The Godfather Part II (2005, DVD)

For many movies, especially franchises. Sequels are often done to either cash in on a previous film's success or in continuation with a story. Yet there are some sequels that are even better than the original film in terms of its storyline and character development. One such film that had a rare sequel that didn't just surpass the original film on some levels but also equate the film in terms of its theme and approach to storytelling. That film was 1972's The Godfather based on Mario Puzo's novel and in 1974, came a spectacular sequel that told the rise of a man turned mob figure and the dark descent of his successor simply titled The Godfather, Part II.

Again based on the novel by Mario Puzo, The Godfather, Part II tells two different story. One being Don Corleone's arrival to America as a child after being on the run from mob figures in Sicily where later on, he rose to power as a mob figure of his own while balancing his work life with his devotion to his family. The other story picks up where the last film took off as Don Corleone's successor and youngest son Michael takes over the family business and moves them to Las Vegas where he loses sight of what his father's values and insightful tactics towards business. Directing the film for this sequel is Francis Ford Coppola, who also directed and co-wrote the first film. Teaming with Puzo again for the script. In their approach, the theme again is family where the story moves back and forth in time from how Don Corleone takes care of his family and the people around him and how Michael Corleone corrupts himself into destroying everything around him.

Returning to the fold from the first one are Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Robert Duvall, and John Cazale along with flashback cameos from James Caan, Gianni Russo, and Abe Vigoda. Also in the film are Dominic Chianese, G.D. Spradlin, Bruno Kirby, Gastone Moschin, Michael Vincente Gazzo, Joe Spinell, Mario Cotone, Lee Strasberg, and Robert de Niro as the young Don Corleone. The Godfather, Part II is a sprawling, heartbreaking epic drama that in undoubtably one of the finest films of American cinema.

The story begins in the early 1900s as a mute boy named Vito Andolini (Oreste Baldini) is at a funeral for his father in Corleone, Sicily. With his mother (Maria Carta) accompanying him, tragedy is arose when Vito's older brother is killed in a revenge attempt against the town's don Francesco Ciccio (Guiseppe Sillato). When Vito's mother asks the don to spare her son s life, it all goes into disaster as Vito's mother is killed as he runs away. He is then taken into hiding where he leaves onto a ship to America. Upon his arrival, he is named Vito Corleone where 50 years later, his grandson Anthony Corleone (James Gounaris) is taking his first communion in front of his parents, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) and Kay Adams (Diane Keaton). A celebration happens in their lake home near Las Vegas where Michael and his family are celebrating with his sister Connie (Talia Shire) and her new husband Merle Johnson (Troy Donahue), his older brother Fredo (John Cazale) with his wife Deanna (Marianna Hill), and their mother (Morgana King).

While Connie and Merle want to talk to Michael over business, so does a lot of people invited including a big guest in Senator Pat Geary (G.D. Spradlin) and an old friend of the Corleone family in Frank Pentageli (Michael Vincente Gazzo). While Michael deals with Connie and Merle's financial plans, he talks to Frank about his troubles with the Rosato Brothers. Another meeting occurs between Johnny Ola (Dominic Chianese) about an upcoming business plan concerning casinos with Ola's boss Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg). Then after a meeting with Senator Geary over a gaming license he wants, Michael tells Geary that they're both in the same business of manipulation as Geary sways him off and saying he's not afraid of the mob front. With the celebration continuing, Kay remains disappointed in Michael's claim that they would become legitimate as the party winds down for the night.

Just when Michael is about to approve a drawing made by Anthony, an assassination attempt on him in his bedroom with Kay falters. Michael demands for the bodies of the men who try to kill him, in his home. The assassins are found dead as Michael decides to leave Tom in charge of everything that's going on while he goes to Miami alone to deal with Hyman Roth. Michael feels that someone who ordered the hit came in from inside as his paranoia ensues. With Michael's men including Rocco Lampone (Tom Rosqui) and Al Neri (Richard Bright) joining Tom to stay in Vegas, Michael goes alone to deal with Roth in Miami.

