Otto Penzler ranks, analyzes, & celebrates the 106 greatest crime films of all-time. Catch up on the series and find new installments daily here.
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The Godfather, Part II (1974)
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TYPE OF FILM: Crime
STUDIO: Paramount
PRODUCER: Francis Ford Coppola
DIRECTOR: Francis Ford Coppola
SCREENWRITERS: Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo
SOURCE: Inspired by characters from The Godfather, novel by Mario Puzo
RUNNING TIME: 200 minutes
PRINCIPAL PLAYERS:
Al Pacino……………………………………………………….………………..Michael Corleone
Robert Duvall…………………………………………………………………………..Tom Hagen
Diane Keaton…………………………………………………………………Kay Adams Corleone
Robert De Niro………………………………………………………………….Don Vito Corleone
John Cazale…………………………………………………………………………Fredo Corleone
Talia Shire…………………………………………………………………………Connie Corleone
Lee Strasberg……………………………………………………………………….…Hyman Roth
Michael V. Gazzo……………………………………………………………….Frankie Pentangeli
G.D. Spradlin…………………………………………………………………….Senator Pat Geary
Richard Bright………………………………………………………………………………Al Nevi
Gaston Moschin…………………………………………………………………………….Fanucci
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DID YOU KNOW?
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The sequel to The Godfather was the most successful sequel in the history of motion pictures at the time. Although it was not quite the financial success of its predecessor, costing twice as much and earning less than half, it nonetheless was one of the biggest box-office successes of the year. In addition, and equally important to many of those involved in the making of both films, it was an even greater critical success, frequently described as being superior to the original and having some tangible evidence of this in the form of awards. While The Godfather was nominated for ten Oscars and won three, The Godfather, Part II was nominated for eleven Oscars and won six, including Best Picture (the only time in the history of Hollywood that two films in a series have both won that award); Francis Ford Coppola for Best Director; Robert De Niro for Best Supporting Actor (defeating Michael V. Gazzo and Lee Strasberg, who both appeared in the film as well); and Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola for Best Adapted Screenplay, repeating their triumph of two years earlier.
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THE STORY
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In 1918 Italy, young Vito Corleone sees his family murdered and moves to New York City. Married and working in a small shop, he loses his job when a gangster forces his boss to hire his cousin. Desperate for money, he joins forces with a couple of small-time hoodlums and they become successful gangsters, finally taking over an olive oil importing firm. Although still a crook, he becomes a dignified and respected member of the community and rises to head a mob family.
Vito’s son Michael takes over the responsibility of head of the family and is threatened by a powerful and corrupt U.S. senator who wants to extort money from him. When Michael refuses, he becomes targeted for assassination. The attempt fails and Michael gathers ample evidence against the senator, assuring him that he will be left alone.
Having successfully entered the casino-gambling business in Las Vegas, Michael sees an equally huge opportunity in Havana, Cuba, and meets with Jewish gangster Hyman Roth to set up operations there, only to have his plans thwarted by the overthrow of the Batista government, which had been cooperative in hopes of making Havana an even greater tourist attraction.
When Michael returns to America, he learns that his wife, Kay, tired of a life inseparable from crime, is about to leave him just as he becomes the prime target of a massive government investigation of organized crime.
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When Francis Ford Coppola made Part II, he reasoned that it would be successful only if audiences felt that it needed to be made in order to round out and complete the saga of the Corleone family. Because of the unimaginable success of the first movie, he was given virtually total control of the film and was able to do whatever he wanted to in a creative sense. He immediately signed Mario Puzo to again work on the screenplay, feeling (correctly) that no one knew that characters better than he did.
Al Pacino recommended Lee Strasberg for the role of Hyman Roth. Although the world’s most famous acting teacher, Strasberg never had appeared before a camera.
In the scene in which Michael (played by Al Pacino) learns that his brother Fredo (played by John Cazale) has betrayed the family, he shows signs of tremendous stress. Some of this wasn’t acting—Pacino was rushed to the hospital with pneumonia immediately after shooting the scene.
The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II were combined to make The Godfather Saga for television in 1977, with NBC airing it for nine hours over a four-day period, reaching a huge audience. The films were heavily edited, and previously unseen footage was added, eliminating the flashbacks to produce a linear chronology of the Corleone family’s history. Also eliminated was much of the sex, obscenity, and violence, all of which were restored for the videotape, which ran 388 minutes and was titled The Godfather: The Complete Epic.
Even before The Godfather was released, plans were under way to make the sequel. Various titles under consideration were The Son of Don Corleone, Michael Corleone, and Don Michael. The Godfather, Part III was released in 1990 but did not enjoy much success. Puzo and Coppola again wrote the script, which lacked the fire of the first two films, but the casting of Coppola’s daughter Sofia, essentially an amateur, in the key role of Mary Corleone was the film’s biggest problem.
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BEST LINE
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Michael Corleone, noting words of wisdom from his father, Don Vito: “Keep you friends close, but your enemies closer.”
