The Godfather Part II

The film interweaves events some time after The Godfather and the early life of Vito Corleone.

In 1901, nine-year-old Vito Andolini escapes from Corleone, Sicily in the Kingdom of Italy to New York City after mafia chieftain Don Ciccio kills the rest of his family. An immigration officer registers him as Vito Corleone. By 1917 Vito is married in Little Italy and has an infant son, Sonny. Black Hand extortionist Don Fanucci preys on the neighborhood, costing Vito his grocery store job. He begins stealing for a living with his neighbor Peter Clemenza and has two more children: Fredo and Michael.

Vito, Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio sell stolen dresses door-to-door. Fanucci demands payoffs of $200 from Vito and his partners. Vito doubts Fanucci's muscle and decides to offer less. He meets Fanucci and offers $100, which Fanucci grudgingly accepts. Emboldened, Vito tracks Fanucci back to his apartment and kills him. Vito's reputation spreads, and neighbors ask him to defend them from other predatory figures.

In 1922, Vito and his family travel to Sicily to start an olive oil importing business. He and business partner Don Tommasino visit an elderly Don Ciccio. He obtains Ciccio's blessing for their business, then reveals his identity and slices Ciccio's stomach, avenging the Andolini family.

In 1958, Don Michael Corleone has several meetings at his Lake Tahoe compound during the First Communion of his son Anthony. Johnny Ola, representing Jewish Mob boss Hyman Roth, promises support in taking over a Las Vegas casino. Corleone capo Frank Pentangeli asks for help defending Bronx territory from Roth affiliates, the Rosato brothers. Michael refuses, frustrating Pentangeli. Senator Pat Geary demands a bribe to secure the casino license and insults Michael's Italian heritage. That night, Michael narrowly escapes an assassination attempt. Suspecting a traitor in the family, he leaves consigliere Tom Hagen in charge and leaves the compound.

Michael separately tells Pentangeli and Roth that he suspects the other of planning the hit, and arranges a peace meeting between Pentangeli and the Rosatos. At the meeting the brothers attempt to strangle Pentangeli. A police officer drops in, forcing the brothers to flee. Hagen blackmails Geary into cooperating with the Corleones by having him framed for the death of a prostitute.

Roth invites Michael to Havana to invest in his activities under the Batista government. Michael expresses reservations, given the growing Cuban Revolution. Later Roth becomes angry when Michael asks who ordered the Rosatos to kill Pentangeli. Michael and Ola attend a New Year's Eve party where Fredo pretends not to know Ola but later slips. Michael realizes that Fredo is a traitor and orders both Roth and Ola killed. Batista resigns and flees amid rebel advances, and Michael, Fredo and Roth separately escape Cuba. Ola is murdered by hitman Bussetta, who is himself killed by a soldier while attempting to murder Roth at a Havana hospital after Roth was taken there after falling ill. Back home, Hagen tells Michael that his wife Kay miscarried.

A Senate committee on organized crime investigates the Corleone family. Pentangeli agrees to testify against Michael and is placed under witness protection. On returning to Nevada, Fredo tells Michael that he did not realize that Roth was planning an assassination. Michael disowns Fredo but orders that he should not be harmed while their mother Carmela is alive. Michael attends the committee hearing with Hagen and Pentangeli's brother Vincenzo. Pentangeli, upon seeing Vincenzo, retracts his statement implicating Michael in organized crime, and the hearing dissolves in an uproar. Kay tells Michael that she had an abortion and intends to leave him and take their children. Michael strikes her in rage and banishes her alone.

At Carmela's funeral, Fredo hugs a reluctant Michael and befriends Anthony over fishing. Roth returns to the United States after being refused entry to Israel. Corleone capo Rocco Lampone assassinates him at the airport and is shot dead trying to escape. Hagen visits Pentangeli at the army barracks where he is held and they discuss how failed conspirators against a Roman emperor could commit suicide to save their families. Pentangeli is later found dead in his bathtub, having slit his wrists. Enforcer Al Neri takes Fredo fishing and shoots him as Michael watches from the compound.

Michael recalls Vito's 50th birthday party on December 7, 1941. While the family waits for Vito, Michael announces that he has dropped out of college and joined the Marines, angering Sonny and surprising Hagen. Only Fredo supports his decision. When Vito is heard arriving, Michael sits alone at the table while the others welcome him in surprise. After Fredo's death, Michael sits pensively, alone, by the lake.

