Part of Essential Coppola
This brilliant companion piece to the original THE GODFATHER continues the saga of two generations of successive power within the Corleone family. Francis Ford Coppola tells two stories in Part II — the roots and rise of a young Don Vito, played with uncanny ability by Robert De Niro, and the ascension of Michael (Al Pacino) as the new Don. Reassembling many of the talents who helped make THE GODFATHER, Coppola has produced a movie of staggering magnitude and vision, and undeniably the best sequel ever made. Robert De Niro won an Oscar for his performance, and the film received six Academy Awards, including Best Picture of 1974.
“These days, any old franchise can spin off a string of Roman numeral sequels. But back in 1974, it was almost unprecedented for the makers of a Best Picture Academy Award-winner to return to the well…. This is nothing short of magisterial.” —Kim Newman, Empire Magazine “The daring of PART II is that it enlarges the scope and deepens the meaning of the first film. Visually, PART II is far more completely beautiful than the first, just as it's thematically richer, more shadowed, fuller.” —Pauline Kael, New Yorker “When superfans speak of the superiority of THE GODFATHER PART II, this is not merely to be contrary. Coppola took Mario Puzo’s pulp and darkened it with Nixonian paranoia and the power of political back rooms.” —Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out “This magnificent 1974 sequel, the centerpiece of Coppola and writer Mario Puzo’s 20th century gangster saga, is still one of the most ambitious and brilliantly executed American films, a landmark work from one of Hollywood’s top cinema eras.” —Chicago Tribune
