+Rocco Siffredi there is always a choice. Fredo was a fool yes, but when he betrayed Michael he had no idea it was for a hit. Michael however personally ordered the assassination of his own brother which is far worse in my opinion. Also one last point, what do you think his father would have done?
This was Michael's complete fall into darkness, a perfect end to the Shakespearean tragedy of the Corleone family saga. Of course there was a part 3, but I like to think this is the true end of the story.
+Crichjo32 Your thoughts are actually true, for Francis Ford Coppola subsequently stated that The Godfather series is in fact two films, and Part III is the epilogue.
Part III could've made an even more perfect ending, a King Lear-type story (to play into your Shakespeare analogy), where a man who has descented to darkness tries to repent for his sins and desperatly tries to crawl back to the light, but his sins are simply too great to leave behind. In the end, those bullets that killed Solozzo and McCluskey in Part I, that started his path to darkness, find their way back to him, taking away the one glimmer of pure kindness and light in his life, his daughter, leaving him to die alone, with absolutely nothing. A perfect tragedy. Or at least it would've been if the execution of the work in Part III had been so fucking horrible.
eeiko321 Fredo didn't order a hit on Michael. He helped Roth do a business behind his brother's back but he had no idea that there was going to be an assassination attempt. Michael knew that Fredo was too weak and too stupid to have any considerable part in a plan as ambicious as Roth's, so he knew there was no reason to kill him. Plus, he was his own fucking brother. To a guy that preaches on about how important family is, family this, family that, that should mean something.
Best scene in the movie. This is one of the many reason why this is my favorite movie of all time. The music is so chilling. The cinematography is perfect. Everything about this scene and movie is phenomenal.
I totally agree...the sound is perfect ...the cinematography is stunning & the scene conveys one thing ...Michaels enemies are being killed one by one ...Rocco killing Roth..Fredo being killed ...and Frankie doing the honorable thing and taking his life. Simply Stunning
2:04 if you continue Fredo’s Hail Mary at his pace he gets shot the second after he says “Pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our deaths. Amen.”
It always struck me that despite how dimwitted and naive Fredo is, he knew without a doubt that this was going to be his murder and that his best choice was to just go with it to make it quick and easy on himself. Just shows how ingrained this sort of thing is within their family's culture. Absolutely incredible movie
No. It's not that he was dimwitted. It's that he KNEW there was no escape. As a member of the Family, even still... he had one of Michael's men with him at all times... for protection... and also as his prison gaurd. He actually died, the night Michael banished him. The only reason he was a dead man walking and not just a dead man after that was because Michael didn't want to break his mother's heart with the knowledge burden that one son had had the other killed. He no longer had a lifespan of his own. He was sharing his mother's. And when she died, the death that claimed him that night would catch up to him... because Michael doesn't forgive and forget. He wasn't banished. He was waiting on Death Row on a temporary stay of execution. And he was WELL AWARE of that. He knew his mother had just died. He knew that he was not going to get off that fishing boat alive. And he knew that there was no getting out of it. That dock was his green mile and that fishing boat was the execution room. He chose to die with dignity rather than try and run.
@@GuukanKitsune yes, but I think Michael “making peace” at the funeral may have given him some false hope. And Michael would have likely forgiven him. But his conduct in the boathouse showed that he could very well betray Michael again, since Fredo felt he was passed over.
This scene is truly powerful. One thing here - If you have ever been on a boat like that for fishing, you are actually facing the other guy. You chat, you talk, spend good time together and you see what your friend is doing. But here Fredo is looking away, back turned, they are not chatting. This is not a coincidence - Fredo definitely knows what is coming. And director wants us to know that Fredo knows.
I disagree. I believe Fredo died believing Michael had forgiven him. The reason Fredo was praying is he said to Anthony that it helps him catch fish plus Anthony was gonna go fishing with them until Michael said no.
I think they left it purposefully ambiguous. up for debate. I think he def knew tho. out on a boat with Al Neri, the young child called back from the fishing trip@@hawk66100
Rest in Peace Mr. John Cazale (1936-1978). That great actor that many don't or won't ever remember your real name, but will always remember your amazing performances (Godfather I & II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon, The Deer Hunter). A true original..
@@impychimpyable Most actors are type cast. It makes it easier for the producer/director. If they want an actor to play a certain role, they go after one who has played a similar part before realizing he will know what to do. It's less work for the director. Al Pacino and Robert de Niro nearly always played gangsters and Clint Eastwood the tough cowboy/San Francisco cop.
I can’t be the only one who feels sad for Fredo's end here, knowing that his death is coming then the gunshot. On the emotional side, Michael has gone too far to kill Fredo when he can just exile him. On the rational side, Fredo had it coming after betraying Michael despite that Michael has already warned him to not stand with those against the family. Gotta love how this movie makes you struggle.
+NickAndTommyFight yeah I'm an emotional person haha. I first thought that Michael could've just kicked Fredo out of the family by sending him away to somewhere else and never see him again.
SLIP NORRIS he would have cut Fredo out very early, maybe paired him with Johnny Fontane in Vegas. But he indulged his children a bit too much for the most part.
That is exactly what this movie's about. Vito and Michael have very different effective ways of approaching things, very different perspectives. Vito had many friends, Michael had more so enemies.
+SLIP NORRIS Well if you look at Vito Corleone (De Niro) when he was younger, he was cold blooded murderer aswell. The older Vito Corleone (Brando) became much wiser and less cold blooded and you see that in Michael in part 3 where he is the older M. Corleone. But I don't think you can compare them both because they both have different upbringings. Vito had a more violent upbringing in Sicily while Michael was brought up shielded from violence.
It's ironic. He told Anthony that he said a hail mary to catch a fish; strange that when he did that, he got shot proabbaly the same time he said "now in the time of death".
Fredo: "I ain't a Killa but don't push me, banging 2 cocktail waitresses is the sweetest joy next to getting reven-" **Gets shot** Michael: **rubs his eyebrows in disappointment**
The saddest scene in the entire trilogy. Fredo wasn't a villain, he was a good hearted fool that had the misfortune of being born into a family and life that he could never hope to adapt to. That to me is the real tragedy of Fredo.
@@lilenigma6544 Depends. If you believe what he tells Michael in the one scene - you know, the one where he says I'm smart, I'm not dumb, etc lol - that they approached him in an attempt to persuade Michael in a tough negotiation but that they weren't looking to ice Michael, than Fredo wasn't necessarily a villain. However, if you think Fredo had it out for Michael to the point he wouldn't have minded if Michael was killed, than he was.
@@alainturret2076hello? In the 1st movie Michael warned Fredo not to take sides against their family. Even if somebody tried to persuade Fredo to do something regarding Michael - he should have told to Michael or Tom. Instead - Fredo quietly helped them to almost kill Michael, but even when Fredo realized what he did - he didn't confess to Michael immediately, Michael was forced to find out by himself. So please don't tell us BS that Fredo was a very good guy who did one liiiiitle mistake
Michael is alone as winter closes in, like Satan in the lowest circle of hell, frozen in the ice in Dante's Inferno. And Fredo in the boat with Charon (Al Neri) about to be ferried across the Styx.
Movieclips always cuts the scene way too early. They cut the part after fredo gets killed with the Geese and the score. It's so ominous and depressing.
@@rustykuntz94they probably do it in hopes they dont get copyright striked, if they showed complete scenes without doing naything to transform it they might get in trouble
This video misses out Micheal's head drop. The entire scene is all leading up to that emotion. It is the best part of the film. He has ordered the death of his brother. The final fall from grace of a once guilt free man.
ManicDrive5 Good Insight. Michael was growing colder but even this was business. Fredo in addition to engineering the security breach also tipped Roths men off about an upcoming hit . Fredo betrayed Mikes confidence in him .
