Well, since I've taken another look at the epic crime drama, The Godfather, I figured I would look at its sequel, The Godfather Part II. So, this post is pretty big given the vast amount of characters and dialogue in it, so I will try and add a few bits here and there without making the post even more massive!
So, after 50 years, let's take another look at this modern classic and see how it fairs half a century on...
And the usual warning is coming...
PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!
So,
I will for once deal with the plot in a more chronological fashion,
given the film has a flashback narrative involving Vito as younger man
interspered in between the modern narrative with Michael as head of the
Corleone family.
VITO'S STORYLINE
So Vito's sequence begins back in 1901 when Vito Corleone was a 9 year old boy,
who flees to America after his family are killed at the behest of a
local Mafia chieftan, Don Ciccio (Giuseppe Sillato), because his father
insulted the Don. As the film progresses it follows Vito's rise as a
young man (played by Robert De Niro) into the life of organised crime
and how he created his crime family in New York.
Living as a
decent
ordinary civilian in New York, Vito is approached by one of the locals, Clemenza (Bruno Kirby) who tells him to keep some guns for him, which Vito reclutantly does. Not long after, Clemenza offers Vito a carpet as thanks for heling him out, so they go to a large apartment and steal the carpet. So, as Vito, Clemenza and Tessio (John Aprea) start a line in stealing dresses and selling them in their neighborhood, this alerts the attentions of
crime figure, Don Fannucci (Gastone Mochin), who pesters him for a cut of their money, or else he'll go to the police. Vito then hatches a plan with the others to pay Fanucci less then he wants and he will convince Fannucci to accept it.
So, on the day of an Italian festival, Vito meets Fannucci and gives him just a $100 and tells him he is short of money and needs more time to get it. Fannucci then laughs and says he admires Vito's courage and let's him off with it for now and takes the 100. So, Vito then follows Fannucci 's movements on the streets from the rooftops and waits for him
outside his apartment, where Vito then shoots Fannucci dead and takes his money. Vito then destroys his gun and returns down to the streets and sits with his family, cradling a baby Michael.
Later in his life, he
returns to Corleone in Sicily once he has established his Genco Olive
oil business, looking for Don Ciccio's blessing. However its just an
excuse for Vito to exact his revenge by murdering the Don and he escapes with his associate
Tomassino (Mario Cotone) who is shot in the back, and later as we see from the first
Godfather film, ends up confined to a wheelchair. These sequences are
in part also seen as a reflection from Michael Corleone's memory. So
the rest of this plot summary will be told from the modern day events.
MICHAEL'S STORYLINE
Right so far the modern day stuff, the film begins in 1958, where the
Corleone family have now moved to Nevada. Michael Corleone (Pacino) on
the day of his son Anthony's confirmation, also holds an extravagant
party, and deals with business requests at the same time, similar to how
Vito does in the first film.
During the day Michael speaks to Senator
Pat Geary (GD Spradlin) who demands pay offs from Michael in turn for a
state gaming license, and he also insults Michael and his family.
Michael also receives a visit from a Sicilian mob associate, Johnny Ola
(Dominic Chianese) who is connected to the Jewish crime boss, Hyman Roth
(Lee Strasberg), who Michael is doing business with. Michael also on
the same day has to deal with a rebellious Connie (Talia Shire), who is
still angry at Michael for having killed off her former husband Carlo,
and she now jetsets around the world with other men.
And as well that,
Michael also has to meet with Frankie Pentangeli (Michael V. Gazzo), one
of his caporegime's who is having trouble with a couple of mobsters,
the Rosato brothers, who are backed by Roth, and he wants Michael to
kill them off. Michael however refuses as he wants to do business with
Roth and doesn't want it disturbed. Later that night after the party
however, an assassination attempt is made on Michael at his home, as
gunfire riddles his bedroom, however he survives as does his wife Kay
(Diane Keaton). Later that night Michael takes leave of his family,
leaving Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) in charge, as he travels to Miami to
meet with Roth.
On meeting with Roth at his home, Michael tells him that Frank
Pentangeli tried to have him killed, and that he asks his consent that
he orders Frankie's death, to which Roth doesn't object. Later, Michael
returns to New York, where he meets with Frank (who now owns the
Corleone's former house) and he angrily tells him about the attempt on
his life, but he also tells him that Roth was behind the hit, and that
he wants Frankie to sort out his troubles with the Rosato brothers, in
order to make Roth think his relationship with him is still good.
Frankie agrees although somewhat reluctantly as he meets with the
Rosatos at a bar, but they instead try to kill him, by garrotting him,
however they are interrupted by a passing policeman, and they are forced
to leave the bar. Prior to this happening, we see Fredo (John Cazale),
Michael's older brother, receive a phone call during the night from
Johnny Ola, asking if Frankie will bring his men along to the meeting.
Although it is not entirely clear Fredo had something to do with the
attempted hit on Michael, he angrily tells Johnny Ola that he was lied
to and not to call him again.
Michael shortly after his meeting with Frankie, travels to Cuba to meet
up with Roth as they prepare to do a big business deal, however on
travelling there, Michael witnesses a rebel suicide bomber, which makes
him realise that rebels could overthrow the Cuban dictatorship. Fredo
soon arrives with a suitcase of money, Michael's investment for the
deal, and he and Michael go out for a drink together, where Fredo
doesn't mention anything about his involvement in the attempt on his
brother's life, but he does imply he feels guilty by saying he was angry
at him. Michael then tells Fredo that he plans on killing Roth before
the New Year is reigned in, and prior to this he meets with Roth and
holds back on making his deal with him.
Later that night, at a New
Year's eve party, Fredo unwittingly let's his guard down by blabbing
that he knew Johnny Ola (as he denied knowing him to Michael earlier on)
to the others, which leaves Michael quietly devastated. Michael sends
his bodyguard to kill Roth, who is at a hospital, and by this time he is
in ill health from his heart. The bodyguard kills Johnny Ola, but is
killed himself by Cuban police before he can kill Roth. Later at the
party Michael confronts Fredo, grabbing him he kisses him on the lips,
uttering the famous words "I know it was you, Fredo! You broke my
heart!". After this revolution soon breaks lose as the Cuban rebels
take down the dictatorship, and in the ensuing chaos, Fredo flees for
his life, despite Michael's pleas to come with him.