{{See also|List of The Godfather characters|label1=List of The Godfather characters}}

{{cast listing|

• Al Pacino as Michael Corleone
• Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen
• Diane Keaton as Kay Adams Corleone
• Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone
• Oreste Baldini as young Vito Corleone
• John Cazale as Fredo Corleone
• Talia Shire as Connie Corleone
• Lee Strasberg as Hyman Roth
• Michael V. Gazzo as Frank Pentangeli
• G. D. Spradlin as Senator Pat Geary
• Richard Bright as Al Neri
• Gastone Moschin as Don Fanucci
• Tom Rosqui as Rocco Lampone
• Bruno Kirby as young Peter Clemenza
• Frank Sivero as Genco Abbandando
• Morgana King as Mama Carmela Corleone
• Francesca De Sapio as young Carmela Corleone
• Marianna Hill as Deanna Corleone
• Leopoldo Trieste as Signor Roberto
• Dominic Chianese as Johnny Ola
• Amerigo Tot as Bussetta, Michael's Sicilian bodyguard
• Troy Donahue as Merle Johnson{{refn|name=Donahue|group=N|A nod to Donahue's real name, Merle Johnson Jr.}}
• Joe Spinell as Willi Cicci
• Abe Vigoda as Salvatore Tessio
• John Aprea as young Tessio
• Harry Dean Stanton as an F.B.I. agent
• Carmine Caridi as Carmine Rosato
• Danny Aiello as Tony Rosato
• James Caan as Sonny Corleone
• Gianni Russo as Carlo Rizzi
• Roger Corman as Senator #2
• Peter Donat as Questadt
• Tommy Lasorda as Military Officer
• Fay Spain as Mrs Marcia Roth

}}

File:Francis Ford Coppola, Director (02).tif (pictured in 1973), director of the film]]

Mario Puzo started writing a script for a sequel in December 1971, before The Godfather was even released; its initial title was The Death of Michael Corleone.{{cite web |title=The Godfather |url=https://www.oscars.org/collection-highlights/godfather?fid=57036 |website=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |date=April 28, 2015|access-date=March 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200331163421/https://www.oscars.org/collection-highlights/godfather/ |archive-date=March 31, 2020 |url-status=live}} Francis Ford Coppola's idea for the sequel would be to "juxtapose the ascension of the family under Vito Corleone with the decline of the family under his son Michael{{nbsp}}... I had always wanted to write a screenplay that told the story of a father and a son at the same age. They were both in their thirties and I would integrate the two stories{{nbsp}}... In order not to merely make Godfather I over again, I gave Godfather II this double structure by extending the story in both the past and in the present".{{cite book |first=Gene |last=Phillips |url=https://archive.org/details/godfatherintimat00phil |url-access=registration |title=Godfather: The Intimate Francis Ford Coppola |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8131-2304-2}} Coppola met with Martin Scorsese about directing the film, but Paramount refused.{{cite magazine |first=Andy |last=Morris |url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/gq-film-godfather-part-four |title='The Godfather Part IV' |date=September 24, 2012 |magazine=GQ |access-date=October 11, 2021 |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904102128/http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2011-03/15/gq-film-godfather-part-four |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine |first=Richard |last=Corliss |date=December 12, 2014 |url=https://time.com/3631617/the-godfather-part-ii-at-40/ |title='The Godfather Part II' at 40 |magazine=Time |access-date=October 11, 2021 |archive-date=November 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120105502/https://time.com/3631617/the-godfather-part-ii-at-40/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |first=Charles |last=Barfield |url=https://theplaylist.net/francis-ford-coppola-godfather-drama-20190513/ |title=Francis Ford Coppola Explains How 'Patton' Saved His 'Godfather' Job & Why He Wanted Martin Scorsese To Helm The Sequel |date=May 13, 2019 |website=The Playlist |access-date=October 11, 2021 |archive-date=November 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120105520/https://theplaylist.net/francis-ford-coppola-godfather-drama-20190513/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2023/10/martin-scorsese-interview-killers-of-the-flower-moon-leonardo-dicaprio-robert-de-niro-1235359006/ |title=Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio & Robert De Niro On How They Found The Emotional Handle For Their Cannes Epic 'Killers Of The Flower Moon' |work=Deadline |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=May 16, 2023 |access-date=June 8, 2023 |archive-date=May 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230520221259/https://deadline.com/2023/05/martin-scorsese-interview-killers-of-the-flower-moon-leonardo-dicaprio-robert-de-niro-1235359006/ |url-status=live }} Coppola also, in his director's commentary on The Godfather Part II, mentioned that the scenes depicting the Senate committee interrogation of Michael Corleone and Frank Pentangeli are based on the Joseph Valachi federal hearings and that Pentangeli is a Valachi-like figure.{{cite news |work=The Godfather Part II |title=Director commentary |date=1974 |asin=B00003CXAA}}

Production, however, nearly ended before it began when Pacino's lawyers told Coppola that he had grave misgivings with the script and was not coming. Coppola spent an entire night rewriting it before giving it to Pacino for his review. Pacino approved it and the production went forward.

