The Godfather Part II

The Godfather Part II
Original movie poster
Directed by	Francis Ford Coppola
Produced by	Francis Ford Coppola Gray Frederickson[1] Fred Roos
Written by	Screenplay: Mario Puzo Francis Ford Coppola Novel: Mario Puzo
Starring	Al Pacino Robert Duvall Diane Keaton Robert De Niro John Cazale Talia Shire Lee Strasberg Michael V. Gazzo
Music by	Nino Rota Carmine Coppola
Cinematography	Gordon Willis
Editing by	Barry Malkin Richard Marks Peter Zinner
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	December 12, 1974 (1974-12-12)
Running time	200 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English Sicilian
Gross revenue	$193 million
Preceded by	The Godfather
Followed by	The Godfather Part III

The Godfather Part II is a 1974 American gangster film directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script co-written with Mario Puzo. The film is both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather, chronicling the story of the Corleone family following the events of the first film while also depicting the rise to power of the young Vito Corleone before the events of the first film. The film stars Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Michael V. Gazzo and Lee Strasberg.

The Godfather Part II was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won six, including Best Picture^[2] and Best Supporting Actor for Robert De Niro, and has been selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry.

Plot

The Godfather Part II presents two parallel storylines. One involves Mafia chief Michael Corleone from 1958 to 1959; the other is a series of flashbacks following his father, Vito Corleone, from his childhood in Sicily (1901) to his founding of the Corleone crime family in New York City.

In the town of Corleone, Sicily in 1901, Vito's father Antonio Andolini and his brother Paolo are killed on the orders of the local Mafia chieftain, Don Ciccio. Vito's mother goes to Ciccio to beg him to let young Vito live. When he refuses, she holds a knife to his throat, sacrificing herself to allow Vito to escape, as Ciccio's gunmen shoot her. With the aid of a few of the townspeople, Vito finds his way by ship to New York. Arriving at Ellis Island, an immigration agent, mishearing Vito's hometown of Corleone as his surname, registers him as "Vito Corleone". Quarantined because he has smallpox, the nine-year-old boy gazes at the Statue of Liberty through the bars of his cell.

In 1958, Michael Corleone, Godfather of the Corleone family, deals with various business and family problems at his Lake Tahoe, Nevada compound during an elaborate party celebrating his son's First Communion. He meets with Nevada Senator Pat Geary, who despises the Corleones. Geary, aware that Michael plans to gain control of another Vegas casino, demands a grossly exaggerated price for a new gaming license and a monthly payment of five percent of the gross profits from all of the Corleone family's Nevada gaming interests, all while insulting the Corleones and Italians in general. Michael coldly gives Geary his counter-offer: nothing.

Michael also deals with his sister Connie, who, although recently divorced, is planning to marry a man of whom Michael disapproves. He meets with Johnny Ola, the right hand man of gangster Hyman Roth, who says that Roth will not object to Michael gaining de facto control of the Tropicana (the casinos are "owned" by frontmen, to conceal their true ownership by mobsters). Finally, Michael meets with Frank Pentangeli, who took over Corleone caporegime Peter Clemenza's territory after Clemenza's death, and now has problems with the Rosato brothers, who are backed by Roth and are attempting to intrude on Pentangeli's territory. Michael refuses to allow Pentangeli to kill the Rosatos, in order to maintain a smooth business relationship with Roth. Pentangeli leaves after arguing with Michael.

Later that night, an assassination attempt is made on Michael. He tells Tom Hagen that the hit was made with the help of someone close. He then insists that he must leave and entrusts Hagen to protect his family. The Corleone guards then search the compound, and as Michael suspected, the gunmen are found dead.

In 1917, Vito Corleone, now married and living in a gloomy tenement with one son (Sonny), works in a New York grocery store owned by the father of his close friend Genco Abbandando, who looked after him after he came to New York. The neighborhood is controlled by a member of the Black Hand, Don Fanucci, who extorts protection payments from local businesses. Abbandando Senior is forced to fire Vito and give his job to a relative of Fanucci's. One night, Vito's neighbor Clemenza asks him to hide a stash of guns for him, and later, to repay the favor, takes him to a fancy apartment where they commit their first crime together, stealing an expensive rug.