Michael travels back to Nevada where he is told by Tom that Kay had a
miscarriage, and also that Fredo got out and is possibly back in New
York. Soon after this, a senate commission in Washington D.C. bring
forward a witness that can corroborate Michael's links to his crime
family, the witness being Frank Pentangeli, who by now is in the FBI
witness protection program, where he is lives at an army barracks with
FBI agents.
At the trial, Michael denies all claims of his activities
in the crime family, and he reads a statement in his defence to the
committee. And on the day where Frankie attends the hearing, he is
surprised to find his own brother Vincenzo Pentangeli, who was brought
there by Michael to silence Frankie from talking and betraying the family. And indeed on being
questioned by the committee, Frankie denies any knowledge of his links
with Michael Corleone, or that he knew anything about the Godfather, as a
result of this, the case is dismissed and Michael escapes prosecution.
However things are far from right for Michael, as he now has to deal
with an angry and distraught Kay, who after hearing of his nefarious
activities in court, and knowing them to be true, tells him she is
leaving with his children. The two of them row, after which Michael
calms down and tells her he will change, and that he knows she blames
him for losing the baby, but Kay then reveals that she had an abortion
and no intention of having another one of Michael's sons due to his evil
doings, which leads to Michael furiously smacking Kay and warning her
that she won't take his children. As a result of this Michael and
Kay separate, and Michael cuts off her contact with their kids.
Later
on, Fredo finally returns to Nevada, at the same time when their mother
is dying, and Fredo confides in Michael his involvement with Roth, and
that he was angry at being passed over by his father, when it came to
being the head of the family, but he swore he didn't know they were
going to try and kill him. Michael coldly tells Fredo he wants nothing
more to do with him or see him again, and after leaving he quietly tells
his capo, Al Neri (Richard Bright) that he wants nothing to happen to
Fredo while his mother is alive. Once Michael's mother passes away, Connie at the funeral pleads with
Michael to forgive Fredo, which he eventually agrees to, however as he embraces
Fredo at the funeral, he looks up to Neri intently.
And after
his mother's passing, Michael then puts into play, his plans to deal
with his enemies in Roth, Pentangeli and even his brother, Fredo...
THOUGHTS
The Godfather Part II is a superb continuation from the first Godather
film, and sees the themes being expanded from the first film. The scope
of Part II is also far more ambitious as it incoporates the flashback
sequences of Vito Corleone as a young man, making a name for himself and
his rise to power, as well as the modern day themes and the troubles
Michael endures. It also sees how Michael truly has become more
manipulative and evil in running his family, he has ruthlessly taken
control and again uses his power for his own ends. One such example is
where he uses the Senator Geary, by framing him at a whorehouse, making
it look like he had killed a prostitute, in order to get the senator
into his pocket and help him get his gaming license.
The film also
introduces some new characters which we hadn't seen from the first film,
such as Frankie Pentangeli, the wisecracking capo, who was once one of
Michael's father's associates back in the olden days, but is now more of
a hindrance for Michael, as he has his troubles with rvial gangsters, the Rosato
brothers. And Hyman Roth is a mastermind criminal, who plays Michael,
on one hand he appears to be a guru to Michael, but realistically he
plots to get him out the way. And Michael appears to want to gain his
trust and friendship until they go to Cuba, and its there we see Michael
put his plan into motion to kill Roth.
Then there is of course the flashback sequences of the film, which tell
the story of Vito's rise to power in New York, and as a young boy he
escaped to America from Sicily. Although for the most part though in
the flashback scenes, we see Vito as a decent honest man, who wants to
earn for his wife and children, although not long after he becomes involved in petty stealing and Don Fannucci
goads him into making payments to him, its when he seems to make that
full transition into the life of crime.
PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers and is pretty big!).
Moving
onto the performances and noteworthy scenes (which there are plenty of
in this film!) the cast are all on top form and delivers first rate
work.
Starting with Al Pacino, who is superb once again as
Michael Corleone, who continues his powerful reign as the head of the
Corleone crime family and despite showing his usual icy demeanour, we
get to get some angry outbursts as Michael loses his temper more at
those who anger or pressure him.
And Pacino has so many good
scenes in the film, its hard to pick all of them, so I will try and
limit it to three or four at the most, so this review doesn't go on
forever lol!
So, for starters there is the scene where Michael
meets with Connie, who has a man with her she is looking to marry to
which Michael disapproves of given Connie's past history with other men
and her reckless behaviour.
So, as Connie reveals to Michael that
she intends to marry her partner, Merle, Michael looks at her and says
in disbelief "The ink on your divorce isn't dry yet and your getting
married? You see your children on weekends. Did you know your oldest
son, Victor, was picked up for some petty theft in Reno?!" and
Connie angrily interrupts "Michael...!" and Michael becomes more angry
and says to her "You fly around the world with men that don't love you
and use like a whore...!" and Connie shouts back "YOU'RE NOT MY
FATHER!!" and Michael angrily asks her "Then why did you come to me
then?!" and Connie tells him "Because I need money!".
Michael
takes a moment to calm himself and walks over to Connie and tells her
"Connie. Connie, Connie. Connie, I want to be reasonable with you. You
have a house here, with us. You can live here with your kids...and you
won't be deprived of anything. Now, I don't know this Merle; I don't
know what he does for a living or what he lives on. So, why don't you
tell him marriage is really out of the question; and that you can't see
him any more, he'll understand, believe me". Connie then looks toward
Merle and takes his hand but Michael then delivers a stern ultimatum in a
calm voice "Connie...if you don't listen to me and marry this
man...you'll disappoint me".
Another great scene is when
Michael pays a visit to Frankie Pantangeli not long after the attempt on
his life and he tells Frank his plan for revenge.
So, in the
scene, Frankie enters his home and finds Michael in his study, so
Frankie says to him "Don Corleone, I didn't know you were coming. I
could have prepared something" and Michael calmly tells him "I didn't
want you to know I was coming". So, Frankie shuts the door behind and
Michael asks Frankie "Did you hear about what happened in my home?" and
Frankie says "Mike, I almost died myself we was all so relieved...".
However Michael without warning furiously shouts at Frankie "IN MY
HOME!!! IN MY BEDROOM WHERE MY WIFE SLEEPS!" and in a calmer voice
"Where children come and play with their toys. In my home".
Michael
then sits down and tells Frankie "I want you to help me take my
revenge" and Frankie says "Michael, anything! What can I do?" and
Michael tells him "Settle these troubles with the Rosatto brothers".
Frankie however is baffled by Michael's request and says he doesn't have
his brain for "big deals but this is a street thing!" and that Roth
backing the brothers up. So, Michael then tells Frankie "I know he is.
It was Roth that trying to have me killed in my home" and Frankie
shocked says "Jesus Christ, Mike! Let's get em all! Now! While we have
the muscle!".
Michael however then goes off a tangent and recalls
how Frankie's current home was once his father's,Vito Corleone and that
he taught him many things in that room. So, Michael tells Frankie "My
father taught me many things in this room. He taught me: keep your
friends close but keep your enemies closer". Michael then explains to
Frankie "Now if Roth sees that I interceded in this thing in the Rosatto
brothers favour, he's still gonna think my relationship with him is
good?" and Michael asks Frankie in Italian if he understands and Frankie
responds. So, Michael then says "That's what I want him to think. I
want him completely at ease and confident in our relationship, then I'll
be able to find out who the traitor in my family is".
Then there
is of course the scene where Michael having learned of Fredo's betrayal
as he let's it slip that he knows Roth and Johnny Ola, he let's Fredo
know at a Havana New Year party on a dance floor. So, Michael in the
scene grabs Fredo and gives him a big kiss and let's him know "I know it
was you, Fredo! You broke my heart!" and he angrily shakes him and
repeats "You broke my heart!" and Fredo fearfully backs away and runs
off. And as revolution breaks in Havana that night, Fredo flees the
scene but Michael standing by a car calls out to him "Fredo! Come with
me! Roth is dead! Fredo, you're still my brother! Fredo!" but Fredo runs
off.
Another great scene from Pacino that shows Michael's
explosive anger is when he returns to his home in Nevada and Tom tells
him the bad news about Kay losing her baby. So, in the scene Tom briefs
Michael on the news that his bodyguard is dead (shot dead trying to kill
Roth) and that Fredo got out and is probably in New York.
So,
Michael tells Tom "OK. I want you to get in touch with him. Tell him, I
know he's scared and Roth misled him and he didn't know they would try
and kill me" and he refers to his men, Rocco and Neri "They can come
back in now". Tom however then tells Mike "Oh, there was something else"
and Michael asks "What?" but Tom looks reluctant to say, which annoys
Michael and sharply asks "What?! Come on. What?!" and Tom tells him "Kay
had a miscarriage, she lost the baby". Michael takes a moment to let
the news sink in and he asks Tom calmly "Was it a boy?" and Tom answers
"Mikey, after 3 and a half months..." which out of nowhere prompts
Michael to explode and yell "CAN'T YOU GIVE ME A STRAIGHT ANSWER
ANYMORE?! WAS IT A BOY???!!" and Tom says "I really don't know" leaving
Michael frustrated.
And then there is arguably Pacino's best scene
in the film where Michael and Kay argue over their marriage and Kay
wants to leave him and take their children away, which is brilliantly
acted by both Pacino and Diane Keaton and by the end of it, Michael is
so furious he is ready to kill Kay with his own eyes!
So, in the
scene Kay tells Michael that she intends to leave him and take their
children, which naturally angers Michael, who we hear from outside the
hallway tell her he won't allow it as their children run up and down.
So, from outside we hear Michael firmly tell Kay "No! No one is going,
Kay! Not you, not the kids! Now, you're my wife, their my children, I
love you and I won't allow it!".
And we cut to inside the room
where Kay angrily says to Michael "Michael you say you love me and then
you talk about allowing me to leave!". Michael then tries to reason with
Kay "There's been things that have gone on between men and women that
will not change and that's it!". Kay then becomes more angry and
desperate as she tells him "My God, look what's happened to us, Mike!
Look what's happened to our son, Michael?!" and Michael calmly says to
her "Nothing's happened to him". Kay however then shouts at Michael
"DON'T TELL ME THAT!" and Michael yells back "ANTHONY'S FINE!". Kay then
pushes on and shouts at Michael "Anthony is NOT fine!" but Michael has
heard enough and tries to shut her down and says "I don't want to hear
about it!" and Kay yells at him "ANTHONY'S FRIENDS ARE YOUR BUTTON
MEN!!" and Michael finally yells louder "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT
IT!!! OVER!!!" and he goes over and pours himself a glass of water.
This
then leaves Kay in a stunned silence before she tearfully tells him "At
this moment I feel no love for you at all. I never thought that would
happen but it has". Michael then tries to reason with Kay and tells her
"Kay, what do you want from me? Do you expect me to let you go? Do you
expect me to let you take my children away from me? Don't you know me?
Don't you know that its an impossibility that it would never happen?!
That I would use all my power to keep something like that from
happening?".
So, Michael tries a different tack as he attempts
to calm her down and let's her know he is aware that she lost the baby
and that they can try again in the future and that he will change his
way of thinking. However, Kay refuses to listen to him and let's Michael
know it was an abortion and not a miscarriage ad she says to Michael "I
didn't want your son Michael! I wouldn't bring another one of your sons
into this world! I know now there is no way you could ever forgive me,
not with this Sicilian thing, which been going on for 2000...". And this
whole time, Michael's eyes glare with rage and he boils over and lashes
out and slaps Kay roughly who falls back onto the couch. Michael points
at Kay, filled with fury he warns her "You won't take my children!" and
Kay says "I will!" and Michael yells at her "YOU WON'T TAKE MY
CHILDREN!!!".
And last of all is the scene where Michael
talks with Fredo once he has returned to Nevada and Fredo sits in a
chair as he explains what happened and insists he doesn't know Roth
would make an attempt on Michael's life.
