"The Godfather Part II" is the exception to so many rules it should be a genre in and of itself. When Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" came out, it fundamentally changed the film industry. Grossing an unprecedented $150 million and winning numerous Oscars, "The Godfather" was the most honored movie of all time,.
Then came Coppola's "The Godfather Part II," an incredible film in every respect that many believe is superior to the original. From the gorgeous opening in the new organized-crime paradise of Nevada to the perfectly rendered New York City of the early 20th Century, "Godfather II" takes the audience deeper into the Corleone family than we had ever been before. More than ever, we see the internecine struggles that show the deeply rooted evil Coppola had tried to show us from the beginning.
The film deals with the efforts of Michael Corleone (Pacino, if you've been in a cave your whole life) to purify the Family he took total control of in the first "Godfather" flick. Michael is betrayed at the beginning of the movie, resulting in an unsuccessful attempt on his life.
He then goes underground, dallying with devastatingly awesome underworld figures as Hyman Roth (the legendary Lee Strasberg), based partially on real Jewish crime lord Meyer Lansky. Michael's gambits are never clear until "Godfather II's" dizzying Cuban climax.
"Godfather II" takes the viewer on an international tour of the 1950's gangster hangouts, from the traditional New York stomping grounds of the Corleones to Nevada and Cuba. The backdrops, beautifully shot, belie the dark intentions of the film's characters.
If a cynical 1990's viewer can watch the manipulations of Marlon Brando's Vito Corleone in "The Godfather" without qualms, Coppola makes such a reaction impossible in "The Godfather Part II." We see both the seemingly benevolent violence of the early violence of Vito in the Robert De Niro performed flashback sequences and the unadulterated evil it generates in the ruthless Michael.
But if the world of the Mafia depicted in the film is rarified, the themes of "Godfather II" are universal. It deals with brotherhood, defending your rights and your family, the battle of the powerless against the empowered and all-important human themes of loyalty and honor. I don't care if you never get near a gun or a hit man, every one of us faces choices resolved by Michael, Vito and co. We just don't resolve them with bullets over a quiet lake.
"The Godfather Part II" takes the American dream and turns it on its head. The film shows us an immigrant hero we can't help rooting for just as it shows his son caught in a moral whirlpool from which he cannot escape. Triumphing thanks to the forces of democracy and capitalism, the Corleone family represents everything we love about America.
As long as there is cinema, "The Godfather Part II" will remain one of its best examples. Exempt from the disease that plagues all sequels, this is the kind of follow-up we all pray for in our favorite movies. It tells about a side of human nature we all would rather forget and shows just how easily all our best qualities can send us spiraling into our worst.
Missing this masterpiece tomorrow night would be a greater sin than even Michael Corleone could contemplate.
"The Godfather, Part II" plays tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. in Spaulding Auditorium.
