The Godfather: Part II (1974)

The Godfather: Part II
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Written by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo from Puzo’s novel
1974/US
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Tom Hagen: It would be like trying to kill the President; there’s no way we can get to him.
Michael Corleone: Tom, you know you surprise me. If anything in this life is certain – if history has taught us anything – it’s that you can kill *anybody*.

I think I prefer the first film’s story line but certainly this second film is at least its equal in beautiful images and music and powerful acting.

The film traces young immigrant Vito Corleone’s (Robert De Niro) journey from grocery clerk to neighborhood bigman in the first decades of the Twentieth century and the gradual descent of the Corleone family after Michael (Al Pacino) takes over as godfather.  The movie kind of toggles back and forth in time.

The story starts in Corleone, Sicily where Vito’s entire family is wiped out in a local feud.  He sets out for America, seemingly alone.  After a few years, he has a growing family.  He loses his job as a grocery clerk because neighborhood boss Fanucci has a nephew who needs it.  Vito soon meets Clemenza and the two become partners in crime.  Eventually, when Fanucci comes around demanding protection money, Vito takes him out of the picture entirely and Vito is soon the respected man about town.  We see his close bond with his wife and children.

The action in Michael’s story takes place in the 1950’s. It begins with an outdoor party on Lake Tahoe honoring Michael’s son’s First Communion which serves a similar purpose to the wedding reception that begins the first film.  The family is big in the casino business as well as it’s more obviously criminal enterprises.  We see Michael’s eyes slowly grow dead as family is replaced by business interests and the death count needed to maintain power mounts.  With Diane Keaton as Michael’s wife Kay, Talia Shire as Connie Corleone and John Casale as his brother Fredo as well as a huge cast of fine character actors including Lee Strasberg as investor Hyman Roth and Michael V. Gazzo as turncoat Frankie Pantangeli.

I enjoy the Robert De Niro parts of this movie more than the Al Pacino parts.  For Vito, family is everything.  But Michael puts business first. Since all the characters, including the establishment ones, are corrupt or criminals or both, it was hard for me to care what happened to anyone.  But make no mistake, the film makes good use of its three hours, the visuals and music are gorgeous, and this cast cannot be beat.  Recommended.

The Godfather: Part II won Academy Awards for Best Picture; Best Director; Best Supporting Actor (De Niro); Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted From Other Material; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration; and Best Music, Original Dramatic Score.  It was nominated in the categories of: Best Actor (Pacino); Best Actor (Michael V. Gazzo); Best Supporting Actor (Strasberg); Best Supporting Actress (Talia Shire); and Best Costume Design.