The Godfather: Part II (DVD)

The Godfather: Part II is the second installment in the Godfather saga, chronicling the life and times of the Corleone family. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and co-written with Mario Puzo, this film won 6 academt awards, including best picture and best supporting actor for Robert De Niro. A noticeable difference with this film is that it presents two parallel storylines. One involves the now head of the Corleone family, Michael (Al Pacino), from 1958 to 1959 as he tries to expand the family's business by opening up a casino in Las Vegas, the other is a flashback showing his father, Vito "Don" Corleone from his childhood in Sicily to his founding ...  Read the complete review

"I don't want to kill everybody, Tom, just my enemies." And so the brilliant novel and original movie is ingeniously recreated in the sequel Godfather Pt 2. The quotation is one which echoes throughout the Godfather Trilogy; not only does it show the cold underbelly of American society and organised crime but it shows the light hearted humour that has captured the imagination of film critics everywhere as they find themselves pondering on the genius which is The Godfather Pt 2. While the Godfather trilogy as a whole is about the rise and fall of the Corleones, each segment brings something fresh and unique to the trilogy. Pt 2 is a tale ...  Read the complete review

I'm sure at the time it was announced there would have been many people that thought another Godfather film would tarnish the reputation of what is a classic. Those fears were un-necessary as The Godfather Part II is a film in it's own right. You don't really have to have seen the first one to get the basis of this. To class it as a sequel is wrong and quite rightly it's named the second part of a much larger story. Some years have passed since the first film and Michael is now firmly installed as the head of the Corleone family. He is still married to Kay and is making moves to expand the family's presence in Las Vegas with the casinos. We ...  Read the complete review

The critics have acclaimed The Godfather Part II as the greatest sequel of all time. Many have gone on to say that it is better than the original. I am not sure and I will try and explain why. Before I begin I will say that the film I watched was the 25th anniversary video. Similar to the original there are spoilers at the beginning of the video! So fast forward past those and watch the interviews etc after you have watched the movie. The second part begins in the Godfather’s old office, exactly where the first film ended. However, the main part of the story is approximately 10 years after the original finished. Michael is the new Don. He ...  Read the complete review

Most sequels tend to be a shameless cash-in on the original film’s box office success and ultimately prove to be a wholly insipid and disappointing affair. Godfather II is one of the very few notable exceptions. This sequel is truly one of cinema’s finest moments- an Oscar-winning, beautifully shot, majestic movie that deserves to be ranked alongside its formidable predecessor as one of the greatest films of all time. Godfather II is a seamless continuation of Mario Puzo’s epic Corleone family saga that tracks Michael Corleone’s (Al Pacino) ultimately fruitless attempt to legitimise the family business set in the prosperous, but uncertain ...  Read the complete review