The film's original budget was $6 million but costs increased to over $11 million, with Variety{{'}}s review claiming it was over $15 million.{{AFI film|54026}}

File:The Godfather Screenplay.JPG in Turin]]

Several actors from the first film did not return for the sequel. Marlon Brando initially agreed to return for the birthday flashback sequence, but the actor, feeling mistreated by the board at Paramount, failed to show up for the single day's shooting. Coppola then rewrote the scene that same day. Richard S. Castellano, who portrayed Peter Clemenza in the first film, also declined to return, as he and the producers could not reach an agreement on his demands that he be allowed to write the character's dialogue in the film, though this claim was disputed by Castellano{{'}}s widow in a 1991 letter to People magazine.{{cite book |title=Divine Intervention and a Dash of Magic... Unraveling The Mystery of "The Method" + Behind the Scenes of the Original Godfather Film |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vofvP3NROc4C |last=Sheridan-Castellano |first=Ardell |year=2003 |publisher=Trafford Publishing |isbn=1-55369-866-5}} The part in the plot originally intended for the latter-day Clemenza was then filled by the character of Frank Pentangeli, played by Michael V. Gazzo.

Coppola offered James Cagney the role of Hayman Roth, but he refused as he had retired from acting.{{cite book |first=James |last=Cagney |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E89eHUUePgEC |title=Cagney by Cagney |publisher=Doubleday |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-671-80889-1 |access-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-date=November 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114034811/https://books.google.com/books?id=E89eHUUePgEC |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/morgan-a-suitable-case-for-special-treatment-1954628 |title=Morgan, a suitable case for special treatment |work=The Yorkshire Post |date=October 15, 2010 |access-date=May 25, 2025}} James Caan agreed to reprise the role of Sonny in the birthday flashback sequence, demanding he be paid the same amount he received for the entire previous film for the single scene in Part II, which he received.{{Cite web |first=Kevin |last=Jagernauth |date=April 9, 2012 |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2012/04/5-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-the-godfather-part-ii-252707/amp/ |title=5 Things You May Not Know About the 'The Godfather Part II' |website=IndieWire |access-date=October 10, 2021 |archive-date=October 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010144751/https://www.indiewire.com/2012/04/5-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-the-godfather-part-ii-252707/amp/ |url-status=live }} Among the actors depicting Senators in the hearing committee are film producer/director Roger Corman, writer/producer William Bowers, producer Phil Feldman, and actor Peter Donat.{{Cite book |last=Eagan |first=Daniel |title=America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry |publisher=Continuum |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-8264-2977-3 |location=New York |pages=711}}

The Godfather Part II was shot between October 1, 1973, and June 19, 1974. The scenes that took place in Cuba were shot in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic."[http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2006/12/5/113159/369/hotels/Movie_Set_Hotel_The_Godfather_II Movie Set Hotel: The Godfather II] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929000001/http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2006/12/5/113159/369/hotels/Movie_Set_Hotel_The_Godfather_II |date=September 29, 2007 }}", HotelChatter, May 12, 2006. Charles Bluhdorn, whose Gulf+Western conglomerate owned Paramount, felt strongly about developing the Dominican Republic as a movie-making site. Forza d'Agrò was the Sicilian town featured in the film.{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/in-search-of-the-godfather-in-sicily-595994.html |title=In search of... The Godfather in Sicily |date=April 26, 2003 |work=The Independent |publisher=Independent Digital News and Media Limited |access-date=February 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511094252/http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/in-search-of-the-godfather-in-sicily-595994.html |archive-date=May 11, 2015 |url-status=live}}

Unlike with the first film, Coppola was given near-complete control over production. In his commentary, he said this resulted in a shoot that ran very smoothly despite multiple locations and two narratives running parallel within one film.The Godfather Part II DVD commentary featuring Francis Ford Coppola, [2005] Coppola discusses his decision to make this the first major U.S. motion picture to use "Part II" in its title in the director's commentary on the DVD edition of the film released in 2002. Paramount was initially opposed because they believed the audience would not be interested in an addition to a story they had already seen. But the director prevailed, and the film's success began the common practice of numbered sequels.

Only three weeks prior to the release, film critics and journalists pronounced Part II a disaster. The cross-cutting between Vito and Michael's parallel stories were judged too frequent, not allowing enough time to leave a lasting impression on the audience. Coppola and the editors returned to the cutting room to change the film's narrative structure, but could not complete the work in time, leaving the final scenes poorly timed at the opening.The Godfather Family: A look Inside

It was the last major American motion picture to have release prints made with Technicolor's dye imbibition process until the late 1990s.

{{Main|The Godfather Part II (soundtrack)|l1=The Godfather Part II (soundtrack)}}

The score is by Nino Rota with additions by Carmine Coppola. It won the 1974 Academy Award for Best Original Score.

The Godfather Part II premiered in New York City on December 12, 1974, and was released in the United States on December 20, 1974.

Coppola created The Godfather Saga expressly for American television in a 1975 release that combined The Godfather and The Godfather Part II with unused footage from those two films in a chronological telling that toned down the violent, sexual, and profane material for its NBC debut on November 18, 1977. In 1981, Paramount released the Godfather Epic VHS box set, which also told the story of the first two films in chronological order, again with additional scenes, but not redacted for broadcast sensibilities. Coppola returned to the film again in 1992 when he updated that release with footage from The Godfather Part III and more unreleased material. This home viewing release, under the title The Godfather Trilogy 1901–1980, had a total run time of 583 minutes (9 hours, 43 minutes), not including the set's bonus documentary by Jeff Werner on the making of the films, "The Godfather Family: A Look Inside".

The Godfather DVD Collection was released on October 9, 2001, in a package"DVD review: 'The Godfather Collection'". DVD Spin Doctor. July 2007. that contained all three films—each with a commentary track by Coppola—and a bonus disc that featured a 73-minute documentary from 1991 entitled The Godfather Family: A Look Inside and other miscellany about the film: the additional scenes originally contained in The Godfather Saga; Francis Coppola's Notebook (a look inside a notebook the director kept with him at all times during the production of the film); rehearsal footage; a promotional featurette from 1971; and video segments on Gordon Willis's cinematography, Nino Rota's and Carmine Coppola's music, the director, the locations and Mario Puzo's screenplays. The DVD also held a Corleone family tree, a "Godfather" timeline, and footage of the Academy Award acceptance speeches.The Godfather DVD Collection [2001]

The restoration was confirmed by Francis Ford Coppola during a question-and-answer session for The Godfather Part III, when he said that he had just seen the new transfer and it was "terrific".

After a careful restoration by Robert A. Harris of Film Preserve, the first two Godfather films were released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 23, 2008, under the title The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration. The Blu-ray Disc box set (four discs) includes high-definition extra features on the restoration and film. They are included on Disc 5 of the DVD box set (five discs).

Other extras are ported over from Paramount's 2001 DVD release. There are slight differences between the repurposed extras on the DVD and Blu-ray Disc sets, with the HD box having more content.[http://dvdspindoctor.typepad.com/dvd_spin_doctor/2008/06/godfather-coppo.html "Godfather: Coppola Restoration", September 23] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125100231/http://dvdspindoctor.typepad.com/dvd_spin_doctor/2008/06/godfather-coppo.html |date=January 25, 2012 }} on DVD Spin Doctor

Paramount Pictures restored and remastered The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone (a re-edited cut of the third film) for a limited theatrical run and home media release on Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the premiere of The Godfather. The disc editions were released on March 22, 2022.{{cite web |title='The Godfather Trilogy Releasing to 4k, Finally |url=https://hd-report.com/2022/01/13/the-godfather-trilogy-releasing-to-4k-finally/ |date=January 13, 2022 |access-date=March 14, 2022 |archive-date=November 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221125112140/https://hd-report.com/2022/01/13/the-godfather-trilogy-releasing-to-4k-finally/ |url-status=live }}

{{Main|The Godfather II (video game)|l1=The Godfather II (video game)}}

A video game based on the film was released for Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in April 2009 by Electronic Arts. It received mixed or average reviews and sold poorly, leading Electronic Arts to cancel plans for a game based on The Godfather Part III.{{cite web |date=June 9, 2009 |title=EA buries Godfather franchise |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-buries-godfather-franchise/1100-6211737/|access-date=July 13, 2015 |website=GameSpot|archive-date=July 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160726122243/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-buries-godfather-franchise/1100-6211737/|url-status=live}}

