 | |
| | Salesrank: 140767
|
|
|
|
MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
Francis Ford Coppola took some of the deep background from the life of Mafia chief Vito Corleone--the patriarch of Mario Puzo's bestselling novel The Godfather--and built around it a stunning sequel to his Oscar-winning, 1972 hit film. Robert De Niro plays Vito as a young Sicilian immigrant in turn-of-the-century New York City's Little Italy. Coppola weaves in and out of the story of Vito's transformation into a powerful crime figure, contrasting that evolution against efforts by son Michael Corleone to spread the family's business into pre-Castro Cuba. As memorable as the first film is, The Godfather II is an amazingly intricate, symmetrical tragedy that touches upon several chapters of 20th-century history and makes a strong case that our destinies are written long before we're born. This was De Niro's first introduction to a lot of filmgoers, and he makes an enormous impression. But even with him and a number of truly brilliant actors (including maestro Lee Strasberg), this is ultimately Pacino's film and a masterful performance. --Tom Keogh
The Godfather: Part II Reviews:
Requiem for a Dream 
2009-11-30 - You can write the volumes about the Godfather, Part 2 phenomena. There is nothing that has not been said about it greatness, magnificence, perfection that radiate in every aspect, every moment, every inch of every frame, every performance, quote, glance, in the sound of the music, in both parts of the story, past and present that take the viewer to the journey in search of American Dream that turn to the epic vision of gaining ultimate power coming with ultimate loneliness. The story of one family of Italian Immigrants begins in Sicily in 1901, goes to New York City's "Little Italy" and spans over the most part of the 20th century. The viewers and the critics often argue which film is better, the original Godfather (1972) or Part 2. (1974). Both films are perfect in every way, and the vision and moviemaking talent of a young director named Francis Ford Coppola are simply awesome. His idea of making an American epic, the story of one family raise to power, the price it takes and the eventual fall instead of a low budget fast moving gangster movie as the MGM studio had planned proved to be the stroke of genius. It is not easy to choose the best of two but I prefer Part II because I found the way Coppola tells two parts of the story by intertwining them and cutting effortlessly, seamlessly between the different time periods and geographic locations - incomparable. Yes, it's been done before and after him but never was I touched so deeply and amazed by the artistry and brilliancy of moving between past and future. I am surprised that the film was not rewarded for the editing because the team of editors contributed enormously in what is the magic of The Godfather, Part II. The film is unique by being at the same time a prequel and a sequel to the original Godfather because it tells the stories of young Vito Corleone first steps to the top of the criminal world and of Michael, his youngest son who became Godfather after his father passing. Part 2 has the most important scene in the whole trilogy, the scene when Vito kills Don Fanucci - the choice that would eventually lead to his raise as the crime family patriarch. I can go on forever. It is known how many great performances Al Pacino gave back in the 70s, his prime time (four Oscar nominations in the row, 1973-1976) but Michael Corleone in Part 2 is something that has to be studied and admired for as long as the young aspiring actors dream of not being stars but the ACTORS. I am not a fan of Pacino's latest films and roles. He screams a lot, he overplays but all screams can't say more than one glance from the scene during the New Year Celebration in Habana. He said so much by his eyes only that had literally darkened with disbelief, grief, anger, and despair when he realized that he had been betrayed by his own brother Fredo - who broke his heart and left the viewers heartbroken. John Casale had only given five performances during his tragically short career but every one of them was remarkable and every movie he worked in belongs to the best America has produced. ...Robert de Niro speaking only Italian as young Vito gives one of his finest performances. He plays a beautiful, dignified, decent man, hard working, loving father and husband who would stop at nothing to make his family happy the best way he knows how... And above all - the melancholic, melodious, mournful score by Nino Rota, the Requiem for a dream, the best Rota's tunes outside Federico Fellini films, As great as it is, Godfather Part II would never be the same without musical themes written by Nino Rota specifically for the film, especially the main theme or the Kay theme - the sound of love lost and longing... And in the end - perhaps the best flash back scene ever filmed, Christmas and Vito Corleone's birthday celebration - the family is close together, the grown up children sit around the table, talk about future, some choices have been made, but there is no alienation, betrayal, losses, regrets, death....yet.
A Great Sequel And A Great Movie In Its Own Right
2009-07-26 - Although many consider this sequel to be better than the original, I am not so sure about that. It is certainly a great movie, but so was 'The Godfather'.
