Cheap The Godfather, Part II (Widescreen Edition) (Video) (Francis Ford Coppola) Price

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Customer Reviews of The Godfather, Part II (Widescreen Edition)

Behind Every Great Fortune, There Is a Crime!
The Godfather Part II actually transcends the original Godfather both in scope and noir realism!..And that is hardly an unremarkable feat, since Francis Ford Coppola's challenge was to not only overcome Mario Puzo's brilliant best-seller, but to exceed himself in the first Godfather, that was arguably Little America's most introspective assessment of itself and of America and the mob's ruthless co-existence!..Rarely does a sequel outdo a widely read novel, much less supercede the first installment of a global franchise like The Godfather..But Coppola brought even more game, biblical perspective, to Godfather II..Credit belongs absolutely to Robert DeNiro, who captured the charisma and essence of the younger Vito Corleone to the T..And Al Pacino was an even more compelling Michael, in Part II, as he matured in both treachery and cunning to hold the branches of the family tree together in a rapidly de-evolving world..The interaction between Hyman Roth, Lee Strasberg, and Michael Corleone, Al Pacino, was the nexxus and backbone of Part II..Roth endeavors to convince Michael to buy into his expansive vision of a more sanguine business climate in Cuba, as America's next playboy playgound..And the cat and mouse interplay between "The Jew in Miami", and the head of the 5 Families in New York, is akin to watching two King Cobras mate..Michael has profound reservations that Castro's rebels will win the revolution, and all monies invested in Cuba will become nationalized, squandered..Roth says, Michael, we are bigger than General Motors, it can't happen!..At last we have an investment, a sanctuary, 90 miles from American soil, not only unmolested by government interference, but protected by it..A sure thing..Roth tells Michael, I'm going to take a nap now..When I wake-up if I see 3 million dollars in cash on my coffee table, I know I have a partner, if I don't, I know I won't..Michael knows Roth wants him killed, in fact had a hit ordered on him at his compound in New York..But Michael must prove beyond refute that it was Roth that ordered the unsuccessful hit, before he moves in and settles all scores with his enemies..As the movie progresses, Michael drifts further and further away from the person he was, the decorated war hero, Dartmouth college boy, and becomes a malignant killing machine, all under the noble auspices of protecting the family..The bitter irony is, Brando as Vito Corleone never wanted Michael in the family business in the first place, but preferred Michael to go legitimate, become a Senator..But circumstances and events preempted the best laid plans of the Father..Brando, as Vito, tells Michael, Sonny, your brother, was a good soldier, but a lousy Don..Too hot blooded for his own good..And you must always guard against emotions, that will unravel your judgment..Michael, like all absolute rulers, loses his equilibrium, his moral compass, and orders a hit on Fredo, the weak older brother, after their Mother passes..And in the end, Michael lives out his life in shadowy isolation, in his compound in Lake Tahoe, an all powerful monarch, with only one friend in the world, Rocco, his number #1 henchman..Typical of all Greek tragedies, there are no fairy tale endings, just bitter truths, that in life, regardless of motive or intent, you ultimately reap what you sow!..And Michael became in the end, exactly what he once abhorred!..A mad King!

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I Never Get Tired of The Godfather I and II
One way to tell that a movie has become a classic story is to give it the repeat viewing test, and even though I have seen them many, many times, the quality of the first two Godfather movies has never been outdated nor degraded. Francis Ford Coppola created two of the best movies in the history of film with The Godfather Parts I & II, and Al Pacino gives a historic and timeless performance in both movies. Everyone knows that sequels are usually flops, and unfortunately The Godfather Part III would probably fall into that category, but out of respect for The Godfather Part II maybe we can forgive the limitations of the third. The first two Godfather movies are cinema classics, they stand up to the test of time and pass the test with flying colors.

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Extraordinary Sequel
This is only one of two sequels to win the best picture Oscar, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" being the other one. What is extraordinary, however, is that unlike the Lord of the Rings sequel, the original as well as the sequel won best picture in the Godfather parts I and II. When you see the movies, you will understand that both Godfather Oscars are richly deserved. In part II, Michael Corleone, the son of Vito, is now firmly established as the head of the Corleone crime family. What we saw in the original is that while Vito could let things go and not order hits when the problem was personal rather than business, Michael was unable to do so. Rather Michael (played by Al Pacino) operated with a cold, steely, brutality and he never changed his mind once the decision to make a hit was made. <
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>In Part II, Michael is beginning a decline. His ruthlessness is beginning to isolate him from family and those close to him. His wife, played by Diane Keaton, wants a divorce. those close to him remain close out of a sense of duty, and perhaps fear, rather than out of true loyalty. Meanwhile, he is beginning to lose it. Some of the hits he orders are unsuccessful. There were never glitches in the old days. We also see flashbacks of his father. The flashback portion of the movie is essentially a prequel since we see a young Vito Corleone played by Robert DiNiro. The makeup job is extraordinary as DiNiro looks uncannily like a young version of the character played by Marlon Brando. DeNiro's acting is equally uncanny as he plays the character made famous by Brando to perfection. The first movie was about the decline of Vito and the rise of his son, Michael. In the sequel, we are beginning to see a decline in Michael as the flashbacks illustrate the rise of Vito. <
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>There is one scene that shows the difference between the two. A young Vito attempts to assert his influence over a local landlord in a tenancy matter involving a widow who is being evicted. The landlord stands up to him but later, he discovers just how powerful the young Vito is. The landlord then comes in, hat and hand, cowering, begging to make amends. The two work things out and the still terrified landlord slinks out of Vito's office. After the incident ends, Vito and an associate smile at each other and show amusement at the whole thing. Michael would never, ever have shown amusement. The relatively minor matter may not have merited a hit, under Michael, but he assuredly would never chuckle and have a twinkle in his eye as did his father. <
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>It is a fascinating character study to see Michael's paranoia as he trusts nobody and at the first sign that he may have been betrayed, the person who he believes betrayed him becomes marked, never again to get in Michael's good graces. If, for some reason, Michael cannot order a hit immediately, for example family matters which delay the carrying out of a hit, Michael remains very patient, waiting for years, if necessary, to carry out the hit. In all those years, there is no chance of a reprieve. There is an instance, by the way, in which Vito waits many years for revenge but, when we see the circumstances, we are actually rooting for Vito and against his "victim." <
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>The original was great and this sequel is equally compelling. Anyone who liked the original movie will find this one to be just as engrossing.