Although The Godfather Part II did not surpass the original film commercially, it grossed $47.5 million in the United States and Canada. and was Paramount Pictures' highest-grossing film of 1974, and the seventh-highest-grossing picture in the United States. According to its international distributor, the film had grossed $45.3 million internationally by 1994,{{cite magazine |magazine=Variety |date=September 11, 1995 |page=92 |title=UIP's $25M-Plus Club}} for a worldwide total of $93 million.{{refn|name=Gross|group=N|Current box office websites do not have international grosses prior to 2010.{{cite web |title=The Godfather: Part II (1974) |website=Box Office Mojo |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0071562/?ref_=bo_se_r_2 |access-date=January 22, 2020 |quote=Original release: $47,643,435; 2010 re-release: $85,768; 2019 re-release: $291,754 |archive-date=November 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114034814/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0071562/?ref_=bo_se_r_2 |url-status=live}} Some sources claim an original release of $88 million.{{cite magazine |magazine=Variety |date=December 24, 1990 |last=Thompson |first=Anne|author-link=Anne Thompson (film journalist) |title=Is 'Godfather III' an offer audiences cannot refuse? |page=57}}{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonthompson/2019/11/09/the-godfather-part-ii-at-45-and-why-it-remains-the-gold-standard-for-sequels/#654e753428e4 |title='The Godfather Part II' At 45 And Why It Remains The Gold Standard For Sequels |work=forbes.com |date=November 9, 2019 |access-date=January 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217035132/https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonthompson/2019/11/09/the-godfather-part-ii-at-45-and-why-it-remains-the-gold-standard-for-sequels/#654e753428e4 |archive-date=December 17, 2019 |url-status=live}}}}

Pauline Kael in The New Yorker was an early champion of the film, writing that it was visually "far more complexly beautiful than the first, just as it's thematically richer, more shadowed, more full." She writes: "Twice I almost cried out at the acts of violence that De Niro's Vito committed. I didn't look away from the images, as I sometimes do in routine action pictures. I wanted to see the worst; there is a powerful need to see it. You need these moments as you need the terrible climaxes in a Tolstoy novel. A great novelist does not spare our feelings (as the historical romancer does); he intensifies them, and so does Coppola."{{cite magazine| author=Pauline Kael| magazine=The New Yorker| title=Fathers and Sons| date=December 23, 1974| url= https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1974/12/23/fathers-and-sons}} However, while the film's cinematography and acting were immediately acclaimed, many criticized it as overly slow-paced and convoluted.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.newsweek.com/godfather-part-ii-sequel-syndrome-535315 |title=The 'Godfather Part II' Sequel Syndrome |magazine=Newsweek |date=December 25, 2016 |access-date=March 8, 2017 |quote=But when the movie arrived in theaters at the end of 1974, it was met with a critical reception that, compared with today's exuberant embrace, felt more like a slap in the face{{nbsp}}... Most professional tastemakers, even those exasperated by what they felt was the movie's sometimes plodding-pace, recognized the creative crowning achievements of the film's direction, cinematography and acting.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307030519/http://www.newsweek.com/godfather-part-ii-sequel-syndrome-535315|archive-date=March 7, 2017|url-status=live}} Vincent Canby of The New York Times viewed the film unfavorably, describing it as "stitched together from leftover parts. It talks. It moves in fits and starts but it has no mind of its own{{nbsp}}... The plot defies any rational synopsis."{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9901EFDC1E31EF34BC4B52DFB467838F669EDE |title='Godfather, Part II' Is Hard To Define: The Cast |last=Canby |first=Vincent |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 13, 1974 |access-date=March 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312034004/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9901EFDC1E31EF34BC4B52DFB467838F669EDE|archive-date=March 12, 2017|url-status=live}} Variety noted that Canby had been downbeat on the original too and claimed that he was in a minority of one and reported that the film had drawn mostly strongly admiring reviews.{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|date=December 25, 1974|page=5|title=N.Y. Times Anti-'Godfather' Stance|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1974-12-25_277_7/page/n4}} In A.D. Murphy's review in Variety he described it as a "masterful sequel" and "outstanding in all respects".{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|date=December 11, 1974|last=Murphy|first=A.D.|page=16|title=Film Reviews: The Godfather, Part II|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1974-12-11_277_5/page/15}}

William Pechter of Commentary, while admiring the movie, regretted what he saw as its archness and self-importance, calling it an "overly deliberate and self-conscious attempt to make a film that's unmistakably a serious work of art," and professing to "know of no one except movie critics who likes Part II as much as part one."{{cite web |url=https://www.commentary.org/articles/william-pechter/godfather-ii/ |title=Pechter, William, "Godfather II," Commentary, March 1975. |date=March 1975 |access-date=July 2, 2023 |archive-date=July 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702153046/https://www.commentary.org/articles/william-pechter/godfather-ii/ |url-status=live }} Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic cited what he called "gaps and distentions" in the story.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uWaxDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA75 |title=Hollywood Incoherent: Narration in Seventies Cinema |pages=75–76 |last=Berliner |first=Todd |publisher=University of Texas Press |date=2010 |isbn=978-0-292-72279-8|access-date=March 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312113035/https://books.google.com/books?id=uWaxDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA75|archive-date=March 12, 2017|url-status=live}}