I always felt that Fredo wasn't strong enough to kill the two assassins. I think Rocco may have helped Fredo in someway and Michael knew and he basically volunteered Rocco for the mission.
Because he can not afford to let his brother betray him ever again. Fredo is one who opened the curtains to let those hitmens assasinate michael and killed them later to cover his tracks.
I agree that there's a chance of that happening again. If Michael didn't do what he did then, Fredo might betray him again much later. But killing Fredo also caused Michael so much damage and regret (according to the 3rd movie..). He suffered either way.
It's interesting how this scene contrasts with the killings in Godfather Part I. In the first movie, Michael consolidates his position by eliminating all the powerful men who oppose him. In the second movie, there is nothing to consolidate. The men he orders to be killed are all powerless, weak, or incapacitated by the end of the movie.
Fredo’s death makes my heart feel heavy. Add to it the way Michael stands completely still looking out the window as the shot is fired, and also that music...what an incredible movie moment.
And the prayer ending so perfectly, "Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, ...(now, and at the hour of our death). The way Neri stands up almost out of respect for Fredo. It was only business.
But this is more realistic. Even where there are over the top violent or dark movies, sometimes those dark moments felt really exaggerated for me. This entire scene (the music, the colours, Michael watching from the window, Fredo's last prayer) is in my opinion, indeed the darkest moment.
Jenine Farrow Old thread, I know, but to compare the two (for I love both) The Clockwork Orange is a more sadistic/violent dark really, while I see this as a more emotionally complex dark. Not to say one is better than the other, but with Orange it is all about the heat of the moment in the spot of ultra-violence, while Godfather it’s the buildup in connection to this moment in the relationship between the brothers, the betrayal, and the knowledge of loneliness to follow.
This scene divides people. Some people say that not even Michael Corleone would have his own brother killed, however this just proves how far he has descended from a 'Nice college boy' into a mafia leader, into a murderer and finally into the nether reaches of a Psychopath. This scene reminds me of a Shakespeare tragedy. It also goes to show that whatever warmth the Corleone family may have had, it's now disappeared.
I don't think that it is a terribly contrived or unrealistic scene, considering what leads up to it. Michael earlier tells Tom Hagen that if history has taught the human race anything, it's "that you can kill anyone." The fact that of all the lessons that history has for us, this is what Michael saw - it speaks volumes about how he had come to think. His moral transformation was surely established by this point. Also, I fully agree that the writing is Shakespearean (particularly the rustling leaves).
This is such a deep movie that brings up endless debate. Which shows its staying power. When the theater let out in '74, two guys next to me in the lobby immediately turned to each other and started a discussion I've heard to this day. "Why did he do that? Why did he kill his brother? Fredo said he was sorry...geez." Powerful movie-making.
***** yes, . . .Freddie wasn't as dumb as people thought him to be. In fact, he was SMART!!! NOT DUMB!!! jk. he had a good heart, however THERE IS NO PLACE FOR SENTIMENTALITY IN BIG BUSINESS!!!!
***** Yeah, he knew it was coming hence the Hail Mary's in the boat. He knew it was his time. Probably when Michael's son at the last minute was kept from going with them , he knew it was time. Great script writing there for sure!
Gman6755 If I were Fredo I would have been thinking that my own brother wouldn't sink so low as to having his own older brother capped. I get Fredo was pretty much so the family screw up but that was so cold. I think that's the thing that truly made Michael the villain. Vito Corleone never would have even imagined doing that.
Fred was just a idiot, he didn't deserve to die. In the end Michael became pure evil, his rage didn't have limits ( even Tom Hagen got scared of Michael ).
This is by far the most satisfying ending to a movie I’ve ever seen. How dark it is, the music, how everything ties together and there are no loose ends.
There is an interesting link back to the first movie when the Old Don has advised his son that Hagan be removed as Consigliere, as there are things going to happen that he should have no part in, that even he could have no part in. That is the assassination of members of their own family! From the book one can realise the far-sighted nature of Don Vito in knowing that only his youngest son has the cold-hearted capacity to do that which is necessary to maintain the family's position as they deal with the modern world emerging. As Michael says: "Fredo has a good heart but he's weak and he's stupid and this about life and death!"
nah, this is something Vito Corleone never could have though, Knowing how he was about the family, about his family, he was ruthless with his enemies but not with his own family, and this was not just an act of cold heart from Michael, this was an act of pure evilness by Michael, this was Michael going straight into total darkness, so evil that haunted him for the rest of his days
Fredo had to go. He was either going to get Michael killed out of stupidity or jealousy. He had already sided with Roth earlier. Trust is key in their business. You lose that, you lose everything.
Spoken like a true psychopath. None of it would have mattered if he weren't a criminal. Fredo's death is on Michael's hands, Michael didn't have to become what he became, he had other options.
Surely. When Don Vito learned of Michael's involvement in the murder of McCluskey and Sollozzo he was traumatized and the bitterness mixed with sadness was evident in seeing his son headed towards an infernal destiny that he knew well with the difference that Don Vito was forced by circumstances to survive, while Michael could choose his destiny.
In spite of being a weak man, Fredo went down like a gentleman. Once Anthony was out of the boat, he knew what was coming. Yet still kept cool in front of the boy. Then he prayed loudly, not "in secret" like he did when he went out fishing with his family, which indicates he knows what's coming and just wants to go in peace. Terrific way to close an arc
I'll never forget how much these scenes affected me the first time I watched them back when I was like 15 or 16 and bought the GF trilogy on DVD. These scenes and the confession scene in GFIII seemed like they were the only things I could think about for a month after I first saw them. The sheer weight of the guilt Michael exudes was crushing to me. I felt so bad for him and the way he changed throughout each movie.
It was written so beautifully... As a reader, I opened my heart to fredo and I was crushed by his betrayal... But part of me wanted him to find redemption and it hit me so hard to visualise his death!
John Cazale was a first rate actor. The fact that his performance as Fredo is still causing so many emotional comments shows the range of his skills. His departure was a big loss to Hollywood and for us who still remember him with dear affection.
Cazale would have been up there with Pacino, De Niro, and Hoffman had he not passed away so early. He was an amazing actor. Pacino had the utmost respect for him.
@@thebradman4662 agreed and you know how there are situations where people would give up everything they own...all the riches that they have in order to have one more day with their loved ones....whether they'd be family or true friends.
He killed his own brother after feigning forgiveness, even after his own sister begged him on her knees to forgive him and only after their mother had died, which Michael saw as some warped form of courtesy towards her. Fredo betrayed him, yes, but more out of desperate, pitiful jealousy than genuine malice...and Michael returned the favor with an act of betrayal brought out of pure spite and malice, not just towards Fredo, but his entire family. For me, it wasn't the act itself that turned Michael into a monster; it was how he chose to have it carried out.
