When young Vito came back for Don Ciccio, one of his friends (the one who introduce him) was Tomassino. Tomassino, much older obviously, helped Michael in Italy when he killed the police officer and Sollozo. If you remember, Tomassino walked always with a cane due to a limp. That limp was produced because of the shot on the knee when he was young, in that moment when Vito murdered Ciccio.
@@craigoconnor6662 Don't forget Tora! Tora! Tora!, Kung- Fu, North Dallas forty, The Greatest American Hero, Tank and Wor of the Roses to name a few ;)
Vito realized Don Fanucci wasn't a true Don, he was just a hustler who talked the talk, preying on other Italians who were poor, vulnerable and scared. He had no men, had no police connections, he took Vito's $100 which was short, confirming he had no means of punishment. Vito has seen real Dons and taking out the neighborhood's leech was his way of helping and the first step to true Donhood. The cake in Cuba was a visual metaphor for them carving up Cuba. The shot towards the end is one of the most haunting ones, Michael all alone sitting at the table before fighting in WW2, everyone else who was sitting there that left would be dead or pushed away in the future. Leaving just Michael, the man who will break the family. A stark contrast to Vito who started with nothing and built a strong massive family, nothing mattered more to him than family and protecting Italians, and Michael does the unthinkable and kills one of his family members.
Fanucci was a freelance extortionist who worked for the Morello crime family. His boss, Maranzalla, is likely a reference to Giuseppe Morello, a prominent figure in the early days of the New York Mafia. or Masseria
Fanucci is a low level Black Hand extortionist in turn-of-the-20th-century Little Italy in New York; he would have been a made man operating with the permission of higher-ups (Lupo the Wolf, or the like), and kicking back a portion of the proceeds he collects to them. The movie doesn't show Vito getting permission to off him, but he would have had to do so, as Fanucci was a member of La Mano Nera. Maybe Fanucci's superiors got tired of neighborhood complaints about him, and gave Vito the green light to whack him. This, of course, is Vito's own "making his bones"; i. e. his own inaugural killing required for initiation into the Mafia.
Oranges are a powerful symbol in The Godfather, foreshadowing tragedy when they appear before a character's death. Initially meant to brighten up the set, oranges became an ominous motif throughout The Godfather trilogy.
I love how you mentioned the old school tuna sandwich on Wonder bread. I'm 71 and grew up in the 60's. When I think of my #1 comfort food from my youth, that is exactly the first thing that comes to mind. And I still love tuna sandwiches to this very day. Every bite reminds me of my mother's love.
37:22 You cut the exit of the nervous landlord Signor Roberto meeting Vito. Has anyone mentioned that Coppola had secretly rigged the door so it wouldn't open - unknown to the actor - so he was genuinely struggling with it. He was played by a comedian Leopoldo Trieste and Coppola wanted him to have to improvise until the actor playing Abbandando - who was in on the trick - removed the small nail that allowed the door to open again.
I didn't know that and now that you mention it, it shows what a great director Coppola was. He wanted to make the actor nervous at a core level, and when a great actor like Robert de Niro has delivered his take correctly, you've done it as well and the door suddenly stops opening, it makes you nervous. What a great way to bring out his acting skills. Great direction 👏🏼👏🏼🫡
@@harryballsak1123 And Bugsy Siegel wasn't killed because he mouthed off and refused to agree to a hotel merger. He was killed because La Cosa Nostra thought he was skimming off the top of the casino he was financing with their money. He wasn't afterall, it was just a rougher launch than they intended. In other words, they're representative of these real life figures but not perfect copies.
When I was kid we went to lake Tahoe. We are riding a boat when it broke down in front of the Corleone house. Another boat came to help and one the gentlemen mentioned the house was from the Godfather. At the time I was 10 so it was completely lost on me but I do remember it.
When things get rough at work I like to bring up Hyman Roth’s speech, ‘This is the business we have chosen’ It is an incredible performance by Lee Strasberg.
Vito became Godfather to protect and support his family. He succeeded because that was always forefront of his desires. Michael became Godfather to protect his family. He destroyed it instead.
Young Clemenza was played by Bruno Kirby (When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers, Donnie Brasco, Good Morning Vietnam) and the Rossato brother who strangled Frank was Danny Aiello (Do The Right Thing, Moonstruck)
Both The Godfather 2 and The Deer Hunter do that heartbreaking thing where you go to a dinner table scene at the end that makes you really aware of all the characters who've died or been forever changed in the course of the film or films.
The senator who asked for Vinchico to be identified is Producer/Director Roger Corman. He is the King of low-budget B-movies and trained more directors than any film school. Directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, James Camron, and George Lucas.
The guy that got shot in the leg(s) when Vito killed Don Ciccio was Don Tomassino, who protected Michael while he was in Sicily (and walked with a cane and used a wheelchair alternately).
Just so that you know. The part of this that happened in Cuba actually happened. The Mafia was heavily invested in Cuba when the Cuban Revolution happened. When Castro took over he expelled the Mafia.
Remember in the first one when Michael goes back to Italy and visits his hometown and he asks "where are all the men?" and one of his bodyguard replies with "vendetta".
There's an overall mirror image arc to the pair of movies; Vito comes to America alone but builds a family. Michael grows up with a family, but ends up alone.