So, in the scene Fredo
tells Michael he met Johnny Ola in Beverly Hills and told him that with
his help he could close out a big deal Michael was holding out on with
Roth and there would be something in it for him if he helped them. So,
Michael then asks Fredo "And you believe that story? You believed that?"
and Fredo pleads with Michael "He said there was something in it for
me! On my own!" and Michael tells Fredo "I've always taken care of you,
Fredo". However at this point Fredo's anger and resentment spill over as
he expresses frustration at being used for petty tasks and that he was
stepped over when it came to succeeding his father. Michael then tells
Fredo "That's the way pop wanted it" and Fredo angrily yells at him
"That ain't the way I WANTED IT! I can handle things! I'm smart! Not
dumb like everybody says! I'm smart and I want RESPECT!".
And
lastly, Michael coldly tells Fredo "Fredo...your nothing to me now.
You're not a brother, you're not a friend. I don't want to know you or
anything you do. I don't want to see you at the hotels. When see you or
mother, I want to know a day in advance, so I won't be there, you
understand?". Michael then walks out leaving Fredo to plead with him
"Mikey...". Michael then approaches his capo, Neri and tells him quietly
of Fredo "I want nothing to happen to him while my mother is alive".
Robert De Niro next
is excellent in his role as the younger Vito Corleone although most of
his dialogue is in Italian, so its hard for me to quote it that much but
I will mention a couple of his scenes all the same.
Starting with
the scene where Vito meets with the local mobster, Don Fanucci, who
extorts money from local businesses and employees. So, Vito meets with
Fanucci in a cafe and he gives him just a 100 dollars for protection
money and Fanucci sits down and puts his hat over it and warily says "It
looks like there's $100 under my hat" and he lifts his hat and looks at
it and sighs and says "Ah, I was right - only 100!" and he throws his
over to Vito. Vito then calmly explains "I'm short on money right now.
I've been out of work. So, give me a little time. You understand, don't
you?". Fanucci then laughs and says "You've got balls, young man! How
come I've never heard of you before?". So, Fanucci tells Vito that he
could get work for him and tells him to enjoy the Italian festival
outside and leaves.
This is then followed by the scene Vito
follows Fanucci's movements on the streets as he looks down at him from
the rooftops and he then goes and waits quietly for him outside
Fanucci's apartment. So, as Fanucci arrives, Vito stands quietly in the
corner holding something in his hand wrapped in a towel and he moves
forward just as Fanucci is about to enter his apartment. So, Fanucci
bemused asks "What have you got there?" and Vito shoots him in the chest
and then in the cheek after which Fanucci collapses. Vito then shoots
Fanucci in the mouth and steals his wallet and pushes his body to the
ground and he makes to the rooftops and breaks up his gun into pieces
and throws them down chimneys before heading back down to his family.
Vito then cradles his infant son, Michael in his arms and tells him
"Michael, your father loves you very much".
And last of all is
the scene where Vito pays a visit to his home town of Corleone to get
revenge over Don Ciccio, who killed his mother and two brothers as a
child and by now is very elderly.
So, in the scene Vito
approaches Ciccio and says "My respects, Don Ciccio. Please give me your
blessing" and he kisses Ciccio on the hand who looks at him and says
"Bless you". So, Don Ciccio asks "What is your name?" and Vito tells him
"Vito Corleone" and Ciccio laughs "You took the name of this city! And
what was your father's name?" and Vito tells him "His name was Antonio
Andolini". And Ciccio asks him to come closer as he can't hear Vito due
to his soft voice. So, Vito leans in close to Ciccio and says "My
father's name was Antonio Andolini and this is for you!" and he suddenly
pulls out a knife and stabs Ciccio in the chest and he flees from the
scene with his associate, Tommasino, who shot in the legs as they leave,
Vito helps him up and they escape in a car.
John Cazale next
up is great in his role as Fredo, Michael's weak willed brother, who
betrays him to Roth and Michael is almost killed as a result in an
attempted assassination. Unfortunately given how strong the cast were in the film, Cazale missed out on being oscar nominated here, but his performance is certainly worth of one here. Sadly, Cazale himself would later pass away only four years later at the age of 42 after losing a battle to lung cancer in 1978, who was also in a relationship with the acclaimed actress, Meryl Streep at the time, who co-starred with him in the epic war drama, The Deer Hunter.
And Cazale has plenty of great scenes
but I will only mention a couple, starting with the one where Fredo
meets up with Michael in Havana and the two of them go out for a drink
together.
So, as they sit outside in a bar, Fredo laments over
his wasted choices in life and his relationship with his sultry wife.
And Fredo tells Michael "Sometimes I wish had married a woman like you
did, like Kay. Kids, have a family. For once in my life be more
like...pop" and Michael tries to reassure him "Its not easy being his
son, Fredo". Fredo then confides in Michael "You know mama used to tease
and said "you don't belong to me, you were left on the doorstep by
gypsies". Sometimes I think its true" and Michael smiles a little and
tells him "You're no gypsy, Fredo" and Fredo regretfully asks "Why
didn't we spend time like this before!". Michael then tells Fredo that
Senator Geary (who Michael setup to get him on his side) is flying to
Havana with some people and he wants Fredo to show him a good time and
Fredo says "My speciality, right?".
And last of all is the great
scene where Michael talks with Fredo back in Nevada after Michael
learned it was Fredo that betrayed him to Roth.
So, in the scene,
Fredo sits in a chair and Michael walks up to him and sits down across
from him and Fredo says "I don't have alot to say, Mike" and Michael
says "We have time" and Fredo says "I was kept pretty much in the dark. I
didn't know all that much". Michael then asks "What about now? Anything
you can tell me now?" and Fredo sits back and says "They've got
Pentangeli that's all I can tell you".
Michael then stands up
and goes to the window and looks out at the wintery weather and Fredo
pleads with him "I didn't know it was gonna be a hit, Mike. I swear to
God, I didn't know it was gonna be a hit". Fredo then explains what
happened "Johnny Ola bumped into me in Beverly Hills and he said that he
wanted to talk. He said that you and Roth were in on a big deal
together. And that there was something in it for me if I'd help 'em out.
