The Godfather Part II

Released: December 20, 1974

Studio: Paramount

Genre: gangster/epic drama

Box Office (numbers in millions):

Domestic: 57.30 Worldwide: 88.00

Adjusted for Inflation:

Domestic: 214.30 Worldwide: 329.12

Directing: Francis Ford Coppola

Screenwriting: Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo

Starring: Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, John Cazale, Michael V. Gazzo

Review:

The Godfather Part II functions both as a sequel and prequel to its 1972 Best-Picture-winner predecessor. With “its meditations on family, the past and the corruption of America’s soul, melds historical sweep with searing personal intimacy” ^TV “the continuing saga of a Mafia family and dynasty” ^FS is, by some accounts, “considered superior to the original.” ^FS It is the only sequel to win an Oscar for Best Picture.

The “hypnotic multigenerational saga” ^TV “intertwines and compares the lives” ^VD of Michael Corleone (Pacino) as the present-day leader and “De Niro, in a remarkable, uncommonly subtle performance,” ^TV as his father, Vito Corleone, before becoming “the ‘don’ of old.” ^VD “The film’s extended flashback sequences” ^A07 follow Vito as he “immigrates to America from his native Sicily at the turn of the century and maneuvers his family to power in the ghetto of Little Italy.” ^FS

As the new godfather, Michael struggles “to bring his family into the modern age.” ^A07 He “confronts a second generation of criminal and family affairs in Vegas, Cuba, and in a Senate hearing on organized crime. After eliminating all rivals and enemies, he is a brooding” ^FS and “spiritually-broken” ^TV “character, alienated from his wife (Keaton), and the murder of own brother Fredo (Cazale).” ^FS

“Aside from establishing its cast (Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall, to name a few) as the premier actors of their generation…Coppola’s masterpiece is the cinematic equivalent of an un-put-downable book: Just try watching for only a few minutes. Impossible.” ^TV

“Along the way are some of the most memorable, disturbing and affecting scenes in all of cinema: Vito’s first vision of the Statue of Liberty, his first murder, the attack on Michael’s Lake Tahoe estate, his quiet ruthlessness as he shuts the door on his estranged wife (Diane Keaton). And then there’s the lonely execution of Michael’s pathetic brother (John Cazale) as he fishes on a lake, a sequence so elegantly photographed and perfectly timed that every film school should offer a course on it.” ^TV

Sources:

^A07 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition”
^FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films”
^TV TV Guide (August 8-14, 1998 issue). “50 Greatest Movies on TV and Video”
^VD Video Detective (1997). “Top 100 Films of All Time”

Awards/Honors/Lists:

Dave’s Movie Database Lists:

Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists:

Awards:

Oscars:

Wins: 6 – including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (De Niro), Best Original Dramatic Score

Nominations: 11 – including Best Actor (Pacino), Best Supporting Actor (Gazzo), Best Supporting Actor (Strasberg), Best Supporting Actress (Shire)