Michael meets with Hyman Roth in his home near Miami and tells him that he believes Frank Pentangeli was responsible for the assassination attempt. Traveling to his family's former home in Long Beach, New York (which is now Pentangeli's home), Michael lets Pentangeli know that Roth was actually behind it and that Michael has a plan to deal with Roth, but needs Frankie to cooperate with the Rosato brothers in order to put Roth off guard. When Pentangeli goes to meet with the Rosatos, their men garrote him, but the attempted murder is accidentally interrupted by a policeman.

Elsewhere, Tom Hagen visits one of the brothels owned by the Corleone family, where Geary has been found in a room with a dead prostitute, which was presumably set up by the Corleones. Geary claims he cannot remember what happened and Hagen says he will cover the death up, in return for "friendship" with Geary.

Meanwhile, Michael meets Roth in Havana, Cuba at the time when dictator Fulgencio Batista is soliciting American investment, and guerrillas are trying to bring down the government. Hyman Roth is celebrating his birthday with business partners, when Michael reveals to Roth and others that he is hesitant to invest after he saw a rebel suicide bomb several of Batista's policemen with a grenade, convincing him that Fidel Castro is capable of taking over. Roth privately requests Michael's investment once again.

Fredo, carrying the promised money, arrives in Havana and meets Michael. Michael confides to his brother that it was Roth who tried to kill him, and that he plans to try again. Michael assures Fredo that he has already made his move, and that "Hyman Roth will never see the New Year." Instead of turning over the money, Michael asks Roth who gave the order to have Frank Pentangeli killed. Roth avoids the question, instead speaking angrily of the murder of his old friend and ally Moe Greene, which Michael had orchestrated (as depicted at the end of the first film), saying, "I didn't ask who gave the order, because it had nothing to do with business!"

Michael asks Fredo to show Geary and other important American officials and businessmen a good time, during which Fredo pretends to not know Johnny Ola. Later in the evening, however, Fredo drunkenly comments that he learned about the place from Johnny Ola, contradicting what he told Michael twice earlier. Michael realizes that the traitor in the Corleone family is his own brother, and dispatches his bodyguard to kill Roth. Johnny Ola is strangled, but Roth, whose health is failing, is taken to a hospital before he can be assassinated. Michael's bodyguard follows, but is shot by police while trying to smother Roth with a pillow.

At Batista's New Year's Eve party, at the stroke of midnight, Michael grasps Fredo tightly by the head and gives a kiss, telling him "I know it was you Fredo; you broke my heart." Batista announces he is stepping down due to unexpected gains by the rebels, and the guests flee as the guerrillas pour into the city. Michael appeals to his brother to join him in leaving the country, but Fredo runs away, frightened.

Michael returns to Las Vegas, where Hagen tells him that Roth escaped Cuba after suffering a stroke and is recovering in Miami. Hagen also informs Michael that Kay had a miscarriage while he was away.

In New York, in 1920, Don Fanucci has become aware of the partnership between Vito, Peter Clemenza and Sal Tessio, and demands that they "wet his beak." Clemenza and Tessio agree to pay, but Vito asks his friends to leave everything in his hands to convince Fanucci to accept less money, telling his friends "I make him an offer he don't refuse." Vito manages to get Fanucci to take only a half of what he had demanded. Immediately afterwards - despite having earned Fanucci's respect and an offer of employment - during a neighborhood festa, Vito runs along the rooftops of the tenement buildings stalking Fanucci, who is in the street below. He climbs down to Fanucci's apartment and shoots Fanucci dead, escaping again via the rooftops. On the steps of his apartment he cradles the newborn Michael in his arms.

Michael returns to his compound in Lake Tahoe, declining to go into the same room as his wife and instead asking his mother whether his father's position as Don had alienated the family. In Washington, D.C., a Senate committee, of which Geary is a member, is conducting an investigation into the Corleone family. They question disaffected "soldier" Willi Cicci, but he cannot implicate Michael because he never received any direct orders from him.

In New York, in the early 1920s, Vito has become a respected figure in his community. A fritseller's wife asks him to intercede with a slum landlord who is evicting a widow. Vito offers the landlord extra money to let her stay, but the man becomes angry when Vito demands that she also be allowed to keep her dog. A few days later the landlord, clearly terrified after finding out who Vito is, calls on him at the offices of the "Genco Olive Oil Company" and announces that the widow can stay, along with her dog, and at a reduced rent.