Back in 1917 when the young Vito Corleone is now a man with a young wife (Francesca de Sapio) in the area of Little Italy with his baby son Santino, Vito works as a simple man in a grocery store. With his friend Genco Abbandando (Frank Sivero), they went to see a play where Vito catches the presence of local mob don, Don Fanucci (Gastone Moschin). When Fanucci comes to the grocery store to get a job for his nephew, Vito is fired but his former boss wants to give him some food for all the hard work he's given. Upset that he lost his job and wanting a nice, decent life, he turns to a man named Clemenza (Bruno Kirby) whom he just met. Together, they turn to a life of crime only to get by so Vito can raise his growing family.

With Michael arriving to Miami with a dangerous bodyguard named Busatta (Amerigo Tot), he meets with Hyman Roth whom was an old business partner with Michael's father where they shared a mutual respect for each other. After meeting with Roth, Michael's suspicions on his assassination attempt leads him to question Pentageli where Pentageli gives in so he can settle his issues with the Rosato brothers. When Pentageli deals with Carmine (Carmine Caridi) and Tony Rosato (Danny Aiello), the meeting becomes a disaster as Pentageli is almost killed until he is saved by friend Willie Cicci (Joe Spinell). Meanwhile at a brothel owned by Fredo, Senator Geary gets into trouble as Tom Hagen decides to help him out by protecting him as if nothing happened as Geary pledges loyalty to the Corleone family.

Going to Cuba with Roth and Ola, Michael sees a shift of change going on in Cuba where during a party to celebrate a business venture with other corporate businessmen. He talks about seeing an incident thinking that things for his business with Roth might shatter since the revolution will win against Batista. Roth doesn't want Michael to have second thoughts as Michael calls out for Fredo to join him in Miami. When Fredo arrives, Michael tells him that Roth planned the hit on him at their home as he plans to get revenge by having Busatta to kill him as Roth remains ill. During another meeting with Roth, things become more complicated as Roth demands Michael's money. The timing couldn't get any worse with Fidel Castro's revolution winning as Michael decides to go a party with Fredo, Senator Geary, and Johnny Ola. With the attempt on Roth failed, Michael reveals the truth to Fredo as the business deal with Roth collapses.

Upon returning home to Las Vegas, Tom Hagen tells Michael that Kay had a miscarriage as Michael's troubles worsen as he learns he is to face trial against a Senate committee. Back in the early 1900s, Vito Corleone along with Clemenza and a young Tessio (John Aprea) are making waves into the crime scene that catches Fanucci's attention. Fanucci wants profit from what Corleone and his boys are making as the three young men wonder how to deal with Fanucci as Vito says, "I'll make him an offer he don't refuse". During a parade in Little Italy, Vito makes a plan to pull a hit on Fanucci where he succeeds in ending his reign. For Vito, he turns his own mob syndicate into something that is good not just for his family and friends but also for the people of Little Italy as he disguises his business as an olive oil shop. The end result for that shop is that it becomes a huge success where it afforded Vito what he sought for back in his old home of Sicily.

Now facing the committee, Michael, Willie Cicci, and Pentageli are interrogated in front of a group of senators where only Geary becomes Michael's ally. Back at home in Las Vegas, Michael worries about losing his family as he talks to his mother. Going back and forth from Vegas to Washington, D.C., Michael's troubles with the Senate worsen when he learns that Pentageli is still alive where he plans testifies against him for revenge. In Vegas, Fredo returns home to reveal information about the testimony from the Senate and how he knew Johnny Ola. Fredo's frustration in being stepped over and being neglected finally comes to Michael's face as Michael decides to deal with Fredo's fate. With Pentageli forced to reveal the truth and admit to committing perjury, Michael wins his battle against the Senate.