He said that you were bein' tough on the negotiations. But if they
could get a little help and close the deal fast, it'd be good for the
family". Michael however looks sceptically at Fredo and asks "You
believed that story? You believed that?" and Fredo pleads with him and
says "He said there was something in it for ME! On my own!".
Michael
then turns away and says "I've always taken care of you, Fredo" and at
this point Fredo grows angry and says to him "Taken care of me?! You're
my kid brother and you take care of ME?! Did you ever think about that?
Did you ever ONCE think about THAT?! Send Fredo off to do this, send
Fredo off to do that! Send Fredo off to take care of some Mickey Mouse
nightclub somewhere! Send Fredo to pick somebody up at the airport! I'm
your older brother, Mike and I was stepped over!". Michael however
dismissively tells Fredo "That's the way pop wanted it" and Fredo yells
back "THAT AIN'T THE WAY I WANTED IT! I can handle things, I'm smart!
Not like everybody says! I'm not dumb, I'm smart and I want RESPECT!!".
Michael after a pause then asks Fredo "Is there anything else you can
tell me about this investigation?" and Fredo powerlessly sinks back in his chair and
says "The senate lawyer, Questadt. He's belongs to Roth".
Michael
then finishes by telling Fredo he means nothing to him now and he
doesn't want to know him or anything he does and that when he sees their
mother when she passes he wants to know a day in advance, so Fredo
won't be there and he walks out leaving Fredo hurt, who says
"Mikey...".
Michael V Gazzo next up is also great in his
role as the colourful Frankie Pentangeli, one of Michael's caporegimes,
who comes into conflict with Michael over a feud he has with some rival
gangsters, the Rosatto brothers, who are backed by Roth and as a result,
Michael refuses to antagonise his relationship with Roth. Gazzo himself received an oscar nomination for best supporting actor in his role as did De Niro and Lee Strasberg.
And
Gazzo has plenty of great scenes, so I will limit it to two of his
scenes starting with the one where Frankie meets with Michael his home
in Nevada to discuss his troubles with the Rosato brothers.
So,
in the scene, Michael says to Frankie "Clemenza promised the Rosato
brothers three territories in the Bronx after he died. You took over and
didn't give it to them" and Frankie says "Yeah, I welched" and Michael
asks "You welched?" and Frankie explains "Clemenza promised them
nothing. He hated those son of a bitches more than I do!". Michael the
tries to reason with Frankie and says "Frankie, you're good old man and I
like you. And you were loyal to my father for years". Frankie then says
to Michael "Michael, the Rosato brothers are takin hostages and they
spit right in my face! All because they're backed up by that jew in
Miami!" and Michael says "I know, that's what I don't want them to
touched".
Pentangeli then asks Michael "You don't want them to be
touched?" and Michael says "I want you to be fair to them" and
Pentangeli laughs and says "You want me to be fair with them?" and he
approaches Tom Hagen and says "Tom, how can you be fair with animals?!
Tom, for Chrissakes listen, they recruit spics, they recruit niggers and
they do violence in their grandmother's neighbourhoods! And everything
with them is whores! Whores! La Vegana junk, dope!". Frankie then turns
back to Michael and points a finger at him and says "Now, I want to run
my family without you on my back and I want those Rosato brothers dead!"
but Michael refuses "No!" and Frankie speaks Italian "Mort!".
Michael
then explains he has important business with Roth and he doesn't want
it to be disturbed and that his father did business with Roth and
respected him. So, Frankie warns Michael "Your father did business Hyman
Roth, your father respected Hyman Roth but your father never TRUSTED
Hyman Roth, nor his Sicilian messenger boy, Johnny Ola!". Frankie then
speaks in Sicilian and says "You'll have to excuse me. I am tired and a
little drunk!" and he switches back to English and says "And I want you
to know there will be no trouble from me! Don Corleone!" and he turns to
his bodyguard, Willi Cicci and says "Cicc, a porta!" and leaves.
Then
there is the scene where Frankie goes to court to testify against
Michael after the attempt on his life by the Rosato brothers, believing
that Michael was behind it and has now been placed in witness protection
as a result. However, in the scene, Michael has brought Frankie's
brother to the trial, Vincenzo who is from Sicily in an effort to
silence Frankie on testifying against Michael.
So, in the scene
one of the senators, questions Frankie " Were you a member of the
Corleone family? Did you serve under Caporegime Peter Clemenza, under
Vito Corleone also known as "The Godfather?". And Frankie takes a
moment, looking a bit flustered and he finally responds "I, I never knew
no Godfather. I have my own family senator!" and this creates much
consternation in the courtroom.
Then the Senate lawyer, Questadt
asks Frankie "Mr. PENTANGELI you are contradicting a sworn statement
that you previously made to me and signed. I ask you again sir -- you
are now under oath -- were you at any time a member of a crime
organization -- headed by MICHAEL Corleone". And Frankie feigns
ignorance and says "I don't know nothing about that! Oh, I was in the
olive oil business with his father but that was a long time ago". The
Chairman of the court, frustrated says to Frankie "We have a sworn
affidavit! YOUR sworn affidavit saying that you murdered on the orders
of Michael Corleone! Do you deny that confession?". So, Frankie tries to
play it all down and tells the chairman "Look the FBI guys promised me a
deal. So I made up a lot of stuff about Michael Corleone 'cause that's
what they wanted but it was all lies -- uh -- everything! And I kept
saying Michael Corleone did this and Michael Corleone did that, so I
said yeah sure, why not!".
And last of all is the scene
where Tom pays a visit to Frankie at the army barracks where he is being
held and they take a walk and have a cigar. So, Frankie asks "Did my
brother go back?" and Tom says "Yeah" and Frankie smiles and says "He's
ten times tougher than me, my brother! He's old fashioned" and Tom
smiles and says "Yeah, he didn't want to even stay for dinner, he just
got back on the plane" and Frankie smiles again and says "That's my
brother!".
