"I make him an offer he don't refuse." (The Godfather II - Soundtrack)

Member Name: berlioz II

Product:	The Godfather II - Soundtrack
Date:	02/07/08 (167 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The most varied use of Godfather themes in a nice colourful package

Disadvantages: Sound quality still needs work and a few source songs should be excised.

With the first Godfather film turning out be a big commercial success, Paramount Pictures quickly nabbed at the opportunity to make a sequel that utilised the remainder of the novel that never fit the first film, and granting director Francis Ford Coppola free reigns to make the film, unlike the tight supervision he was under during the filming of the first part. The film arguably stands as an even better one than its predecessor, a rare thing for a sequel to accomplish, and uses the differing aspects of looking at the origins of the Corleone family with the young Vito emigrating to New York from Sicily and how his son Michael is coping as head of the family in the present, creating a four-hour epic of a film complete with betrayals and new relations being tied. Returning for the sequel was also composer Nino Rota, who this time faced the responsibilities of fleshing out his existing themes as well as creating new ones for the expanded storyline, while this time he also got to share composer credit with the director's father, Carmine Coppola, who was responsible for writing all the source music to be played in the background as he did in the first film.

Of course, as expected, all the familiar themes make a reappearance, with The Godfather Waltz, the Halls of Fear, and even the love theme of Michael and Apollonia in the cue "Remember Vito Andolini" taking their bows, and this time most are also considerably fleshed out and feature new arrangements and incorporations that are considerably more interesting and multifaceted than in the first score. Not to be disappointed with the new material, Rota adds two major new musical motifs to complement the existing themes in the form of the "Immigrant" theme and the theme for Kay. The Immigrant theme is by far my absolute favourite of all the Godfather themes in its intense Italian lyricism coupled with a sense of anguish that makes the minor-keyed theme so passionate and heartfelt, a winning combination in my book. The theme for Kay by contrast is one that is considerably more jazzy in tone, somewhat reminding me of the easy swing of the roaring 20s, and into which the Godfather Waltz is also seamlessly integrated so as not to forget that Kay is a Corleone now too. With this wealth of thematic material, Rota then fashions a pure Italian musical fest of lyricism, drama, epicness and a sense of dread that makes for a magnificent score of great emotional depth.

With the added credit given to Carmine Coppola, a lot more of his music can also be heard on the MCA album with several source pieces appearing throughout. These are generally of a very village band folk style and don't generally do much for the music as a whole, but I do quite like the first half of "Murder of Don Fanucci" and the "Marcia Stilo Italiano" is quite nice as well. Still, Coppola is not Rota and a lot of his music lacks the sense of dynamic dramaticism of Rota's music as witnessed when he got to score the third film all on his own (though given that much of his contribution here is of the source music variety). The album also includes a couple of songs that remain on the level of needless interruptions to the score music and, to stand apart from the strictly more theme-centric cues and clear underscore type cues, is the rather comical "A New Carpet" with a lot of honky-tonk harpsichord sounds interspersing with the Immigrant theme for an at times amusing and at times more dramatic little number. Sound quality is likewise considerably better, though the harsh, bass heavy boominess is still in evidence. But with the help of a more varied use of the older themes coupled with the new themes, the album as a whole is considerably more enjoyable and interesting than the first one. No wonder Rota won his first and only Oscar for this sequel, along with Coppola riding on the wing of his success. It truly is the best of the Godfather scores and a marked improvement over the first one.


1. Main Title/The Immigrant* (3:25)
2. A New Carpet* (1:58)
3. Kay* (2:58)
4. Ev'ry Time I Look in Your Eyes**/After the Party* (2:33)
5. Vito and Abbandando* (2:36)
6. Senza Mamma/Ciuri-Ciuri/Napule Ve Salute (2:34)
7. The Godfathers at Home* (2:33)
8. Remember Vito Andolini* (2:59)
9. Michael Comes Home* (2:18)
10. Marcia Stilo Italiano** (2:00)
11. Ninna Nanna A Michele (performed by Nino Palermo) (2:18)
12. The Brothers Mourn* (3:18)
13. Murder of Don Fanucci** (2:48)
14. End Title* (3:51)

* Nino Rota
** Carmine Coppola

Music Composed by Nino Rota & Carmine Coppola
Conducted by Carmine Coppola
Music Recorded by John Norman
Music Editor: George Brand
1974 / MCA, 1991 (MCD-10232)

© berlioz, 2008

Summary: A superior follow-up to the first score.