NokiMo
Cassie Tremblay
Cassie Tremblay

patreon


The Godfather Part II (1974) - Full Reaction

Sheesh that was bleak for a minute! I know from experience there are consequences when you choose a life of debauchery and button pressing in the mafia! ;)

I did love the flashbacks, I didn't know Robert DeNiro was ever young ;) I almost wished we had more of that story. Mikey is sure spiraling though! I'm team Tom I think? Ok hope you enjoy

Direct link in case the above player doesn't work. 

Find your own copy to follow a long with. 

Download this full reaction. 

The Godfather Part II (1974) - Full Reaction

Comments

"It's your brother, Michael. It's your brother."

Clay F

I know a lot of people told you not to bother with 'Part III', I think it's necessary for you to finish the storylines that were left unsaid here, and I've always thought 'III' was unfairly judged. It was always pitted against the first two, and no movie will ever stand toe to toe against the first two, so you need to see III on its own merit. It is well made, exciting, Pacino was at his finest, as was Talia Shire and Andy Garcia. Yes, the one major flaw was the casting of Coppola's daughter in a pivotal role, but remember, Coppola went thru the same thing with Pacino for the first movie, so he felt he was doing something that would, again, prove everyone wrong. If anything, you just need to finish Michael's journey, see how much his life has been affected by the decisions he made. It is a very good movie.

JPDotCom23

I wish I was there with her explaining all this as she went

JPDotCom23

The Frankie Pentangeli character was created for this movie after actor Richard Castellano, who played Clemenza in the first movie, wanted more money and write his own dialogue for this movie, so the Clemenza character was written out.

JPDotCom23

Bleak. I like the first one better, though this second one is a masterpiece like the first. You can skip III if you want.

Clay F

Tom Hagen has always been my favorite character in this series. He clearly isn’t 100% good since he’s in with this family, but he always seems to be the member with the strongest conscience, and DuVall played him so well.

China Andronicus

Well we have Analyze This, and the Sopranos.

Armchair Wizard

Cassie, for when you want to revisit DeNiro: you really should watch Analyze This if you have not yet watched it. It especially pays off now that you're familiar with the world of The Godfather.

Christopher B.

Lol "Maybe they should go to counseling?" Yeah a mob boss in a marriage counseling session, THAT should be a movie lol

MJ

Oh, if it's even possible to find, try the TV movie Brian's Song with James Caan & Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian). Bring your handkerchiefs, Cassie.

3dbadboy1

I grew up in northern NJ during the 60’s in a neighborhood where everyone was Italian or Irish, and “wop” was a running joke (even among Italians) for without papers. I never heard of the “guappo” explanation.

Catherine LW

That rug really ties the room together...nice.

Scott burch

Overrated snore fest. 😒

John Cranberry

As far as the abortion question if it had been a daughter. I think Kay would have either way. She was done bringing any more children into this life. The Mafia is very patriarchal. Men have all the power. So Kay knew that a son would surely be brought up to have a role in the structure, and a daughter would most likely end up in a similar relationship as her own. But it being a boy hurt Michael more.

Marty McGee

The cake scene is symbolic. They're splitting up Cuba.

granny_goodness

Got a movie recomendation. Only the Brave. Its about firefighters and its a true story. Really good movie and i think it would be a good one for the channel and maybe to bring your sister along with you for that one :)

Exzear

This is such a great movie. There's so much going on and the Michael character is brilliant. He's too cold and distant to keep his family together like Vito did, so it all falls apart.

granny_goodness

The bit you referred to as "not a normal trial" was actually a series of Congressional Hearings. Based on real life one's that happened in the 1950s and 1960s on the Mafia. Known as the Kefauver Hearings and the Valachi Hearings. As for the Sicilian thing, that Kay refers to. Sicily (the little island off of Italy that looks like it's getting kicked by the boot) has a rather violent history, which some theorize may have factored into it being the birthplace of the Mafia. The follows two rules, vendetta and omerta. Vendetta simply put is a code of honour that demands you avenge any wrongs done to you or you family. No matter the cost, while forgiveness is considered a Christian virtue, for a lot of Sicily's history it wouldn't be considered a Sicilian Virtue. Then there's Omerta, during it's History, Sicily has been occupied by numerous conquerors. Omerta more or less developed as an unspoken rule to never betray a countrymen to outsiders. This eventually involved into not talking to the police or discussing business with those who aren't in the Mafia. So the Sicilian thing that Kay refers to is more or less the cycle of violence, death, lies and secrecy that Michael now lives in.

Phillip Ribbink

I really enjoyed The Offer also. How could one refuse it?

Mike LL

Oh my gosh, Celeste, that sounds heavenly! 😋

Catherine LW

I don't think anyone has talked about the novel "The Godfather" on this thread yet. The novel told the story of Vito from his boyhood, and ends with Michael where the original movie ends. So Godfather 1 actually only tells half the story of the novel, starting about halfway through. The "flashback" parts of Godfather 2 are actually the first half of the original novel. When they were conceiving Godfather 2, Coppolla and Puzo had to come up with the entire Michael part of the story from scratch (which is, to me, why it isn't quite as strong as the Vito parts of the film). And though Coppolla insisted on Michael having Fredo killed, Puzo was dead set against it. Finally Francis asked what would it take for Puzo to agree that Fredo had to go, and after much consideration Mario said, "He would never consider it until after their mother dies." So that became the storyline. The making of these films is such a story itself that they made a miniseries about it last year - "The Offer". The critics didn't love it, but I did - loved every second, in fact.

Cliff Endicott

Don Provolone 😆

Celeste McAllister

Hi Catherine,Pistachio & Cuban Rum butter cream frosting! YUMMY!

Celeste McAllister

Sounds delish! Maybe the green color is pistachio!

Catherine LW

Dom Perignon 😂😂😂

Patrick Gibbs

That right. It's been a while

Shawn Kildal

Better late than never.

Tim Raths

Cassie...I have always avoided watching any of the Godfather movies but when you decided to react to them I finally gave in. And I am so glad I did...they were nothing like what I thought. Sure there was violence but it was mainly a story of family dynamics. You made these two Godfather movies special for me. Thanx. You always give me something to look farward to on weekends.

Anthony Perez

Harry Dean Stanton was not executed in "The Green Mile". He played the trustee who was used to practice the executions.

Anthony Perez

I have some info on Hyman Roth's birthday cake,it's an Italian cream cake w/butter cream frosting,the green color could be Lime daiquiri or key lime,I'm going to bake a cake!🎂

Celeste McAllister

Great Review as always. Genuine as always. Never apologize for not liking a movie.....or as much as you thought you would. What boring reactions it would all be if you always loved everything. The movie is slow.....I think it takes it's time so you can see where the family started into crime (and why) and then how through hate and revenge they wind up even killing what the hold dearest; family. The movie really is considered a masterpiece because you genuinely route for michael, you know he's wrong, you see his conflict develop and then how evil and lost he becomes. Not an easy thing to pull off. FYI - the director Francis Ford Coppola and Rocky's wife (adrian; talia shire) are brother/sister in real life.

Steve Barrett

It really ties the room together lmfao!

Marie Antoinette

Of course I still disagree with you. Just because a rendition of a person is in the sequel does not make it exact especially when it was not written by puzzo till after the creation of godfather one and the green light to make godfather 2

Tonio

Obviously a bit of both. In Part 3 when he talks about it, it sounds like it was a personal move. But Michael was a businessman to a fault and that’s what a lot of his decisions were based on. When Al pulls the trigger, Michael lowers his head, almost to say he was sorry he had to do it but businesses is business.

Shehab Dawoud

Yes, he's the guy from ALIEN. Actor's name is Harry Dean Stanton. You also know him from THE GREEN MILE (prisoner executed at the beginning), he was the dad in PRETTY IN PINK and the detective in CHRISTINE

Shawn Kildal

I think Michael had Fredo killed is because he couldn't trust him. "Never go against the Family!" He was a loose cannon and with that the fear was that he was weak and could easily be turned.