Unfortunately, the strain of his relationship with Kay finally shows as she reveals the truth about the miscarriage as finally, their marriage has been dissolved. Michael's life however, falls apart as his mother dies while Connie asks her brother to forgive Fredo. Michael's plans on finishing some business only alienates Tom who decides to stay with Michael but no longer shares his vision. With Michael's plans go into fruition, he ends up paying a huge price as he is forced to reflect on himself when he was young and wanted something different.

Now it's rare for a film sequel to outdo the first one. With the case of The Godfather and the sequel, it's even rare to match it up where neither top each other but are equal in what both films are trying to say. With The Godfather, it's a thematic film about family in the world of crime and how an old man tries to run his business as just a business and not bring anything personal to the game. With Vito Corleone trying to protect his family and wanting a better life for them while not getting his sons too caught up in personal matters in the mob game. The ending in the first Godfather with Vito Corleone's death only reveals in the way Michael Corleone runs the business only to lose sight of himself and what his father stood for. There, it sets up the idea of what becomes the center-point of The Godfather, Part II.

The second film is clearly darker in one of its stories where the overall part of the film is very tragic. It remains a family film but one where the family disintegrates. The credit for this complex, parallel world of the young Vito Corleone and an older Michael Corleone in the 1950s goes to the team of the book's novelist Mario Puzo and co-screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola. The story in many ways is a classic rise-and-fall story but its approach of a man's rise and his son's downfall only gives the story of the Corleone family more intriguing and heartbreaking at the same time. It shows the similarities and difference of the way Vito and Michael Corleone deal with their business and family.

While Vito's story has its share of brutality and violent moments, it's only because he was forced to see violent acts as a child and tries to ignore it. Yet, when he s a man trying to make a simple, decent life only to be pushed away by another power-hungry mob boss. He is forced to go into a life of crime to do right not just for himself but for his family. Unlike Don Fanucci and Don Ciccio, Vito doesn't make his presence known nor does he act like the big-shot of the town. Instead, he tries to help the little people while wanting to not make them feel that they'll be in trouble if they do something wrong. Still, Vito's act of violence was only personal in order to have some emotional closure. Yet, his act only helps him gain a status as a respected mob boss who doesn't like to cause trouble. Another side of him is the way he deals with his family and how he cherishes them where all of his qualities are passed down to his three sons.

In Michael's part of the story, it starts off with his cold-hearted way he deals with business as he reveals to Senator Geary that they're both corrupt in every way. His emotional take on business only leads him into this downward spiral where in the end, he alienates nearly everyone around him to the point that he becomes paranoid. The hit on him confirms his paranoia while he ends up trusting no one, not even himself. Michael, in the end, becomes as cold-hearted and ruthless than his father was when his father rarely showed that part of himself. The result of the decisions he made, the way he's corrupted himself, the way he deals with his own family, and how he tries to distance himself in the way his father does thing would only begin to haunt him in the years to come.

If the film's script in all of its dramatic elements and complex structure is filled with amazing moments, Coppola's sprawling direction takes it to new heights. The scene where Vito Corleone plans to assassinate Don Fanucci is one of the best presentation with images of a parade, a play, and the street with Fanucci walking around on the street. Coppola brings a vision that is unique in its two parallel storyline by going for a wide-open look of Sicily and old New York in the Vito Corleone sequence. His vision of Michael Corleone's world from Miami, Cuba, Vegas, and Washington, D.C. is a little bit bleaker. Coppola also heightens the emotions and tragic nature of the film that really becomes hypnotic to watch in every way and form, especially a classic scene of Michael and Fredo discussing Fredo's frustration. The way Coppola composes tragedy is very prominent throughout the film, especially in the film's flashback ending of Michael recalling his own ideal innocence which was far removed from the cold nature that he is in the late 50s. It's truly some of the best directing ever done in film.