When Michael appears before the committee, Geary makes a big show of supporting Italian-Americans and then excuses himself from the proceedings. Michael makes a statement challenging the committee to produce a witness to corroborate the charges against him. The hearing ends with the Chairman promising a witness who will do exactly that (Pentangeli). Tom Hagen and Michael 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 is upset about being passed over to head the family. He helped Roth, thinking there would be something in it for him, but he swears he didn't know they wanted to kill Michael. He also tells Michael that the Senate Committee's chief counsel is on Roth's payroll. Michael then disowns Fredo and privately instructs Al Neri that nothing is to happen to Fredo while their mother is still alive; the implication is that he will be murdered after she dies.

Frank Pentangeli has made a deal with the FBI to testify against Michael, believing he was the one who organized the attempt on his life. At the hearing in which Pentangeli is to testify, Michael arrives accompanied by Pentangeli's brother Vincenzo, brought in from Sicily. Upon seeing his brother, Frank Pentangeli recants his earlier statements, saying that he runs his own family, and claims that the Corleone family is innocent of any wrongdoing, thereby derailing the government's case.

At a hotel room afterwards, Kay tries to leave Michael and take their children with her. Michael at first tries to mollify her, but, when she reveals to him that her recent "miscarriage" was actually an abortion to avoid bringing another son into Michael's criminal family, Michael explodes in anger and slaps her in the face.

In 1925, Vito visits Sicily for the first time since leaving for America, now accompanied by all four of his children. He is introduced to the elderly Don Ciccio by Don Tommasino (who initially helped Vito escape to America) 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 stabs the old man to death.

Carmela Corleone, Michael's mother, dies and the whole Corleone family reunites at the funeral. Michael is still shunning Fredo, but relents when Connie implores him to forgive his brother. Michael and Fredo embrace - but as they do so Michael exchanges glances with Al Neri.

Michael, Hagen, Neri and Rocco Lampone discuss their final dealings with Roth, who has been unsuccessfully seeking asylum from various countries, and was even refused entry to Israel as a returning Jew. Michael rejects Hagen's advice that the Corleone family's position is secure and that killing Roth and the Rosato brothers for revenge is an unnecessary risk. Later, Hagen pays a visit to Frank Pentangeli at the military base. Hagen talks about the honor of the Roman Empire, and Frank hints that if he were to commit suicide, his family would be spared and taken care of. They agree on this and shake hands.

With Connie's help, Kay visits her children, but cannot bear to leave them and stays too long. When Michael arrives, he closes the door in her face.

The film reaches its climax in a montage of assassinations and death:

• As he arrives in Miami to be taken into custody, Hyman Roth is shot in the stomach and killed by Rocco Lampone disguised as a journalist. Lampone is immediately shot dead in turn, by FBI agents.
• Frank Pentangeli is found dead in his bathtub, having slit his wrists.
• Finally, Al Neri shoots Fredo in the head while they are fishing on Lake Tahoe, as Fredo is saying a Hail Mary to help catch a fish. Michael watches from his den.

The penultimate scene takes place as a flashback to December 1941 as the Corleone family is preparing a surprise birthday party for Vito. Sonny introduces Carlo Rizzi, Connie's future husband, to his family. Sal Tessio comes in with the cake, and they all talk about the recent attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Michael shocks everybody by announcing that he has dropped out of college and enlisted in the United States Marines. Ironically, Fredo is the only one who supports his brother's decision. Sonny angrily ridicules Michael's choice, while Tom Hagen mentions how his father has great expectations for Michael and has pulled a lot of strings to get him a draft deferment. When Vito arrives (offscreen), all but Michael leave to greet him.

In 1925 Vito and his young family board the train to leave Corleone. They are waved off by happy family friends.

As the film ends, Michael sits in the Lake Tahoe compound, alone in contemplative silence.

Principal cast

• Al Pacino as Michael Corleone
• Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen
• Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone
• Diane Keaton as Kay Adams-Corleone
• John Cazale as Fredo Corleone
• Talia Shire as Connie Corleone
• Lee Strasberg as Hyman Roth
• Michael V. Gazzo as Frankie Pentangeli
• Morgana King as Carmela Corleone
• G. D. Spradlin as Senator Pat Geary
• Richard Bright as Al Neri
• Marianna Hill as Deanna Corleone
• Gastone Moschin as Don Fanucci
• Troy Donahue as Merle Johnson
• Dominic Chianese as Johnny Ola
• Joe Spinell as Willi Cicci
• Bruno Kirby as Young Peter Clemenza
• Frank Sivero as Young Genco Abbandando
• James Caan as Sonny Corleone (cameo)
• Abe Vigoda as Salvatore Tessio (cameo)
• Gianni Russo as Carlo Rizzi (cameo)
• Giuseppe Sillato as Don Francesco Ciccio
• Roman Coppola as Young Santino Corleone
• John Megna as Young Hyman Roth
• Julian Voloshin as Sam Roth
• Larry Guardino as Vito's uncle
• Danny Aiello as Tony Rosato
• John Aprea as Young Sal Tessio
• Leopoldo Trieste as Signor Roberto (landlord)
• Salvatore Poe as Vincenzo Pentangeli

