The Godfather Part II (1974)

Fifty years ago, recent Oscar winner Francis Ford Coppola returned to write and direct what was likely one of the most highly anticipated sequels in the history of cinema.....and barely two years after the original film (The Godfather) had set the world by storm not only setting box office records but winning several Oscars including Best Picture.  How could any film live up to that?  Well in the opinions of most who saw it, THIS one did! 

Returning are stars Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, Talia Shire, and John Cazale among several others in this next chapter of The Corleone Saga with Al's Michael now leading one of the most powerful crime families in the country.  And this time around, he's expanding his empire further by working out a deal with powerful kingpin Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg) to expand operations into Cuba.  Of course, several complications ensue including an attempt on Michael's life which arouses suspicions towards every one around him.  From there, things don't go exactly as planned as Michael's fear and paranoia take him into unexpected directions.  Along the way during this 3+ hour epic, Coppola also presents us with the origins of Michael's father Vito now played by Robert Deniro.  We follow Vito's story from an orphaned kid travelling from his homeland of Italy to New York City and eventually growing into adulthood, building a criminal empire.  Considered by many to be even better than its predecessor, this would go on to win six Oscars including Best Picture.   

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

THE GODFATHER PART II - 1974

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Starring Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Robert DeNiro, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Lee Strasberg, Michael V. Gazzo, GD Spradlin, Richard Bright, Gastone Moschin, Tom Rosqui, Bruno Kirby, Frank Sivero, Francesca De Sapio, Morgana King, Marianna Hill, Leopoldo Trieste, and Dominic Chianese

Genre: Crime Family Epic (Audio clip)

I'm pretty sure that I'm not the first person to point this out though strangely it STILL feels almost sacrilegious to state it almost fifty years later. 🫣 Here's the deal: I really like this as a continuation of The Godfather saga, it's beautifully shot, written, and acted through and through. HOWEVER....I'm sorry, it nags at me every time I rewatch this no matter how much better all of the nuances and story beats feel....this is in essence TWO separate movies spliced together and while they're both excellent in and of themselves....it doesn't help either narrative to watch them laid out in this particular order. 🤫

Just my opinion and MAYBE if I had been there opening night in December of '74 drooling with expectations after likely having seen Part I in theaters BARELY 18 months prior (knowing me if I was of age, I would have chomped at the bit to rewatch Part 1 upon every re-release well after its Oscar wins in the Spring of '73)....I could have just let this ENTIRE dual narrative saga wash over me seeing it all play out on the big screen. Maybe it would have felt less choppy to me....but I watched this on HBO in the Fall of 1990 the night AFTER seeing the original for the first time....it was all part of a special cable event to promote Part III which was being released that Christmas. And in that context after ADORING just about every perfect frame of that first Godfather....this sequel felt like a bit of a let-down, much of that due to its structure. 

This is not to say that the overall stories and characters driving them don't hold up nor that I can't appreciate what Coppola was going for - trying to spin two concurrent narratives about the opportunistic rise of a wronged father Vito (Robert DeNiro) while we're also witnessing the tragic fall of his son Michael (Al Pacino) decades later. I get it, on paper it's bold and operatic and the talent is on hand to bring it to the screen. But EACH story's power just feels a bit weakened when arranged this way. JUST a bit mind you...not enough to prevent this from being a near-masterpiece. But it's enough that I can say that Part I remains a better, cohesive film overall.

Granted that's setting the bar ABSURDLY high because there is so much brilliance packed into 200 minutes here! DeNiro is lights-out fantastic, SO charismatic, delivering all of young Vito's machinations mainly through a series of moments when his character is merely staring intently at someone else. 🤔 The cringey "Give him an offer he can't refuse..." in the gravelly voice moment is his only weak moment as it just feels like one of the earliest on-screen examples I can recall of full-on fan service. 😆 (I'll allow for one) But besides that, he's Beautiful Young Bobby D just firing on all cylinders delivering a more nuanced portrayal to possibly match Brando's performance from a couple of years prior. 

And in my opinion, Pacino is even better...just kind of mostly going full-on detective (with a played up aloofness) for his first hour before becoming a tragically awkward machine losing his capacity for empathy or loyalty during his final hour. (When his aloofness feels completely natural) It's an indelible performance which just gets better and better every time I rewatch this. HELL YES he deserved an Oscar for this....for all of its subtlety, it's an emotional performance in that you want to give him a hug at points when you're not wanting to throttle him! 🤔 It's very likely the best Pacino had ever been....or at least RIGHT up there with his work in Dog Day Afternoon...

And of course these two brilliant leads have plenty of help....Lee Straussburg just blew me away especially during this latest rewatch. His Hyman Roth is such a unique creation: a clearly underhanded villain whom you don't want to cross even as he's always projecting warmth towards you so naturally. John Cazale’s Fredo is pathetic and heart-breaking in just the right dosages so that you can't help but feel for him....but you're not gonna quite let him off the hook as a Lenny-from-Of-Mice-And-Men-like simpleton either. DESPITE his character's end which feels so much like Lenny's. Cazale had a Devito-like ability to balance sleaze and sympathy so effortlessly and it plays out here in likely HIS best overall performance. 