@@curtiszyr Indeed, yes. I'm not praising Vito or suggesting he built a family that could ever find real stability; just that (dramatically) his journey and Michael's essentially follow opposite trajectories in regard to the one thing both valued, family. (In fact, underlying the mirror image, Michael's spiral down into solitude was inevitable, due to the nature of the family Vito built, so on another level this is all Vito's story, even after he left the stage. It's all layers in a story as masterfully constructed as this one.)
Michael looks a bit older in the last scene because there was supposed to be a scene where a few years later Michael's older son rejects him. They shot Pacino with older makeup but never shot the rest of the scene.
Fun fact: until about five years ago Marlon Brando and Robert DeNiro were the only actors to win Oscars for playing the same character in different movies. Recently Heath Ledger & Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) and Rita Moreno & Ariana DeBose (Anita in West Side Story) joined them in that club.
Heather Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix are playing the same character in name only. They might both be called "The Joker" but they most definitely are not the same character.
Thwy still are the only actors to win playing exactly the same character as the others are just actors playing different versions of same characters in remakes or alternate reality versions
The scene in Cuba was shot in the Dominican Republic. It was so realistic that it reminded me of summers spent in Cuba during the 1950s visiting my Grandparents. I recall my uncles talking about the graft, corruption, and organized crime takeover of the casinos, hotels, and prostitution (I knew nothing about the world's oldest profession at the time.)😊
That image of Clemenza with gun next to the door gives me chills every time I see it. Iconic image. Also, shame on you for not showing the "It's not what I wanted!" scene between Michael and Fredo. John Cazale knocks it out of the park in that scene. Fredo is both defiant and pathetic.
Michael is my favorite with Tom as #2. I prefer Part II. I love a good backstory. And the tragedy of who Vito wanted Michael to be and who Michael became.
Hyman Roth is played by Lee Strassbourg who was Pacino's acting teacher and he begged him to be in the movie, they also did And Justice for All, the young Roth is the guy in the peaky cap when they are hanging the Genco sign and he was played by the guy who was Dill Harris in To Kill A Mockingbird, Genco's girlfriend was played by Kathleen Beller who was the star of the movie The Betsy with Duvall, Olivier, Katherine Ross and Tommy Lee Jones and she quit the business to become a midwife
The Moe Greene character is a version of real-life gangster Bugsey Seigal. Bugsey created Las Vegas by building the first Casino there. Then he was killed.
I love the Banana Daiquiri moment scene between Michael and Fredo. It shows that even though they are a mob family, every family shares moments of innocent humor with one another.
Unbeknownst to the actor playing the landlord, Coppola had a nail placed through the door to keep it from opening so his struggle to open the door was genuine.
I liked the first one much better too. The best part of part two was Vito's origin story. 23:43 He didn't want to show-off his cake, the cake had the shape of Cuba. He wanted to make sure everyone got the message they were getting their piece of the country. If you want to know how the story of Kay and her kids ended, don't miss part 3. Coda is more interesting, but the end in the theatrical release makes much more sense.
Good point about the murdered girl, it wasn't just about the license and a little money, but they owned him after that. It's good to remember that no matter how well the screenplays make the family seem sympathetic, they cut some truly evil stuff about Luca Brazzi from the book. Vito would not have been such a sympathetic character
I love the contrast between Michael and Vito’s stories. Vito rose to power with respect out of love and family. Michael is a villain and is very very smart but is respected out of fear and ends up alone.
I have been watching both of these movies for well over 30 years, and I flip back and forth from which one is my favorite. I think if I had to make a choice, I would say that part 2 is a little better. How cool to have a prequel and a sequel in the same movie. Also Francis Ford Coppola was under a lot of pressure from the studios in Godfather one. He was always over budget, over time and under a lot of scrutiny. In part 2 he basically called all of his own shots, and was able to make the film exactly the way he wanted to.
I have a feeling she will. Seems remiss not to do so. Personally, I don't care. I have never seen them and have no inclination to do so. That's why I gave this video a miss.
@@MrRosebeing I'm with you in the opinion that Hollywood sequels are a worthless waste of time, and that's true 99.9% of the time. But Godfather II is not. It's almost as good as the original, and you're cheating yourself out of an excellent film. Godfather III, though, is crap.
@@driezzy I agree, it was hard for Coppola to compete with it's two predecessors while making the third one so it looks mediocre in comparison. It's still a must watch to finish off the Michael Corleone's character arc that started in the first movie.
the senate hearing was the McClellan hearing and Joe Vallachi wrote a tell all book about the mafia, the old dog lady turned out to be the grandmother of Sonny's wife
The deleted scene of his death in the first movie broke my heart, they should have left it in the movie and another one where Sonny's daughter asks for Michael's blessing to get married, totally the opposite... very beatiful
Things change over time. I think the chaotic energy Michael was dealing with reflects the changes that had occurred since his father rose to power. Vito never had to deal with the betrayal of a close family member. Vito's wife never opposed him like Kay opposed Michael. Michael got involved with Roth in an attempt to partner with the government of an entire country. Vito was the boss just in NYC. Michael comes out of it alive at the end, that was about the best he could hope for. There was no way to handle all this the way his father taught him and have a better outcome than the one he got.
In New York, La Mano Nera became such a problem that Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt appointed officer Joseph Petrosino, possibly the bravest cop in history, to go after it. His story would make a terrific movie.
This movie has such a fantastic juxtaposition of Vito and Michael, father and son, so similar, yet so different. I know the third film is not as beloved as the first two, and for good reasons, but it still has its own charms.
Oranges were used as a harbinger of death. Nice observation. I never realized their prevalence when I first watched the movies. The sepia tone of the film color in the old Italy scenes really gives it a historical quality. A lot of the storyline was based on real-life events or people. Hyman Roth was patterned after Meyer Lansky, who was trying to get the Mafia set up in Cuba before Castro took over. The Senate hearings were represented the real-life Kefauver Hearings on Organized Crime. Johnny Fontane from the first film was supposedly a Frank Sinatra sit-in, to the point Sinatra allegedly punched the book author/screenwriter Mario Puzo at a restaurant in Hollywood. Amazing films. Thanks for reacting!
Young clemenza and Marlon did ine of my all time favorite comedies parodying themselves. A comedy classic with Ferris Bueller called, The Freshman! Young glemenza was also in the great movies, Good morning Vietnam, City Slickers and When Harry met Sally!
I like this movie because I hear so much about The Actor's Studio, famous actors, and Lee Strasberg, and I finally get to see Lee act. I understand the man more and his performative energy.
My favorite movie of all time 🤍🙏🏼 thank you for reviewing it! Recently I just watched the television version that cuts both films into a 7 hr marathon as well as deleted scenes that enriches the story and loved it all over again I really like Michael, his complexity is beautifully portrayed by Al Pacino who really put in the work into this film, even though Paramount execs were close to kicking him out the door during the shooting of the first movie. I can’t imagine anyone else coming close to portraying that character. He really deserved an Oscar for it
Great reaction Jacqueline. The 3rd movie is the least liked of them all but I personally liked it, maybe not equally as the previous 2 but it's good. You can't just watch 2 movies in a trilogy. There's 1 scene in the 3rd one that made me put Al Pacino as top spot in my list of favorite actors. I hope you watch it n react to it.
Great reaction Jax like always, this is the finest example of when a sequel is superior to its predecessor. The Godfather Part II is one of the best films of all-time. A masterpiece. It's that simple. And some fun facts about this movie, Robert De Niro spent four months learning to speak the Sicilian dialect of Italian in order to play Vito Corleone, and he only speaks eight words of english during the movie. Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro are actors winning Oscars for playing the same character, no wonder that this movie won six Academy Awards, and it is the first sequel to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. An extra had the guts to improvise an important moment in the movie. During a scene in which Vito talks with Signor Roberto while walking down the street, a neighbor jumps in to greet Vito. The actor was Carmelo Russo, who was an extra and who was not supposed to talk. Coppola wasn't happy. It stayed in because De Niro found it endearing, a moment that showed the locals respected Vito and gave the scene an added texture. Keep up the amazing work.
Vito does well as a character by being portrayed by De Niro and Brando. Also seeing him as a 9 year old just about surviving does give him the shield of pathos.
Good movie and i really like the Vito backstory! Lots of revenge going on in the story! My favorite is the first Godfather movie! However both are great movies to watch! Thanks for sharing Jax!❤️💛
i have really enjoyed your reactions to these films because you are incredibly tuned in to everything. i've watched this trilogy so many times, i can't even remember what it feels like to see it all unfolding for the first time. but you are so on point with everyone's motivations and their microexpressions and you have been following these plots so well, even tho you say this movie was harder to keep up with than the first one. i sincerely hope you finish the trilogy because i would love to see you watch Part 3... my favourite character is Connie, and it is largely because of her role in Part 3
I love these 2 movies. The chance to get filled in on Don Vito's story was perfect. Interesting to see how Clemenza and Tessio and Vito started out together. The think about Vito is that back when he eliminated the Black Hand and won over the neighborhood, and even for years after that, there really was a code among the Mafia families. Well, most of them. Everyone knew who the soldiers were and who the civilians were. The innocents were not really in danger. It was an unwritten rule. It's one of the reasons Michael was so angry about the attempt after his sons Communion Party. Oh and there was only $100 under the Dons hat because Vito didn't put anything in from himself. Jax, there are 2 movies I recommend often, well maybe 3 lol. I just don't know if you have seen them already. The Sting with Redford and Newman, The Hustler with Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason (great dramatic piece which takes place in i location and all in basically 1 night, and the 3rd would be the Great Escape with Steve McQueen, James Garner and a huge and talented cast. There are also some amazing westerns, but not sure where you come down on the genre. Anyway, was a pleasure to watch your reaction to these 2 great movies. I will start checking out more of your reactions, and get myself caught up. Take care. Stay safe and well.
I think Part 2 is probably greater, but I don’t think it’s better, if that makes any sense at all. I acknowledge that it’s more accomplished from a cinematography perspective, and Pacino and Cazale are absolutely on fire, but when given the choice I’ll almost always pick 1 to rewatch rather than 2.
Part 2 is grander largely from the bigger budget and multiple locations. The early NYC scenes really makes it a beautiful film. The first Godfather was pretty low budget.
I love how the senator showed he knew who he truly was dealing with. In public, he pronounced Mike's last name with a downhome drawl. But behind the curtain, the senator pronounced it Cor-leoneay, the Italian way
Maybe the first time I’ve ever seen someone take the position of, “Ooh, that poor predatory landlord! Vito is screwing his community by intimidating this poor man! It’s that impoverished, destitute woman’s fault for having a dog!”
The other renters not wanting a neighbor who can't keep her dog quiet is very reasonable. And if she ignored the threats of eviction and only agreed to get rid of the dog after he'd already rented the apartment to someone else, then that's on her.
Hi Jax! My grandfather stowed away on a ship from Naples Italy to America all by himself at the age of 12 in 1913. I am here and so is my whole family because of that young brave 12 year old boy. PS Swift is not my real last name, only a pseudonym.
Michael's decent into darkness is so sad yet inevitable. He really does lose everything he ever loved. I would say skip part three, it is just a shadow of parts 1 and 2.
My biggest frustration with Fredo is his complaint about being passed over. In the first film the Turk's men shot his father in the street in front of him, and he didn't even have the heart to shoot back, he dropped his pistol and cried. What possessed him to think that he was suited to lead a family?
So there are some things in the final cut of this film that are left unexplained. The mother didn't take Vito to Don Ciccio because she wanted to, Don's men were sent to take the boy, but the mother said she would go along. The reason Vito killed Fanucci without any consequences was because Vito realized that the Gangster was a fake, this was thanks to 4 specific moments: In a deleted scene, Vito sees some young men attack and cut Don Fanucci's neck, this It doesn't kill him, but it leaves him terrified, which makes Vito realize that the Gangster wasn't so well protected. The other moment is when Fanucci threatens to report Vito to the police, which is something very peculiar for a supposed mobster. The third moment is when Vito discovers that there were two people who didn't pay Fanucci. The fourth moment was what made Vito sure that Fanucci was a fake, when Vito only paid $100 instead of the $600 that Fanucci had asked for, a real mobster would have killed Vito immediately after this insult, but instead Fanucci was left admired Vito's courage and offered him a job. Tom's mistress is actually Sonny's widow. Genco was Vito's first consigliere, he died on Connie's wedding day, and appeared in a deleted scene in the first film. Sonny followed Vito and saw when he killed Fanucci.
When Vito went to Don Fanucci, he gave him the $100 from Clemenza and Tessio, he didn't even kick in his own $50! Fanucci was impressed at Vito's nerve and offered to how him. But the fact Fanucci accepted such a small amount let him know that Fanucci wasn't really that tough. When Vito killed him, he took back the $100 from Clemenza and Tessio. You can be sure he kept it, because he was a true boss! He knew he could Vito them both and they would respect him.
Moe Greene is Bugsy Siegel, and Hyman is Meyer Lansky. Lansky was still alive and called Lee Strasberg (acting school guy playing Roth), and told him he should have made him look nicer. No one reacts to Warren Beatty’s Bugsy which feels,this tale,in an artsy way
Frank didn't change his story because he thought he would be killed. He did it because he didn't want his brother to see him becoming a rat. The code of silence was supposed to be sacred to the traditional Sicilian Mafia
Michael isolated himself from everyone that was close to him, even Tom Hagen, who never betrayed him. He was unable to forgive Kay or Fredo. He almost became paranoid.
When young Vito came back for Don Ciccio, one of his friends (the one who introduce him) was Tomassino. Tomassino, much older obviously, helped Michael in Italy when he killed the police officer and Sollozo. If you remember, Tomassino walked always with a cane due to a limp. That limp was produced because of the shot on the knee when he was young, in that moment when Vito murdered Ciccio.
That's the fact I didn't knew
It always breaks my heart that the only one congratulating Michael for joining the Marines was Fredo.
Marlon Brando and Robert DeNiro both got an academy award for playing the same character.
Your immediate reaction to Fredo's self incriminating is pure gold. Hope you do the third one.
Vito Corleone started with nothing and grew a family.
Michael Corleone started with a family and ended up with nothing.
Great take on the story, Vito and Michael were the polar opposites of each other, but lived by the same code.
Yep
The actor that plays Senator Pat Geary is my Great uncle.
Cool. Apocalypse Now and Ed Wood too.
Terrific actor! So talented.
"All the way up with a red hot poker!"
@@craigoconnor6662 Don't forget Tora! Tora! Tora!, Kung- Fu, North Dallas forty, The Greatest American Hero, Tank and Wor of the Roses to name a few ;)
@@flintarizaga1433 Was he the coach in the basketball movie with Robbie Benson?
Vito realized Don Fanucci wasn't a true Don, he was just a hustler who talked the talk, preying on other Italians who were poor, vulnerable and scared. He had no men, had no police connections, he took Vito's $100 which was short, confirming he had no means of punishment. Vito has seen real Dons and taking out the neighborhood's leech was his way of helping and the first step to true Donhood.
The cake in Cuba was a visual metaphor for them carving up Cuba.
The shot towards the end is one of the most haunting ones, Michael all alone sitting at the table before fighting in WW2, everyone else who was sitting there that left would be dead or pushed away in the future. Leaving just Michael, the man who will break the family. A stark contrast to Vito who started with nothing and built a strong massive family, nothing mattered more to him than family and protecting Italians, and Michael does the unthinkable and kills one of his family members.
And it's notable who was the only one to congratulate Michael on enlisting...
Fanucci was a freelance extortionist who worked for the Morello crime family. His boss, Maranzalla, is likely a reference to Giuseppe Morello, a prominent figure in the early days of the New York Mafia. or Masseria
Fanucci is a low level Black Hand extortionist in turn-of-the-20th-century Little Italy in New York; he would have been a made man operating with the permission of higher-ups (Lupo the Wolf, or the like), and kicking back a portion of the proceeds he collects to them. The movie doesn't show Vito getting permission to off him, but he would have had to do so, as Fanucci was a member of La Mano Nera. Maybe Fanucci's superiors got tired of neighborhood complaints about him, and gave Vito the green light to whack him. This, of course, is Vito's own "making his bones"; i. e. his own inaugural killing required for initiation into the Mafia.
