Customer Reviews
The Best Sequel Ever Made (Spoilers At End) - By: John Wilfers, 30 Nov 2007 
How do you top the perfection of the original Godfather? How do you make another Godfather when all Michael's enemies were wiped out at the end of the first movie? How do you even DARE make another Godfather without Marlon Brando???
This is how. The Godfather Part II...A massive, sprawling epic movie that moves forwards & backwards at the same time to expand on the original & deepen it's meaning. It tells two stories at once; the story of the young immigrant Vito Corleone's rise to powerin America (played by Robert De Niro instead of Marlon Brando this time, Like Brando, De Niro won an Oscar for it as well as having a song written about it by Bananarama "Robert De Niro's waiting, talking Italian") & of his son Michael's (played by Al Pacino)consolidation of his crime empire four decades later.
It has a new cast of even better villains. From the nasty, arrogant Senator Geary who foolishly underestimates the ruthlessness of Michael Corleone to the unforgettable schemer Frankie Pentangeli with his sandpaper voice. There is also a great performance by legendary acting teacher Lee Strasberg (he taught Pacino). Strasberg expertly plays the sick, elderly gangster Hymen Roth. His performance veers from coldness to anger to agony from his various illnesses & yet even though he is an old man, he leaves the viewerin no doubt that his character is a very dangerous man to do business with. It's allin the eyes.
SPOILERS
The film moves from Sicily to Cuba & all over the United States & is crammed with memorable scenes; the unbearable suspense of young Vito Corleone shooting a Mafia don dead & masking the blast of his gun with a towel which catches fire, Michael Corleone narrowly escaping assassinationin a darkened bedroom & the poignant final shot of the movie.
The film has a haunting ending with lonely Michael Corleone sittingin a garden visually rotting before our eyes after ordering the murder of his brother Fredo & nostalgically remembering the days of his youth when all his family were alive & happy.
This is filmmaking of the highest order. This is the best sequel ever made. It is over three hours long & there is not a boring bitin it. The acting, writing, direction, photography, production design, costumes & sound are unbeatable. If you have never seen this movie, you arein for a treat.
(Even though Al Pacino & Robert De Niro are bothin this movie, they never appearin the same scene together. That didn't happen until 21 years laterin Michael Mann's masterful crime thriller "Heat" & it's an interesting companion piece to "The Godfather Part II."
Pacino & De Niro have teamed up again & their new movie, the serial killer thriller "Righteous Kill," will be outin 2008.)
complete perfection (POSSIBILTY OF SPOILERS) - By: clemenza, 27 Nov 2007 Anything you could ever needin a film isin here, acting, emotion, intensity, dialogue, music, morals, scenery, action, drama, romance, rage - many many things that are perfectedin this film.
The godfather part 2 revolves around mafia boss michael corleone, as he expands his empire into other territories & countries. As his crime family is at its strongest positionin its history, his immediate family is weakening.
Another storyin the godfather 2 is that of michaels father, vito, & the early beginnings of the corleone familyin new york. Vito, played brilliantly by robert de niro has this amazing confidence, & builds respect & loyalty effortlessly around him.
With these two stories interwieving, michaels struggles are emphasised, his empire is built out of fear as opposed to love like his father.
Once, michael was a good young man. As he reaches middle age he is becoming evil but who's to blame? It would appear to be his father, who had sealed michaels fate a long time ago by his own criminal actions.
There are many beautiful scenesin this film, including michaels arguments with his wife, kaye, & his brother fredo. IF one scene stands out for me it is the ending, with michael sitting alone,in quiet contemplation, where did it all go wrong? If there is one themein this film it is that of fate, michael is ultimately doomed to his unhappy dangerous life. This film uses scenery & music to strengthen the acting, for instance "michael's theme" captures michaels fate withing music, showing the genius of composer nino rota.
For me the standout of the film is al pacino, simply an amazing actor playing the most complex & intense character ever shownin a film- michael corleone.