Although he was playing a weak and tragic character,in reality John was a very talented man and was actually close friends with Al Pacino who had nothing but admiration for John as an actor and as a man👍
Oh the downfall was long before this. This just cemented it into place. Basically after Michael's people start turning against him and going to the FBI the Corleone family is in the lowest state
What I struggled with in the character of Michael was the swiftness of his transformation from idealistic college boy war hero who repudiated everything his father stood for into a Godfather whose cold and brutal ruthlessness far surpassed Don Vito. Vito was a businessman who tried to operate as a gentleman within the parameters of his world. He had in his own way a code of honor and tried to avoid violence. When violence became necessary, he exercised it with regret and with the minimal force necessary to get the job done. He never would have condoned the execution of his firstborn son. Don Vito knew Fredo’s limitations and gave him a job commensurate with his abilities. When we meet him, he is driving cars for his father, sheltered in the family bosom and he’s happy. It was Michael who promoted Fredo beyond his abilities and sent him far away where he was susceptible to bad companions. Fredo was so anxious to be liked and respected on a par with his brothers that he made some poor decisions but he did not have the capacity to fully understand what he was doing. He was special and his parents recognized that. I had always thought that Michael, the youngest, whose father tried to keep him away from the family business, was the favorite. I thought Don Vito wanted to keep Michael pure. Had Fredo been born normall, he would have been his father’s heir, not his brothers. His childlike spirit needed to be preserved. Meditating on Michael’s transformation, I wonder now if Don Vito wanted Michael to stay far removed from the family business because he knew the capacity for darkness in his youngest son. Michael is like Richard III, who assassinated his own brother and nephews to cement his rise to the throne. Richard was a third son too. What starts after his beating by McCluskey, followed by the death of Apollonia culminates here, in the murder of his only surviving brother. Michael has been taken over by evil and is entirely without redemption. Sonny never would have done this. The Don either. I now believe Fredo was always the favorite. Sonny died because of business. Michael justifies to himself that it was for the same reason he had to get rid of Fredo, but I think he always despised Fredo for being weaker and less than?in his eyes. By sending him to Las Vegas, Michael all but insured Fredo’s downfall- He did not protect his vulnerable brother and Fredo paid the price. Edit to my comment: Turns out I got a number of important details wrong. Santino was the first born son and so was always slated to be Don after his father. This is not clear in the first movie and so for a long time I thought Fredo was the first born And sunny had to take over as next in line because Fredo was not capable. In the Godfather part two, there is a scene where Fredo who was born and normal baby contracts a fever and suffers brain damage. Sonny, the impetuous hothead, always acted like a middle child to me. Michael is the youngest but he is the rightful heir to his father in temperament. He’s the only one of the sons who is university educated; Had Sonny survived, he might have made Michael his consigliere. It was Sonny who initially sent Fredo to Vegas, but I still blame Michael for keeping him there. Whereas I think Sonny made a good hearted gesture to involve Fredo in the business, Michael should have kept a better eye on him. Fredo was a lost soul looking for a way to fit in. He’s a tragic figure. Michael could have exiled him to a car wash in Reno; he didn’t have to die. No one was killed in the attempt on Michael’s life and Fredo had been duped. Michael found out too late that the price of business was his soul.
At the same time we also have joker, parasite, whiplash, interstellar, get out, the tree of life and many more but still not on the level of the Godfather.
This is such a chilling climax to an amazing film. And I love the downbeat music here by Nino Rota. It really solidifies the complete moral bankruptcy and dehumanization of Michael Corleone (which I think is one of the film's biggest themes).
This scene is so dark and moody... they tried to do a similar thing in the ending of Godfather 3 but failed imo. It tried little too hard to be epic and we didn't really even know the characters who were being killed. And Andy Garcia was pretty much just a thug rather than a cold-blooded mafioso.
It had its own appeal. No. It didn't have the legs of the first two films, but it showed Michael coming full circle to his original demeanor; to be legitimate. In all reality, it had to "explain" his character and its decline. Largely based off of the scene here in this video...it was surely encapsulated in its beginning of the lowering of his head. It just got worse from there. Very much like an opera...
Godfather 3 is a poor film . Christmas Eve 1990, when me and a friend went to see it in a movie theater ( both of us are huge Godfather fans ) , both of us were shocked by the poor casting and script . The audience reaction was the same. Walking out I heard everyone saying how bad the film was . The Godfather and Godfather 2 are masterpieces .
In comparison to the other films (which may be an unfair assessment), it was "bad". But somehow had the capability to garner 7 Academy Award nominations. I wouldn't necessarily call that a "poor film". It was what Francis Ford Coppola called it; an epilogue. Michael's ending. The basis here is that no one wanted to see Michael Corleone weak and without the fire, cunning wit, and intensity he had in the first two films. With all due respect, he had gotten older, sickly and overall, remorseful for the -self-called death of his brother, Fredo. It was a reap-what-you-sow sort of story (which Coppola constantly emphasizes)...which I see most ppl, even on a reality scale can't deal with. You can't call yourself a fan of the Godfather and NOT be fan of this film. That would make most ppl "fair-weather" Godfather fans. And would know nothing about the canonization of triumph and tragedy.
+SidJustice1 I don't buy the "epilogue" nonsense. At the time Part III came out, Coppola was calling it "the biggest film to date" and "the cathedral of the series." Even now he compares it to King Lear and other Shakespearean epics. Not to mention the film itself is as big and sprawling as its predecessors, if not more so, dragging in a huge ensemble cast, gang warfare and international intrigue. Calling it an "epilogue" is just an after-the-fact excuse that it didn't turn out as well as he'd hoped.
Most films (arguably all...) compared to Godfather one or two, fail to make the grade. So ppl saying this was a "bad" film, just isn't accurate to me. At all. Coppola wanted to call the film the "Death of Michael Corleone"; Paramount Pictures refused, so he opted out for The GF III. It's also an installment (to my knowledge) that wasn't penned by Mario Puzo in the original novel. So, you can see how contrived the story line was and it was working on a shaky foundation to begin with. Nonetheless, I see its strength as well...I felt it showed Michael at his "weakest" and his undying quest for legitimacy for his family made the story an all too true one. That for me totally authenticated the trilogy. And that in life you have to reap a harvest (whether it be good or bad) with the seeds you have sown. Furthermore, I felt the film was justified and didn't deserve the hate it received by the indifferent fans of the series. I believe it also struck a chord with devout Catholics on the issue of the (real) Vatican Bank scandal of 1978 as well as the controversial death of Pope John Paul I. By exposing this, it made the Catholic Church look incriminating. Which in turn, could rile up so ppl that strongly disagreed with the events. In closing, you had a legion of blood-lusting fans wanting to see a vibrant, callus, cunning and an almost macabre Michael Corleone in this film, but ended up getting an aging, sick, remorseful one instead. Which I'm sure ruffled many feathers of the "fans" of the series. And it obviously DID being how the movie is panned by viewers, but not most film critics. Strange. As I stated in the previous comments, It is NOT GF I or II, but at the end of the day, it packs a punch in its own right. Just nowhere near as powerful as its predecessors.
On one hand, you feel bad because you know Fredo's intellectual disability led to him being taken advantage of and used to try and end the Corleone line. Yet on the other, you remember that Michael was gracious enough to warn him only once never to go against his family again. And he didn't listen.
I didn't see the scene with Fredo coming. not at all. Mother and father said that back in the 70s, basically many people didn't, in spite of how obvious it seems now.
It's easy to judge Fredo and blame him as a 'traitor'. But what about his life? Always the weakest brother, always the one that passed over. Once in his life, he had the chance to 'exist' with Moe Greene, then with Hyman Roth because at least the entertainment world was where he could do things and exist. But no. Because of his ambition, Michael had to take over all of them, had to kill all of those people, left Fredo no room apart from being the inferior, weak, destitute brother again. Fredo's betrayal was his rebellion to this fate. And I really appreciate the way he did it, and I feel fucking sad about his death.
Butt Sucker how is he wrong. Fredo was gonna have michael killed. If he didnt kill him he wouldve just done it again. U dont know shit u sound stupid. If someone is your family set u up to die and u let that person live u are a chump
This was not the 1st time Fredo had taken sides against the family Fredo knew the life and he knew the consequences but here I truly think he was just naivee enough to think he had actually been forgiven
Some people compare this scene unflatteringly to the baptism montage from the first movie. But I like that it's a lot more understated: these killings are acts of petty revenge that really achieve nothing.
