The Godfather, Part II            

By Tom Keogh

Francis Ford Coppola took some of the deep background from the life of Mafia chief Vito Corleone--the patriarch of Mario Puzo's bestselling novel The Godfather--and built around it a stunning sequel to his Oscar-winning, 1972 hit film. Robert De Niro plays Vito as a young Sicilian immigrant in turn-of-the-century New York City's Little Italy. Coppola weaves in and out of the story of Vito's transformation into a powerful crime figure, contrasting that evolution against efforts by son Michael Corleone to spread the family's business into pre-Castro Cuba. As memorable as the first film is, The Godfather II is an amazingly intricate, symmetrical tragedy that touches upon several chapters of 20th-century history and makes a strong case that our destinies are written long before we're born. This was De Niro's first introduction to a lot of filmgoers, and he makes an enormous impression. But even with him and a number of truly brilliant actors (including maestro Lee Strasberg), this is ultimately Pacino's film and a masterful performance.

Academy Awards

The Godfather, Part II received Academy Awards for Best Picture (Francis Ford Coppola - Producer, Fred Roos - Co-producer, Gray Frederickson - Co-producer), Supporting Actor (Robert De Niro), Directing (Francis Ford Coppola), Writing (Best Screenplay adapted from other material; Francis Ford Coppola & Mario Puzo), Art Direction/Set Decoration (Dean Tavoularis - Art Direction, Angelo Graham - Art Direction, George R. Nelson - Set Decoration), and Music Scoring Awards (Best Original Dramatic Score; Nino Rota & Carmine Coppola). The Godfather, Part II also received Academy Awards nominations for Actor (Al Pacino), Supporting Actor (Lee Strasberg), Supporting Actor (Michael V. Gazzo), Supporting Actress (Talia Shire), and Costume Design (Theadora Van Runkle).

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"In my opinion the best of The Godfather films. It gives a truly remarkable insight into how, and why, such organisations came to fruition. The acting by Dinero, is by far and away the best example of the craft, at its best." --PhilMc