As long as youre not expecting a film that hands everything to you on a plate without you having to think about it, you will most likely fallin love with this film, there are a million reasons as to why this film is so good
AL PACINO - THE SEXIEST MAFIA BOSS EVER !!! - By: G. Kyriacou, 06 Oct 2007 What on earth can I write about The Godfather II film that hasn't been written already. It is a masterpiece. A stunning cast. Fantastically directed.
I love the way we are taken backin time to the roots of the Godfather. The focus is not just about the violence & power of the Mafia, its the creation & life of the Godfather, that counts for everything.
So many great actorsin this film.
Al Pacino plays the role to perfection. His incredible looks, dark smouldering eyes, & that powerful voice, hold every scene. No one could have played this role better.
A brilliant performance too from a truly handsome young Robert de Niro, who does a first class job. Both Al Pacino & Robert de Niro provedin this film, that they would be around for many years with legendary performances.
The music is hauntingly beautiful.
Al Pacino's performance is outstanding. It was the start of many films about the Mafia, & there have been some great ones..'Goodfellas' etc., but no other Mafia boss has been as great as the legendary Al Pacino.
ANOTHER MASTERPIECE - By: stuart, 07 Aug 2007 Series note: It is almost unthinkable to watch this film without having seen The Godfather (1972) first. This is a direct continuation of that story.
The good news is that The Godfather Part II has many amazing qualities, including fantastic performances from a superb cast, sublime, unprecedented visuals that no one else has been able to capture since, & very engaging stories. The bad news is that this should have easily been a 10, but overall, it is so sprawling & unfocused that I can't possibly give it more than a 9, which it only earns because the assets transcend what's basically a mess overall. Because it should have been a 10, & most other reviews will tell you about the positive points at length, I may pick on more thingsin my review than you would think I would for a 9, but rest assured that even with the flaws, The Godfather Part II is still essential viewing.
Director/co-writer Francis Ford Coppola cleverly begins the film with parallels to The Godfather. We see Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) "in the role" of his father, Vito (Marlon Brando), from the first film, accepting prostrating guests while a party is going on outside. Like the first film, the party consumes a lot of time while we get to know some of the principal characters. Perhaps during this segment, perhaps a bit after, we realize that maybe the beginning wasn't so clever after all, because the structure of The Godfather Part II parallels The Godfather from a broad perspective, as if Coppola & co-writer Mario Puzo used the first film as something of a template to create this one.
After the party is over, there is an attempted hit on Michael, & we quickly learn that not everything is rosyin the Corleone's mafia world. Michael believes that someone on the "inside" was involved with the hit. This launches a complicated sequence of events that has Michael, who is now livingin Nevada, traveling to Miami, Cuba, New York, & so on. He accuses different people of involvementin the attempted hit depending on whom he is talking to. This may have all been part of a grand scheme to set up the responsible parties, but one of the flaws of the film is that Coppola doesn't convey Michael's underlying thoughts about this very well, not even later, & not through his actions. Rather than feeling like a clever set-up, it starts to feel like slightly muddled writing.
During the middle section of the film, which goes on for hours, we also have a hint of a problem that plagued The Godfather--a bloated cast. There are bit too many characters who aren't well enough presented or explained. You may need to keep a scorecard.
Coppola & Puzo also treat us to many extended "flashback" segments, & I mean way back, to Vito as a boy & young man, played by Robert De Niro. For my money, these were the best scenes of the film, although maybe that's a bit of my bias creeping in, as I'm a huge De Niro fan.
But let's talk about the main plague of the film--sprawl. This is maybe first evidentin the flashbacks. As good as they are, they go on far too long, & happen far too frequently, to sustain the momentum of either the Michael story or the Vito-as-a-youngster story. It begins to feel like we're toggling back & forth between two films, which is the track that should have been taken. The prequel, at least, would have been a solid 10.
There's also a lot of sprawlin the Michael Corleone segments. Coppola appears to have been suffering from what I'd now call "J.K. Rowling Syndrome". That happens when an artist becomes successful enough that they can fire or ignore their editor(s). Instead of taking good advice about where to trim fat, the artist decides to just leave much of it in, & they now have the clout to override any dissenting & more sensible opinions. The Michael Corleone story has a lot of fat, including much of the Cuba material (for example, sitting around the table with the President, laboriously passing around a solid gold telephone), the Senate hearings (which go on far too long to make & provide the dramatic points), & so on.