Bravo.@@steelers6titles
41:45 that "awww, ooohh" made me laugh a little too much, the emotion to realisation transition is fantastic
Oranges are a powerful symbol in The Godfather, foreshadowing tragedy when they appear before a character's death. Initially meant to brighten up the set, oranges became an ominous motif throughout The Godfather trilogy.
I love how you mentioned the old school tuna sandwich on Wonder bread. I'm 71 and grew up in the 60's. When I think of my #1 comfort food from my youth, that is exactly the first thing that comes to mind. And I still love tuna sandwiches to this very day. Every bite reminds me of my mother's love.
37:22 You cut the exit of the nervous landlord Signor Roberto meeting Vito. Has anyone mentioned that Coppola had secretly rigged the door so it wouldn't open - unknown to the actor - so he was genuinely struggling with it. He was played by a comedian Leopoldo Trieste and Coppola wanted him to have to improvise until the actor playing Abbandando - who was in on the trick - removed the small nail that allowed the door to open again.
I didn't know that and now that you mention it, it shows what a great director Coppola was. He wanted to make the actor nervous at a core level, and when a great actor like Robert de Niro has delivered his take correctly, you've done it as well and the door suddenly stops opening, it makes you nervous. What a great way to bring out his acting skills. Great direction 👏🏼👏🏼🫡
the Moe Green character was really Bugsy Seigal and Hyman Roth was Myer Lansky
Except Myer Lanky didn't get shot to death. He died in 1983 at the age of 80 of lung cancer
@@harryballsak1123 And Bugsy Siegel wasn't killed because he mouthed off and refused to agree to a hotel merger. He was killed because La Cosa Nostra thought he was skimming off the top of the casino he was financing with their money. He wasn't afterall, it was just a rougher launch than they intended.
In other words, they're representative of these real life figures but not perfect copies.
@@ArmchairRizzard But Bugsy was actually killed and he was shot in the eye.
When I was kid we went to lake Tahoe. We are riding a boat when it broke down in front of the Corleone house. Another boat came to help and one the gentlemen mentioned the house was from the Godfather. At the time I was 10 so it was completely lost on me but I do remember it.
When things get rough at work I like to bring up Hyman Roth’s speech, ‘This is the business we have chosen’ It is an incredible performance by Lee Strasberg.
Vito became Godfather to protect and support his family. He succeeded because that was always forefront of his desires.
Michael became Godfather to protect his family. He destroyed it instead.
He tried to get out of "the business" many times, but they kept pulling him back in. 😉
Young Clemenza was played by Bruno Kirby (When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers, Donnie Brasco, Good Morning Vietnam) and the Rossato brother who strangled Frank was Danny Aiello (Do The Right Thing, Moonstruck)
Bruno dad's was character actor Bruce Kirby who actually outlived Bruno by 15 years
Both The Godfather 2 and The Deer Hunter do that heartbreaking thing where you go to a dinner table scene at the end that makes you really aware of all the characters who've died or been forever changed in the course of the film or films.
The senator who asked for Vinchico to be identified is Producer/Director Roger Corman. He is the King of low-budget B-movies and trained more directors than any film school. Directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, James Camron, and George Lucas.
So glad you picked up on the introduction to Clamenza. One of the greatest introductions of a character in cinema history! ❤❤❤.
Michael giving Fredo the kiss of death was an epic scene in this movie...
The guy that got shot in the leg(s) when Vito killed Don Ciccio was Don Tomassino, who protected Michael while he was in Sicily (and walked with a cane and used a wheelchair alternately).
Just so that you know. The part of this that happened in Cuba actually happened. The Mafia was heavily invested in Cuba when the Cuban Revolution happened. When Castro took over he expelled the Mafia.
Remember in the first one when Michael goes back to Italy and visits his hometown and he asks "where are all the men?" and one of his bodyguard replies with "vendetta".
There's an overall mirror image arc to the pair of movies; Vito comes to America alone but builds a family. Michael grows up with a family, but ends up alone.
Vito also built a family around mobsters which killed his son and endangered “family”
@@curtiszyr Indeed, yes. I'm not praising Vito or suggesting he built a family that could ever find real stability; just that (dramatically) his journey and Michael's essentially follow opposite trajectories in regard to the one thing both valued, family. (In fact, underlying the mirror image, Michael's spiral down into solitude was inevitable, due to the nature of the family Vito built, so on another level this is all Vito's story, even after he left the stage. It's all layers in a story as masterfully constructed as this one.)
Michael looks a bit older in the last scene because there was supposed to be a scene where a few years later Michael's older son rejects him. They shot Pacino with older makeup but never shot the rest of the scene.
I love behind the scene details like this. Makes the movie even better.
Fun fact: until about five years ago
Marlon Brando and Robert DeNiro were the only actors to win Oscars for playing the same character in different movies. Recently Heath Ledger & Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) and Rita Moreno & Ariana DeBose (Anita in West Side Story) joined them in that club.
Heather Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix are playing the same character in name only. They might both be called "The Joker" but they most definitely are not the same character.
Heath and Joaquin didn't play the same joker
Thwy still are the only actors to win playing exactly the same character as the others are just actors playing different versions of same characters in remakes or alternate reality versions
"Merle" was played by early 60s heartthrob Troy Donahue whose real name was Merle Johnson. He and Coppola went to military school as kids together.
