3. The Godfather Part Two
What films could be considered the best of all time. I mentioned the Godfather yesterday. I would add 2001 A Space Odyssey to that discussion. Goodfellas and Fight Club deserve nods. Even something like Pulp Fiction or Empire strikes back. The Godfather Part Two deserves to be in that conversation. I love mafia films. Goodfellas, Mean Streets, Casino, The Departed, American Gangster just to name a few. But the Godfather trilogy is just so incredible. Everything from top to bottom is perfect. The writing, the acting, the directing. It is filmmaking at it's best. A standard that is set so high that few if anyone could ever achieve. I would watch the Godfather Part Two over the Godfather Part One anyday.
In 1901 Corleone, Sicily, nine-year-old Vito Andolini’s family is killed after his father insults local Mafia chieftain Don Ciccio. He escapes to New York and is registered as "Vito Corleone" on Ellis Island.
On the occasion of the 1958 first communion party for his son, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) has a series of meetings in his role as the Don of his crime family. With Nevada Senator Pat Geary, he discusses the terms of a fourth state gaming license for the Corleones, but the two only trade insults and demand payoffs. Johnny Ola (Dominic Chianse) arrives to express support for Michael on behalf of Florida gangster Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg). At the same time, the Don struggles to manage his depressed sister Connie (Talia Shire) and older brother Fredo (John Cazale). Corleone caporegime Frank Pentangeli (Michael V. Gazzo) is very unhappy that his boss will not help him defend New York against the Rosato brothers, who work for the Jewish Roth. That night, Michael survives an assassination attempt at his home and puts consigliere Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) in charge, reassuring him of their fraternal bond.
In 1917, Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) lives in a tenement with his wife Carmela and son Sonny, and works in a New York grocery store owned by the father of a close friend. A member of the Black Hand, Don Fanucci, who extorts protection payments from local businesses, forces the store owner to fire Vito and give his job to Fanucci's nephew. As a favor to his neighbor, Peter Clemenza (Bruno Kriby), Vito hides a stash of guns; in return, he is invited to the burglary of a rich apartment. His share of the loot is a plush rug, which he lays in his own living room.
In Miami, Michael tells Roth that Pentangeli was behind the assassination attempt; he then tells Pentangeli that Roth ordered it and asks him to cooperate. Pentangeli meets the Rosatos but their men garrote him, saying they act on Michael's orders.
Geary finds himself in Fredo's brothel with a dead prostitute and no memory of how he got there; he accepts Tom's offer of "friendship" to cover up the incident.
After witnessing a rebel suicide bombing in Havana, Cuba, Michael becomes convinced of the rebels' resolve to overthrow the dictator Fulgencio Batista. Fredo brings Michael the money for a deal with Roth, but instead of turning it over to Roth, Michael asks who put out the hit on Pentangeli. Roth is reminded of his late friend Moe Greene – dead in a spate of Corleone killing – saying, "This is the business we've chosen. I didn't ask who gave the order because it had nothing to do with business!" At a New Year's Eve party, Fredo lets slip that he knew Johnny Ola despite his previous denial. Dismayed, Michael embraces his brother, revealing that he knows he was behind the plot on his life, and a frightened Fredo flees in the chaos. Michael's bodyguard strangles Ola but is killed by police before he can finish off the ailing Roth. Back home, Hagen informs Michael that Roth is recovering in Miami and that Kay's pregnancy has miscarried.
Three years later, Vito has two more boys (Michael and Fredo). He and his partners (Clemenza and Sal Tessio) face extortion by Don Fanucci, who demands they let him "wet his beak" from their recent burglary or he will have the police ruin Vito's family. Vito persuades his partners to pay Fanucci less than he asks and promises he will "make him an offer he don't refuse" as a favor to them. During a neighborhood festa, Vito meets with Fanucci and earns his respect. He then follows Fanucci, surprises him in his apartment foyer, shoots and kills him, takes back his partners' money and escapes.
In Washington, D.C., a Senate committee investigating the Corleone family cannot find evidence to implicate Michael until a surprise witness is called. Pentangeli, ensconced in FBI witness protection and ready to avenge the attempt on his life, is prepared to confirm accusations against Michael until his Sicilian brother attends the hearing at the Don's side; Pentangeli denies his sworn statements and the hearing dissolves in an uproar.
Vito has become a respected figure in his New York community. He confronts a landlord who doesn't know him, offering extra money to let a widow keep her apartment. The landlord says he has already leased it and becomes angry when Vito demands that he allow her to keep her dog. A few days later the landlord returns, terrified that he may have unwittingly offended Vito, assuring him that the widow can stay, along with her dog, at a reduced rent.
