The Godfather Part II (1974)

Francis Ford Coppola returned to the Corleone family just two years after the original's release, with Paramount backing what would become one of the most ambitious sequels Hollywood had attempted to that point. The $13 million budget, roughly triple that of the first film, funded a production that shot across Nevada, New York, the Dominican Republic (standing in for Cuba), and Sicily, with a young Robert De Niro cast as the youthful Vito in sequences adapted loosely from material in Mario Puzo's novel that the 1972 film had left untouched. Coppola co-wrote the screenplay with Puzo again, and the film arrived at the peak of New Hollywood's confidence, going on to win six Academy Awards including Best Picture, making it the first sequel to claim that prize.

Good, but not as good as the first. Al Pacino as always gives an absolutely masterful performance. It's literally one of the classics of cinema but for some reason I always find the middle a really slow watch.

Rating: ★★★★½  | Year: 1974  | Watched: 2025-05-13

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Related on Movies With Macca

More from Francis Ford Coppola: The Godfather Part III (1990) · The Godfather (1972)
More with Al Pacino: Scent of a Woman (1992) · Cruising (1980) · Insomnia (2002) · Scarecrow (1973)
More from the 1970s: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Here and Elsewhere (1976) · Italianamerican (1974) · Punishment Park (1971)
More drama: Viy (1967) · Wonder (2017) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Beautiful Boy (2018)
More crime: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Angst (1983) · Stolen Face (1952) · Cairo Station (1958)