The scene in Cuba was shot in the Dominican Republic. It was so realistic that it reminded me of summers spent in Cuba during the 1950s visiting my Grandparents. I recall my uncles talking about the graft, corruption, and organized crime takeover of the casinos, hotels, and prostitution (I knew nothing about the world's oldest profession at the time.)😊
That image of Clemenza with gun next to the door gives me chills every time I see it. Iconic image. Also, shame on you for not showing the "It's not what I wanted!" scene between Michael and Fredo. John Cazale knocks it out of the park in that scene. Fredo is both defiant and pathetic.
Michael is my favorite with Tom as #2.
I prefer Part II. I love a good backstory. And the tragedy of who Vito wanted Michael to be and who Michael became.
Hyman Roth is played by Lee Strassbourg who was Pacino's acting teacher and he begged him to be in the movie, they also did And Justice for All, the young Roth is the guy in the peaky cap when they are hanging the Genco sign and he was played by the guy who was Dill Harris in To Kill A Mockingbird, Genco's girlfriend was played by Kathleen Beller who was the star of the movie The Betsy with Duvall, Olivier, Katherine Ross and Tommy Lee Jones and she quit the business to become a midwife
This girl is funny how she’s 50% genuine reacting and 50% trolling.
The Moe Greene character is a version of real-life gangster Bugsey Seigal. Bugsey created Las Vegas by building the first Casino there. Then he was killed.
I love the Banana Daiquiri moment scene between Michael and Fredo. It shows that even though they are a mob family, every family shares moments of innocent humor with one another.
41:28 Now you know why Tommasino has difficulty standing in Part I when he gives Michael the news about Sonny.
Unbeknownst to the actor playing the landlord, Coppola had a nail placed through the door to keep it from opening so his struggle to open the door was genuine.
I liked the first one much better too. The best part of part two was Vito's origin story.
23:43 He didn't want to show-off his cake, the cake had the shape of Cuba. He wanted to make sure everyone got the message they were getting their piece of the country.
If you want to know how the story of Kay and her kids ended, don't miss part 3. Coda is more interesting, but the end in the theatrical release makes much more sense.
I like that she still calls Fredo "Frodo". 🤣
Good point about the murdered girl, it wasn't just about the license and a little money, but they owned him after that. It's good to remember that no matter how well the screenplays make the family seem sympathetic, they cut some truly evil stuff about Luca Brazzi from the book. Vito would not have been such a sympathetic character
I love the contrast between Michael and Vito’s stories. Vito rose to power with respect out of love and family. Michael is a villain and is very very smart but is respected out of fear and ends up alone.
Very excited to watch your reaction. I've been looking forward to this since you did the first movie!
I have been watching both of these movies for well over 30 years, and I flip back and forth from which one is my favorite. I think if I had to make a choice, I would say that part 2 is a little better. How cool to have a prequel and a sequel in the same movie. Also Francis Ford Coppola was under a lot of pressure from the studios in Godfather one. He was always over budget, over time and under a lot of scrutiny. In part 2 he basically called all of his own shots, and was able to make the film exactly the way he wanted to.
I'm gonna make you an offer you are free to refuse - Please watch The Godfather Part III as well
I have a feeling she will. Seems remiss not to do so. Personally, I don't care. I have never seen them and have no inclination to do so. That's why I gave this video a miss.
@@MrRosebeing I'm with you in the opinion that Hollywood sequels are a worthless waste of time, and that's true 99.9% of the time. But Godfather II is not. It's almost as good as the original, and you're cheating yourself out of an excellent film. Godfather III, though, is crap.
It's not as bad as some people say. It's not the greatest, but it's not terrible.
@@driezzy I agree, it was hard for Coppola to compete with it's two predecessors while making the third one so it looks mediocre in comparison. It's still a must watch to finish off the Michael Corleone's character arc that started in the first movie.
Part 3 was ruined by al pacino himself. I don't know who he was playing. Combo of himself and some new character.
the senate hearing was the McClellan hearing and Joe Vallachi wrote a tell all book about the mafia, the old dog lady turned out to be the grandmother of Sonny's wife
Vito only put Clemenza and Tessio's money on the table for Don Fanucci he never did put in the $50.
There was only $100 under the hat because Vito gave Clemenza's and Tessio's money to Fanucci, but kept the rest for himself.
I loved how you noticed the oranges in the first movie & the theme continues with this one. Oranges appear before deaths or other tragedies.
Genco Abbandando was Vito's employer, father-in-law, and consigliere. He is a much bigger character in the novel than in the film.
The deleted scene of his death in the first movie broke my heart, they should have left it in the movie and another one where Sonny's daughter asks for Michael's blessing to get married, totally the opposite... very beatiful
@@Teddy-zr8yv Yeah; it was powerful.
@@Teddy-zr8yv Genco's deathbed scene, that is.
Things change over time. I think the chaotic energy Michael was dealing with reflects the changes that had occurred since his father rose to power. Vito never had to deal with the betrayal of a close family member. Vito's wife never opposed him like Kay opposed Michael. Michael got involved with Roth in an attempt to partner with the government of an entire country. Vito was the boss just in NYC. Michael comes out of it alive at the end, that was about the best he could hope for. There was no way to handle all this the way his father taught him and have a better outcome than the one he got.
Lamby DEFINITELY gives off hit man vibes...😮
Vito was ruthless, but he had compassion and charisma. Michael was more of a loner, he didn’t have the human touch of his father.
A gold bar in the US is 400 troy ounces or 27.4 lbs. (12.4 kilograms for metric users).