Still thinking about it....COULD I have enjoyed these stories more as TWO separate movies? Yeah probably....there are a couple of clever transitions especially one involving baby Michael but more often than not, I just felt yanked from one story to the other unnecessarily. 🙄 And look none of the aforementioned structural issues are taking away from Coppola's better flourishes as a director (the whole rooftop cross-cutting/tension-building between Vito and Fanucci during that festival) or the impeccable work from returning DP Gordon Willis who just delivers across multiple locations from the l long shots of lush parties in Havana to the more sepia-toned closed quarters asides in Vito's old Bronx apartment. Everything is just top-of-the-line including the costumes, set design, and of course another moving score from returning composer Nino Rota….

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film)

Speaking of Nino Rota’s score…..we reprise those iconic themes from the first movie and they are JUST as powerful the second time around. (Audio clip) 

Both concurrent themes carried over Part I are fantastic pieces of music which continue to help define these characters on-screen. And yet neither of them packs the emotional wallop of a new orchestral theme introduced here by Rota early on when we first meet Vito as a young boy in Italy.  This theme follows him on his journey to the United States – it’s fittingly called “The Immigrant.” (Audio clip) 

And eventually it’s even mixed in with one of the Part 1 themes to QUITE the dramatic effect in a very effective scene late in the movie wen Michael is seemingly attempting to reconcile with his brother Fredo at the funeral of their mother – that track is called “The Brothers Mourn.” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):

Now from a narrative standpoint, I feel like at least one major character adversely affected by this film's structure is Michael Gazzo's Frankie Pentangeli. Don't get me wrong, Gazzo is fantastic and SUCH a good figure to provide both tension and humor during the film's first 45 or so minutes. But it feels as if his character is off-screen for so long - maybe two hours - and after his presumed death no less, that his character feels more like an afterthought towards the end. Which is a shame because his character is given a potentially powerful ending which just doesn't land as much as it should. Same with Talia Shire's Connie who only really appears during the first half hour AND final half hour....the stark evolution of HER character would have landed more effectively if there hadn't been such a gap between scenes with minimal context as to how she got there. Shire IS excellent though and if nothing else, her latter scenes provide a bit of a preview for her acid turn coming in Part III. (One of the best parts of THAT flawed sequel) 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

Diane Keaton has the kind of unenviable task of being given an almost thankless role as the long-suffering wife Kay....she was Diane Venora in Heat only two decades prior when you think about it. 🫢 But when she has to bring the fury during that intense exchange with Pacino's Michael late in the movie.....she BRINGS it! Apparently that whole "It was an ABORTION!" scene had elicited a bit of a backlash in recent years - some say Keaton's overdoing it, some say it's an advanced preview for Pacino's "Hoo-HAH" phase - but I don't care, it's the emotional highpoint of the movie and for good reason. We've had around 100 minutes of all of this toxicity just seeping out through Michael's pores... what better way and what better character to FINALLY bring it bubbling to the surface?  It’s one of the most impressively emotionally charged sequences I have ever seen…..and it’s a genuine two-fer, possibly a career high-point for BOTH actors which is really saying something.  The way Pacino’s demeanor shifts throughout this sequence from befuddlement to annoyance to smugness to contrition to finally indignant FURY….is a true masterclass.  Which brings me to the next category…..

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

John Cazale’s Fredo is likely the heart of this story, Diane Keaton’s Kay is the soul….so where does that leave Pacino’s Michael?  Simply put he’s the CORE of this saga whom we have witnessed lose both his heart AND soul.  As I have said, this could very well be THE best performance from a career jam-packed with amazing performances…..his silent resignation sitting outdoors not only puts perfect punctuation at the end of this story but in my opinion, he’s SO good here that it even helps elevate what we see from Pacino in Part III as so much of what drives that story and performance is the fall-out from Part II.  For delivering not only possibly his best career performance but very likely among the TOP FIVE cinematic performances of all time, Al Pacino is the MVP. 

Final Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

I don't pretend to be the level of cinephile who has proclaimed Part Two to be a stand-alone masterpiece leaving Part One in the dust....I can appreciate the overall craft involved and I can SEE the intent to weave these two stories together. I just wish I could feel convinced that they actually benefitted each other....after half a dozen viewings, I just don't see it sorry. 🫤 But is this still a great pair of Godfather stories? You bet! Happy 50th Anniversary to an ALMOST-masterpiece which still remains one of the best films of the 1970’s and certainly among THE best sequels of all time! 

Streaming on Prime Video, Paramount Plus, and AMC +

And that ends another This SICILIAN Thing review!