Helping Coppola in his sprawling vision is Gordon Willis, who also shot The Godfather. The famed cinematographer brings the same, unique, sepia-like vision of orange throughout the entire film where in the Vito Corleone sequence, the film has a distinctive look that is classical. The look of the first film is given more coverage where the exteriors of Sicily is beautiful to look while the New York scenes reveal a lesser, color feel. The interiors are given an idea of intimacy with little lighting other than a light bulb or a candle to feel the look of the times. The Michael Corleone sequences has more color yet the feel of the looks is even bleaker as the colors began to decay within the story as the feel of the film looks less and less colorful. Willis' work in the series is wonderfully distinctive in its authenticity and atmosphere.

Helping Coppola and Willis with that look is Coppola's longtime collaborator Dean Tavoularis. The production designer creates a look of the film that is authentic to the period that the differing stories are in. From the poor yet simple look of Little Italy in early 1900s New York to the lavishness of Las Vegas, Tavoularis, along with art director Angelo P. Graham and set decorator George R. Nelson, create an atmosphere that plays to the feel of the film that is wonderful to look while enclosing the worlds that the Corleone men are in. Helping out with the costume design of the film is Theadora Van Runkle who captures a wonderful, flashy look of the Las Vegas, 1950s sequence of the film while giving a wonderful look to the Don Fanucci character with his white suit. Editors Barry Malkin, Richard Marks, and Peter Zinner do great work in not just giving the film a nice pacing feel but also the presentation sequences for the Don Fanucci assassination scene and the classic climax of Michael finishing his plans. Longtime Coppola collaborator Walter Murch does great sound work in capturing the tone of the film in its atmosphere.

Composers Nino Rota and Coppola's father Carmine do great work in not just the familiar themes of the film but also playing the tension of the film. While Carmine brings out more innocent moments of the film, Rota's music balances it with his dark, sprawling arrangements. The music of the film portrays the film's tragedy and disintegration of Michael while building up the innocent hi-jinks of Vito Corleone. It's the music of Rota and Coppola that stands out among the many classic films scores.

Finally, there's the film's amazing ensemble that features several famed cameos and small appearances. There's early performances from the likes of Danny Aiello as one of the Rosato brothers, Bruno Kirby as a young Clemenza, Harry Dean Stanton as an FBI agent protecting Pentageli, and former teen idol Troy Donahue as Connie's new husband, whose real name is Merle Johnson. There's also early performances from two of Coppola's children, Roman as a young Santino and Sofia as a girl on a boat arriving to America. There's also some great cameos from Roger Corman as a Senator, Gianni Russo as Carlo in a flashback, Abe Vigoda as Tessio, and a fantastic flashback performance from James Caan as Santino.

Smaller performances from Joe Spinell as Willie Cicci, Amerigo Tot as Michael's Miami bodyguard, Frank Sivero as Genco, John Aprea as a young Tessio, Richard Bright as the brooding Al Neri, Tom Rosqui as Rocco, and Morgana King as Mama Corleone along with Francesca de Sapio as the young Mama Corleone and Maria Carta as Vito's mother. Gastone Moschin and Guiseppe Sillato are great as the dons that Vito Corleone despises while Oreste Baldini is great as the young Vito Corleone. Future Sopranos star Dominic Chianese is excellent as the sly Johnny Ola while G.D. Spradlin is wonderful as the corruptive Senator Geary who ends up pledging loyalty to the Corleone family. Michael Vincente Gazzo is wonderfully hilarious as the angry, frustrated Frank Pentageli whose loyalty for the Corleone family is shaken when he believes he is tricked. Pentageli is an interesting, complex character of a man who wants what is promised to him only to realize that the old days of Mafia is dying.

While Talia Shire's role as Connie is small, her performance as Michael's frustrated young sister is one of the most memorable. Notably for Shire's plea to take care of Michael where eventually, she becomes his only family ally who is forced to realize about the family business. Diane Keaton gives an even better performance in her role as Kay whose understanding about the mob and family begins to confront Michael's ideas of family. Keaton's performance is amazing to see a woman who realizes the dangers that she's living in and how it affects her own children as she is saddened at who Michael has become. Lee Strasberg gives an amazing performance as a version of Meyer Lansky in the role of Hyman Roth. Strasberg's masterful performance reveals an ailing man who is hoping to retain the power and presence that he wanted for so many years despite his attempt to try and con Michael out of his money. Strasberg is great in his role.

