1974 - THE GODFATHER PART II - second film in the trilogy

Paramount had a big commercial and critical hit with The Godfather, so movie studios being what they are decided a sequel was called for.  Francis Ford Coppola was lured back with the promise of creative control.  More importantly Al Pacino returned as Michael Corleone now the head of the family and an extensive power player in the Las Vegas gambling scene.

The Godfather Part II is about Michael Corleone's plan to become the major player in the organized crime world.  The film's plot follows Michael as he travels from Nevada to Cuba to New York in an effort to consolidate his power.  With a bigger budget, Coppola has a much wider canvas to stage some epic scenes.

A lot of the original cast is back, Diane Keaton is Michael's wife (she still doesn't have much of a part.)  John Cazale is Michael's clueless brother Fredo, Talia Shire is Michael's sister Connie  and Robert Duvall is the family lawyer Tom Hagen.  But as in the first film Al Pacino is the whole show, he completely dominates this story.

 

The film jumps between the present day gangster stuff and the 1920's which tells the story of the early days of Vito Corleone and his rise to power as a Mafia Don.  Marlon Brando obviously to old for these scenes is replaced by a young Robert De Niro as Vito.  De Niro apparently couldn't speak a word of Italian but you would never know it, his performance is that good.

The Godfather Part II is based on a lot of real life characters in Mafia history during the 1950s. Understandably the names of these characters were changed for the film. No sense looking for trouble.

This is quality film making on an epic scale.

The running time is 202 minutes, the film was written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola