FAQ

The Godfather: Part II tells two stories in two different timelines. One timeline begins in 1901 and tells how nine-year old Vito Andolini (Oreste Baldini) emigrated from Sicily to become Don of the Corleone crime family in New York. It ends in 1925 when Vito (Robert De Niro) returns to Sicily with his wife and four young children-Sonny, Fredo, Michael, and Connie-in order to kill the man who killed his parents. The second story begins in 1958 as Vito Corleone's grandson Anthony (James Gounaris), son of Michael (Al Pacino) and Kay (Diane Keaton) Corleone, makes his First Communion and ends about a year or two later when young Anthony, his uncle Fredo (John Cazale), and Al Neri (Richard Bright) go fishing. The movie then ends with a flashback to December 1941 as the four Corleone children, their families, and adopted brother Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) are planning a birthday party for Vito, and Carlo Rizzi (Gianni Russo is introduced to Connie Corleone (portrayed by director sister Talia Shire). The two stories are told concurrently with the earlier timeline as flashbacks.

The Godfather: Part II is based on The Godfather (1969), a novel written by Italian-American author Mario Puzo [1920-1999], source of Le parrain (1972) (1972), the first movie in The Godfather franchise. Puzo and director Francis Ford Coppola wrote the screenplay for The Godfather Part II. However, only the story of Vito Corleone (now played by Robert De Niro) came from the novel. The continuation of Michael Corleone's story was written specifically for the film by Coppola and Puzo. The movie won the 1975 Academy Award for Best Motion Picture. There is also a third Godfather movie, Le parrain III (1990) (1990).

It's strongly advised that the movies be viewed in sequence. This second movie serves as both a prequel and a sequel to the first movie, which covers the years from 1945 to 1955 and portrays how and why Don Vito Corleone moved his family's business from New York to Las Vegas. The first movie also provides many of the references to loyalties and disloyalties in the family and describes how Michael Corleone came to take over his father's position as Don. Having this information from the first movie makes it a lot easier to follow the second.

When Vito arrived at Ellis Island in New York City in 1901, he was asked for his name. Vito, perhaps still in shock from the murder of his father, brother and mother back in Sicily, didn't speak much in his childhood so he did not reply, so an interpreter checked his immigration papers and found that his name was Vito Andolini from Corleone, Sicily. Consequently, the immigration inspector (a foreigner himself) gave him entry into the U.S. as Vito Corleone.

Coppola and Puzo originally intended for the character Peter Clemenza (Richard S. Castellano) to return and to focus on his troubles managing the New York family and his betrayal of Michael Corleone. However, Castellano demanded too much money to return and, in addition, wanted his girlfriend at the time to rewrite his dialogue. Rather than give in, Coppola wrote out Clemenza, explaining that he'd died in the intervening time between Parts I and II, and replaced him with his Lieutenant, Frankie Pentangeli (Michael V. Gazzo). Clemenza is still in the movie, albeit as a younger man in the scenes set in 1917, played by Bruno Kirby.