The Godfather: Part II

The Godfather: Part II (1974)

Runtime: 202 minutes

Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, John Cazale, Michael V. Gazzo

From: Paramount

I ended up having free time on Friday so I went to Blockbuster to see Part II on Blu-Ray. Like the first Godfather, it was great in that format. I was able to watch it all in one sitting, despite its almost 3 ½ hour runtime. I don’t think I’d normally be able to do something like that with that long of a program. Now, here’s something that I wish I could see on the big screen like I will soon be able to with the first Godfather.

I still won’t say whether this one or the original is the best of the series; it’s like picking your favorite kid or your favorite flavor of ice cream. Both are all-time classics and well worth seeing for the first time or the 50th time.

I enjoyed watching again the epic tale where it’s divided in two; most of it is the downfall of Michael Corleone as he became obsessed with having all the power and vanquishing all his enemies and ended up ruining things with the ones that love him the most, and the rise of young Vito Corleone (De Niro) as he emigrated to America to escape the clutches of a mob head in his home country of Italy from killing him. Of course, as he became an adult, revenge was on his mind…

It was great seeing this epic film again, as they don’t make movies like this too often anymore… from the length to the dramatics, it’s the type of movie you don’t see these days so you have to go back and watch the classics to get that kind of experience. You had memorable performances all around and not only did it cement Pacino’s superstardom with maybe the best acting he’s ever done (sure, more than once he yells but it’s certainly not as bad as later in his career when he YELLS and SCREAMS to be INTENSE and many people say he’s become a parody of himself); the scene with him and Diane Keaton at the Washington Hotel was pretty fantastic for the few minutes it lasts, as it goes through a range of emotions and at one key plot point you slowly but surely see Michael’s anger boil and boil until he finally snaps. That is a scene that I rank very highly amongst any that I’ve ever seen, I enjoyed it so much, but it also made De Niro a superstar with a role where he mainly speaks Sicilian.

I can gush and gush with glee about the other performances (from the likes of Gazzo as the rough-voiced Frankie Pentangeli and Lee Strasberg as Hyman Roth) but you can read this Great Films article about it to get a detailed recap of the film. Like with the first one, it is difficult to think of anything profound to say about such a well-known movie.

I will be back by Friday with at least one new review.