; visit the set with Samuel Beckett; and march alongside Martin Luther King Jr.

One of the most respected American documentary photographers, Steve Schapiro has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. His heroes are the iconic men and women who have influenced the political and cultural climate of our times. Schapiro’s Heroes is a rare and intimate glimpse of a major period of American history, photographed during the golden age of photojournalism by one of the major talents of the late twentieth century.

As special photographer on the sets and locations of Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather trilogy, Steve Schapiro had the remarkable experience of witnessing legendary actors giving some of their most memorable performances.

Schapiro immortalized Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, James Caan, Robert Duvall and Diane Keaton in photos that have since become iconic images, instantly recognisable and endlessly imitated. Gathered together for the first time in this book are Schapiro's finest photographs from all three Godfather films, lovingly reproduced from the original negatives. With contextual essays and interviews covering the trilogy in its entirety, this book contains over 400 color and black & white images.

Schapiro's images take us behind the scenes of this epic and inimitable cinematic saga, revealing the director's working process, capturing the moods and personalities involved, and providing insight into the making of movie history.

Selections from Steve Schapiro's photographs provide an insider's view of the making of the legendary trilogy.This edition is limited to 1,000 copies, each numbered and signed by Steve Schapiro.

Imagine the experience of witnessing renowned actors as they made their most memorable performances. Steve Schapiro has had such a privilege as special photographer on some of American cinema's most beloved movies. For Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather trilogy, Schapiro immortalized actors such as Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, James Caan, Robert Duvall, and Diane Keaton. His photographs of the Godfather holding the cat and the whisper in the Godfather's ear have become iconic images known throughout the world. Brought together in a book for the first time is a vast selection of images from all three Godfather films, reproduced from Schapiro's original negatives.

This lavish, limited edition book, which also includes background articles and interviews about the films, contains over 400 color and black & white images, most of which have never been published before. It allows fans a privileged peek behind the scenes at the making of film history and it truly is a once-in-a-lifetime offer you can't refuse.