The best supporting performance is the late John Cazale in the role of Fredo. Cazale brings all sorts of sensitivity, heartbreak, and frustration into a character who is so complex and emotionally that anyone can relate to him. Cazale steals the show from everyone including Al Pacino in a classic scene about Fredo being stepped over. Cazale exudes all sorts of emotions into the role that it's one that is extremely memorable. It's even sadder that Cazale would later die in early 1978 despite being in five films, all of them considered to be classics. Robert Duvall is also great in the role of Tom Hagen who plays the role of a moral conscience who does everything he can to protect Michael and the family only to find himself alienated. Duvall brings the role of a man who sees the old ways being crumbled down into something more violent and ruthless as his own conscience comes to question despite his loyalty to Michael. Duvall is great in the role as he is one of the reasons why The Godfather series is a defining moment in cinema.

Robert de Niro gives a great performance in the role of young Vito Corleone as a man who tries to live a simple life only to find a better life in the world of crime but remain a simple man. While de Niro's performance is mostly done in Italian with little dialogue, the performance is amazing since it has the same wit and charm that Marlon Brando brought in the previous film. Instead of imitating Brando, de Niro brings his own wit and quiet acting into the role as he gives the Vito Corleone character which makes the man more innocent despite his deeds. Al Pacino gives a classic performance in the role of Michael whose development from young idealist wanting to stray from the mob into a dark, mob leader is amazing to watch. Pacino's cold stare and his eerie performance is very haunting and sad as the man from the first film is gone and has become a darker, paranoid man. Pacino sells the performance in every way as he has great chemistry while bringing the right approach to parallel the performance that fellow actor Robert de Niro gives.

When the film was released in late 1974, months after Coppola released his paranoid thriller film The Conversation. Not surprisingly, The Godfather, Part II became another huge box office success which eventually won six Academy Awards for Art Direction, Film Score, Adapted Screenplay for Puzo and Coppola, a Supporting Acting win for de Niro who was going up against co-stars Gazzo and Strasberg, Directing for Coppola, and Best Picture. Nearly 30 years after the release of the film, The Godfather, Part II remains a very popular film along with The Godfather as both films are often hailed as gangster classics. For Francis Ford Coppola, his work with The Godfather series wasn't done as in 1977, he released a TV-miniseries edit of the film with extra footage that didn't make it to the final cut which was somewhat successful despite its chronological approach.

Still, the film brought Coppola a huge success and prestige that allowed him to create his next project, the ambitious adaptation of Heart of Darkness into the Vietnam War-epic Apocalypse Now. Despite the success of that film, it would also mark Coppola into some personal and creative disasters until 1990 when he tried to come back with The Godfather, Part III where despite the return of Pacino, Keaton, Shire, and Bright along with collaborators Walter Murch, Dean Tavoularis, and Gordon Willis. The film didn't achieve the same success or prestige as the previous films. Still, the legacy of the first two films remains insatiable as its often celebrated in parody or through art, especially hip-hop as some rappers want to give Al Pacino a lifetime ghetto pass for his performances as Michael Corleone and as Tony Montana in 1983's Scarface. In the end, The Godfather, Part II is a must-see for anyone who loved the first film or loved gangster films.

Francis Ford Coppola Reviews:

The Godfather (1972):

http://www.epinions.com/content_146198793860

The Conversation (1974):

http://www.epinions.com/content_171118595716

Apocalypse Now/Redux (1979/2001):

http://www.epinions.com/content_127750344324

One from the Heart (1982):

(Coming Soon)

The Outsiders (1983):

(Coming Soon)

Rumble Fish (1983):

http://www.epinions.com/content_209042312836

The Godfather, Part III (1990):

(Coming in 2006)

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992):

http://www.epinions.com/content_175983267460