Roger Ebert awarded three out of four{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-godfather-part-ii-1974 |title=The Godfather, Part II |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |website=RogerEbert.com |access-date=November 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208005237/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-godfather-part-ii-1974 |archive-date=December 8, 2017 |url-status=live}} and wrote that the flashbacks "give Coppola the greatest difficulty in maintaining his pace and narrative force. The story of Michael, told chronologically and without the other material, would have had really substantial impact, but Coppola prevents our complete involvement by breaking the tension." Though praising Pacino's performance and lauding Coppola as "a master of mood, atmosphere, and period", Ebert considered the chronological shifts of its narrative "a structural weakness from which the film never recovers". Gene Siskel gave the film three-and-a-half out of four, writing that it was at times "as beautiful, as harrowing, and as exciting as the original. In fact, The Godfather, Part II may be the second best gangster movie ever made. But it's not the same. Sequels can never be the same. It's like being forced to go to a funeral the second time—the tears just don't flow as easily."{{cite news |author-link=Gene Siskel |last=Siskel |first=Gene |date=December 20, 1974 |title='The Godfather, Part II': Father knew best |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |issue=3 |page=1}}

The film quickly became the subject of a critical re-evaluation.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PQwNAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT159 |title=Now Showing: Unforgettable Moments from the Movies |last=Garner |first=Joe |publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-4494-5009-0|access-date=March 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312112959/https://books.google.com/books?id=PQwNAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT159|archive-date=March 12, 2017|url-status=live}} Whether considered separately or with its predecessor as one work, The Godfather Part II is now widely regarded as one of the greatest films in world cinema. Many critics compare it favorably with the original{{spaced ndash}}although it is rarely ranked higher on lists of "greatest" films. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 96% approval rating based on 126 reviews, with an average rating of 9.7/10. The consensus reads, "Drawing on strong performances by Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, Francis Ford Coppola's continuation of Mario Puzo's Mafia saga set new standards for sequels that have yet to be matched or broken."{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/godfather_part_ii/ |title=The Godfather, Part II |work=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Fandango Media |access-date=April 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512183037/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/godfather_part_ii/|archive-date=May 12, 2019|url-status=live}} Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 90 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-godfather-part-ii |title=The Godfather: Part II (1974) |website=Metacritic |publisher=CBS Interactive |access-date=March 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812072743/http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-godfather-part-ii |archive-date=August 12, 2018 |url-status=live}}

Michael Sragow's conclusion in his 2002 essay, selected for the National Film Registry website, is that "[a]lthough The Godfather and The Godfather Part II depict an American family's moral defeat, as a mammoth, pioneering work of art it remains a national creative triumph."{{cite web |title=The Godfather and The Godfather Part II |author-link=Michael Sragow |author=Sragow, Michael |work="The A List: The National Society of Film Critics' 100 Essential Films," 2002 |date=2002 |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/static/national-film-preservation-board/documents/godfather.pdf|access-date=December 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224124419/https://www.loc.gov/programs/static/national-film-preservation-board/documents/godfather.pdf|archive-date=February 24, 2017|url-status=live}} In his 2014 review of the film, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian wrote "Francis Coppola's breathtakingly ambitious prequel-sequel to his first Godfather movie is as gripping as ever. It is even better than the first film, and has the greatest single final scene in Hollywood history, a real coup de cinéma."{{cite web |last1=Bradshaw |first1=Peter |title=The Godfather: Part II – review |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/feb/20/godfather-part-2-review |website=The Guardian |date=February 20, 2014 |access-date=July 23, 2021 |archive-date=November 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130230647/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/feb/20/godfather-part-2-review |url-status=live }}

The Godfather Part II was featured on Sight & Sound{{'}}s Director's list of the ten greatest films of all time in 1992 (ranked at No. 9){{cite web |title=The Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll 1992 |url=https://thependragonsociety.com/the-sight-sound-top-ten-poll-1992/ |website=thependragonsociety |date=September 24, 2017 |access-date=April 5, 2021 |archive-date=December 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221203095743/https://thependragonsociety.com/the-sight-sound-top-ten-poll-1992/ |url-status=live }} and 2002 (where it was ranked at No. 2. The critics ranked it at No. 4){{cite web |title=Sight & Sound 2002 Directors' Greatest Films poll |url=https://www.listal.com/list/sight-sound-2002-directors |website=listal.com|access-date=March 19, 2021|archive-date=May 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515094321/https://www.listal.com/list/sight-sound-2002-directors|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll 2002 – The Critics' Top Ten Films |publisher=British Film Institute |url=http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/critics.html |access-date=April 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407100835/http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/critics.html |archive-date=April 7, 2014 |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |title=Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll 2002 – The Directors' Top Ten Films |publisher=British Film Institute |url=http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/polls/topten/poll/directors.html |access-date=April 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141007233027/http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/polls/topten/poll/directors.html |archive-date=October 7, 2014 |url-status=dead}} On the 2012 list by the same magazine the film was ranked at No. 31 by critics and at No. 30 by directors.{{cite web |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/directors |title=Directors' Top 100 |year=2012 |work=Sight & Sound |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=March 19, 2021 |archive-date=February 9, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160209010504/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/directors |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/critics |title=Critics' Top 100 |year=2012 |work=Sight & Sound |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=March 19, 2021 |archive-date=February 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207035347/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/critics |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |title=The 100 Greatest Films of All Time |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/greatest-films-all-time |website=Sight & Sound |publisher=BFI |access-date=March 23, 2020 |archive-date=March 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318214144/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/greatest-films-all-time |url-status=live}} In 2006, Writers Guild of America ranked the film's screenplay (Written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola) the 10th greatest ever.{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-best-lists/101-greatest-screenplays/list |title=101 Greatest Screenplays |publisher=Writers Guild of America|access-date=March 8, 2017|archive-date=November 22, 2016|archive-url=https://archive.today/20161122211118/http://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-best-lists/101-greatest-screenplays/list|url-status=live}} It ranked No. 7 on Entertainment Weekly{{'}}s list of the "100 Greatest Movies of All Time", and #1 on TV Guide{{'}}s 1999 list of the "50 Greatest Movies of All Time on TV and Video".{{cite web |url=http://www.thependragon.co.uk/TVGuides50greatestmoviesontvandvideo.htm |title=TV Guide's 50 Greatest Movies On TV/Video |work=thependragon.co.uk |access-date=March 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104203709/http://www.thependragon.co.uk/TVGuides50greatestmoviesontvandvideo.htm|archive-date=November 4, 2015|url-status=live}} The Village Voice ranked The Godfather Part II at No. 31 in its Top 250 "Best Films of the Century" list in 1999, based on a poll of critics.{{cite web |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/take/one/full_list.php3?category=10 |title=Take One: The First Annual Village Voice Film Critics' Poll |access-date=July 27, 2006 |year=1999 |work=The Village Voice |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826201343/http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/take/one/full_list.php3?category=10 |archive-date=August 26, 2007}} In January 2002, the film (along with The Godfather) made the list of the "Top 100 Essential Films of All Time" by the National Society of Film Critics.{{Cite book |last=Carr |first=Jay |title=The A List: The National Society of Film Critics' 100 Essential Films |year=2002 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=978-0-306-81096-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/alistnationalsoc00jayc/page/81 81] |url=https://archive.org/details/alistnationalsoc00jayc |url-access=registration|access-date=July 27, 2012}}{{cite web |title=100 Essential Films by The National Society of Film Critics |url=https://www.filmsite.org/alist.html |website=filmsite.org |access-date=July 16, 2021 |archive-date=July 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716022159/https://www.filmsite.org/alist.html |url-status=live }} In 2017, it ranked No. 12 on Empire magazine's reader's poll of The 100 Greatest Movies.{{cite web |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-movies/ |title=The 100 Greatest Movies|access-date=March 20, 2018|archive-date=July 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180706075658/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-movies/|url-status=live}} In an earlier poll held by the same magazine in 2008, it was voted 19th on the list of 'The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time'.{{cite web |last1=Green |first1=Willow |title=The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/500-greatest-movies/ |website=Empire |date=October 3, 2008 |access-date=July 15, 2021 |archive-date=November 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106021352/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/500-greatest-movies/ |url-status=live }} In 2015, it was tenth in the BBC's list of the 100 greatest American films.{{cite web |title=The 100 Greatest American Films |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20150720-the-100-greatest-american-films |website=bbc |date=July 20, 2015|access-date=February 21, 2021|archive-date=January 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114132906/https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20150720-the-100-greatest-american-films|url-status=live}}

