The Godfather: Part II

Multiple Viewings
Francis Ford Coppola
1974

I was always of the opinion that part two of this 70's cinema phenomenon was the best in the trilogy, but after watching the Coppola restorations of both this and the original, I might have to rescind that opinion. Beginning with an ascendant Michael Corleone, things begin to fall apart in a karmic undoing which leaves him utterly isolated in his lonely position of power. To keep this mephistophelian decline from being a total drag Michael's evolution towards sad robot is intercut with his father's exile from Sicily and immigrant experience in New York, leading up to his own criminal blossoming. This father and son dichotomy makes for an almost embarrassingly nostalgic view as Vito's rise is all romanticized morality-in-gangsterism while Michael's modern mafioso life involves dodging assassins' bullets while your understandably freaked out wife walks out on you. It's nice to see Diane Keaton and perennial player of losers John Cazale get meatier roles in this outing, but the real treat is the inclusion of acting genius Lee Strasberg as Jewish gambling scion Hyman Roth. Coppola isn't exactly known for his restraint, and the wildly indulgent 200 minutes of running time hurts the overall impact (also: ending the film on a flashback?), but this still remains one Hollywood's best films of the 70's.