#THE GODFATHER 2 PROFESSIONAL#
#THE GODFATHER 2 SERIES#

At the end, GazzoвЂ™s Frankie вЂњFive AngelsвЂќ turned out to be just as memorable as his predecessor. He was even given the DonвЂ™s old home and was made to be a history buff just like Clemenza, though his absence from the decade long events of Part I is more than a little hard to buy. The same problem should have applied in the sequel to the missing character Clemenza, whose part was basically taken over by Michael GazzoвЂ™s Frank Pentangelli. Perhaps this had to do with how Robert DeNiro was able to play the Brando character without missing a beat. The latter was originally supposed to appear in the final reminiscing scene but somehow by that point, thereвЂ™s a feeling that he has been present all along anyway.

This list includes just about all of the familyвЂ™s enemies along with Sonny, Tessio, Carlo, Paulie, Luca Brasi and above all, the central figure of BrandoвЂ™s Vito Corleone.

#THE GODFATHER 2 SERIES#

For instance, few film series by nature have lost as many characters during their first entry. The first factor, I believe, is that the director somehow managed to turn Part IIвЂ™s weakness into strengths. And yet, strangely enough, once my viewing of both movies concludes, the impact of the sequel is invariably stronger than that of its predecessor, leading me to wonder how it was ever possible for Coppola to be able to improve on the first filmвЂ™s greatness, especially considering the handicaps he had to cope with. In contrast, the discreet actions of Hyman Roth, whose evil intentions we never even get to hear on screen, tend to pale a bit. During my annual viewing of the sequel, at the stage of the first half, I invariably find myself missing the departed characters from the first entry during the good old days when the family was under siege from Sollozzo and the other families. IвЂ™ve always found the hounding of the Corleones by their enemies to be much more interesting than Michael doing business in Cuba just before the 1950s revolution in Part II, or him trying to wipe his familyвЂ™s past clean by way of a real estate company in Part III.

Even though its financial success meant that the sequels wouldnвЂ™t have to suffer from similar budget limitations, the first Godfather clearly stands above them when it comes to background plot. After all these years and dozens of viewings, I still find it to be as great as ever regardless of a few warts, such as the use of a bit too much stock footage (think of Tom Hagen arriving in the 1940s Hollywood, orВ Paulie, Rocco and Clemenza driving through New York) and the obvious use of stand-ins that donвЂ™t look all that much like the actors (like Hagen and Jack Woltz walking by the gardens of the latterвЂ™s mansion). It wasnвЂ™t until the summer of 1980 that the original 'Godfather' made another round in cinemas down here in Mexico.

#THE GODFATHER 2 PROFESSIONAL#

Director Francis Ford Coppola highlights the professional and personal challenges Michael has to face by contrasting them with those of his father in their very different times and cultures. вЂњThe Godfather, Part IIвЂќ deals with the continuing story of that family, as new patriarch Michael tries to expand its many businesses. ThereвЂ™s just something about the protagonists of certain movies that makes it hard to shake them off-the Fast Eddie Felsons, the Vincent & Neils, the Red & Andys, and above all, the Corleones. Knowing then very little about its predecessor and considering that the follow-up constantly jumps between time periods, it didnвЂ™t end up making all that much sense to me, but it raised enough curiosity to try to fill the voids, even if the only material available to me at that time was their Mad Magazine parodies. This was perhaps a couple of years after it was first released. вЂњThe Godfather, Part IIвЂќ was the first film in the Godfather saga that I saw. What exactly makes вЂњ The Godfather, Part IIвЂќ better than its predecessor?

The godfather 2