Many believe Pacino's performance in The Godfather Part II is his finest acting work. It is now regarded as one of the greatest performances in film history. In 2006, Premiere issued its list of "The 100 Greatest Performances of all Time", putting Pacino's performance at #20.[http://www.filmsite.org/100greatperformances4.html "The 100 Greatest Performances"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120815035220/http://www.filmsite.org/100greatperformances4.html |date=August 15, 2012 }} filmsite.org Later in 2009, Total Film issued "The 150 Greatest Performances of All Time", ranking Pacino's performance fourth place.[http://www.totalfilm.com/features/150-greatest-movie-performances-of-all-time-5/4-al-pacino-michael-corleone-the-godfather-part-ii-1974 "The 150 Greatest Performances Of All Time"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102093133/http://www.totalfilm.com/features/150-greatest-movie-performances-of-all-time-5/4-al-pacino-michael-corleone-the-godfather-part-ii-1974 |date=January 2, 2012 }} TotalFilm. com

The Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa cited it as one of his 100 favorite films.{{cite web |last1=Thomas-Mason |first1=Lee |title=From Stanley Kubrick to Martin Scorsese: Akira Kurosawa once named his top 100 favourite films of all time |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/akira-kurosawa-100-favourite-films-list/ |website=Far Out Magazine |date=January 12, 2021 |access-date=January 23, 2023 |archive-date=April 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402164023/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/akira-kurosawa-100-favourite-films-list/ |url-status=live }}

Ebert added the film to his Great Movies canon, noting he "would not change a word" of his original review but praising the work as "grippingly written, directed with confidence and artistry, photographed by Gordon Willis{{nbsp}}... in rich, warm tones." He praises the score: "More than ever, I am convinced it is instrumental to the power and emotional effect of the films. I cannot imagine them without their Nino Rota scores. Against all our objective reason, they instruct us how to feel about the films. Now listen very carefully to the first notes as the big car drives into Miami. You will hear an evocative echo of Bernard Hermann’s score for Citizen Kane, another film about a man who got everything he wanted and then lost it."

{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-godfather-part-ii-1974 |title="This is the business we've chosen" (1974) |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=October 2, 2008 |access-date=March 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509020901/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-godfather-part-ii-1974|archive-date=May 9, 2017|url-status=live}}

{{Anchor|Accolades|Awards|Awards and honors}}

This film is the first sequel to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1975 |title=47th Academy Awards Winners: Best Picture |date=October 6, 2014 |access-date=April 20, 2015 |publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004005/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1975 |archive-date=April 2, 2015}} The Godfather and The Godfather Part II remain the only original/sequel combination both to win Best Picture.{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-dec-02-la-en-fantasy-actors-20101202-story.html |title=Critic's Notebook: Can 'Harry Potter' ever capture Oscar magic? |first=Mary |last=McNamara |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 2, 2010 |access-date=December 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207143916/http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/02/news/la-en-fantasy-actors-20101202 |archive-date=December 7, 2013 |url-status=live}} Along with The Lord of the Rings, The Godfather Trilogy shares the distinction that all of its installments were nominated for Best Picture; additionally, The Godfather Part II and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King are so far the only sequels to win Best Picture. Al Pacino became the third actor to be Oscar-nominated twice for playing the same character.

• 1998: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies{{snd}}#32{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years{{nbsp}}... 100 Movies |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/movies100.pdf |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412113202/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/movies100.pdf |archive-date=April 12, 2019 |url-status=live}}
• 2003: AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains:
• Michael Corleone{{snd}}#11 Villain{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years{{nbsp}}... 100 Heroes & Villains |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/handv100.pdf |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328082215/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/handv100.pdf |archive-date=March 28, 2014 |url-status=live}}
• 2005: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
• "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."{{snd}}#58{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years{{nbsp}}... 100 Movie Quotes |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/quotes100.pdf |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313150615/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/quotes100.pdf |archive-date=March 13, 2011 |url-status=live}}
• "I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart." – Nominated{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years{{nbsp}}... 100 Movie Quotes Nominees |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/quotes400.pdf |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628043426/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/quotes400.pdf |archive-date=June 28, 2011 |url-status=live}}
• "Michael, we're bigger than U.S. Steel."{{snd}}Nominated
• 2007: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #32{{cite web |title=AFI's 100 Years{{nbsp}}... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) |url=http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/100Movies.pdf |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606072909/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/100Movies.pdf |archive-date=June 6, 2013 |url-status=live}}
• 2008: AFI's 10 Top 10{{snd}}#3 Gangster Film and Nominated Epic Film{{cite web |title=AFI's 10 Top 10: Top 10 Gangster |url=http://www.afi.com/10top10/category.aspx?cat=8 |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118033523/http://www.afi.com/10top10/category.aspx?cat=8 |archive-date=November 18, 2016 |url-status=live}}

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• [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/godfather.pdf The Godfather and The Godfather Part II] essay by Michael Sragow on the National Film Registry website{{Retrieved|prepend=.{{sp}}|access-date=November 17, 2022}}

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