True. Fredo was broken and couldn’t hurt Michael anymore. Frankie clammed up during the Senate hearing and didn’t give Michael up. Roth was dying and no longer a threat. It didn’t matter to Michael; they all betrayed him and needed to die.
The parallel between this montage & the one from Part I; the music swooned in Part I, it was epic & victorious. This is like a soft whimper, the killings aren’t extravagant. And in the end Michael sells his soul more by killing Fredo than he did perverting the church with his renouncement of Satan & his wickedness.
I think that gunfire was Fredo shooting that other guy on the boat then sailing off into the sunset with the promise to return to a Godfather sequel where he would take out Michael and become the new Don.
But don't you guys think there was a reason we didn't actually see Fredo get whacked. Yes, we heard the sound of what we think was a shotgun. But that could've been Mrs Corleone in the bathroom having swallowed down too many oysters. The point is we will never know...
"Difficult, not impossible" (then eats a chip) I read somewhere that he sent him on that mission as punishment for failing to protect the compound since HE was head of security.. oops
If anything, this scene gives credence to the expression "it's always lonely at the top". By this point, Michael was at the height of his power and influence, but had either alienated or killed those closest to him.
I only just noticed it now, as the camera zooms in on Fredo on that boat praying for forgiveness, that Neri had pulled out the gun. It's just on the edge of the screen, and it's taken me like 100x rewatches to spot it.
Imagine how I felt growing up watching this since vhs for it to come out on widescreen dvd and see that pistol like 20 years later, lol. I felt cheated.
Shortly afterwards, a package arrived at Fredo's house. Inside was a fish with a cross. "What's this?" "It's a Sicilian message: Fredo now prays with the fishes."
"Fredo, you're my older brother, and I love you. But don't ever take sides with anyone against the family again. Ever." -Michael Corleone
+Rocco Siffredi there is always a choice. Fredo was a fool yes, but when he betrayed Michael he had no idea it was for a hit. Michael however personally ordered the assassination of his own brother which is far worse in my opinion. Also one last point, what do you think his father would have done?
+EDM Studio The point is still valid in my opinion. If Michael's father could see what he has become he'd be beyond ashamed.
+Rocco Siffredi Of course Michael had a choice. There was no need to kill Fredo.
+SPIKE M Vito would have NEVER killed his own brother.
It was against his very moral fabric.
cliffrichards cliff Yep. Vito would have been appalled at Michael.
This was Michael's complete fall into darkness, a perfect end to the Shakespearean tragedy of the Corleone family saga. Of course there was a part 3, but I like to think this is the true end of the story.
+Crichjo32 Your thoughts are actually true, for Francis Ford Coppola subsequently stated that The Godfather series is in fact two films, and Part III is the epilogue.
Part III could've made an even more perfect ending, a King Lear-type story (to play into your Shakespeare analogy), where a man who has descented to darkness tries to repent for his sins and desperatly tries to crawl back to the light, but his sins are simply too great to leave behind. In the end, those bullets that killed Solozzo and McCluskey in Part I, that started his path to darkness, find their way back to him, taking away the one glimmer of pure kindness and light in his life, his daughter, leaving him to die alone, with absolutely nothing. A perfect tragedy.
Or at least it would've been if the execution of the work in Part III had been so fucking horrible.
why? would you forgive your brother if he ordered a hit on you?
eeiko321 Fredo didn't order a hit on Michael. He helped Roth do a business behind his brother's back but he had no idea that there was going to be an assassination attempt. Michael knew that Fredo was too weak and too stupid to have any considerable part in a plan as ambicious as Roth's, so he knew there was no reason to kill him. Plus, he was his own fucking brother. To a guy that preaches on about how important family is, family this, family that, that should mean something.
Perhaps your right, Michaels Character was a bit heartless for that act.
"I ordered the death of my brother; he injured me. I killed my mother's son. I killed my father's son."
@Dark Demonik his borther didnt try to kill him, he just wanted to earn his own money working on his own
@Dark Demonik he did, but he didnt try to kill him directly.
@Dark Demonik he said that he didnt know nothing about an assault. He didnt want his brother dead, just make his own way
@Dark Demonik Either way, Michael also went against the family by killing his own brother. I'm surprised no one has mentioned that yet.
Fredo didnt try to kill him. He talked too much. That's why they called him weak and stupid.
Best scene in the movie. This is one of the many reason why this is my favorite movie of all time. The music is so chilling. The cinematography is perfect. Everything about this scene and movie is phenomenal.
I totally agree...the sound is perfect ...the cinematography is stunning & the scene conveys one thing ...Michaels enemies are being killed one by one ...Rocco killing Roth..Fredo being killed ...and Frankie doing the honorable thing and taking his life. Simply Stunning
Nailed it, it’s one of the most satisfying endings of a movie I’ve ever seen.
The music while the leaves are blowing across the field made for such a haunting scene.
And the most enraging scene, because fredo.
I’d argue the flashback at the end is the best scene but this is a very close second
you broke my heart fredo
You broke my heart!!
Fredo was dead as soon as this phrase left Michael’s lips.
2:04 if you continue Fredo’s Hail Mary at his pace he gets shot the second after he says “Pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our deaths. Amen.”
...A Man & A Woman
@@sonjoy8301 A democrat reference lol
Dominic: "Dominic shot Fredo" Fredo......i'm sorry
Al didn’t have the heart to kill him before Fredo finished his prayer
My school used to always use that prayer lol
It always struck me that despite how dimwitted and naive Fredo is, he knew without a doubt that this was going to be his murder and that his best choice was to just go with it to make it quick and easy on himself. Just shows how ingrained this sort of thing is within their family's culture. Absolutely incredible movie
Praying a Hail Mary before he's whacked, at least Neri had the decency to let him make his peace with God.
Al Neri hated killing Fredo
He didn't know, he would say the Hail Mary to catch Fish.
No. It's not that he was dimwitted. It's that he KNEW there was no escape. As a member of the Family, even still... he had one of Michael's men with him at all times... for protection... and also as his prison gaurd.
He actually died, the night Michael banished him. The only reason he was a dead man walking and not just a dead man after that was because Michael didn't want to break his mother's heart with the knowledge burden that one son had had the other killed.
He no longer had a lifespan of his own. He was sharing his mother's. And when she died, the death that claimed him that night would catch up to him... because Michael doesn't forgive and forget. He wasn't banished. He was waiting on Death Row on a temporary stay of execution. And he was WELL AWARE of that.
He knew his mother had just died. He knew that he was not going to get off that fishing boat alive. And he knew that there was no getting out of it. That dock was his green mile and that fishing boat was the execution room.
He chose to die with dignity rather than try and run.
@@GuukanKitsune yes, but I think Michael “making peace” at the funeral may have given him some false hope. And Michael would have likely forgiven him. But his conduct in the boathouse showed that he could very well betray Michael again, since Fredo felt he was passed over.
This scene is truly powerful. One thing here - If you have ever been on a boat like that for fishing, you are actually facing the other guy. You chat, you talk, spend good time together and you see what your friend is doing. But here Fredo is looking away, back turned, they are not chatting. This is not a coincidence - Fredo definitely knows what is coming. And director wants us to know that Fredo knows.
plus he as praying. He knows. He did what he has to do. Better luck in the after life
but did the director know, that we would know, that Fredo knew?
but dontever try and row facing one another.. lol
I disagree. I believe Fredo died believing Michael had forgiven him. The reason Fredo was praying is he said to Anthony that it helps him catch fish plus Anthony was gonna go fishing with them until Michael said no.
I think they left it purposefully ambiguous. up for debate. I think he def knew tho. out on a boat with Al Neri, the young child called back from the fishing trip@@hawk66100
Rest in Peace Mr. John Cazale (1936-1978). That great actor that many don't or won't ever remember your real name, but will always remember your amazing performances (Godfather I & II, The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon, The Deer Hunter). A true original..
He played the same exact role in all three films. Talk about hollywood type casting.
All 5 movies that he acted in were nominated for best picture
Rest john cazale you were a character and a great one
@@impychimpyable Most actors are type cast. It makes it easier for the producer/director.
If they want an actor to play a certain role, they go after one who has played a similar part before realizing he will know what to do. It's less work for the director.
Al Pacino and Robert de Niro nearly always played gangsters and Clint Eastwood the tough cowboy/San Francisco cop.
@@helencampbell9203 Al Pacino in scent of a woman , dog day afternoon ,insider ,serpico was not in the gangster role
Look how they massacred my boy.
Ur boy was a bitch
All he wanted was respect.
respek*
Tuna Sub yes but he was talking about Fredo not Michael
Dr. No and he was banging two cocktail waitresses at a time
"We're not murderers, in spite of what this undertaker says"
I can’t be the only one who feels sad for Fredo's end here, knowing that his death is coming then the gunshot. On the emotional side, Michael has gone too far to kill Fredo when he can just exile him. On the rational side, Fredo had it coming after betraying Michael despite that Michael has already warned him to not stand with those against the family.
Gotta love how this movie makes you struggle.
You're emotional as hell, not a bad thing. I feel that Fredo had it coming honestly, Michael was very cold-blooded.
+NickAndTommyFight yeah I'm an emotional person haha. I first thought that Michael could've just kicked Fredo out of the family by sending him away to somewhere else and never see him again.
+Cristian Peralta I also liked The Conversation. But mostly because I'm a huge Gene Hackman fan.
+Cristian Peralta He nails every role. The French Connection and Mississippi Burning are also great.
every time the prayer starts I get the chills, this is one of the most emotional endings/deaths in a film ever
vito would never had killed his own family under those circumstances
Even though michael was his pride and joy I do believe that don corleone would have diss owned him for this.
SLIP NORRIS he would have cut Fredo out very early, maybe paired him with Johnny Fontane in Vegas. But he indulged his children a bit too much for the most part.
That is exactly what this movie's about. Vito and Michael have very different effective ways of approaching things, very different perspectives. Vito had many friends, Michael had more so enemies.
a parent putting a hit on a child...almost unheard of, a brother putting a hit on a brother....not unheard of.
+SLIP NORRIS Well if you look at Vito Corleone (De Niro) when he was younger, he was cold blooded murderer aswell. The older Vito Corleone (Brando) became much wiser and less cold blooded and you see that in Michael in part 3 where he is the older M. Corleone. But I don't think you can compare them both because they both have different upbringings. Vito had a more violent upbringing in Sicily while Michael was brought up shielded from violence.
Jeez. I forgot Fredo was doing a hail mary when he died.
It's ironic. He told Anthony that he said a hail mary to catch a fish; strange that when he did that, he got shot proabbaly the same time he said "now in the time of death".
It's been a while, but that came back to me when I saw the clip.
rhaspodel the shooter let him finish the prayer.
Fredo: "I ain't a Killa but don't push me, banging 2 cocktail waitresses is the sweetest joy next to getting reven-"
**Gets shot**
Michael: **rubs his eyebrows in disappointment**
@Devil Dog US Marine you feel good you military dog? 😂
The saddest scene in the entire trilogy. Fredo wasn't a villain, he was a good hearted fool that had the misfortune of being born into a family and life that he could never hope to adapt to. That to me is the real tragedy of Fredo.
Bro what he literally tried to kill his brother how is that not a villain
@@lilenigma6544 Depends. If you believe what he tells Michael in the one scene - you know, the one where he says I'm smart, I'm not dumb, etc lol - that they approached him in an attempt to persuade Michael in a tough negotiation but that they weren't looking to ice Michael, than Fredo wasn't necessarily a villain. However, if you think Fredo had it out for Michael to the point he wouldn't have minded if Michael was killed, than he was.
@@lilenigma6544
Fredo was dumb and was easily manipulated by the other monsters, he didn’t know they were trying to kill him tho.
@@alainturret2076hello? In the 1st movie Michael warned Fredo not to take sides against their family. Even if somebody tried to persuade Fredo to do something regarding Michael - he should have told to Michael or Tom. Instead - Fredo quietly helped them to almost kill Michael, but even when Fredo realized what he did - he didn't confess to Michael immediately, Michael was forced to find out by himself. So please don't tell us BS that Fredo was a very good guy who did one liiiiitle mistake
@@fraisertinko
The phone call from Johnny ola when he was sleeping with his wife confirms that fredo did not know it was a hit.
1:31 That evil smile that Rocco has just before he shoots Hyman is so haunting.
😆 Just like this.
Michael is alone as winter closes in, like Satan in the lowest circle of hell, frozen in the ice in Dante's Inferno. And Fredo in the boat with Charon (Al Neri) about to be ferried across the Styx.
Brilliantly said!
Excellent analogy. 👍
Best comment!
Poetic. I like it.
That's deep!
Movieclips always cuts the scene way too early. They cut the part after fredo gets killed with the Geese and the score. It's so ominous and depressing.
YES! That oh so sad music that comes just after they cut the scene. RUINS IT!
@@rustykuntz94they probably do it in hopes they dont get copyright striked, if they showed complete scenes without doing naything to transform it they might get in trouble
This video misses out Micheal's head drop. The entire scene is all leading up to that emotion. It is the best part of the film. He has ordered the death of his brother. The final fall from grace of a once guilt free man.
movie clips is horrible with their editing. I try to avoid watching them as much possible.
ManicDrive5 Good Insight. Michael was growing colder but even this was business. Fredo in addition to engineering the security breach also tipped Roths men off about an upcoming hit . Fredo betrayed Mikes confidence in him .
In the books, Michael sobs uncontrollably when he kills fredo. They didn’t put this in the movie.
Rule of thumb: if Michael kisses you and tells you he loves you, you've got less than a day to get your affairs in order.
Frankie, Roth, Rocco and Fredo... four of my favourite characters all going in one scene...
Rocco took one for the team.
The Corleone family had a strong reputation for its loyalty to their own. Rocco knew that his family would be well provided for.
SlayerDarth Still, he knew that was a suicide mission.
I always felt that Fredo wasn't strong enough to kill the two assassins. I think Rocco may have helped Fredo in someway and Michael knew and he basically volunteered Rocco for the mission.
MateoKalifas420 Sorry, I'm lost. Which two assassins are you talking about?
The ones that tried to assassinate michael when his drapes were open.
The only person who truly dies in this scene is Michael.
No, actually several people died. What video were you watching?
apart from Fredo and the other couple a fellas
You meant....his 'heart' was sold to the Devil?
Roth, Pantangella and the hitman were pretty much dead. C:
fredo was shot in the back of the head... sorry but he truly died
Why did Michael go this far? Why kill Fredo? this is the underlining theme of the film. The loss of his humanity.
Because he can not afford to let his brother betray him ever again. Fredo is one who opened the curtains to let those hitmens assasinate michael and killed them later to cover his tracks.
You have to kill cancer in it's early stages before it continues to spread and eventually kill you. READ IT AGAIN
Marion Frasier
Well said
@@burbankDeulaQua How do you know Fredo was the one who opened the window and killed that men?
As far as we know, Fredo only gave them information
Martin Javalera he just told a lie lmao Fredo did
Not open the blondes
''I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart!''
Fredo would have continued to betray Michael in the future. He always resented Michael for being favored by their father.
