The Godfather Part II

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The Godfather Part II
original movie poste
Directed by	Francis Ford Coppola
Produced by	Francis Ford Coppola Gray Frederickson Fred Roos
Written by	Mario Puzo Francis Ford Coppola
Starring	Al Pacino Robert Duvall Diane Keaton Robert De Niro John Cazale Talia Shire Lee Strasberg
Music by	Nino Rota Carmine Coppola
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	December 12, 1974 (première) December 20, 1974
Running time	200 min.
Language	English, Sicilian, Latin
Budget	$13,000,000 (est.)
Preceded by	The Godfather
Followed by	The Godfather Part III
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Godfather Part II is a 1974 motion picture directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script he co-wrote with Mario Puzo. The film is both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather, chronicling the continuing saga of the Corleone family following the events of the first film while depicting the rise to power of the young Vito Corleone. The film is also ranked as the third greatest movie of all time by the Internet Movie Database, with its predecessor, The Godfather, ranked as number one. Unusually for a sequel, Godfather Part II is considered to be as good as or perhaps better than the original. It has also been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

Contents 1 Cast 2 Synopsis 3 Reaction 3.1 Awards 4 Sequels 5 Trivia 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Cast

• Al Pacino as Don Michael Corleone
• Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen
• Diane Keaton as Kay Corleone
• Robert De Niro as young Vito Corleone
• John Cazale as Fredo Corleone
• Talia Shire as Connie Corleone
• Lee Strasberg as Hyman Roth
• Michael V. Gazzo as Frankie Pentangeli
• G.D. Spradlin as Senator Pat Geary
• Richard Bright as Al Neri
• Dominic Chianese as Johnny Ola
• James Caan as Sonny Corleone (cameo)

[edit] Synopsis

The plot is constructed from two storylines presented in parallel. One involves Michael Corleone in 1958/1959 after the events of the first movie; the other is a series of flashbacks following his father, Vito Corleone, from his youth in Sicily (1901) to the founding of the Corleone family in New York (1917-1925).

The film begins in 1901, in the town of Corleone in Sicily, at the funeral of young Vito's father, Antonio Andolini, who has been murdered for refusing to pay the local Mafia lord, Don Ciccio. During the procession, gunshots are heard and a woman yells out that Vito's older brother, Paolo, has been murdered because he swore revenge on the Don. Vito's mother takes him to Don Ciccio to beg for mercy. Ciccio refuses, knowing that nine year old Vito will seek revenge later in life. The mother takes Ciccio hostage at knifepoint, allowing her son to escape. Ciccio's men kill Vito's mother, and they search the town for the boy. He is aided in his escape by residents of the town and subsequently finds his way by ship to New York. At Ellis Island an immigration agent asks his name and he remains silent; another man reads his tag and says "Vito Andolini from Corleone", and he is registered as "Vito Corleone".

In the late 1950s, in a similar fashion to the opening of the first film, Michael Corleone, Godfather of the Corleone family, deals with various business and family problems during an elaborate party thrown at his Lake Tahoe compound, to celebrate his son Anthony's First Communion. He meets with Nevada Senator Pat Geary, who despises the Corleones, to discuss the fees of the gaming licenses for the hotel/casinos the Family is buying.

Michael also deals with his out-of-control sister, Connie, who is recently divorced but already plans to remarry a man Michael disapproves of. He also talks with Johnny Ola, Jewish gangster Hyman Roth's right hand man, who is supporting Michael's move into the gambling industry. Belatedly, Michael deals with Frank "Five Angels" Pentangeli, who took over Peter Clemenza's territory after his death, and now he has problems with the Rosato Brothers, who are backed by Roth. Pentangeli leaves abruptly, after telling Michael "your father did business with Hyman Roth, your father respected Hyman Roth, but your father never trusted Hyman Roth." Later that night, an assassination attempt is made on Michael, which he survives after his wife Kay notices the bedroom window drapes are inexplicably open. Afterwards, Michael tells Tom Hagen that the hit was made with the help of someone close, and that he must leave, entrusting all his power to him to protect his family.