So, as Frankie asks what he should do now and Tom
reminisces over past history and they talk about the Corleone family
being once like the Roman empire. So, Tom then says to Frankie "Frankie,
when the plot against the Emperor failed, the plotters were always
given the chance to let their families keep their fortunes". Frankie
then says "Yea -- but only the rich guys, Tom. The little guys, they got
knocked off and all their estates went to the Emperors. Unless they
went home and uh, killed themselves -- then nothing happened. And their
families were taken care of, Tom". Tom then says "Yeah, it was a clean
break. Nice funeral" and Frankie says "Yeah they went home, sat in a hot
bath, opened their veins and bled to death". Tom puts out his cigar and
shakes Frankie's hand and says to him smiling "Don't worry about
anything Frankie "Five Angels" and Frankie smiles and says "Thanks, Tom.
Thanks" and Tom leaves.
Lee Strasberg is also great as the
Jewish gangster, Hyman Roth, the
wisened figurehead who appears to want to do business with Michael, but
ultimately he plans to destroy him, and Michael vice versa. Strasberg
who was reknown as a great acting teacher and was one of the main
innovators of the "method" acting technique and taught actors such as Al
Pacino and Robert De Niro. Strasberg himself rarely appeared in movies and this was his first major appearance onscreen as prior to this he only appeared in two films Parnell in 1937 and China Venture in 1953. Strasberg himself was nominated for the best supporting actor at the Oscars as well as Michael V Gazzo and Robert De Niro, who won.
And Strasberg has quite a few
highlights aswell but I will mention only two of his scenes as this
review is long enough as it is!
So, the first scene is when
Michael pays Roth a visit at his home in Miami and Michael enters his
home and we see Roth sitting watching TV. So, Michael says "Mr Roth?"
and Roth warmly greets him "Hi, Michael, come in. Sit down". So, Roth
tells Michael he is just finishing watching a baseball game "I enjoy
watching football in the afternoon, one of the things I enjoy about this
country; baseball, too. I've loved baseball ever since Arnold Rothstein
fixed the World Series in 1919" and they both laugh. Roth then says to
Michael "I heard you had some trouble" and Michael quitely nods his head
and Roth ruefully says "Stupid people behaving like that with guns!
Important thing is, that you're alright. Good health -- the most
important thing in the world. More than success, more than money -- more
than power!".
Michael then sits close to Roth, who turns up the
TV to drown our their conversation and Michael warns Roth there will be
more bloodshed and Frankie was behind the attempt on his life. So,
Michael says to Roth "Petangeli came to my home and he asked my
permission to get rid of the Rosato brothers. When I refused, he tried
to have me killed. He was stupid, I was lucky; I'll visit him soon. The
important thing is that nothing interferes with our plans for the
future. Yours and mine". Roth agrees and says "Nothing is imore
important. You are a wise and considerate young man" and Michael says
"And you're a great man, Mr Roth. There's much I can learn from you" and
Roth says "Anything I can do to help, Michael".
After this,
Roth's wife comes in with his lunch and then leaves and Roth tells
Michael "You're young, I'm old and sick but what we will do in these
next months will be history, Michael. Not even your father would dream
that such a thing would be possible" and Michael asks Roth "Then
Pentangeli is a dead man, you don't object?" and Roth starts to eat his
lunch and says "He's small potatos!".
And last of all is the
scene where Roth and Michael meet up in Havana but Michael appears to be
holding out on their business deal much to Roth's irritation and
Michael asks who was behind the hit on Pentangeli.
So, Roth get's
up and says to Michael "There was this kid I grew up with -- he was
younger than me. Sorta looked up to me -- you know. We did our first
work together -- worked our way out of the street. Things were good, we
made the most of it. During Prohibition -- we ran molasses into Canada
-- made a fortune -- you father, too. As much as anyone, I loved him --
and trusted him. Later on he had an idea -- to build a city out of a
desert stop-over for GI's on the way to the West Coast. That kid's name
was Moe Green and the city he invented was Las Vegas. This was a great
man, a man of vision and guts. And there isn't even a plaque or a
signpost or a statue of him in that town! Someone put a bullet through
his eye. No one knows who gave the order, when I heard it, I wasn't
angry; I knew Moe -- I knew he was head-strong, talking loud, saying
stupid things. So when he turned up dead, I let it go. And I said to
myself, "this is the business we've chosen". I didn't ASK who gave the
order because it had nothing to do with business!".
Robert Duvall is
also great once again in his role as Tom Hagen, the Corleone family's
consigliere (i.e. mob lawyer and counsel) who stays loyal to Michael and acts as the don of the family in Michael's absence when he travels to Havana. However, their relationship does take a bit of a strain as the film progresses as Michael questions his devotion to the job.
So, I will mention two
of Duvall's scenes starting with the one where Michael returns back home
from Havana and he talks with Tom. So, Michael asks "Kay know I'm
back?" and Tom nods and Michael then asks "What about my boy? Did you
get him something for Christmas?" and Tom says "I took care of it. It
was a little car with an electric motor he can ride in, its nice".
Michael then asks his men to step outside so he can talk privately to
Tom and he asks Tom "Where is my brother?" and Tom sidesteps the
question and says "Roth got out on a private boat, he's in a hospital in
Miami. You're bodyguard is dead". Michael prompts Tom "I asked about
Fredo" and Tom says "I think got out, he must be somewhere in New
York".
Michael then tells Tom to get in touch with Fredo and tell
him that he knows he is scared but its OK as he realises Roth misled
him and he asks for his men, Rocco and Neri to come back in. However,
Tom then says "There is something else" and Michael asks "What?" but Tom
looks nervous and pauses prompting Michael to become a bit annoyed and
ask again "What? Come on, what?!". Tom then tells Michael "Kay had a
miscarriage, she lost the baby" which stuns Michael and he sits forward
and asks "Was it a boy?" and Tom smiles awkwardly and says "Mikey, after
three and a half months..." but this enrages Michael who yells "CAN'T
YOU GIVE ME A STRAIGHT ANSWER ANYMORE?! WAS IT A BOY?!" and Tom finally
says "I really don't know".
And last of all is the scene where
Michael talks with Tom and his capos, Rocco and Neri about taking out
Roth and Pentangeli but Tom feels there is no need but Michael appears
unhappy with his lack of support in his plan and also he is aware that
Tom had another job offer.
