192. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
If anything in life is certain... if history has taught us anything... it's that you can kill anybody
Title: The Godfather: Part II
Date Watched: 1/1/2013
Original Ranking Out of 10: N/A
Revised Ranking Out of 10: 9
Synopsis: The epic continuation of the first Godfather movie shows Vito Corleone's rise to power intercut with Michael's abuse of it.
The Good: Huge, sprawling, epic film that doesn't collapse under its own weight. I feel like I could watch this a dozen more times and not get sick of it.
The Bad: Very long. But this is more of an issue with my attention span than the movie itself.
Why Do I Own This Movie?: Godfather blu-ray trilogy from Amazon. $20 for 9 hours of movie!
Should I Still Own This Movie?: Yes.
What Did I Notice That I Didn't Notice Before?: Scenes that were ripped off or parodied on The Simpsons.
Other Impressions: Here's why I would not make a good movie critic: I'm not good at paying attention. I spent the afternoon sitting through a 3 hour and 20 minute long movie -- generally considered to be one of the best ever made -- and I don't feel I can give a complete summary of what happened. And, yet, I was still blown away by it the same way I was 10 years ago when I watched it in a film class. Whatever the appeal of The Godfather was, it's amplified here, taking us deeper into the world of the mafia and allowing the characters to grow, though not always for the better. Michael continues his dark descent away from humanity and we also get to see how Vito went from innocent child to, well, Godfather.
But I can't wrap my hands around the movie. It's too big. There's too much going on and, frankly, I'm not smart enough to understand it after only one viewing (two if you count the one from 10 years ago, during which I fell asleep). I can only respond to the specifics of what I saw. Robert De Niro continues his trend in this rewatch as MVP, turning in yet another great performance, for which he won an Academy Award, despite the role being almost entirely in another language. I'd also like to point out Diane Keaton, whose role is limited, but effective as the only character who stays true to herself, taking Michael to task for not turning the family into a legitimate business, despite his promise that he would. The pivotal scene in the movie, at least emotionally speaking, rests solely on the shoulders of Keaton.
I will eventually move on to Part III, which I've never seen (the professor who screened parts I and II in class refused to acknowledge its existence) and which is not generally well-regarded, to put it mildly. There's a spell that the first Godfather cast that, against all odds, the second one continues. It's not hard to understand how making a third one some 16 years later broke that spell. Making a sequel is a safe bet in terms of box-office terms, but is artistically risky. However, in The Godfather: Part II, it paid off, expanding the world that we visited in the first movie and giving the characters that inhabit it more depth.
I can't wait for a chance to watch it again and really sink my teeth into it.
The List
Title: The Godfather: Part II
Date Watched: 1/1/2013
Original Ranking Out of 10: N/A
Revised Ranking Out of 10: 9
Synopsis: The epic continuation of the first Godfather movie shows Vito Corleone's rise to power intercut with Michael's abuse of it.
The Good: Huge, sprawling, epic film that doesn't collapse under its own weight. I feel like I could watch this a dozen more times and not get sick of it.
The Bad: Very long. But this is more of an issue with my attention span than the movie itself.
Why Do I Own This Movie?: Godfather blu-ray trilogy from Amazon. $20 for 9 hours of movie!
Should I Still Own This Movie?: Yes.
What Did I Notice That I Didn't Notice Before?: Scenes that were ripped off or parodied on The Simpsons.
Other Impressions: Here's why I would not make a good movie critic: I'm not good at paying attention. I spent the afternoon sitting through a 3 hour and 20 minute long movie -- generally considered to be one of the best ever made -- and I don't feel I can give a complete summary of what happened. And, yet, I was still blown away by it the same way I was 10 years ago when I watched it in a film class. Whatever the appeal of The Godfather was, it's amplified here, taking us deeper into the world of the mafia and allowing the characters to grow, though not always for the better. Michael continues his dark descent away from humanity and we also get to see how Vito went from innocent child to, well, Godfather.
But I can't wrap my hands around the movie. It's too big. There's too much going on and, frankly, I'm not smart enough to understand it after only one viewing (two if you count the one from 10 years ago, during which I fell asleep). I can only respond to the specifics of what I saw. Robert De Niro continues his trend in this rewatch as MVP, turning in yet another great performance, for which he won an Academy Award, despite the role being almost entirely in another language. I'd also like to point out Diane Keaton, whose role is limited, but effective as the only character who stays true to herself, taking Michael to task for not turning the family into a legitimate business, despite his promise that he would. The pivotal scene in the movie, at least emotionally speaking, rests solely on the shoulders of Keaton.
I will eventually move on to Part III, which I've never seen (the professor who screened parts I and II in class refused to acknowledge its existence) and which is not generally well-regarded, to put it mildly. There's a spell that the first Godfather cast that, against all odds, the second one continues. It's not hard to understand how making a third one some 16 years later broke that spell. Making a sequel is a safe bet in terms of box-office terms, but is artistically risky. However, in The Godfather: Part II, it paid off, expanding the world that we visited in the first movie and giving the characters that inhabit it more depth.
I can't wait for a chance to watch it again and really sink my teeth into it.
The List