Matt. McDermott. I will Say about Should have been ended now. Godfather
To be continued next week episode of. Godfather
Fredo never had the makings of a varsity athlete
You don’t know that
I agree that there's a chance of that happening again. If Michael didn't do what he did then, Fredo might betray him again much later. But killing Fredo also caused Michael so much damage and regret (according to the 3rd movie..). He suffered either way.
Fredo had a reason for all the trouble he caused sad how it turned out but he was good at heart
It's interesting how this scene contrasts with the killings in Godfather Part I. In the first movie, Michael consolidates his position by eliminating all the powerful men who oppose him. In the second movie, there is nothing to consolidate. The men he orders to be killed are all powerless, weak, or incapacitated by the end of the movie.
Yea but they’re all enemies that can do damage ain’t any giving time
even the music is on point......this is a true masterpiece....very hard to top.
'even' the music?
Fredo’s death makes my heart feel heavy. Add to it the way Michael stands completely still looking out the window as the shot is fired, and also that music...what an incredible movie moment.
And the prayer ending so perfectly, "Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, ...(now, and at the hour of our death). The way Neri stands up almost out of respect for Fredo. It was only business.
My god, the music....
It's killing me I'm trying to find it fits PERFECTLY
Kenny Williams Maybe its on the soundtrack?
/watch?v=50WggDu92m4
By very far, one of the Greatest sequences/montages in the History Of Cinema.
The darkest moment in all of cinema
But this is more realistic. Even where there are over the top violent or dark movies, sometimes those dark moments felt really exaggerated for me. This entire scene (the music, the colours, Michael watching from the window, Fredo's last prayer) is in my opinion, indeed the darkest moment.
Manoli S. Have you not seen A Clockwork Orange Singing in the rain Scene?
Jenine Farrow OH GOSH THAT SCENE
ArthaxtaDaVince777 we are talking about legitimate films, not movies. There is a big difference
Jenine Farrow Old thread, I know, but to compare the two (for I love both) The Clockwork Orange is a more sadistic/violent dark really, while I see this as a more emotionally complex dark. Not to say one is better than the other, but with Orange it is all about the heat of the moment in the spot of ultra-violence, while Godfather it’s the buildup in connection to this moment in the relationship between the brothers, the betrayal, and the knowledge of loneliness to follow.
This scene divides people. Some people say that not even Michael Corleone would have his own brother killed, however this just proves how far he has descended from a 'Nice college boy' into a mafia leader, into a murderer and finally into the nether reaches of a Psychopath. This scene reminds me of a Shakespeare tragedy. It also goes to show that whatever warmth the Corleone family may have had, it's now disappeared.
I don't think that it is a terribly contrived or unrealistic scene, considering what leads up to it. Michael earlier tells Tom Hagen that if history has taught the human race anything, it's "that you can kill anyone." The fact that of all the lessons that history has for us, this is what Michael saw - it speaks volumes about how he had come to think. His moral transformation was surely established by this point.
Also, I fully agree that the writing is Shakespearean (particularly the rustling leaves).
He was torn between devotion to his family and the need to portray the image of a cold-blooded mafia leader.
if a movie scene "divides people" it's their fucking problem for not keeping a debate about a damn film respectable
Well said.He became such a psychopath that I doubt that he would have felt the remorse over Fredo`s death that you see depicted in G3.
Fredo was a piece of shit for putting michael through all that
I love how the pause at the end is just enough time for Fredo to finish his prayer. He at least had that. What a nice hitman.
Neri was brutal and efficient, but he also was respectful when he needed to be. Fredo wasn’t going anywhere.
This is such a deep movie that brings up endless debate. Which shows its staying power. When the theater let out in '74, two guys next to me in the lobby immediately turned to each other and started a discussion I've heard to this day. "Why did he do that? Why did he kill his brother? Fredo said he was sorry...geez." Powerful movie-making.
Never let a family hitman sit behind you. You thought Fredo would have learned it after what happened to Paulie and Carlo.
***** yes, . . .Freddie wasn't as dumb as people thought him to be. In fact, he was SMART!!! NOT DUMB!!! jk. he had a good heart, however THERE IS NO PLACE FOR SENTIMENTALITY IN BIG BUSINESS!!!!
Joey Dimaggio yes, he was dumb or maybe Michael was too coldblooded. Had Fredo seen his death coming, he would have run away, but he didn't.
Oh yeah Paulie. "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."
***** Yeah, he knew it was coming hence the Hail Mary's in the boat. He knew it was his time. Probably when Michael's son at the last minute was kept from going with them , he knew it was time. Great script writing there for sure!
Gman6755 If I were Fredo I would have been thinking that my own brother wouldn't sink so low as to having his own older brother capped. I get Fredo was pretty much so the family screw up but that was so cold. I think that's the thing that truly made Michael the villain. Vito Corleone never would have even imagined doing that.
Fred was just a idiot, he didn't deserve to die. In the end Michael became pure evil, his rage didn't have limits ( even Tom Hagen got scared of Michael ).
The first victim of your evil is your heart, the second are those who love you.
I was contemplating this today. Those who do evil are first destroyed or broken themselves, then bring evil to people they encounter.
who said that? George Bush?
One love for humanity. This movie reminds everyone that life is the most valuable truth of all. Peace and respect for human beings.
The background music makes the shooting of Fredo more impactful.
This is by far the most satisfying ending to a movie I’ve ever seen. How dark it is, the music, how everything ties together and there are no loose ends.
There is an interesting link back to the first movie when the Old Don has advised his son that Hagan be removed as Consigliere, as there are things going to happen that he should have no part in, that even he could have no part in. That is the assassination of members of their own family! From the book one can realise the far-sighted nature of Don Vito in knowing that only his youngest son has the cold-hearted capacity to do that which is necessary to maintain the family's position as they deal with the modern world emerging. As Michael says: "Fredo has a good heart but he's weak and he's stupid and this about life and death!"
Brilliant insight.
itrmful He’d never condone that surely
nah, this is something Vito Corleone never could have though, Knowing how he was about the family, about his family, he was ruthless with his enemies but not with his own family, and this was not just an act of cold heart from Michael, this was an act of pure evilness by Michael, this was Michael going straight into total darkness, so evil that haunted him for the rest of his days
Fredo had to go. He was either going to get Michael killed out of stupidity or jealousy. He had already sided with Roth earlier. Trust is key in their business. You lose that, you lose everything.
No..you got it wrong roth set him up.. Fredo doesn't know they going to kill his brother..
That's my point... he's too stupid for the life of a gangster.
+AdventuRide totally agree with you plus michael even told him never to take sides against the family ever again
Spoken like a true psychopath. None of it would have mattered if he weren't a criminal. Fredo's death is on Michael's hands, Michael didn't have to become what he became, he had other options.
User Fredo was a criminal and had other options as well.
This scene so central to the storyline; it underscores how far Mike will go, if he feels he's not in control; how ruthless he can get.
"It is not easy for a man to conquer himself."
Surely. When Don Vito learned of Michael's involvement in the murder of McCluskey and Sollozzo he was traumatized and the bitterness mixed with sadness was evident in seeing his son headed towards an infernal destiny that he knew well with the difference that Don Vito was forced by circumstances to survive, while Michael could choose his destiny.
In spite of being a weak man, Fredo went down like a gentleman. Once Anthony was out of the boat, he knew what was coming. Yet still kept cool in front of the boy. Then he prayed loudly, not "in secret" like he did when he went out fishing with his family, which indicates he knows what's coming and just wants to go in peace. Terrific way to close an arc
In the beginning, Michael was the young, bright star of a huge, happy family. In the end, Michael was all alone.
