“The Godfather Part II” Movie Review

 

“The Godfather Part II”

 

Movie Review

 

 

Francis Ford Coppola produced and directed The Godfather Part II, a 1974 American epic crime film. The film is partially based on Mario Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather, which he co-wrote with Coppola, and it is both a sequel and a prequel to the 1972 film 'The Godfather,' presenting parallel dramas: one picks up the 1958 story of Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino, the new Don of the Corleone family, protecting the family business in the aftermath of an assassination attempt; the prequel follows his father, Vito Corleone, played by Robert De Niro, from his childhood in Sicily to the establishment of his family business in New York City. Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Morgana King, John Cazale, Mariana Hill, and Lee Strasberg round out the ensemble cast. Following the success of the first film, 'The Godfather,' director Francis Ford Coppola wanted to make both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather that would tell the story of Vito's rise and Michael's fall.

 

The early life of Vito Corleone and contemporary events are seen in flashbacks throughout the movie. 

 

The story of Vito’s rise.

 

When his father insulted local Mafia leader Don Ciccio in Corleone, Sicily, in 1901, his entire family was slain. As a result, nine-year-old Vito Andolini fled his home country. When Vito flees to New York City, he registers as "Vito Corleone" at the airport. In 1917, Vito, his wife Carmela, and their little son Sonny reside in New York. Due to Don Fanucci's meddling, a local Black Hand extortionist, he loses his job. Peter Clemenza, a neighbor of Vito's, begs Vito to conceal a bag of firearms; as payment, Clemenza enlists Vito's assistance in robbing a rug, which he then delivers to Carmela.

 

The Corleones also have a daughter named Connie and two boys named Fredo and Michael. Meanwhile, Salvatore Tessio, Vito, and Clemenza earn money by stealing products and reselling them door to door. Fanucci notices this business and begins to extort them. Vito persuades his dubious companions that he can persuade Fanucci to accept a lower sum. At a neighborhood festival, Fanucci offers Vito a job as an enforcer in exchange for a considerably lesser payment from the shocked fan. Later, in Fanucci's apartment, Vito murders him. By assisting neighbors in exchange for "favors," Vito develops into a formidable and well-respected community member.

 

When Vito and his family travel to Sicily in 1923, Don Tommasino and he visit Don Ciccio in order to purportedly seek Ciccio's approval for their olive oil venture. When Ciccio inquires about Vito's father, Vito confesses his identity and kills Ciccio with a knife to exact revenge on his family. 

 

The story of Michael’s fall.

 

Michael holds a number of meetings in his capacity as the don of the Corleone criminal family in 1958 while attending his son's First Communion celebration at Lake Tahoe. Michael's refusal to assist Frank Pentangeli, a Corleone capo, in defending his Bronx territory against the Rosato brothers, who work for Hyman Roth, a Jewish Mob leader and longtime Corleone business associate, disgusts him. Senator Pat Geary taunts the Corleone family and Italians in general while expecting a bribe in exchange for Michael's assistance in obtaining casino gaming licenses. Michael believes Geary will help him with the licenses but won't get compensated for it. One evening, after confiding in consignee Tom Hagen that he believes there is a traitor in the family, Michael abruptly leaves his home following a botched assassination attempt.

 

Although Michael misrepresents to Roth that he suspects Pentangeli, he believes Roth planned the assassination. Pentangeli tries to make peace with the Rosatos in New York City on Michael's orders, but they try to kill him. The Rosatos' effort to kill Pentangeli is thwarted when a police officer breaks into the pub where they are hiding out. As a result, the Rosatos flee, and Corleone soldier Willie Cicci is hurt in the ensuing street gunfight.

 

Tom Hagen is summoned to a brothel managed by Michael's older brother Fredo in Carson City, Nevada, where Geary has been charged with murdering a prostitute. Geary accepts Tom's promise to fix the "issue," unaware that Michael created it, in exchange for Geary's political backing.

 

Michael, Roth, and a number of their business partners, including Fulgencio Batista's conciliatory administration, fly to Havana while Roth, who is ill, is recuperating from an illness. Given the unfolding Cuban Revolution, Michael starts to doubt his decision to keep conducting business there. On New Year's Eve, Fredo lies about not knowing Johnny Ola, Roth's right-hand man, but accidentally exposes they are acquainted, which makes Michael suspect Fredo of betraying him. When Roth tries to be strangled by his enforcer, he is shot dead by Cuban soldiers. Michael had ordered hits on Roth and Ola. As a result of rebel advances, Batista resigns. Roth, Fredo, and Michael each leave Cuba on their own during the ensuing confusion. Michael learns that his wife Kay has miscarried at home.

 

A Senate committee on organized crime is looking into the Corleone family in Washington, D.C., but Geary vehemently defends them. In exchange for witness protection, Pentangeli consents to testify against Michael, whom he accuses of betraying him to the Rosatos.

 

 

Fredo admits to Michael that he was unaware that Roth had intended to kill him, but he also expresses his resentment at being treated like an idiot by the family and his belief that he should have taken over the family after their father passed away. While Michael orders Fredo to be ignored while their mother is still alive, he nevertheless disowns him. When Pentangeli sees his brother in the hearing chamber, he retracts his earlier accusation against Michael of involvement in organized crime, and the session ends in a commotion. Michael then sends for Pentangeli's brother from Sicily. Michael is told by Kay that she had an abortion and not a miscarriage, and she plans to leave him and take the children with her. Outraged, Michael punches Kay, exiles her from the household, and assumes primary parental responsibility for the kids.

 

Later, Carmela passes away, and Michael scrambles to tie up any remaining loose ends. At Fredo's funeral, Michael gives the impression of forgiving him at Connie's request, but he then exchanges a look with Corleone enforcer Al Neri that implies Fredo will be put to death. Soon after, as Michael watches from his den, Neri shoots Fredo to death while the two are out fishing. After being denied access to Israel and refuge, Roth is compelled to return to the United States. Roth is murdered by Corleone caporegime Rocco Lampone at a job interview at the Miami International Airport on orders from Michael. Lampone is later slain by a federal agent as he tries to flee the scene. Hagen pays a visit to Pentangeli at his home, and the two talk about how failed conspirators against the Roman emperor frequently killed themselves in exchange for mercy for their families. Pentangeli is subsequently discovered dead in his bathtub with his wrists cut. When Kay leaves her children after a visit, Michael enters and shuts the door behind her.

 

A flashback to Vito's 50th birthday party, which took place on the same day as the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, is seen in the movie's final moments. Fredo is the only family member who supports Michael's choice to join the Marines, which infuriates Sonny and Hagen while the rest of the family waits to surprise Vito with the news. Michael is sitting by himself at the family compound in the present, gazing out over the lake.

 

Eleven Academy Awards were nominated for the movie, and it became the first sequel to win Best Picture. Together with Best Director for Coppola, Best Supporting Actor for De Niro, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Coppola and Puzo, the film garnered six Academy nominations. Pacino received an Oscar nomination and won Best Actor at the BAFTAs.

 

As its predecessor, Part II continues to have a significant impact on cinema, particularly in the gangster subgenre. It is regarded as one of the best movies of all time and a rare instance of a sequel that might be better than the original. It was selected by the American Film Institute as the 32nd greatest movie ever made in America in 1997, and it kept this ranking ten years later. Being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," it was chosen for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 1993.

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