Shawn Kildal

The Michael/Fredo and Michael/Kay relationships kind of dominate this story but I've always been fascinated by the Michael/Tom relationship. Tom was older, and he was obviously closer to Sonny (who'd been the one to bring him home from the streets), but he really seemed to look up to Michael and really respected him for his military heroism. But Michael had this barely concealing contempt for Tom, to me. He kept Tom out of the dark side of the family mostly because he wanted an emissary with an impeccable reputation for certain things, but I think he resented Tom for that. He resented that Tom got to keep clean, mostly, and so punished him with passive-aggressive accusations about Tom's loyalty. I'm still not sure if Tom was in on the set-up with Senator Geary, because he seems rather surprised for a moment. I feel Michael could have arranged that through Al or Rocco without even telling Tom. As for Kay, I've always wondered about her abortion. I wouldn't surprised if it turned out that that wasn't true, that she simply told Michael that to poison their marriage once and for all.

Patrick Flanagan

I know you wanted to see more of the women in Michael’s life, but this movie was about Michael first and foremost. With Kay and Fredo, you have to understand something. The most important thing in the world to Michael is family. Kay broke the trust when she killed his unborn child. Fredo broke the trust because Michael felt that he tried to have him killed. Both were a betrayal of the family. That’s why Michael did what he did to both of them.

Michael Lynch

Red herring.

Daniel

nope, skipped this one to

zynjams

Godfather II is a masterpiece and every actor in it did one of their greatest performances.Al Pacino's subtle/explosive performance was brilliant. However, Robert De Niro as Vito stole the show IMO. He wasn't just playing young Vito, he was Vito.

Joe Lazarus

So... the third movie. (NO SPOILERS) IF you watch it, think of it more of a long EPILOGUE AND NOT A 3RD PART. Also, original plans had to be shifted around after one actor wasn't offered enough to return, and one had to back out at the last minute. One of those impacts the story, the other impacts casting.

Connor P

But did Michael have Fredo killed out of some practical utility or did he have him killed out of spite and revenge? I'm not sure the answer is entirely clear.

Stick Figure Studios

The only question remains is which version will she watch: the original theatrical release or Coppola's newly edited GODFATHER CODA? I suspect most people will probably steer her towards the recent one Both have their strengths and their weaknesses (I think the beginning of the CODA is better than the theatrical, but I think the ending of the theatrical is better than the CODA), but knowing her tendency to want to do the original releases of films, I think that might be best.

Stick Figure Studios

If you like Connie, you’ll appreciate GF III. She has a much larger role. It’s also the necessary closure to the Corleone family saga. The arc that begins in the first movie is truly finished by the end of the third. Tom Hagen unfortunately does not return (Duvall wanted to be paid the same as Pacino, but the studio refused). The screenplay suffers badly as a result, because they had to rewrite on the fly and Tom’s character was essential to the original concept. And Sofia Coppola is a disaster as Mary. But those are the major issues. Everything else is on point. Definitely worth watching.

Brian Harris

Such a glorious reaction to a long movie but I never wanted it to end. I am just in awe of how Cassie kept up with the intricacies of the plot and the number of characters, certainly much better than I ever did the first time I watched Part II. And Cassie, you were always going to watch Part II. Now you understand why you had to, it is just the second part of the same story. Every time I watch this movie, and Part I, I almost cry at how beautiful the music is and was, in this one especially in the scenes when Vito goes back to Sicily. The music is so luxurious and beautiful. Cassie said “Sheesh that was bleak for a minute!” And I always complain about how somber, dark, and dreary modern movies are to the point that I really can't be entertained by them. Why is it that I never want this movie to end and I am so caught up by these characters and this world? I also don't really like prequels in general, but like Cassie, I was so caught up by Vito's story of his coming to power. I think it is because the “present day” part of this movie keeps the story going forward, that I didn't mind the “prequel” part of it. Seeing the older Michael in the last shot of the movie and considering all that happened in the movie, I thought of the conversation he had with his mother when he asked her if his father ever felt that if by being strong for his family could he lose it? And was Michael asking about his own immediate family of Kay and the kids, or his family with his parents and siblings, or his “other,” professional family? And how much of all of those was left to him at the end. As Cassie has come to the second anniversary of her channel, I wonder during this reaction as she looks at all the despicable violence in this movie, <i>unflinchingly</i> during most of it, what have we done to sweet Cassie?? She has certainly grown in her capacity to appreciate a wide range of movies, and I have very much enjoyed the journey.

