nification of evil. The only emotions that remain are the desires to punish those who have hurt him. The second part involves flashbacks of Michael's father Vito first as a boy, then as a young man. Vito (De Niro) immigrates to America, alone, to escape a vendetta against his family. Although he can be as ruthless as his son would later be, Vito also rewards with favors those who are on his side. Since the people he kills seem to deserve it, Vito comes off better than Michael does. De Niro's detached cool provides a welcome break from Pacino's relentless gloom, and it was wise of Coppola to shuffle the two films together despite the film's length and the disturbance of continuity. The plot of the movie is rather complex, thanks to this revolutionary idea by Coppola to mix two stories. Both stories come together perfectly and affect us equally. Coupled with Nina Rota's mournful score we are told a story of one man's self-destruction. They are both examples of near cinematic perfection, and they are both hard-hitting tales that live in your mind.Even though “The Godfather Part II” did not earn as much financial success as its prequel earned, it earned much more critical success. This is reflected by the twelve Academy Award nominations the movie earned, winning six academy awards: Best Art Direction, Best Direction, Best Original Dramatic Score, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Picture. This is compared to the first movie’s three awards won. Is it true that most sequels pale in significance to the original, that most sequels become flops instead of attaining the blockbuster status of the original? Absolutely. The “Batman” series is one of many such examples. But “The Godfather Part II” is an exception. “The Godfather Part II” is a more ambitious production than the original since it attempts not only to tell a pair of completely disconnected stories, but also to do so in parallel. The ...
