The Oscar Project #47: The Godfather Part Two (1974)

by Chris Marshall:

Before I get into The Godfather Part Two, a caveat/boast: I passed my thesis defense today. What this means for the blog post is that I am writing it on a very strict deadline. It’s a shame, too, because it probably means the writing won’t be so good, and I really wanted to have something profound to say about this movie.

Ok, so maybe I never have anything profound to say about any movie, but this film is better than most, and it seems like it would lend itself to some kind of Great Writing. As magnificent as it was, though, I still have to argue that the original film was better. This is by no means a slight against the sequel, just an acknowledgment that The Godfather was one of the greatest movies ever made, and it’d be hard to top.

The Godfather Part Two is in some sense a continuation of The Godfather, in that it spends most of its time focusing on Michael’s ascent to absolute power over the family. In addition, though, there are multiple flashbacks to the life of young Vito Corleone, this time played by Robert De Niro. Some have described the stories of Vito and Michael as being parallel; there is some truth to this, but I would argue that their timelines are going in opposite directions.

The Oscar Project #45: The Godfather (1972)

by Chris Marshall:

“I believe in America.”

This line, spoken by Amerigo Bonasera in a prelude to his request to Vito Corleone, opens The Godfather, and in a way, it is a summation of the film’s theme. America has been good to the Corleones. They have gained power and riches, even if they have had to resort to, shall we say, underhanded means to obtain it.

But it is a time of transition for the family. Vito is getting old, and the burgeoning drug trade threatens to destroy the existing paradigm. Vito wants no part of it; it’s a dangerous, dirty business.  Unfortunately, that’s the way of the future. Sonny understands this, and it seems like Tom Hagen understands it, but the Don refuses. And his word is law.

I’m breaking one of my general rules in this post by referring to characters without any introduction or any actor names, but I believe that for most people, they need no introduction. Even Roger Ebert has said that, despite knowing Robert Duvall well in real life, his first reaction upon seeing him on screen in this film is “Hey, that’s Tom Hagen.”