In 1917, the adult Vito Corleone lives in New York working at a grocery store with his friend Genco Abbandando. The neighborhood is controlled by a member of the "The Black Hand," Don Fanucci, who extorts protection payments from local businesses. Subsequently, Vito loses his job to Fanucci's nephew. While having dinner with his wife in their apartment, Vito is interrupted by his neighbor Clemenza, who asks him to hide a stash of guns for him. As a means of repaying Vito for the favor, Clemenza takes him to a local apartment where they commit their first felony together, stealing an elegant rug from the owner, almost being caught by police in the process.

Michael meets Hyman Roth in Florida and tells him that he believes Frank Pentangeli was responsible for the assassination attempt, and that Pentangeli will pay for it. Traveling to Brooklyn, Michael lets Pentangeli know that he's aware that Roth was behind it, and he has a plan, but he needs Frankie to cooperate with the Rosato Brothers in order to put Roth off guard. Michael's brother Fredo receives a mysterious phone call at night from someone named "Johnny". When Pentangeli goes to visit the Rosato Brothers, he is told "Michael Corleone says hello," and is attacked and left for dead, while his bodyguard, Willie Cicci, is struck by a car. Tom Hagen is called to a Nevada brothel run by Fredo and finds Senator Geary in a difficult situation: he is disoriented, and a murdered prostitute is in his bed. Tom offers the senator the family's "friendship" in exchange for taking care of his problem: he is to call his office and say that he was a guest of Michael Corleone in Tahoe.

Meanwhile, Michael meets Roth in Havana, Cuba, in late 1958, at the time when leader Fulgencio Batista is soliciting American investment, and communist guerrillas are actively planning the Cuban revolution. Along with other businessmen, they celebrate Roth's birthday and discuss new deals on how to divide up legitimate businesses in America. Michael mentions that there is a possibility that the rebels might win, making their business dealings in Cuba more difficult. The comment prompts Roth to remark that Michael hasn't delivered the two million dollars to form the partnership.

Fredo arrives in Havana with the money in a briefcase and when Michael mentions Hyman Roth and Johnny Ola, Fredo says he has never met them. Senator Geary and other government people are coming from Washington, D.C. and Michael wants Fredo to show them a good time in the city. Michael confides to his brother that it was Roth who tried to kill him, and despite Roth's constant talk of his approaching mortality, he has no plans to share his wealth and will assassinate Michael after the New Year's Day party. Michael assures him that he has already made his move, and that "Hyman Roth will never see the New Year." At a brief meeting, when Michael asks who gave permission to kill Frank Pentangeli, Hyman Roth avoids the question, instead speaking angrily of the murder of his old friend, Moe Greene (depicted in the first film). While spending time in a club with the American politicians, Fredo pretends to not recognize Johnny Ola. Soon after, at a sex show, Fredo comments loudly that he had been to that place with Ola once before, contradicting his earlier statement to Michael that he had never met Roth or Ola. Michael now realizes that the traitor is his own brother, and dispatches his bodyguard to deal with Roth. Johnny Ola is strangled, but Roth, in a delicate state, is taken to a hospital. Michael's enforcer tries to kill Roth in his hospital bed, but is shot by guards before he can carry out his mission. At the New Year's party, Michael grasps Fredo tightly by the head and kisses him: "I know it was you Fredo; you broke my heart." The communist revolution triumphs and most guests flee. Fredo refuses to go with Michael, despite Michael's pleas that Fredo is still his brother and that it's the only way out. Upon returning to the U.S., Michael asks Hagen about Fredo. Hagen says that Roth escaped Cuba after suffering a stroke and is recovering in Miami; his bodyguard is dead, and Fredo is probably hiding in New York. Hagen also informs Michael that Kay had a miscarriage.

The plot returns to Vito's story where Don Fanucci is now aware of the business partnership that Vito, Clemenza and Tessio have formed, and wants his share. Clemenza and Tessio agree to pay Fanucci, but Vito is reluctant and asks his friends to leave everything in his hands so Fanucci will accept less. Vito pays Fanucci only $100 instead of the $200 he wanted, and when Fanucci accepts it he lets Vito know that he is weak. During the neighborhood festa, Vito murders Fanucci in his apartment. With Fanucci dead, Vito has earned the respect from the neighborhood and intercedes in local disputes. He now works at the burgeoning Genco Olive Oil Company.

Michael now returns home and deals with the loss of his unborn child and the state of his family. Meanwhile, a senatorial committee, of which Senator Geary is a member, is conducting investigations of the affairs of the Corleone family. They question disaffected Corleone soldier Willie Cicci, but his testimony is not entirely useful as Michael never gave him any direct orders.

Michael appears before the committee. Senator Geary makes a big show of support for Italian-Americans and then excuses himself from the proceedings. Michael then challenges the committee to produce a witness to corroborate the charges against him. In the next scene, Frank Pentangeli is shown to be alive. He has made a deal with the FBI and is willing to testify against Michael. Tom Hagen and Michael discuss this issue, observing how Roth's strategy had worked. Michael holds a private meeting with his brother Fredo. Fredo mentions how he feels pushed aside, that he is not dumb, and that he wants respect. He says that he supported Roth thinking there would be something for himself but he didn't know they wanted to kill Michael. He also says that the Senate's lawyer is on Roth's side. Michael calmly says that Fredo has lost him completely as a brother and he never wants to see him again. Frank Pentangeli arrives at the Senate hearings to testify. Michael arrives too, accompanied by an unknown person. His mere presence causes Frank to recant his statement. When Pentangeli is asked if he served under caporegime Peter Clemenza he says he didn't, and that everything he told the FBI was a lie. When asked about the strange man, Hagen responds that he is Vincenzo, Frank's brother, and that he has come to support his brother. Without further testimony the committee adjourns, and Hagen demands an apology from them. At a hotel room, Michael and Kay argue harshly when she tries to leave with their children. Michael says that he understands her grief at losing a child, but they will work things out. Kay responds "Michael, you are blind. It wasn't a miscarriage, it was an abortion", and says because he is Sicilian, she knows he will never forgive her. This statement infuriates Michael, who hits Kay, and says that she will not take their children.

The story returns to Vito, where he and his family travel to Sicily to strengthen the commercial bonds between the olive oil import company and their own businesses and Don Tommasino's commercial interests. Vito and Tommasino visit the elderly Don Ciccio to ask for his blessing. When asked about his father, Vito says, "My father's name is Antonio Andolini, and this is for you!", cutting the don's stomach open with a knife. When they are fleeing the property, the last standing bodyguard of Ciccio shoots Tommasino in the legs, giving him his signature limp. With the vendetta accomplished, Vito and his family leave the country.

The whole Corleone family is reunited when Carmella Corleone, Vito's widow and the mother of his children, dies. Kay doesn't attend the funeral and Michael is still reluctant to deal with Fredo, however, after Connie (who shows signs of more maturity) talks to him, Michael and Fredo finally embrace. Later, Fredo and Michael's son, Anthony, become closer while fishing. At the same time Michael, Hagen and Rocco Lampone discuss their final deals with Hyman Roth, who was refused asylum in Israel as a retired Jewish businessman. Hagen suggests that Michael's plans to kill the Rosatos and Roth for revenge are unnecessary, advice that Michael rejects. Hagen pays a visit to Frank Pentangeli on a military base and suggests that he take his own life, in the manner of ancient Romans who were promised that their families would be taken care of after their suicide.

Kay visits her children and leaves at the arrival of Michael, who cruelly ostracizes her. Mirroring the structure of the first film, the sequel reaches its climax in a montage of assassinations and death. At the Corleone compound on Lake Tahoe, Al Neri prepares a boat so Fredo and Anthony can go fishing. Fredo tells Anthony a story of how he caught fish as a boy when he recited the Hail Mary. However, Connie says Anthony can't go because Michael wants to take his son to Reno. Hyman Roth arrives at the airport and is prepared to be taken into custody. He is killed by Rocco Lampone, disguised as a journalist, but Lampone is shot as well. In the military base Frank Pentangeli is found dead, having slit his wrists while in the bathtub. Finally, Fredo is murdered by Neri on the fishing boat at the completion of his Hail Mary.