So, in the scene Tom asks Michael "Why
did you ask me if there was something wrong when I came in?" and
Michael paces around the room eating an orange "I thought you were goin'
to tell me that -- you were going to move your family to Vegas -- and
that you'd been offered the vice-presidency of the house and hotels
there I thought you were goin' to tell me that". Tom nervously smiles
and tells Michael "I turned them down. Do I have to tell you about every
offer I turn down?!" and Michael seems to accept Tom's answer and says
"Right, let's do business".
So, as they sit down, Tom asks
Michael "Alright -- just consider this Mike -- that's all just consider
it. Now ROTH and the Rosato's are on the run -- are they worth it? And
are they strong -- is it worth it -- I mean you've won -- do you have to
wipe everyone out?". Michael however answers cooly "I don't feel I need
to wipe everybody out, Tom. Just my enemies, that's all". Michael then
coldly asks Tom "You gonna come along with me in these things I have to
do -- or what. Because if not you can take your wife, your family, and
your mistress -- and move 'em all to Las Vegas!". Tom appears offended
and says to Michael "Why do you hurt me, Michael? I've always been loyal
to you. I mean what is this?". So, Michael asks Tom in Sicilian "So,
you are staying?" and Tom answers back in Sicilian "Yes, I'm staying"
and he asks in English "Now, what is it you want me to do?".
Diane Keaton is
also great in her role as Michael's wife, Kay, who by the end of the
film has come to see how much her husband has changed and she no longer
wishes to be with him.
And I will mention two of Diane's scenes
with the first being the one where at the end of the big party at
Michael's home in Nevada, Michael and Kay dance together. So, as they
dance, Michael asks Kay "How's the baby?" and Kay tells him "Sleeping
inside me" and Michael asks her "Does it feel like a boy?" and Kay
smiles and says "Yes, yes it does, Michael". Michael then tells Kay
"Kay, I'm sorry about all the people today. Bad timing but it couldn't
be helped" and Kay says to him "It made me think of what you once told
me - "in five years the Corleone Family will be completely legitimate."
That was seven years ago" and Michael says to her "I know, I'm trying,
darling".
And last of all is their big scene together, which is
easily one of the best scenes in the entire film and indeed one of the
finest acted scenes in cinematic history if you ask me! And it is the
scene where Michael and Kay have a big row over her decision to leave
him and take their children with her.
So, the scene starts with
Kay trying to tell Michael she intends to leave but then changes the
subject a little by asking about what happened with Pentangeli's brother
at the trial. So, Kay asks Michael "What really happened with
Pentangeli, Michael?" and Michael sitting down, leans forward and tells
her "His brother came and helped him" and Kay says "I didn't even know
he had a brother and where is he now?" and Michael says "On a plane back
to Sicily" and Kay suspiciously asks "All he had to do was show his
face?" and Michael says to her "It was between the brothers, Kay. I had
nothing to do with it".
And as we hear Michael and Kay row over her decision to leave, we cut to inside the room where Kay angrily says to Michael
"Michael you say you love me and then you talk about allowing me to
leave!". Michael then tries to reason with Kay "There's been things that
have gone on between men and women that will not change and that's
it!". Kay then becomes more angry and desperate as she tells him "My
God, look what's happened to us, Mike! Look what's happened to our son,
Michael?!" and Michael calmly says to her "Nothing's happened to him".
Kay however then shouts at Michael "DON'T TELL ME THAT!" and Michael
yells back "ANTHONY'S FINE!". Kay then pushes on and shouts at Michael
"Anthony is NOT fine!" but Michael has heard enough and tries to shut
her down and says "I don't want to hear about it!" and Kay yells at him
"ANTHONY'S FRIENDS ARE YOUR BUTTON MEN!!" and Michael finally yells
louder "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT!!! OVER!!!" and he goes over and
pours himself a glass of water. This then leaves Kay in a
stunned silence before she tearfully tells him "At this moment I feel no
love for you at all. I never thought that would happen but it has".
So,
as Michael tries to reason with her and calm her down and that despite
her miscarriage they will go on and have another child. However, Kay
bursts Michael's bubble with a hard truth and tells him "Oh, Michael!
Michael, you are blind. It wasn't a miscarriage, it was an abortion" and
Michael's face changes and he looks stunned. Kay then continues
emotionally at Michael "An abortion, Michael! Just like our marriage is
an abortion! Something unholy and evil! I didn't want your son, Michael!
I wouldn't bring another one of your sons into this world! It was a son
and I had it killed because THIS MUST ALL END!! I know it was over,
Michael, I knew then, there is no way you could ever forgive, not with
this Sicilian THING that has been going on for two thousand...". And at
this point Michael's rage boils over and slaps her face and stands over
her and furiously tells her "You won't take my children!" and Kay says
"I will!" and Michael yells "YOU WON'T TAKE MY CHILDREN!" and Kay
tearfully say "They're my children too!".
Talia Shire also returns in her role as Connie, Michael's
sister, who is still bitter towards him years after her first husband's
murder (i.e. Carlo, who Michael had killed as Carlo set up Sonny to be
killed).
So, Talia has some good moments but I will mention just
two of her scenes quickly starting with the one where Connie brings her
new fiance, Merle along with her much to Michael's disapproval. So,
Michael berates her and says "The ink isn't dry on your divorce yet and
you're getting married?" and he carries on berating her and Connie yells
finally "YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER!" and Michael angrily asks "Then what did
you come to me for?!" and Connie says "Because I need money".
And
lastly the scene where Connie pleads with Michael to forgive Fredo and
she says to him "I hated you -- for so many years. I think I did things
to myself -- to hurt myself -- so you'd know
-- .that I could hurt you. You're just being strong for all of us the
way Papa was. Now I forgive you -- can't
you forgive Fredo -- he's so sweet and helpless without you. You need
me, Michael -- I want to take
care of you now". So, Michael holds his hand and touches Connie's cheek
gently and he says "Connie" affectionately.