Michael and Hagen observe that Roth's strategy to destroy Michael is well planned. Fredo has been found and persuaded to return to Nevada, and in a private meeting he explains his betrayal to Michael; he was upset about being passed over to head the family, and helped Roth, thinking there would be something in it for him. He swears he was unaware of their plan to kill Michael. He tells Michael that the Senate Committee's chief counsel is on Roth's payroll. Michael disowns Fredo and instructs Al Neri that " nothing is to happen to him while my mother's alive." Afterwards, Michael violently prevents Kay from leaving with their children; she retaliates with the revelation that her miscarriage was actually an abortion.
In 1923, Vito, together with his young family, visits Sicily for the first time since leaving for America. He is introduced to the elderly Don Ciccio by Don Tommasino as the man who imports their olive oil to America, and who wants his blessing. When Ciccio asks Vito who his father was, Vito says, "My father's name was Antonio Andolini, and this is for you!" He then plunges a large knife into the old man's stomach and carves it open. As they flee, Tommasino is shot, confining him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
Michael's mother dies. At the funeral, a reformed Connie implores Michael to forgive Fredo. Michael relents and embraces Fredo, but glances at Neri. Roth is refused asylum and even entry to Israel. Over Hagen's dissent, Michael plans his revenge. Hagen visits Pentangeli and offers to spare his family, reminding him that failed plotters against the Roman Emperor took their own lives.
Connie helps Kay visit her children, but Michael closes the door on any forgiveness.
As he arrives in Miami to be taken into custody, Hyman Roth is shot in the stomach and killed by Lampone, who is immediately shot dead by FBI agents. Frank Pentangeli is dead in his bathtub with slit wrists. Neri shoots Fredo while they are fishing on Lake Tahoe.
The Corleone family gathers to surprise Vito for his fiftieth birthday. Sonny introduces Carlo Rizzi to Connie. Tessio comes in with the cake, and they discuss the attack on Pearl Harbor earlier in the month. Michael announces he has left college to enlist in the Marines, leaving Sonny furious, Tom incredulous, and Fredo supportive. Vito is heard at the door and all but Michael leave the room to greet him.
Michael sits alone by the lake at the family compound.
The Godfather Part Two is just another amazing piece of art by Francis Ford Coppola. The man was on a roll. Later in the 70s he would direct another masterpiece called Apocalypse Now. He had these visions and transferred them on to screen so wonderfully. He said these films are somewhat autobiographical. Maybe that is why these movies feel the way they do. His subtle way to the Godfather Part Two works again like it did in the first one. Nothing rushed. It just happens. And we are just along for the ride. And what a wild ride it is.
The casting is once again done masterfully. Al Pacino gives probably the best performance of not only his career, but the best performance I have ever seen in my life. He is Michael. He embodies a man who has come into so much power and is struggling with personal issues and professional ones as well. He implodes as an actor. The times when Michael does lose his cool (which is rare) is done with such sincerity that only a few actors today get close to doing. It is an embarrassment to the academy that Pacino didn't win the academy award for his performance. That level of excellence is only seen once in a lifetime.
Speaking of that. Robert De Niro also gives the best performance of his career and one of the best performances ever. It is amazing two of the greatest actors ever were in the same movie, with no scenes together, and gave these amazing performances. How many people could have played a young Vito Corleone? Not sure. But De Niro could and did. So smooth. Italian accent was flawless. He looks like De Niro. But doesn't sound like him. He was completely turned into Vito. He went to live with Sicilian mafia members. Now that is dedication. And it paid off with an amazing performance and an academy award.
The differences between The Godfather and The Godfather Part Two are the amount of violence. Part one had more violence. Part two focuses more on certain situations that came about because of violence. And the Vito Corleone flashbacks. It plays as a prequel/ present type film. That is a work of genius. Few could have done that and made it so convincingly. Well Francis Ford Coppola did it. And he didn't look back.
There are scenes here that almost make you want to cry. Like when after their mother dies, Michael and Fredo reconcile with a simple hug. How touching. How deceiving too. Or when Kay tells Michael how she had their baby aborted because she didn't want to bring another one of his kids into the world. Coppola hits us with that real life emotions right then and there without killing the tone of the film.
The Godfather Part Two is another classic that has stood the test of time. It is another masterpiece from Francis Ford Coppola. A director who has a vision like no other. He allowed us to view a Sicilian family who was in the mafia and see their nuances. He has given so many gifts to filmmaking. And this is a gift that keeps on giving.
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