Casting notes

• James Caan agreed to reprise the role of Sonny in the birthday flashback sequence demanding he be paid the same amount he received for the entire previous film for the single scene in Part II, which he received. Marlon Brando initially agreed to return for the brief but important birthday flashback sequence, but the actor, feeling mistreated by the board at Paramount, failed to show up for the single day's shooting and Coppola rewrote the scene that same day. Richard Castellano, who portrayed Pete Clemenza in the first film, also declined to return, as Castellano and the producers could not reach an agreement on Castellano's demands that he be allowed to write the character's dialogue in the film. Clemenza's role was subsequently filled by Frank Pentangeli.
• Troy Donahue, in a small role as Connie's boyfriend, plays a character named Merle Johnson. Merle Johnson is Troy Donahue's birth name.
• Two actors who appear in the film played different character roles in other Godfather films; Carmine Caridi, who plays Carmine Rosato, also went on to play crime boss Albert Volpe in The Godfather Part III, and Frank Sivero, who plays a young Genco Abbandando, also plays a bystander to the fight between Sonny Corleone and Carlo Rizzi in The Godfather.
• Among the Senators in the hearing committee are film producer/director Roger Corman, writer/producer William Bowers, producer Phil Feldman, and science-fiction writer Richard Matheson.

Production

The Godfather Part II was shot between October 1, 1973 and June 19, 1974, the last major American motion picture to be filmed in Technicolor. The scenes that took place in Cuba were shot in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.^[3] Charles Bluhdorn, whose Gulf+Western conglomerate owned Paramount, felt strongly about developing the Dominican Republic as a movie-making site.

The Lake Tahoe house and grounds portrayed in the film are Fleur du Lac, the summer estate of Henry J. Kaiser on the California side of the lake. The only structures used in the movie that still remain are the complex of old native stone boathouses with their wrought iron gates. Although Fleur du Lac is private property and no one is allowed ashore there, the boathouses and multi-million dollar condominiums may be viewed from the lake.

George Lucas commented on the film after its five-hour long preview, telling Coppola: "You have two films. Take one away, it doesn't work."

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.

Additional/deleted scenes

For both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, many scenes that were shot were not shown in the original theatrical runs but were included in the television adaptation The Godfather Saga (1977) and the home video releases The Godfather 1901-1959: The Complete Epic (1981) and The Godfather Trilogy: 1901–1980 (1992). To date, there has not been a single release that contains all of this footage together in one collection.

A limited time-reduced version of The Godfather Part II was later released because of its runtime. The shorter version was 2hr 7min 56sec rather than the original 3hr 20min 45sec version.

Reception

The Godfather Part II ranks among the most critically and artistically successful film sequels in movie history, and is the most honored. It, like its predecessor, is widely considered as one of the greatest films of all time. Many critics praise it as equal, or even superior, to the original film (although it is almost always placed below the original on lists of "greatest" movies). The film received a "98%" rating on Rotten Tomatoes with only one rotten review. 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's "50 Best Movies of All Time", and 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", as well as Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list. It was also featured on Sight and Sound's list of the ten greatest films of all time in 1992 and 2002.

Like the film itself, Al Pacino's performance has become legendary. The general public and many movie critics have praised Pacino's performance in Part II as perhaps his best, and one of the best performances of all time by any actor. Many critics have criticized the Academy Awards for not awarding Pacino the Academy Award for Best Actor (Art Carney won instead, for his role in Harry and Tonto). In 2006, Premiere issued "The 100 Greatest Performances of all Time", ranking Pacino's performance as at #20.^[4] Later in 2009, Total Film issued "The 150 Greatest Performances Of All Time", ranking Pacino's performance at #4.^[5]

Awards and honors

Between The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, Coppola directed The Conversation, which was released 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. (The first was Alfred Hitchcock in 1941 with Foreign Correspondent and Rebecca, which won. This achievement was matched by Herbert Ross in 1977 with The Goodbye Girl and The Turning Point and again with Steven Soderbergh in 2000, when the films Erin Brockovich and Traffic were both nominated for Best Picture.)