In New York, La Mano Nera became such a problem that Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt appointed officer Joseph Petrosino, possibly the bravest cop in history, to go after it. His story would make a terrific movie.
Back in the day the rugs were made out of very expensive materials and not everybody had them.
This movie has such a fantastic juxtaposition of Vito and Michael, father and son, so similar, yet so different.
I know the third film is not as beloved as the first two, and for good reasons, but it still has its own charms.
Oranges were used as a harbinger of death. Nice observation. I never realized their prevalence when I first watched the movies. The sepia tone of the film color in the old Italy scenes really gives it a historical quality. A lot of the storyline was based on real-life events or people. Hyman Roth was patterned after Meyer Lansky, who was trying to get the Mafia set up in Cuba before Castro took over. The Senate hearings were represented the real-life Kefauver Hearings on Organized Crime. Johnny Fontane from the first film was supposedly a Frank Sinatra sit-in, to the point Sinatra allegedly punched the book author/screenwriter Mario Puzo at a restaurant in Hollywood. Amazing films. Thanks for reacting!
The character of Plantangeline was created because Richard Castellano refused to reprise Clamenza unless his associate wrote all of his dialogue.
"This is murder music". Ha ha ha! Adorable
44:38
Tom casually TELEPORTED away, and nobody is surprised, because he is in the mafia 😂
Now you have to watch part 3!
Love the hair ❤😊
Young clemenza and Marlon did ine of my all time favorite comedies parodying themselves. A comedy classic with Ferris Bueller called, The Freshman! Young glemenza was also in the great movies, Good morning Vietnam, City Slickers and When Harry met Sally!
I just binged The Offer, a tv series of the behind the scenes of the first movie. It solidified my love for the trilogy.
I like this movie because I hear so much about The Actor's Studio, famous actors, and Lee Strasberg, and I finally get to see Lee act.
I understand the man more and his performative energy.
My favorite movie of all time 🤍🙏🏼 thank you for reviewing it! Recently I just watched the television version that cuts both films into a 7 hr marathon as well as deleted scenes that enriches the story and loved it all over again
I really like Michael, his complexity is beautifully portrayed by Al Pacino who really put in the work into this film, even though Paramount execs were close to kicking him out the door during the shooting of the first movie. I can’t imagine anyone else coming close to portraying that character. He really deserved an Oscar for it
Frank's death is an homage to the painting The Death of Marat.
Dogs that bark 24/7 are not getting their exercise and deserve better. That’s why sheep always ask them to play
Great reaction Jacqueline. The 3rd movie is the least liked of them all but I personally liked it, maybe not equally as the previous 2 but it's good. You can't just watch 2 movies in a trilogy. There's 1 scene in the 3rd one that made me put Al Pacino as top spot in my list of favorite actors. I hope you watch it n react to it.
Your comment on his aging, that is the reality of power. Absolute power. It wears the user.
Great reaction Jax like always, this is the finest example of when a sequel is superior to its predecessor. The Godfather Part II is one of the best films of all-time. A masterpiece. It's that simple. And some fun facts about this movie, Robert De Niro spent four months learning to speak the Sicilian dialect of Italian in order to play Vito Corleone, and he only speaks eight words of english during the movie.
Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro are actors winning Oscars for playing the same character, no wonder that this movie won six Academy Awards, and it is the first sequel to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. An extra had the guts to improvise an important moment in the movie. During a scene in which Vito talks with Signor Roberto while walking down the street, a neighbor jumps in to greet Vito. The actor was Carmelo Russo, who was an extra and who was not supposed to talk. Coppola wasn't happy. It stayed in because De Niro found it endearing, a moment that showed the locals respected Vito and gave the scene an added texture. Keep up the amazing work.
Vito does well as a character by being portrayed by De Niro and Brando. Also seeing him as a 9 year old just about surviving does give him the shield of pathos.
I have watched this film so many times, you have done a great job
It’s such a pleasure seeing someone enjoy a movie I love !!
11:22 😂😂The way you ducked when they first started shooting..
Johnny Fontaine...Frank Sinatra...Moe Greene..Bugsy Seigel...Hyman Roth ...Meyer Lansky
Good movie and i really like the Vito backstory! Lots of revenge going on in the story! My favorite is the first Godfather movie! However both are great movies to watch! Thanks for sharing Jax!❤️💛
i have really enjoyed your reactions to these films because you are incredibly tuned in to everything. i've watched this trilogy so many times, i can't even remember what it feels like to see it all unfolding for the first time. but you are so on point with everyone's motivations and their microexpressions and you have been following these plots so well, even tho you say this movie was harder to keep up with than the first one. i sincerely hope you finish the trilogy because i would love to see you watch Part 3... my favourite character is Connie, and it is largely because of her role in Part 3
I love these 2 movies. The chance to get filled in on Don Vito's story was perfect. Interesting to see how Clemenza and Tessio and Vito started out together. The think about Vito is that back when he eliminated the Black Hand and won over the neighborhood, and even for years after that, there really was a code among the Mafia families. Well, most of them. Everyone knew who the soldiers were and who the civilians were. The innocents were not really in danger. It was an unwritten rule. It's one of the reasons Michael was so angry about the attempt after his sons Communion Party. Oh and there was only $100 under the Dons hat because Vito didn't put anything in from himself. Jax, there are 2 movies I recommend often, well maybe 3 lol. I just don't know if you have seen them already. The Sting with Redford and Newman, The Hustler with Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason (great dramatic piece which takes place in i location and all in basically 1 night, and the 3rd would be the Great Escape with Steve McQueen, James Garner and a huge and talented cast. There are also some amazing westerns, but not sure where you come down on the genre. Anyway, was a pleasure to watch your reaction to these 2 great movies. I will start checking out more of your reactions, and get myself caught up. Take care. Stay safe and well.