Mike LL

That's true RD didn't have a great deal of screen time,he must have won it by his exceptional ability as an actor..Team Tom & Vito!

Celeste McAllister

Excellent comment, Stick Figure Studio. You said just what I wanted to say about Godfather Part III. I knew people would be here in the comments telling Cassie not to "waste her time" with the movie. But I think she is like me, she wants to know the end of the story. Godfather and Part II are such excellent movies and works of art that of course Part III can't live up to their legacy. That does not mean it is not a good movie. It is definetley a completion of Michael's story, and for that reason alone it is worth watching.

Mike LL

Actually the streets were of the neighborhood in Manhattan known as Little Italy. Take it from a guy from Brooklyn who went to a college not far from Little Italy.

Patrick Reynolds

Jeg overvejede det sgu. Nogle af menneskerne her gør det svært..

Shehab Dawoud

Det är tydligt det 😄😄 Jag trodde du hade lämnat Pib 😅

Björn Karlsson

That’s not actually true. It’s derived from guappo meaning a flashy, swaggering dandy-like criminal, it likely followed southern Italians when they arrived in the US. The men would refer to each other as guappo in a playful manner. Later when integrating with non-Italians and hearing this term it became anglicized and derogatory.

Wes Stewart

Cassie. WOP is a term used to describe the Sicilians that came over to Native Italy and/or America “without papers.”

Jeremy T Edwards

Contrasted with Vito sitting on the stairs with his family. Two men with two very different methods of obtaining power and respect.

MrCAL

I agree, I guess Joker would be more of a new rendition.

Tonio

Part 3 is nothing compared to the first 2. On its own I guess it's ok but as a sequel it's terrible. You won't miss much if you skip 3. It's forgettable and completely underwhelming

nick bell

Called it! I knew those were the parts you would enjoy! You're really getting good with the references too! YOu spotted Harry Dean Stanton from ALien and the Big Lebowski rug!

Scott Macaulay

From what I understand, they expanded Connie's role once Duvall didn't return. She got all of what Tom Hagen was going to do.

Matt Rose

Godfather 1 and 2 work so well together. One of the few movies where the sequel may be better than the original

James1035

De slipper ikke så nemt af med mig😂😁

Shehab Dawoud

The contrast between Michael and Vito’s story is so important. We see how important family and community is to Vito. How he becomes who he was by being something of a hero to the people. And then you see how Michael keeps getting farther and farther away from that and from who he was. That hits home hard when they do that final flashback to Michael and Sonny and the rest, all around the family table. That even then he was isolated. Sonny and Michael are like the two halves of Vito. One the passion and heart. One the calculation and calm. When Sonny died, a tragic future was all but inevitable. One where Michael comes out on top but loses everything his Father really cared about.

Mr Trick

"I know from experience there are consequences when you choose a life of debauchery and button pressing in the mafia!" What exactly do you do in Utah?

Jay Finlayson

Actually Coppola claims Castellano wanted to write his characters dialogue. Wouldn't take no for an answer. And that was why he wasn't in part 2.

nick bell

Long time no see 😅😄

Björn Karlsson

Great reaction. If you want to root for Michael, you must do The Godfather Part III. Many people may not like it, but that movie gets better and better every time I watch it.

Mr. Killeverything

I guess it depends then on how you define "the same character."

Stick Figure Studios

Yeah, Connie is virtually a whole different person in 3, but you can begin to see the seeds of that person at the very end of this one.

Stick Figure Studios

It's a trade off for me. I think the new edit improves some things but weakens others.

Stick Figure Studios

I also like how his face becomes covered in shadow as the camera pushes in on him in that final shot.

Stick Figure Studios

Cassie actually didn't make that connection when she watched the first one.

Stick Figure Studios

Seriously, Michael's arc makes that film.

Stick Figure Studios

Michael definitely gets dark in this one (it's like watching Anakin become Darth Vader). That's why I love what part 3 does with his character.

Stick Figure Studios

I join the other comments in recommending part 3. One of the things I really liked about part 3 was the expanded role that Talia Shire (Connie) had in the 3rd part, and how Connie had grown stony and ruthless over the years just as Michael was softening and growing weary.

