Better than the first?

Rating: Null/10 (11 August 2003)

I am one of those Godfather junkies (well at least the first two) who not only owns the DVD, but will stop to watch the movies every time I come across them while channel surfing. To be honest though, recently I am not as enthralled with The Godfather. Over time, Part II has become a much better, richer movie going experience. Not that there's anything wrong with The Godfather, I just happen to prefer this one. I think that it paint a broader canvas thanks in part to jumping between the two stories.

There are just so many wonderful scenes. The film starts off with the story of how Vito Corleone came to America. This part of the movie is in Sicilian and even shot on location in Sicily. Then we jump to the 50's and the confirmation of Anthony, Vito's grandson. Like the wedding in the first one, we get an idea of who the main players are going to be. One of my favorite shots in this part is when Fredo's tramp wife meets Connie's gigolo fiance. Coppola cuts to a shot Mama Corleone saying something to Consigliori Tom Hagen in Sicilian. it is a brief shot, not more than 2 or 3 seconds but you get an idea of the relationship between them. This is of interest to me as a Godfather obsessive since in the original novel, it is noted that the adopted Hagen never thought of Mama Corleone as a mother nor were they particularly close. This shot shows how in the enusing years since her husband's death how they developed a bond.
There is so much good in this movie to rave about. Coppola apparently loves commerative events: the wedding reception in the first movie, the aforementioned confimation party (which of course has little to do with the confirmation and everything to do with Michael's power) and New Year's in Cuba.
While we may remember the big scenes, there are also some wonderful simple scens just between two characters: Michael's visit to Hyman Roth in Miami, his drink with Fredo (a banana daquiri?) in Cuba, Kaye's leaving Michael ("this Sicilian thing") and Tom's final meeting with Frankie Pantangelo. All these scenes are written with wonderful, intelligent dialogue accompanied by solid acting.