I think Part 2 is probably greater, but I don’t think it’s better, if that makes any sense at all. I acknowledge that it’s more accomplished from a cinematography perspective, and Pacino and Cazale are absolutely on fire, but when given the choice I’ll almost always pick 1 to rewatch rather than 2.
Part 2 is grander largely from the bigger budget and multiple locations. The early NYC scenes really makes it a beautiful film. The first Godfather was pretty low budget.
I personally like this one a little more than part one, but I could understand someone likening the first one more. They’re both so good.
I love how the senator showed he knew who he truly was dealing with. In public, he pronounced Mike's last name with a downhome drawl. But behind the curtain, the senator pronounced it Cor-leoneay, the Italian way
Maybe the first time I’ve ever seen someone take the position of, “Ooh, that poor predatory landlord! Vito is screwing his community by intimidating this poor man! It’s that impoverished, destitute woman’s fault for having a dog!”
The other renters not wanting a neighbor who can't keep her dog quiet is very reasonable. And if she ignored the threats of eviction and only agreed to get rid of the dog after he'd already rented the apartment to someone else, then that's on her.
Hi Jax! My grandfather stowed away on a ship from Naples Italy to America all by himself at the age of 12 in 1913. I am here and so is my whole family because of that young brave 12 year old boy. PS Swift is not my real last name, only a pseudonym.
Michael's decent into darkness is so sad yet inevitable. He really does lose everything he ever loved. I would say skip part three, it is just a shadow of parts 1 and 2.
3 is a love/hate, I personally love it, it ties up all the loose ends, looking forward to 3
My biggest frustration with Fredo is his complaint about being passed over. In the first film the Turk's men shot his father in the street in front of him, and he didn't even have the heart to shoot back, he dropped his pistol and cried. What possessed him to think that he was suited to lead a family?
Pride and greed. Criminals aren't exactly known for logical reasoning.
So there are some things in the final cut of this film that are left unexplained. The mother didn't take Vito to Don Ciccio because she wanted to, Don's men were sent to take the boy, but the mother said she would go along. The reason Vito killed Fanucci without any consequences was because Vito realized that the Gangster was a fake, this was thanks to 4 specific moments: In a deleted scene, Vito sees some young men attack and cut Don Fanucci's neck, this It doesn't kill him, but it leaves him terrified, which makes Vito realize that the Gangster wasn't so well protected. The other moment is when Fanucci threatens to report Vito to the police, which is something very peculiar for a supposed mobster. The third moment is when Vito discovers that there were two people who didn't pay Fanucci. The fourth moment was what made Vito sure that Fanucci was a fake, when Vito only paid $100 instead of the $600 that Fanucci had asked for, a real mobster would have killed Vito immediately after this insult, but instead Fanucci was left admired Vito's courage and offered him a job.
Tom's mistress is actually Sonny's widow.
Genco was Vito's first consigliere, he died on Connie's wedding day, and appeared in a deleted scene in the first film.
Sonny followed Vito and saw when he killed Fanucci.
Using the police against your enemies isn't peculiar. Why use your own resources to get rid of an enemy when you can just tip off the authorities?
Robert DeNiro spoke no Italian when cast in this movie. He went to Sicily to learn the language and dialect and used a tape recorder.
When Vito went to Don Fanucci, he gave him the $100 from Clemenza and Tessio, he didn't even kick in his own $50! Fanucci was impressed at Vito's nerve and offered to how him. But the fact Fanucci accepted such a small amount let him know that Fanucci wasn't really that tough. When Vito killed him, he took back the $100 from Clemenza and Tessio. You can be sure he kept it, because he was a true boss! He knew he could Vito them both and they would respect him.
"Women and children can be careless, but not men." -- Don Vito Corleone.
This trilogy could also had been titled "Misery". There's no joy. Everybody is always miserable. What a life.
the guy Vito didn't leave behind was the Don who was helping Mike in Sicily in the first movie, and at his wedding in the wheelchair
PLEASE DO PART III !!!!!! PLEEEAAAASEEEEE........🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
Moe Greene is Bugsy Siegel, and Hyman is Meyer Lansky. Lansky was still alive and called Lee Strasberg (acting school guy playing Roth), and told him he should have made him look nicer. No one reacts to Warren Beatty’s Bugsy which feels,this tale,in an artsy way
I prefer Boardwalk Empire. The showrunner, Terrence Winter, previously worked on Sopranos.
Vito and his wife are couple goals.
Michael Corleone are a hero..
Frank didn't change his story because he thought he would be killed. He did it because he didn't want his brother to see him becoming a rat. The code of silence was supposed to be sacred to the traditional Sicilian Mafia
I thought Frank changed his story because if he proceeded to rat out Michael, Frank's brother would not have been dead the same afternoon.
I recommend watching Scarface, according to many and mine too, this is Al Pacino's best role
Michael isolated himself from everyone that was close to him, even Tom Hagen, who never betrayed him. He was unable to forgive Kay or Fredo. He almost became paranoid.
There is no 3rd part, remember that.
Yep, the sequel was the end of the trilogy..lol.