I'll never forget how much these scenes affected me the first time I watched them back when I was like 15 or 16 and bought the GF trilogy on DVD. These scenes and the confession scene in GFIII seemed like they were the only things I could think about for a month after I first saw them. The sheer weight of the guilt Michael exudes was crushing to me. I felt so bad for him and the way he changed throughout each movie.
With patience and persuasion Fredo could've set to the right path. This was heartless. Michael has to live with this his entire life.
Michael has no choice because Fredo had unwittingly become a menace.
It was written so beautifully... As a reader, I opened my heart to fredo and I was crushed by his betrayal... But part of me wanted him to find redemption and it hit me so hard to visualise his death!
sleeping with the fishes
The music is haunting here
I bet Vito was looking down on his two sons at the time crying, Vito would never have a family member taken out ever.
"He's been dying of the same heart attack for 20 years.."
It was time for Hyman Roth to meet his maker. RIP Rocco
*alternate universe*
Fredo: _went to pick someone up at the airport_
Clemenza: *sits behind him*
Of course, the tragedy is that the only one who ever seemed to show him unconditional love and support was Fredo.
To think that in real life, Al Pacino is the only Corleone brother to be alive is just heartbreaking!
Rober Duvall is still alive. Even though he is technically adopted
John Cazale was a first rate actor. The fact that his performance as Fredo is still causing so many emotional comments shows the range of his skills. His departure was a big loss to Hollywood and for us who still remember him with dear affection.
Cazale would have been up there with Pacino, De Niro, and Hoffman had he not passed away so early. He was an amazing actor. Pacino had the utmost respect for him.
@@thebradman4662 agreed and you know how there are situations where people would give up everything they own...all the riches that they have in order to have one more day with their loved ones....whether they'd be family or true friends.
There's nothing as chilling as Fredo praying as you see the gun aiming for his head.
Everything about this scene is perfect greatly executed.
Literally and figuratively 💯
This was before the internet. When there were consequences to constantly being stupid.
He killed his own brother after feigning forgiveness, even after his own sister begged him on her knees to forgive him and only after their mother had died, which Michael saw as some warped form of courtesy towards her.
Fredo betrayed him, yes, but more out of desperate, pitiful jealousy than genuine malice...and Michael returned the favor with an act of betrayal brought out of pure spite and malice, not just towards Fredo, but his entire family.
For me, it wasn't the act itself that turned Michael into a monster; it was how he chose to have it carried out.
I saw this movie more than 20 times till now I can't move on from fredo's death
Although he was playing a weak and tragic character,in reality John was a very talented man and was actually close friends with Al Pacino who had nothing but admiration for John as an actor and as a man👍
How were you able to get this pristine footage of CNN firing Chris Cuomo so quickly?
Michael looking down, always touching my heart 😔
the downfall of the Corleone.
yup
Oh the downfall was long before this. This just cemented it into place. Basically after Michael's people start turning against him and going to the FBI the Corleone family is in the lowest state
Fredo was so well acted out. Brilliant!
What I struggled with in the character of Michael was the swiftness of his transformation from idealistic college boy war hero who repudiated everything his father stood for into a Godfather whose cold and brutal ruthlessness far surpassed Don Vito. Vito was a businessman who tried to operate as a gentleman within the parameters of his world. He had in his own way a code of honor and tried to avoid violence. When violence became necessary, he exercised it with regret and with the minimal force necessary to get the job done.
He never would have condoned the execution of his firstborn son. Don Vito knew Fredo’s limitations and gave him a job commensurate with his abilities. When we meet him, he is driving cars for his father, sheltered in the family bosom and he’s happy. It was Michael who promoted Fredo beyond his abilities and sent him far away where he was susceptible to bad companions. Fredo was so anxious to be liked and respected on a par with his brothers that he made some poor decisions but he did not have the capacity to fully understand what he was doing. He was special and his parents recognized that.
I had always thought that Michael, the youngest, whose father tried to keep him away from the family business, was the favorite. I thought Don Vito wanted to keep Michael pure. Had Fredo been born normall, he would have been his father’s heir, not his brothers. His childlike spirit needed to be preserved. Meditating on Michael’s transformation, I wonder now if Don Vito wanted Michael to stay far removed from the family business because he knew the capacity for darkness in his youngest son. Michael is like Richard III, who assassinated his own brother and nephews to cement his rise to the throne. Richard was a third son too. What starts after his beating by McCluskey, followed by the death of Apollonia culminates here, in the murder of his only surviving brother. Michael has been taken over by evil and is entirely without redemption. Sonny never would have done this. The Don either. I now believe Fredo was always the favorite. Sonny died because of business. Michael justifies to himself that it was for the same reason he had to get rid of Fredo, but I think he always despised Fredo for being weaker and less than?in his eyes. By sending him to Las Vegas, Michael all but insured Fredo’s downfall- He did not protect his vulnerable brother and Fredo paid the price.
Edit to my comment: Turns out I got a number of important details wrong. Santino was the first born son and so was always slated to be Don after his father. This is not clear in the first movie and so for a long time I thought Fredo was the first born And sunny had to take over as next in line because Fredo was not capable. In the Godfather part two, there is a scene where Fredo who was born and normal baby contracts a fever and suffers brain damage. Sonny, the impetuous hothead, always acted like a middle child to me. Michael is the youngest but he is the rightful heir to his father in temperament. He’s the only one of the sons who is university educated; Had Sonny survived, he might have made Michael his consigliere. It was Sonny who initially sent Fredo to Vegas, but I still blame Michael for keeping him there. Whereas I think Sonny made a good hearted gesture to involve Fredo in the business, Michael should have kept a better eye on him. Fredo was a lost soul looking for a way to fit in. He’s a tragic figure. Michael could have exiled him to a car wash in Reno; he didn’t have to die. No one was killed in the attempt on Michael’s life and Fredo had been duped. Michael found out too late that the price of business was his soul.
The score just makes this scene so much more better and tragic!
Boy, they sent Rocco on a straight suicide mission. Absolute loyalty to the family.
“It will all be over soon Kyle, just slip into sweet unconsciousness”
1:23 - He must not have thought that joke was funny. There's always one in every crowd.
And now we have Avangers, what a drop in quality of movies
At the same time we also have joker, parasite, whiplash, interstellar, get out, the tree of life and many more but still not on the level of the Godfather.
This is such a chilling climax to an amazing film. And I love the downbeat music here by Nino Rota. It really solidifies the complete moral bankruptcy and dehumanization of Michael Corleone (which I think is one of the film's biggest themes).
I agree.
This scene is so dark and moody... they tried to do a similar thing in the ending of Godfather 3 but failed imo. It tried little too hard to be epic and we didn't really even know the characters who were being killed. And Andy Garcia was pretty much just a thug rather than a cold-blooded mafioso.
It had its own appeal. No. It didn't have the legs of the first two films, but it showed Michael coming full circle to his original demeanor; to be legitimate.
In all reality, it had to "explain" his character and its decline. Largely based off of the scene here in this video...it was surely encapsulated in its beginning of the lowering of his head. It just got worse from there. Very much like an opera...
Godfather 3 is a poor film . Christmas Eve 1990, when me and a friend went to see it in a movie theater ( both of us are huge Godfather fans ) , both of us were shocked by the poor casting and script . The audience reaction was the same. Walking out I heard everyone saying how bad the film was .
The Godfather and Godfather 2 are masterpieces .
In comparison to the other films (which may be an unfair assessment), it was "bad". But somehow had the capability to garner 7 Academy Award nominations. I wouldn't necessarily call that a "poor film". It was what Francis Ford Coppola called it; an epilogue. Michael's ending.