Paul Ark

Really hoping we get Mario Puzo’s The Godfather Part III: CODA which is the most recent edit of The Godfather Part III and fixes much of the pacing and story issues from the first edit which was heavily messed with by the studio.

djKENTO

That final shot of Michael is such a powerful moment. It shows how alone he is because of his actions. He’s become angry, sad and bitter. The final movie has its flaws and is, by far, the weakest in the trilogy. But, it’s worth watching to see the mental toll michael feels as an older man reflecting on all he has done. If you like to see a very different side to James Caan, you might want to check out the 80’s romantic comedy Kiss Me Goodbye with him, Sally Field and Jeff Bridges. And yes, the rug really tied the room together

Justtired

Beautiful Joe McCarthy reference in the hearing!

Ben Livingstone

Agreed! I don't understand when people talk about the third as being a bad or straight-out awful movie. It is definitely weaker by comparison to the first two, no question there, but despite its flaws it is still a decent movie overall. I think if someone has seen and enjoyed/appreciated the first two, the third one should be seen as well to complete Michael's arc.

Gábor Árki

Agreed on the intermissions, especially with movies as long as the LOTR series....

JRCortez

The fact that Fredo had sever pneumonia as a baby could explain why he's the "slower" of the siblings.

JRCortez

I go back and forth on which film is better. But, apart from the complex plot and the huge risks this film takes, a strong argument for this one is the performances. De Niro playing a young Brando playing a young Vito. No one else could've done that. Sublime. I consider De Niro to be the greatest actor ever for a reason. Pacino puts in arguably the greatest performance EVER on screen. We see different sides to him, the family man, the businessman, the ruthless, cunning killer. No one has ever acted better by just using his eyes than Pacino in this one. And then at the end of the film he somehow goes back to being the Mike we saw early on in Part 1, the quiet guy who hangs his head & shoulders, barely makes any sound when he speaks. How he did that is remarkable. Then add the performances of Michael Gazzo (Frank) and Lee Strasberg (Roth) who both got nominated for best supporting actor. Lee Strasberg is a legendary acting teacher who taught many of the greats. Pacino is one of them, and I Believe Al is the one who got him the part. A special shoutout to John Cazale (Fredo) who was only in 5 films but they were all nominated for best picture. Was engaged to Meryl Streep when he died of cancer in 78.

Shehab Dawoud

Wow. I did not expect you to like this one. I thought the runtime, the complex plot & as you said, how bleak it is, would've meant you'd have little positive to say. Mike is a tragic hero. He never wanted this but his love for family dragged him into it. He couldn't let his pops die. Then when his first wife & his true love died, along with Sonny, that's where he was truly absorbed by the life. But even then, you can justify the things he does at the end of Part I. I mean, they tried to kill him & his family. he had to kill the other families. This one is different. This is where Mike truly loses his soul. Again, he's trying to legitimize things but his enemies are always going to gun for him. But Mike has Rocco, one of his best men go on a suicide mission just to get Roth, who was already defeated & dying. He insists on Frankie killing himself even though he was in lockdown & not going to testify again. They have an innocent prostitute killed just so they can pressure the senator. Btw, Tom may be the most likable but he is far from a good guy even though he's not in the muscle end. The only decision that you can actually somewhat justify is killing Fredo. Mike wasn't jealous of Fredo, it was the reverse. Fredo should've known he could never be a leader, everyone else knew it. Even if he didn't think it was going to be a hit on Mike, you don't give details of the compound to outsiders. Though Mike was hurt by Fredo's jealousy & resentment, I think he really had him killed for tactical reasons. As he told Tom, Fredo is weak & stupid, & this is life or death. Fredo could easily have been manipulated again. He had to go.

