The Godfather Part II • The Next Reel

"Keep your friends close but your enemies closer."

While The Godfather, Part II didn’t perform nearly as well as its predecessor at the box office, Francis Ford Coppola’s sequel certainly made its money back and, more importantly, has gone on to become a film that’s often cited as one of the greatest films ever made. It even has its contingency of fans who feel it’s the stronger film of the pair. But Coppola went into it not really that excited by the prospect of making a sequel and really only jumped on board because of an idea he had that would blend the storylines of a father and of a son. Join us – Andy Nelson and Pete Wright – as we continue our Godfather trilogy series with Coppola’s 1974 film The Godfather, Part II. 

We talk about our feelings with this film and whether or not we find it the stronger of the pair. We chat about Coppola and how he was really given free reign with this film, making it an incredibly easy shoot. We look at what Coppola brings to the table, including the numbered title, and why he’s such a masterful filmmaker. We talk about the various actors who return to the story and those who are new additions. And we look at how this film looks and all the people behind putting it together.

It’s a film that splits audiences, critics and even us movie lovers like us, but it gives us all that much more to talk about this week. So pull up your cannoli and tune in to find out if this film ranks as high as Part I on our Flickchart.

Film Sundries

• Watch this film: iTunes • Amazon
• Script Transcript
• Original theatrical trailer
• Original poster artwork
• The Godfather by Mario Puzo
• Flickchart
• Letterboxd
• The Godfather PC Game (Requires Atari ST or Amiga Emulator)
  Trailers of the Week
• Andy's Trailer: The Belko Experiment — "When we had Abraham Benrubi on for our Speakeasy episode last January, he mentioned that he was involved in this and said he had a blast making it. Now having seen the trailer, I’m very much looking forward to watching it. It’s dark and twisted but has an interesting premise. Count me in!"
• Pete's Trailer: The Autopsy of Jane Doe — "We were fans of Troll Hunter for sure. That André Øvredal is back with this creep fest of a father-son medical examiner team police procedural? I’ll check that out. As Andy has noted, perhaps I’m not as averse to horror as I think I am?"

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