The Godfather Part II - The Coppola Restoration (1974)

Just As Good As The Original!!!

I thought The Godfather Part II was just as good as the first one, but I still like the original better. A few years after the original, Michael Corleone has risen to power as the new Godfather. While seeing Michael's story, we travel back in time and see a young Vito Corleone become the Godfather that he was in the original. Michael goes before the the United States Senate committee and tells the committee that he is not in the mafia and had nothing to do with the killing of the heads of the five families. Some parts were kinda confusing for me, because I haven't watched these since I was in either 4th or 5th grade. If you love classics, and the Godfather series, you'll love THE GODFATHER PART II!!! September 18, 2008

"Keep Your Friends Close But Your Enemies Closer"

With the exception of Heath Ledger's interpretation of The Joker, Al Pacino as Michael Corleone might be the best film villain to date. What makes Michael Corleone's villainy different from that of someone like The Joker's is that his self destruction was unintentional; The Joker embraced his own self destruction because he saw no value to life including his own. Michael's mentality was that life had value including rules and morals, yet they were all twisted by his greed and needing to control every aspect of his life. Michael's character is tragic and pitiful because what was once a normal, loving relationship he had with his family despite all the obvious hipocracies and crimes, escalated into a situation in which he more or less alienated himself. The act that ultimately took him from one level of villainy to the next was in giving the order to have his own brother, the only one he had left, killed.

Obviously there isn't a film out there that could be proven flawless in any measure, yet with The Godfather: Part II I could never find a relevant or significant element to the acting, the cinematography or the story itself that I feel Francis Ford Coppola could ligitemately go back and "fix". Its a big reason why I think Al Pacino and Robert Deniro are considered gods today because they were both a part of this film. It was beautiful the way the stories of the two characters were told, where one man rises to power while the other one falls. And even though the father and son were both gangsters, the father rose because he put his family first (even though that may be debatable morally) and the son fell because he abandoned his family even though in his mind he felt he was protecting it. Anyway, its in my top five and will probably stay there for the rest of my life. September 11, 2008

Epic masterpiece

A really epic (in a good way!) continuation from the first film, showing the story of Marlon Brando's character's story juxtaposed with the continuing descent of Pacino's character into a world of increasing paranoia and violence.

As with the first film, this one is superbly acted and directed, and is a truly great film that any lover of movies should see. July 31, 2008

BETTER THAN "1"

It's probably my favorite movie of all time & even better than the first one, which is saying alot! I watched all 3hrs & 20min of it twice in the same week & never got bored...it's that good. It's a trivia-geek thing, but it's fun to see how many of the actors also ended up in either The Sopranos or Goodfellas. May 16, 2008

Continuing the Saga

The GODFATHER II DVD

The God father is based upon Mario Puzo's novel of a Sicilian Family moved to the United States circa 1920's. Don Corleone goes into the olive oil business, what else would you expect? He soon learns that it is easier to make money on the wrong side of the law and recruits a small gang of fellow Sicilians.


The Godfather, Part II is arguably the greatest film of all time. It is the only sequel to win Best Picture and, in my opinion, is almost better than the first movie. Al Pacino gives an unforgettable performance in this movie as does Robert De Niro. Francis Ford Coppola's use of the two story lines going at the same time is wonderful.
The Robert De Niro (Young Vito Corleone) story line is the only part of the Godfather novel that was left out of the first film and it shows the rise of the Godfather. The Al Pacino (Michael Corleone) story line shows how Michael continues the family business after the first film. Both story lines are incredible and when they are put together it makes one of the greatest films of all time.
There is some very powerful cinematography in this film. The scenes are wonderfully shot on location in Nevada, New York, Sicily, and Cuba. I praise Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola for the best sequel ever!!
Highly recommended for fans of Al Pacino, and the American Mafia.


Gunner January, 2008

January 24, 2008

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