And last of all I will make a special mention to James Caan and Abe Vigoda
who
returned for their brief scene at the end of the film where Michael
thinks back to a time when Vito had a surprise birthday party, and the
family all meet together. Its a great scene as well, and James Caan
reportedly ask for the same fee he got for the first Godfather film,
which he received.
So, Abe doesn't have much dialoge but I will mention some of the moments of Caan's performance in this scene where he introduces Carlo to the family and to Connie on Vito's birthday set during World War II. Starting with the one where Sonny talks of the Japanese dropping bombs on Pearl harbour. So, Sonny says "So, what do you think of the nerve of them japs? Those bastards eh? Dropping bombs on our own backyard on Pop's birthday?". Sonny also then says of the US soldiers involved "They're saps because they risked their lives for their own country" and Michael sitting at the table says "That's pop talking" and Sonny says "You're godddamn right that's pop talkin!".
However, as they talk more, Michael reveals that he enlisted in the marines to join the war effort, so as Michael tells his surprised family, Sonny becomes mad. So, in the scene, Tom says to Michael "Mike, your dad went to a whole lot of trouble for you to get that war deferment" and Michael says "I didn't ask for the deferment and I didn't want it". Sonny then grabs Michael roughly as the others try to pull him back and Sonny angrily says to Michael "Punk! Break your father's heart on his birthday!".
DIRECTOR
OK, so FINALLY moving onto the director, Francis Ford Coppola does a near flawless job once again and keeps both
narratives moving along nicely, although if I am being a bit critical, I
have to say that I much prefer the modern day narrative to the
historical one about Vito. There are certain scenes in Vito's narrative
that are engrossing to watch, but there are also one or two that are a
bit tedious as well. But as for the modern day narrative, Coppola never
sets a foot wrong and it remains superbly compelling viewing watching Michael's melodrama unfold within his family.
On the production front this time round, Coppola had much more creative control than in the first film and had a smoother time making the film although he initially wanted Martin Scorsese to direct it, Paramount studios refused and Coppola returned to the helm. Coppola initially had some troubles with the casting as Marlon Brando refused to return for the day's shooting for the final scene in the film. Al Pacino also very nearly didn't star in the film also, as he was unhappy with the draft of Coppola's script, which forced Coppola to rewrite it in one night, after which Pacino was happy to come back.
Any issues aside, this film is easily still one of Coppola's finest achievements in his career.
MUSIC
As for the music score, it is again composed by Nino Rota and it is once again superb, and is as memorable as the first one, and I particularly
like the passage he uses for when Michael visits Roth in Miami, which is
also the main new plot theme in the movie for the modern day sequences. Its also worth noting that Francis's father, Carmine Coppola also provided some pieces of music for the film and conducted Rota's score and Carmine most notably composed the music for the festival sequence when Vito kills Fannucci.
FLAWS
As for flaws, well its hard to nitpick a film as great as The Godfather Part II but there are still one or two minor niggles.
For
starters, I felt that as mentioned, the film is very long with its run
time of 3 hours and 20 minutes, it covers a lot of ground both in its
historical and modern day narratives. However, there are times where I
felt that Vito's sequences were a bit slow in places in the
early days of trying to get by and make an honest living before turning
to a life of crime. So, I often find I tend to speed through these
sequences similar to the Sicily sequences in the original Godfather
film.
Another issue I had was actually to do with the courtroom
scene where Michael is questioned over his activities in the Corleone
crime family and he denies them all and yet we see that Kay is sitting
in the room a row behind him! It really does beg the question, just why
the hell did Michael let Kay come along into the trial in the first
place?! Surely, he would rather not let Kay hear about his nefarious
crimes and even in the first film we hear him warn Kay "don't ask me
about my business, Kay" yet here he is some seven or eights years on,
having her join him in court where she hears everything about what he is
alleged to have done! So, yeah I felt her presence in the courtroom
wasn't necessary and maybe was added just to convince Kay even more that
Michael is evil and she must leave him.
I also felt that the
scene where Frankie's brother, Vincenzo appears in the courtroom just as
Michael is about to testify and this forces Frankie to stay silent, was
a bit vague and not very well explained for the audience as to why
Frankie changes his mind. I mean Vincenzo came from Italy, so I had to
imagine that he was in a mafioso family himself I guess but its not
really made clear in itself and I initially had to look it up as to why
Frankie decided not to testify against Michael on Wikipedia. It makes
sense now but at the time of initially watching, I found that scene a
bit confusing.
Its also a bit unclear as to just how did Michael know that the hitmen that tried to kill him were "dead already" as he confides in Tom that they were killed by someone close to them and frightened that they botched it. It makes sense I suppose, whoever tried to do the hit and failed would be expendable anyway but Michael has remarkable sixth sense in finding this out but then he is a don!
This is also brings to mind the lack of clarity as to Michael's plans to deal with Pentangili, as its not clear if he intended to kill Pentangili early on after their dispute at his home in Nevada or just use him as a scapegoat for the attempted hit on Michael even if he had nothing to do with it. It is somewhat clear that Michael was playing both sides here against Roth and Pentangili as he tells them both the other tried to have him killed. But when the Rosatto brothers drop Michael's name during their attempted hit on Pentangili, this further clouds things a bit as you wonder if Michael was behind this hit as well. So, yeah there is quite a bit of speculation here over Michael's true intentions toward Pentangili until much later on.
And lastly there are still one or two loose ends in the film that were never really addressed properly, the first one being what happened to the Rosatto brothers? I mean all we got on them after the bungled hit on Pentangili is from Tom Hagen that they were "on the run" and that's all. So, in a way, it would have been good to see some closure regarding them in the film rather than just a brief line of dialogue from Hagen.
Anyway that's it for the flaws.
SUM UP
So,
to sum up, The Godfather Part II is every inch as good as its
predecessor and in some ways maybe a little better given the film's
deeper scope and twin narrative of Vito's past and Michael's present.
The film's performances are flawless as are the sets, photography (again
by Gordon Willis) and the score by Nino Rota, which is memorable as the
first one.
And I would have to say that The Godfather Part II
remains one of the greatest sequels of all time and just as essential
viewing as the first film. So, with that said I will rate the film:
10 out of 10
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back with some post or other again soon.
Until then, its bye for now!