The film flashes back to 1941, where the family is preparing a surprise birthday party for Vito Corleone. Sonny introduces Carlo Rizzi to his brothers and his sister Connie. They talk about the recent attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, and Michael shocks everybody by announcing that he'd just enlisted in the Marines. Sonny ridicules Michael's choice, and Tom Hagen mentions how his father had great expectations for Michael. Fredo is the only one who supports his brother's decision. All but Michael go to greet Vito Corleone. The last scene in the film is Michael sitting by himself at Lake Tahoe, in silent contemplation.

[edit] Reaction

Award	Person
Best Supporting Actor	Robert De Niro
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration	Dean Tavoularis Angelo P. Graham George R. Nelson
Best Director	Francis Ford Coppola
Best Score	Nino Rota Carmine Coppola
Best Picture	Francis Ford Coppola Gray Frederickson Fred Roos
Best Adapted Screenplay	Francis Ford Coppola Mario Puzo
Nominated:
Best Actor	Al Pacino
Best Supporting Actor	Michael V. Gazzo
Best Supporting Actor	Lee Strasberg
Best Supporting Actress	Talia Shire
Best Costume Design	Theadora Van Runkle

Critically, The Godfather Part II can be considered the most successful sequel in movie history. Many critics praise it as equal, or even superior, to the original film. The Internet Movie Database consistently ranks this movie in the top five of its "Top 250 movies of all time", as voted by its users. The film also regularly ranks independently on many "greatest movies" lists. The Godfather Part II is ranked as the #1 greatest movie of all time in TV Guide Magazines "50 Best Movies of all time", and it is ranked at #7 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the "100 Greatest Movies of All Time". The film is also featured on movie critic Leonard Maltin's list of the "100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century" and is also ranked at #32 on the American Film Institute's "100 Years... 100 Movies". The Godfather Part II was featured on Sight and Sound's list of the ten greatest films of all time in 1992 and 2002.

[edit] Awards

The Godfather Part II is the first of only two sequels ever to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.^[1] The Godfather series remains the only film series to win two Academy Awards for Best Picture.

In between The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, Coppola directed The Conversation, which was released to theaters in 1974 and was also nominated for Best Picture. This resulted in Coppola being the second director in Hollywood history to have two films released in the same year nominated for Best Picture, competing with himself for the same prize at the Academy Awards. (The first was Sir Alfred Hitchcock in 1941 with Foreign Correspondent and Rebecca, which won. This achievement was matched by Steven Soderbergh in 2000, when the films Erin Brockovich and Traffic were nominated for Best Picture.)

[edit] Sequels

In the director's commentary on the DVD edition of the film (released in 2002), Coppola states that this film was the first major motion picture to use "Part II" in its title. Paramount was initially opposed to his decision to name the movie The Godfather Part II. According to Coppola, the studio's objection stemmed from the belief that audiences would be reluctant to see a film with such a title, as the audience would supposedly believe that, having already seen The Godfather, there was little reason to see an addition to the original story. The success of The Godfather Part II began the Hollywood tradition of numbered sequels. In fact, despite Coppola's claim, the first numbered sequel was Quatermass 2, released in 1957.^[2]