The film was the first sequel to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

American Film Institute recognition

• 1998 AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies #32
• 2003 AFI's 100 Years…100 Heroes and Villains:
  • Michael Corleone — Villain #11
• 2005 AFI's 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes:
  • "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer," #58
• 2007 AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) #32
• 2008 AFI's 10 Top 10 #3 Gangster film

Miscellany

• The scene in which Vito negotiates with Don Fanucci inspired George Lucas' deleted (and later restored) scene in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which Han Solo negotiates with Jabba the Hutt for more time to pay the money he owes.
• The character Hyman Roth, portrayed by Lee Strasberg, is based on Meyer Lansky. Shortly after the premiere in 1974, Lansky phoned Strasberg and congratulated him on a good performance, but added "You could've made me more sympathetic."
• In an early draft of the script, Tom Hagen had an affair with Sonny's widow, causing some friction within the family. This sub-plot was soon cut from the script, though Michael refers to Sonny's widow as his mistress.
• The statue carried during the Feast Of St. Rocco is of St. Rocco and is currently located at St. Joseph's Church in New York City. The priest is Rev. Joseph Moffo, who was the pastor of St. Joseph's at the time of the filming. In addition, the altarboys and men carrying the canopy were also from St. Joseph's.
• After bad experiences directing the first film, Coppola originally sought Martin Scorsese to direct the sequel after seeing Mean Streets. Eventually, under pressure from Paramount, Coppola directed, but was also given other incentives such as a larger budget and the chance to make The Conversation in the same year.

References

External links

• The Godfather Part II at the Internet Movie Database
• The Godfather Part II at Rotten Tomatoes

The Godfather series Novels The Godfather · The Sicilian · The Godfather Returns · The Godfather's Revenge Films The Godfather · The Godfather Part II · The Godfather Part III Video games The Godfather · The Godfather: The Game · The Godfather II Corleone family Vito Corleone · Michael Corleone · Tom Hagen · Sonny Corleone · Fredo Corleone · Carmela Corleone · Connie Corleone-Rizzi · Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone · Kay Adams-Corleone · Anthony Corleone · Mary Corleone · Vincent Mancini-Corleone · Sandra Corleone Corleone allies Genco Abbandando · Luca Brasi · Willi Cicci · Peter Clemenza · Dominic Corleone · Sam Drago · B. J. Harrison · Carmine Marino · Rocco Lampone · Monk Malone · Tony Molinari · Sal Narducci · Al Neri · Tommy Neri · Ritchie Nobilio · Eddie Paradise · Frank Pentangeli · Vincenzo Pentangeli · Salvatore Tessio · Don Tommasino · Carlo Tramonti · Joe Zaluchi Corleone enemies Ozzie Altobello · Momo Barone · Emilio Barzini · Ottilio Cuneo · Don Fanucci · Vincent Forlenza · Paulie Fortunato · Nick Geraci · Archbishop Gilday · Moe Greene · Frederick Keinszig · Joe Lucadello · Licio Lucchesi · Captain McCluskey · Mosca · Johnny Ola · Carlo Rizzi · Antonio "Tony" Rosato · Hyman Roth · Louie Russo · Virgil Sollozzo · Anthony Stracci · Bruno Tattaglia · Philip Tattaglia · Rico Tattaglia · Joey Zasa Other characters Amerigo Bonasera · Johnny Fontane · Senator Pat Geary · Cardinal Lamberto · Lucy Mancini · Danny Shea · Mickey Shea · Billy Van Arsdale · Jack Woltz · Aldo Trapani Music The Godfather (soundtrack) · The Godfather Part II (soundtrack) · The Godfather Part III (soundtrack) · Speak Softly Love (Love Theme from The Godfather) · Promise Me You'll Remember (Love Theme from The Godfather Part III) Related Francis Ford Coppola · Mario Puzo · Albert S. Ruddy · Nino Rota · Crime film · Organized crime · Mafia · Five Families · Five Families (The Godfather) · Sicily · Corleone · Mark Winegardner · The Sicilian · The Freshman · The Godfather Saga Book:The Godfather series  · Category:The Godfather