This is a continuation of the story with Don Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) now in power. There are flashbacks to his deceased father Don Vito Corleone (played by Robert Deniro in the sequel). Both actors are superb.
The story itself is great. There is a lot of action and intrigue in the Corleone crime family. It will certainly keep viewers entertained throughout.
I would definitely recommend watching 'The Godfather' before seeing this one. Although I think it would do fairly well as a standalone, it will be even better for those who benefit from knowing the background of the first one.
Joins its Older Brother at the top of Film History
2009-04-21 - Two years after Francis Ford Coppola made an indelible mark on Hollywood with "The Godfather", he returned with writer Mario Puzo to add to the saga of the Corleones. Part II is an ambitious film - it cuts back and forth between two timelines. One tells the story of the original Godfather - Vito. This part relies heavily upon Puzo's original novel. The second part tells about Michael, Kay, Fredo and Tom Hagen starting about seven years after the end of the first film.
Essentially the entire cast returned for part II, with the exception of Marlon Brando. The cast for this film is augmented by Robert Deniro, who won the Academy Award for best supporting actor, and Michael V. Gazzo and Lee Strasberg, who were also nominated for the same award. Bruno Kirby, John Cazale, Robert Duvall and G.D. Spradlin could all have received the same nomination. Talia Shire returns as Connie Corleone, and she was nominated for best supporting actress.
We see in early scenes the young Vito Andolini circa approximately 1900, born in the town of Corleone, Siciliy. His father is murdered after insulting a local mafia chief and his brother Paolo is murdered during his father's funeral procession after vowing revenge. Vito is spirited to a ship headed for Ellis Island and an immigration official assigns Vito the surname of his Italian home-town rather than his father.
We see the rest of the family at their Lake Tahoe home about seven years after the end of the first movie, celebrating the first communion of son Anthony. Like the other films, this one opens with a large celebration that gathers the cast to allow the audience to become familiar with them prior to settling down to business with the Don.
Michael is planning a large deal in both Vegas and Havana, and he is eager to not let old New York contacts, represented by Gazzo as Frank Pentangili, interfere with his plans with Hyman Roth, played by Lee Strasberg.
When an assassination attempt floods Michael and Kay's bedroom with bullets, Michael realizes he had to be betrayed by someone very close to the family. He turns the family business temporarily over to Duvall's Tom Hagen while he takes a trip to try to save the big family deals and discover the identify of the betrayer.
The scene where Michael unexpectedly discovers the traitor is one of the most famous pieces of wordless acting in film history.
We see scenes of the early Vito, played as a young adult by young Robert Deniro, mixed with the scenes of Michael fifty years later. We see that Vito comes to the business by a sense of necessity, but uses his power as the Don with great human compassion, while Michael, who we know ten years earlier had no intention of joining the family business, becomes a more cruel Mafia Kingpin than his father.
The first two Godfather films are not only "The Standard" for films about organized crime: they are among the best films ever made. Period.
The Godfather Part II 
2009-04-15 - Since I have not seen The Godfather Part I it took a while to connect with it. But when I did proved to be a good movie about the mafia.
Excellent, but lacks the brilliance of its predecessor 
2009-04-10 - Many people consider "The Godfather Part II" to be the best film in "The Godfather" series, but for me, although I consider it to be an excellent film, it just didn't quite match the brilliance of its predecessor. "The Godfather Part II" is effectively two films combined into one. The main plot continues the story of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) from where the first film left off, while a secondary plot tells the story of Michael's father, Vito Corleone (Robert DeNiro) and how he became the Godfather in the first place. Although these stories never intersect, they are connected by the themes of family and revenge.
The story of Vito is the stronger portion of the movie. This story has a similar arc to the first "Godfather" movie, in that both show how a man can transition from an honest life to one of crime, and it did not surprise me to learn that this sub-plot was also based on material from Mario Puzo's novel. The plot about Michael, however, is all new material written especially for the movie and it lacks the direction and focus of the Vito plot. Michael's character arc was more or less completed in the first film. He has already transitioned from being an upstanding citizen to being a cold, hardened criminal, and all that is left for him to do is to become colder and harder. This second transition just didn't hold my interest the way the original arc did.
I have heard "The Godfather Part II" described as being a "companion piece" to "The Godfather", alongside claims that both films should be watched together in order to fully understand the saga of the Corleone family. Having just watched both films, I am glad that I have seen them both, but I feel that in future, I will only rewatch the first film. For me, the first film alone conveyed a stronger message than these two "Godfather" films combined.