[edit] Trivia

• The Godfather Part II was shot between October 1, 1973 and June 19, 1974.
• Robert De Niro's performance as Don Corleone (a role originated by Best Actor winner Marlon Brando) won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Brando and De Niro remain the only two actors to each win Oscars for playing the same character.
• De Niro had auditioned for the part of Michael Corleone in The Godfather. He was instead cast as Paulie Gatto, the soldier who betrays the family. Al Pacino was working on the 1973 release Bang the Drum Slowly, but feeling that Pacino was a good fit for the part of Michael, Francis Ford Coppola pulled strings and got Pacino released. De Niro then replaced Pacino in Bang the Drum Slowly, giving up the part of Paulie in doing so. Remembering De Niro's talent, Coppola brought De Niro back to play young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II. [1]
• Of all the films on the AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies list, this was the only sequel. This is ranked #32 (with the original ranking #3).
• In one early draft of the script, Tom Hagen had an affair with Sonny's widow, causing some friction amongst the Corleone family. This sub-plot was soon cut from the script.
• James Caan agreed to reprise the role of Sonny in the birthday flashback sequence on the condition that for the single scene he be paid the same amount he received for the entire last film. He got his wish. Marlon Brando was also asked to return for the brief but important birthday flashback sequence, but the actor felt mistreated by the board at Paramount, and refused to appear for a single day's shooting.
• Also declining to appear in the film was Richard Castellano, who portrayed Pete Clemenza in the first film. The character that ultimately became Frankie Pentangeli was originally intended to be Clemenza. However, Castellano and the producers could not reach agreement on Castellano's demands that he be allowed to write the character's dialogue in the film.
• Bruno Kirby (billed in the credits as B. Kirby, Jr.) plays a younger version of Clemenza. In the television series The Super, Kirby played Castellano's son.
• The Godfather Part II was the last major American motion picture to be filmed in Technicolor.
• Dominic Chianese, Uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano in The Sopranos, plays the role of "Johnny Ola" in his film debut.
• United States Senator Pat Geary of Nevada, G.D. Spradlin. At the time of Godfather II, 1959, the real US Senators were Alan H. Bible, (D-NV) and Howard W. Cannon, (D-NV).
• The scene in which Vito negotiates with Don Fanucci inspired George Lucas's deleted (later restored) scene in Star Wars: A New Hope, in which Han Solo negotiates with Jabba for more time to pay the money he owes.
• This was the first film that featured both Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. However, they wouldn't appear on screen together until Michael Mann's Heat in 1995.
• Among the Senators interrogating Willie Cicci, Michael Corleone, and Frankie Pentangeli are film producer/director Roger Corman, producer Phil Feldman, and science-fiction writer Richard Matheson.
• The film won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay even though only half of the film was adapted from the novel. Michael's story was an original creation, while Vito's story was taken from the novel. [2]
• An actor who appears in The Godfather I, when Carlo is hit by Sonny, play in the II Genco Abbandando (Frank Sivero).
• The theme heard during the scene when Vito Corleone kills Fanucci was sampled by NaS for his song "Black Republican" (feat. Jay-Z).

See also: The Godfather films in popular culture

[edit] References

1. ^ The other sequel to win an Academy Aware for Best Picture is The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The Silence of the Lambs, the 1991 winner for the Academy Award for Best Picture, is not considered to be an official sequel to Manhunter).
2. ^ Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies

[edit] External links

• The Godfather Part II at the Internet Movie Database
• The Godfather Part II at Filmsite.org
• The Godfather Trilogy

Francis Ford Coppola v • d • e
The Godfather series	The Godfather (1972) | The Godfather Part II (1974) | The Godfather Part III (1990)
1960s	Battle Beyond the Sun (with Aleksandr Kozyr and M. Karzhukov) | The Bellboy and the Playgirls (with Fritz Umgelter and Jack Hill) | Tonight for Sure | Dementia 13 | You're a Big Boy Now | Finian's Rainbow | The Rain People
1970s	The Conversation | Apocalypse Now
1980s	One from the Heart | The Outsiders | Rumble Fish | The Cotton Club | Peggy Sue Got Married | Gardens of Stone | Tucker: The Man and His Dream | New York Stories (with Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese)
1990s	Bram Stoker's Dracula | Jack | The Rainmaker
2000s	Youth Without Youth
Productions	The Junky's Christmas (1993) | Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) | Don Juan DeMarco (1995) | Lani Loa (1998) | The Florentine (1999) | The Virgin Suicides (1999)