The basis here is that no one wanted to see Michael Corleone weak and without the fire, cunning wit, and intensity he had in the first two films. With all due respect, he had gotten older, sickly and overall, remorseful for the -self-called death of his brother, Fredo. It was a reap-what-you-sow sort of story (which Coppola constantly emphasizes)...which I see most ppl, even on a reality scale can't deal with. You can't call yourself a fan of the Godfather and NOT be fan of this film. That would make most ppl "fair-weather" Godfather fans. And would know nothing about the canonization of triumph and tragedy.
+SidJustice1 I don't buy the "epilogue" nonsense. At the time Part III came out, Coppola was calling it "the biggest film to date" and "the cathedral of the series." Even now he compares it to King Lear and other Shakespearean epics. Not to mention the film itself is as big and sprawling as its predecessors, if not more so, dragging in a huge ensemble cast, gang warfare and international intrigue. Calling it an "epilogue" is just an after-the-fact excuse that it didn't turn out as well as he'd hoped.
Most films (arguably all...) compared to Godfather one or two, fail to make the grade. So ppl saying this was a "bad" film, just isn't accurate to me. At all.
Coppola wanted to call the film the "Death of Michael Corleone"; Paramount Pictures refused, so he opted out for The GF III. It's also an installment (to my knowledge) that wasn't penned by Mario Puzo in the original novel. So, you can see how contrived the story line was and it was working on a shaky foundation to begin with. Nonetheless, I see its strength as well...I felt it showed Michael at his "weakest" and his undying quest for legitimacy for his family made the story an all too true one. That for me totally authenticated the trilogy. And that in life you have to reap a harvest (whether it be good or bad) with the seeds you have sown.
Furthermore, I felt the film was justified and didn't deserve the hate it received by the indifferent fans of the series. I believe it also struck a chord with devout Catholics on the issue of the (real) Vatican Bank scandal of 1978 as well as the controversial death of Pope John Paul I. By exposing this, it made the Catholic Church look incriminating. Which in turn, could rile up so ppl that strongly disagreed with the events.
In closing, you had a legion of blood-lusting fans wanting to see a vibrant, callus, cunning and an almost macabre Michael Corleone in this film, but ended up getting an aging, sick, remorseful one instead. Which I'm sure ruffled many feathers of the "fans" of the series. And it obviously DID being how the movie is panned by viewers, but not most film critics. Strange. As I stated in the previous comments, It is NOT GF I or II, but at the end of the day, it packs a punch in its own right. Just nowhere near as powerful as its predecessors.
On one hand, you feel bad because you know Fredo's intellectual disability led to him being taken advantage of and used to try and end the Corleone line. Yet on the other, you remember that Michael was gracious enough to warn him only once never to go against his family again. And he didn't listen.
I like how the guy in the boat allowed Fredo to finish his prayers.
When you live this life, there are lines you don't dare cross and Fredo crossed that line.
Couldn't imagine being so pissed at a brother that I wanted him dead. This is a movie but could happen in life
He didn't deserve to die, the father would never
I think that scene with roth is fantastic. the first time I saw it I never saw it comming
I didn't see the scene with Fredo coming. not at all. Mother and father said that back in the 70s, basically many people didn't, in spite of how obvious it seems now.
Vito would not have wanted this. Fredo was no threat anymore. You know Michael regretted this afterwards.
Every scene in this film (and the previous film) feels like a painting from an old world master.
It's easy to judge Fredo and blame him as a 'traitor'. But what about his life? Always the weakest brother, always the one that passed over. Once in his life, he had the chance to 'exist' with Moe Greene, then with Hyman Roth because at least the entertainment world was where he could do things and exist. But no. Because of his ambition, Michael had to take over all of them, had to kill all of those people, left Fredo no room apart from being the inferior, weak, destitute brother again. Fredo's betrayal was his rebellion to this fate. And I really appreciate the way he did it, and I feel fucking sad about his death.
Deniz Taylan Sağır i agree with you :)
So in other words, Fredo's shitty self-image is a good excuse for what he did to the family?
Damn. Interesting.
The point where Michael officially went too far...
disagree
Butt Sucker how is he wrong. Fredo was gonna have michael killed. If he didnt kill him he wouldve just done it again. U dont know shit u sound stupid. If someone is your family set u up to die and u let that person live u are a chump
This was not the 1st time Fredo had taken sides against the family
Fredo knew the life and he knew the consequences but here I truly think he was just naivee enough to think he had actually been forgiven
We talk about his brother,he's completely drown into ocean of darkness,mind me,you cant kill your brother,no matter how hate you are to him
Exactly
Some people compare this scene unflatteringly to the baptism montage from the first movie. But I like that it's a lot more understated: these killings are acts of petty revenge that really achieve nothing.
It's much better.
@BigDogJang0 At the behest of Michael. Tom subtly told him that, if he killed himself, his family would be taken care of.
True. Fredo was broken and couldn’t hurt Michael anymore. Frankie clammed up during the Senate hearing and didn’t give Michael up. Roth was dying and no longer a threat. It didn’t matter to Michael; they all betrayed him and needed to die.
@SuperVince93Kaioken Advance I wouldn't want to be your brother.
@SuperVince93Kaioken it wasn't preemptive considering Fredo took part in the setup before this. He knew what would come later.
I created a drink I called "The Fredo." It's very simple: just a shot and a splash...
The parallel between this montage & the one from Part I; the music swooned in Part I, it was epic & victorious. This is like a soft whimper, the killings aren’t extravagant. And in the end Michael sells his soul more by killing Fredo than he did perverting the church with his renouncement of Satan & his wickedness.
I think that gunfire was Fredo shooting that other guy on the boat then sailing off into the sunset with the promise to return to a Godfather sequel where he would take out Michael and become the new Don.
Lmfao
Hahaha rofl.
fredo wasnt smart enough to go for that or would have even dared to think about doing anything to michael.
But don't you guys think there was a reason we didn't actually see Fredo get whacked. Yes, we heard the sound of what we think was a shotgun. But that could've been Mrs Corleone in the bathroom having swallowed down too many oysters.
The point is we will never know...
Sadik Meah We saw Fredo go down.
Not only did Michael kill his brother here. He also sent one of his agents on a suicide mission to kill Roth.
Michael has fully decended into darkness
"Difficult, not impossible" (then eats a chip)
I read somewhere that he sent him on that mission as punishment for failing to protect the compound since HE was head of security.. oops
Fredo's character may not be that "impactful" as Michael's and Vito's, but his death really changed the story.
This makes Michael’s late ruthless and violent brother Sonny look like a saint.
if you continue with the prayer in your head with the timing, when you get to "amen",r, the shot comes. brilliant.
If anything, this scene gives credence to the expression "it's always lonely at the top". By this point, Michael was at the height of his power and influence, but had either alienated or killed those closest to him.
Damn!!I had never noticed Neri pull out the gun before till now!
+Davis609 He does near the end of part 1
drpapatsakalos i meant in this scene
Dude, me neither, this is the first time i noticed that, and I've seen this movie more than a million times!!!
+Davis609
Holly molly, after reading your comment, I said "No way I have missed that so many times"... Well, I have
+Davis609 If you own the widescreen version you can see Neri aim the gun, full screen version you cant.
Rocco didn't close the door at the end of the first movie it was the silent killer al neri. My favorite character
I only just noticed it now, as the camera zooms in on Fredo on that boat praying for forgiveness, that Neri had pulled out the gun. It's just on the edge of the screen, and it's taken me like 100x rewatches to spot it.
Imagine how I felt growing up watching this since vhs for it to come out on widescreen dvd and see that pistol like 20 years later, lol. I felt cheated.
Shortly afterwards, a package arrived at Fredo's house. Inside was a fish with a cross. "What's this?" "It's a Sicilian message: Fredo now prays with the fishes."