CAST AND CREW
DIRECTOR
Francis Ford Coppola
WRITING CREDITS
Mario Puzo
CAST
Al Pacino 
Michael
Robert Duvall Tom Hagen
Robert De Niro Young Vito Corleone
Storyline
The Godfather, Part II (1974) of the Godfather trilogy continues the saga of the Corleone Family, serving as both a prologue and a sequel, extending over a period of 60 years and three generations. The script was again co-authored by director Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo, the author of the popular novel about American organized crime. Many critics believe this film sequel, at a lengthy three hours and twenty minutes, is a superior improvement over the original film, although some of it is confusing and leaves questions unanswered.
The film is masterfully intercut back and forth between two parallel stories: the prologue story (about one-quarter of the entire film) to the sequel, contrasting the two eras and their protagonists. The prologue portion follows the background story of the rise of youthful Don Vito Corleone (Robert DeNiro replacing Marlon Brando) to Mafia chief in the early 1900s in the Little Italy section of New York City. About fifteen minutes of the prologue portion is in Sicilian with English sub-titles. The major portion of the sequel begins in 1958 – about three years after the conclusion of the first film (The Godfather, Part I (1972)) and follows the career of Corleone’s son Michael (Al Pacino again) from his patriarchal prime to his decline a year later. The saga leads to the inexorable passage of ‘sins’ from the immigrant father to his modern-day son.
Similar themes from the original are carried over and arise in Part II: revenge, intrigue, betrayal, alliances, violence, the corruptive influences of power, and devoted loyalties to the family. Unlike the first film, the forbidden words “Mafia” and “Cosa Nostra” are each mentioned once – in one of the Senate Hearings scenes. The film contains fewer deaths, though – a total of 16. But the tragic film is more somber with Gordon Willis’ un-nominated cinematography highlighted by sepia-toned, golden amber, and darkish tones.
The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won six: Best Picture (for producer/director Francis Ford Coppola), Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Robert DeNiro in a Sicilian-speaking role), Best Adapted Screenplay (co-authored by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola), Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, and Best Original Dramatic Score (Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola). It was a three Oscar win for Coppola. Five of the other six un-rewarded nominations were for acting roles: Best Actor (Al Pacino), Best Supporting Actor(s): (Michael Gazzo and Lee Strasberg), and Best Supporting Actress (Talia Shire). The Godfather, Part II was the only sequel in Academy history to win a Best Picture Oscar.
The film opens with a brief connection to the first film – the last scene of Part I, in the year 1955. In the old Corleone office, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) extends his hand – it is kissed by Rocco Lampone (Tom Rosqui), one of his henchmen. Michael has emerged as the new Godfather in his father’s image, an image he once sought to escape. His leather-backed chair, the Mafia leader’s throne, sits empty as the film’s titles are displayed. The story dissolves back to the remote Sicilian countryside in 1901, where a funeral procession is passing along the edge of a rocky riverbed – a marching band with musicians accompanies the mourners carrying the crude wooden coffin. Corleone’s original surname was Andolini: The Godfather was born Vito Andolini, in the town of Corleone in Sicily. In 1901, his father was murdered for an insult to the local Mafia Chieftain. His older brother Paolo swore revenge and disappeared into the hills, leaving Vito, the only male heir, to stand with his mother at the funeral. He was nine years old. [Whereas the first film began with an authentic Italian-American wedding, a religious event, this film begins with a funeral, another important rite of passage.
Al Pacino 