The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)

Is The Godfather Part II superior to The Godfather? In a lively discussion on sequels, film fanatic Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) in Scream 2, argues how “sequels suck”. But, unlike Terminator 2: Judgement Day and Aliens, The Godfather Part II stumps him. It covers a greater space of time, tells a grander story and turns what was a family-centred, but nevertheless New York “Gangshter” story, into a personal drama set on an epic, ambitious scale.

Though the dialogue in The Godfather holds iconic and memorable lines, definitive scenes in The Godfather Part II show Michael Corleone’s true menace revealing itself. The Godfather portrays his sinister and deeply-calculated methods of management, but they are subtle and carefully-constructed. He recommends the hit on Solozzo and MacCluskey; he marries Kay (Diane Keaton) to maintain a strong family unit; he settles all family business in the climax of the film by killing off the leaders of the New York mobs – Barzini, Cuneo, Stratchi and Tattaglia (and Moe Greene in Vegas). But these murders occur at the very end of the first film. Part II shows how corrupted he has become – and how his lack of morality will stop at nothing to “protect the family business”. Subtlety is not the aim of the game – Michael Corleone wants to make a point. Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) asks whether Michael wants to wipe everyone out – in The Godfather Part II it appears so.

Alongside Michael’s ruthless pursuit of the American Dream, it is juxtaposed with his Father, Vito Andolini (changing his name to Vito ‘Corleone’ after his town of birth). Played by Robert DeNiro, we see a considerable difference between the man who began with nothing and Michael. Through a strong sense of family values and respect, Vito built an empire. He was willing to work his way through the system fairly – he works as an assistant; he raises a child; he joins a friend at weekly theatre shows that hark back to the old country. It is through the corruption within little Italy – and the lack of support offered by the authorities that Vito steps in. Fanucci (Gaston Moschin) extorts the local people and abuses their trust. Vito decides to stop this treatement. As a comparison to his son, who aims to control casinos in Vegas and set-up a new gambling hot-spot in Cuba, it is clear that something has been lost in between the generations.

Of course, Michael is not the only Son. Hot-head Sonny lost his life in Part I while Fredo (John Cazale) and adopted-Son Tom Hagen remain loyal to Michael. But family has been eroded – and continues to be eroded in Part II to great effect. The less family-focused conflicts are stumbling blocks. Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg) and Johnny Ola (Dominic Chianese) in Cuba can be overtly political and less-engaging, while Senator Pat Geary’s (G.D. Spradlin) “love” for Italian-American’s is so forced it borders on parody. Even the Frank Pentageli (Michael V. Gazzo) plot bugs like a stone in the shoe as we can only imagine what it would’ve been like had Clemenza returned from Part I.

But these are pedantic points. The Godfather Part II still holds the most striking scenes in the series. The New Year’s Eve party as Pacino viciously grabs the head of the traitor – “I know it was you!” – is one such moment. Another as, what appears to be a small conversation between Kay and Michael, in the final act becomes one of the most explosive arguments he is involved within. Any scene with Fredo breaks your heart as John Cazale truly shows how strong an actor he is – and why Pacino, DeNiro and Meryl Streep often credit him with the strength of their acting. Finally, the entire story set within little Italy is an example of expert filmmaking. You can see that Sergio Leone can’t have looked too far when making Once Upon a Time in America, whereby the context and even lead actor in Robert DeNiro is reused.

The Godfather Part II has influenced many and remains a masterpiece to this day. Whether you believe The Godfather is a superior film or not, one cannot deny the importance of The Godfather Part II – and how it manages to capture such an ambitious story so effortlessly well. Randy Meeks was stumped for a reason – The Godfather Part II is the one sequel that can comfortably take on its predecessor.

Originally written for Flickering Myth and published on 21st February 2014

THX 1138 (George Lucas, 1971)

"I just feel that I need something stronger."

Introduction

With the recent posts on Star Wars, I have recently completed the next post on Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (due to be on Man, I Love Films this Thursday). In the process I have been reading the BFI Film Classic on Star Wars by Will Brooker. He defends Star Wars by arguing how, in many ways, it is a natural progression from THX 1138 and American Graffiti. This got me thinking back to THX 1138 and how, even though I enjoyed it, I always felt it seemed a bit too similar to 2001: A Space Odyssey. At any rate, the film was experiemental and art house and, considering the sh*t Lucas has to contend with, it is worth highlighting how good this film is.

Bargain Bin

A friend and I had an afternoon to kill and we decided to select one of the £3 DVD's in HMV each and conduct a double-bill. I selected THX 1138 and he selected Sexy Beast and, with very little correlation between the two, we nevertheless found parrallels between them. For one ... they both had a central protaganist trying to 'escape' ... both concerned characters who were uncertain about their future ... and the people who, to some extent, controlled them. Anyway, they are not the same, and I doubt Jonathan Glazer looked to THX 1138 for influence on Sexy Beast. Having said that, Jonathan Glazer chose UNKLE to do the soundtrack to Sexy Beast, while UNKLE used excerpts from THX 1138 in their music - specifically on 'I Need Something Stronger' on UNKLE's 'Never Never Land' album.

Dystopian Future?

Set in a dystopian future, it is not about the future. We watched a directors cut and I believe it is the only one available  on DVD. At any rate, it is a short film clocking in at roughly 90mins. We follow THX (Sounds a little like Sex?) played by Robert Duvall, a mundane worker whose "partner" stops him taking his medication (medication to keep him, to some extent, as a drone) and he begins to develop emotions. He develops the emotion of 'love' and makes mistakes. Something that his nuclear profession does not really accommodate - and once a mistake is made, it is all about 'Big Brother' trying to track him, capture him and control him.

The film was made two years after 2001: A Space Odyssey so there are shots that I cannot help but connect to Kubrick. The white-sets and tonal duality to this future seems to reek of Kubrick - maybe there were only so many options on how-the-future-looks in the 60's and 70's. THX's love interest is LUH (sounds like Love?), played by Maggie McOmie. This is the partner who stopped THX from taking the medication. She is played with intensity that shows the fear the human feels when they are not drugged-up. All characters are bald so female characters are telling despite the initially androgynous look; they show feminine grace shots of LUH and THX are organic and graceful, completely at odds with the technical and angular backdrop. The police poke characters with sticks and THX and LUH hold each other for emotion and a car chase sequence looks flawless despite the limiting special effects available in 1971. The overall viewing experience is inevitably enhanced on repeated viewings and - akin to Blade Runner - the story becomes second-nature as the dialogue and fascinating environment is what you keeps you engaged. You can spend time dipping into this futuristic world which, in this case, is terrifying.

Escapism

Its interesting to note that Lucas and Murch wrote the film in three acts - each one focussing on some form of escape. The first act highlights THX escaping the controlled world that he lives within. The second act is more abstract by focussing on THX escaping jail: a jail whereby there are no walls or locks, and is an an open space whereby choosing to be free is all that is neccessary - thus THX alongside the sinister and mad SEN (Donald Pleasance) escapes. The final act is action-orientated by including car chases that are purely down to some exceptional lighting and cinematography. Lalo Schifrin composes the score, which though eerie and expressive I recall it to be quite minimalist - nothing too overbearing.

It is a good film and, if you like Star Wars and the Sci-Fi genre as a whole, then I strongly advise you to watch it, but if not ... well, I wouldn't 'steer clear', but be aware that it can, at points, feel a little too abstract. This is George Lucas playing with cinema as the artist within breaks free. There is nothing about this film that appeals to a broad-demographic, it is merely an exploration on a theme of control and escape - an experiment by Lucas building upon the short he created in THX 1138 4EB in 1967. We can only dream about how Lucas would've developed if he stuck to this type of filmmaking - or whether he may even go back to this type of film at all. At least now he has the money and the freedom to do whatever he wants,  like THX in the prison of freedom, it is a question about whether Lucas chooses to go back to

what he clearly loves to create.

*This post was originally published on 2nd June 2009 and, like Lucas and his changes to Star Wars, has been improved dramatically since that initial post.

A-Z #58: Deep Impact

You can pick up hundreds of DVD's for a round-pound each - it doesn't matter. Its never about quantity, its about quality. A-Z is my way of going through my collection, from A-Z, and understanding why I own the films ... or you can tell me why I should sell 'em

#58 - Deep Impact 

Why did I buy it?

Back in the hey-day of comets-crashing-into-earth, both Deep Impact and Armageddon were always pitted against each other. I always stood firmly on the side of Deep Impact. Having mentioned Armageddon being good for Michael-Bay-ness, Deep Impact is all about the heart.

Why do I still own it?

 

Because the film much more personal and, to some extent, complex than Armageddon. Spoliers will be given here - unlike Armageddon, the spaceship sent to tackle the comet screw it up a little whilst a huge bunch of people die. The people who survive are no better or worse than each other - they are not particularly 'stronger' than others. People are chosen by a lottery (which is apparently what would happen...) and when the comet hits, it is deeply unsettling as some of your favourite characters are killed off. Mimi Leder directs too, which means she is one of the few female directors which I own a film of. No Amy Heckerling's or Jane Campion's here. Though, nowadays, who doesn't own The Hurt Locker. Suffice to say, i am a big fan of Deep Impact and, having watched the clip, I am keen to rewatch the film ASAP.

Maybe I should sell it? What are your thoughts?



A-Z #14: Apocalypse Now

You can pick up hundreds of DVD's for a buck each - it doesn't matter. Its never about quantity, its about quality. A-Z is my way of going through my collection, from A-Z, and justifying why I own the films...

#14 - Apocalypse Now 

Why did I buy it?

I held back on this for multiple reasons. I watched it back in my Uni days whereby Jo and I shared a flat. Jo had the film - the redux - and I borrowed and watched it. It was a long film. I fell asleep and watched the second half the following day. I always thought it was surely better than I recalled... so it was only a matter of time before I would watch the theatrical cut. Years later, that sweet tin-edition fell down in price to something like £7 and I was sold. The perfect opportunity to watch the film a second time.

Why do I still own it?

Because that second viewing was much better. I didn't fall asleep and I could appreciate the incredible images every frame offered. Even catching the shot I chose from this post was tough - the silhouetted 'copters with a burning-backdrop, each shot could be framed. Martin Sheen is incredible in his role and the gritty truth of war is highlighted in a tasteful and expressive way. I see now the masterpiece that Apocalypse Now is.

I know I shall watch this many, many more times in the future...

  

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