Shehab Dawoud

Love this movie, definitely a desert island choice for me, it's epic and always entertaining. The flashbacks are my favorite part too. Also, it's crazy how similar Sicilian is to Spanish, I speak pretty decent Spanish and took some Italian in college, but they teach you Northern Italian, Tuscan. Sicilian is practically a different language. I know that at some point Spain controlled Sicily, and that both Spain and Sicily were at some earlier point controlled by the Moors, who spoke Arabic, so I assume that's why they're so similar, because I don't even need the subtitles when they speak Sicilian. Some sentences are almost identical, just very slightly different spellings and pronunciations. Like, "A cup of coffee?" is "Una tasa di caffé?" is"¿Una taza de café?". Just a behind the scenes factoid, when Michael hits Kay, that was scripted, but Al Pacino REALLY hit Diane Keaton, her reaction is genuine because she was not expecting him to hit her that hard. They also dated in real life during the filming of the first movie, but I'm not sure if they were still dating during this one. Okay one more thing (there's so much to say about this movie I could talk about it all day), I loved Talia Shire in this, and kudos to Cassie for recognizing her as Adrian too, so many people watch both the Rocky movies and The Godfather movies and don't make that connection, which I think is a testament to her acting. BTW she's Francis Ford Coppola's sister.

Joe D. MacGuffinstuff

was that an organic big lebowski joke? one of us...one of us...

rubberkidney

Making a Lebowski reference during the rug stealing scene is a sign that you have achieved grand master status as a movie connoisseur LOL

Paul Ark

That's what I was going to say, Kevin. They count as well.

Stick Figure Studios

One of the greatest sequels of all time (to one of the greatest films of all time). Many consider it better than the first. Such a good follow-up that it is often referred to as just the second half to one movie. Can't wait to watch this reaction. As for the third one, many will tell you not to see it because it's bad, but don't listen to them. It is not bad. It is just not as good as the first two. It has its flaws certainly, but it's worth seeing for, if nothing else, the completion of Michael's character arc (which might surprise you) and Pacino is, as always, fantastic in it ("Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in."). It dares to ask the question of whether redemption is even possible for Michael. Definitely check it out... someday. :-)

Stick Figure Studios

Ledger and Phoenix were playing different iterations of the Joker in completely separate franchises. Brando and DeNiro were playing the same exact character, just at different ages.

Matt Rose

Unrelated movies, different versions of the character. Brando and DeNiro played literally the same exact character only at different ages.

Matt Rose

Joaquin Phoenix and Heath Ledger both won oscars for playing The Joker

Kevin Charley

Hopkins had little screen time for Silence of the Lambs, but he got the Best Actor Oscar. Quality trumps quantity. :)

Brent Petty

that’s so interesting !! That surprises me, that RD won the oscar, he didn’t have A TON OF screen time, i guess he made it count

Cassie

hahaha

Cassie

Dave, I think you should be more OPEN and tell us your full RANGE of feelings about this one.

Mike LL

Well Matt if you don't count Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix for the Joker, which is a little different I do understand.

Tonio

The streets of Brooklyn 106 years ago had me glued to the screen,the accuracy of the sets is amazing,the increased budget and production values really payed off,Michael is on my Jerk list,poor gullible Fredo..

Celeste McAllister

While yeah...it should've been Clemenza, I'm glad we got Pentangeli.

Matt Rose

of note: De Niro won an Oscar playing Vito Corleone. Brando won an Oscar for playing Vito Corleone in the first film. This is the first and only time where two different actors won awards for playing the same role.

Matt Rose

absolutely LOVED the flashbacks with De Niro...think the term you're looking for is "red herring"

JL_83

Team Tom hive, rise up!

Alex Villarreal

The strength of Part II is definitely the Sicily and Little Italy flashback scenes, IMO. Even Coppola admitted those scenes were his favorite to direct. It’s a shame Clemenza couldn’t be brought back, but the actor (Richard Castellano) asked for too much money. Same with Marlon Brando for the final sequence of the movie.

Brian O'Grady

Nice, gonna watch this right now

Chip MC

Cassie has been busy. This should be an interesting reaction, can't wait.

Bill Hayden

CASSIE! ITS 10PM! now I gotta stay up!

Connor P

Team Tom? Yes! If you are Team Tom, then there's another movie that might interest you... Oh wait, I've already told you about it... wink wink, nudge nudge! I am glad you watched this one

Dave

Nice Cassie! Can't wait to watch this full reaction! Just need to make some time for it 🎤👇

Todzilla


Related Creators