The Godfather- Part II (1974)
Starring
Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro
Director
Francis Ford Coppola
Awards
Academy Awards
Best Art Direction / Set Direction
- Dean Tavoularis, Angelo Graham, George R. Nelson
Best Director - Francis Ford
Coppola
Best Picture
Best (Adapted) Screenplay - Francis
Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo
Best Score - Nino Rota, Carmine
Coppola
Best Supporting Actor - Robert De
Niro
Academy Award Nominations
Best Actor - Al Pacino
Film Notes
"Francis Ford Coppola took some of the deep background from
the life of Mafia chief Vito Corleone, the patriarch of Mario Puzo's bestselling novel The Godfather, and built around it a stunning sequel to his
Oscar-winning, 1972 hit film.
Robert De Niro plays Vito as a young Sicilian immigrant in turn-of-the-century New York
City's Little Italy. Coppola weaves in and out of the story of Vito's transformation into
a powerful crime figure, contrasting that evolution against efforts by son Michael
Corleone to spread the family's business into pre-Castro Cuba. As memorable as the first
film is, The Godfather II is an amazingly intricate, symmetrical tragedy that
touches upon several chapters of 20th-century history and makes a strong case that our
destinies are written long before we're born. This was De Niro's first introduction to a
lot of filmgoers, and he makes an enormous impression. But even with him and a number of
truly brilliant actors (including maestro Lee Strasberg), this is ultimately Pacino's film
and a masterful performance." (Tom Keogh, Amazon.com)