#3 The Godfather Part II:

This movie feels nothing like a sequel. Every drop of essence from the first is carried into the second. It is exactly what it says it is, Part II. Part II of a two part epic. (I chose to discount the third as it was made for other reasons than to complete the story.) I’m glad that I watched these two within the span of a few days. It really helped to tie them together, as they were meant to be. There really isn’t all that much more to say, except to briefly talk about Robert DeNiro. How did Coppola know? Why chose a relative unknown to star as the young Vito? In present day minds, DeNiro and Pacino are inevitably tied together, and not because of Righteous Kill, which sucked. They were two of the best and most intense actors of the 70’s and early 80’s. Names that are almost synonyms. I find it very strange. Having said that, why DeNiro? He gaze in particular is so different from Brando’s Vito Corleone that it almost feels like a different character. I had a difficult time with this aspect. But maybe that’s because I’ve seen too many DeNiro movies. That aside, don’t ask me to choose which of the two is the superior. It’s not like one half of a good sandwich is different from the other.