The film begins to feel more like a couple seasons of a television show that Coppola tried to cram into a 3 & a half hour film, or worse, a collection of deleted scenes. The scenes, except for the fat that needed to be trimmed, are excellentin isolation. But by the time the climax rolls around, the whole has more of an arbitrary feeling--this is especially clearin the dénouement, which seems to just end.
I've barely left myself room to talk about the good points. The first one, which most people mention, is the acting. There isn't a bad performancein the film, but Pacino, De Niro, & some relatively minor characters, like those played by Diane Keaton, Talia Shire & John Cazale, really stand out.
The second outstanding point, similar to the first film, is the beautiful visuals. Although all of the cinematography & production design is great, what really impressed me were some of the darkly lit scenes. Characters & features of sets emerge from pitch-blackness, & everything is rich, deep shades of burgundy, brown, & orange. Amazingly, nothing gets lostin these scenes. It must be incredibly difficult to achieve without making the shots too dark, because I can't remember another film since that has been able to capture the same look. The flashback scenes are alsoin similar, but lighter, colors, creating an appropriate sepia-tone feel.
Although the broad perspective problems are unfortunate, a closer focus on most segments of the film provides exemplary artistry. Given that, & the film's importance culturally, The Godfather Part II is a must-see.
How can a maffia boss male money in a changing world? - By: Jacques COULARDEAU, 08 Jan 2007 Times go on a-changing. The second generation, with a few flashbacks to the very origins of the Corleone family, how the last male survivor of the family is smuggled out of Sicily to the USA where he can start a new line, by changing his name circumstancially since it is a not too wise customs officer that gives him unknowingly a new family name, & without forgetting the vengeance he will have to achieve later rather than sooner for the killing of his father & brothers by the local Donin his villagein Sicily. We see him establish his businessin the 1920s by killing the local maffia bossin his neighborhood & taking overin a more humane & just way. But this is a flashback. We are interestedin the next generation & what they can doin the 1950s. The takeover has already been dealt within the first part. The apointed son for this takeover has already asserted his power over the five families that could challenge himin the previous film. Now he tries to develop his business. Drugs had been allowed but he remains rather distant from that trafficking. He develops his businessin gambling, hotels, entertainment,in one word luxury industry or commerce. He tries to get into Las Vegas but is rebuffed by a local Senator, so he forgets about it. Then he tries to move into Cuba & take over some business there but too late it is the arrival of Castro. So he goes back to New York & Nevada, back to his traditional activities. But these attempts enable Coppola to show some new problematics that are coming upin the seond half of the 20th century. First of all the strong sectarianism Italians have to face from politicians who declare they support Italian-Americans as good patriotsin front, & behind try to make them pay twice a service or to ostracize them out of their constituencies. At the same time they have to face congressional & judicial complications with hearings about their businesses & business practices that are accused of being too criminal to be accepted. In other words we are beyond the time of Al Capone & Prohibition. And the world is also chaging. Cuba of course is a big change. But women are no longer what they used to bein this Sicilian culture. Women do not want to be simple ancillary appendices to men they do not see any more. This second generation Godfather is contronted to the abortion of his third chold & second son by his wife while he isin Cuba witnessing Castro's conquest of the island. Then she tries to take his children away & eventually get a divorce. She will get nothing except a separation but not the children. He also has to fight against some remnants of the old world that are handicaps & obstacles to his projects, such as the factr that he is the head of the family business & yet he is not the eldest son : hence he has to face his elder brothers, & that has been going on for a long time. The world is changing his way this time & he has to fight against the survival of what the world used to be. At this point this trilogy is becoming a vast fresco about the history of Italian-Americans or should I say Sicilian-Americans ? When the fresco is too vast we can wonder if it does not lose some of its possible meaning by diluting it into too many elements, periods & events. But it is certainly interesting to follow this intricate family history that verges onto a sitcom at times.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University of Paris Dauphine & University of Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne
