‘The Godfather Part II’ at 50: How the gangster movie made sequels cool

The original Godfather premiered in 1972, becoming one of the most influential films of all time, most especially in the gangster genre, and then spawned a sequel that has also wielded considerable influence. The Godfather Part II had its nationwide release on Dec. 20, 1974, and accomplished a few things that were, up to that time, unheard of for a sequel film — even besting its predecessor at the Oscars with six wins, compared to three. Read on as we celebrate the The Godfather Part II 50th anniversary.

Up to the release of The Godfather, gangster films primarily concentrated on criminals and their actions, usually with a strong moral lesson of why crime doesn’t pay. By the late 1960s, films like Bonnie and Clyde began portraying criminals in a more romanticized or sympathetic light, but not quite like The Godfather. With its concentration on the Italian immigrant culture, and the focus on the complex family dynamics of a high-ranking crime boss, The Godfather has influenced films like Goodfellas and TV shows like The Sopranos. But writer and director Francis Ford Coppola didn’t stop there. He, with the novel’s author and fellow screenwriter Mario Puzo, added another layer to the Corleone saga with the film that acted as both a sequel and prequel to the first film.

With The Godfather Part II, Coppola wanted parallel stories of father and son, at about the same age, interwoven into one film. One storyline is set in the 1950s, a few years after the death of Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), with his son Michael (Al Pacino) now don of his father’s organization, and located primarily in Nevada, with goals to lay stakes in Las Vegas casinos and in Havana. At home, his wife Kay’s (Diane Keaton) unhappiness with Michael’s business has caused a strain on their marriage, while a contentious relationship with a senator and Michael’s refusal to help a Corleone capo causes rifts in his empire. An assassination attempt brings matters to a head, and Michael’s discovery of the mole in his organization further fractures his family.

The parallel storyline follows his father Vito’s (Robert De Niro) journey from a child who was sent alone to Ellis Island after his family was murdered by the Sicilian mob, to a young married father in New York whose efforts to make a living are prohibited by neighborhood crime boss Don Fanucci (Gatone Moschin), to the rising criminal who takes matters into his own hands by taking care of Fanucci and earning the respect and gratitude of his neighbors, to the major crime figure who avenges his family’s murders.

It was a heavy — and risky — undertaking, especially editing the two stories into one cohesive film that was neither too long nor too difficult to follow. Coppola had not been first choice to direct The Godfather, and he had initially not been enthused about that project, but the success of that film allowed him more control over The Godfather Part II, and he inserted his influence. One point he argued for was the title. This was the first sequel to use Part II in the title, and studio executives feared that audiences would be uninterested. But they were wrong. Even though Part II didn’t beat the original at the box office, it was the studio’s highest-grossing film for that year, and ended in the top 10 overall. And although critics were initially divided over the film, it did better at the Academy Awards ceremony than its predecessor.

In 1973, The Godfather tied with Cabaret for the most Oscar nominations with 10. At that ceremony, Cabaret took home eight statues, including Bob Fosse for Best Director, becoming the movie with the most Oscar wins without winning Best Picture. The Godfather was named champ, but claimed victory in only two more categories — Brando for Best Actor, and Coppola and Puzo for Best Adapted Screenplay.

But The Godfather Part II came out on top in 1975, even though it had a very worthy opponent in Chinatown. Both films were honored with 11 nominations, with Chinatown only taking home Best Original Screenplay, and Part II taking home six wins, including three for Coppola. He became one of just a handful of directors who have had two films nominated for Best Picture in the same year; however, Coppola also has the distinction of having written and produced the films. He also received nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture for The Conversation, making his total nominations for 1975 at five. He won Best Picture (shared), Director, and Adapted Screenplay (with Puzo) for The Godfather Part II, making this the first of just two sequels to win Best Picture. However, whereas both Godfather films won Best Picture, the win for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of King in 2004 is the only film of that franchise to win. Each franchise, however, has had three films to vie for the top prize.

It is also extremely rare for a film to receive more than two acting nominations in a single category. In fact, it’s only happened five times, and two of those times were for The Godfather films, with the last occurrence up to 2024 at the 1975 ceremony. James Caan, Robert Duvall, and Pacino were all nominated in supporting for The Godfather, and lost to Joel Grey for Cabaret. Two years later, De Niro, Michael V. Gazzo, and Lee Strasberg battled for the title, with De Niro capturing his first acting trophy. With Brando’s win for playing Vito Corleone in the first film, this marked the first time two different actors won acting Oscars for playing the same person.

Pacino is one of six individuals who have been nominated for two acting Oscars for playing the same role in different films. He received a bid in supporting for the original film, and one for lead for the second. Pacino lost both, leaving many to wonder how that happeend on this second nomination, as it’s considered one of his best performances. However, he was up against Jack Nicholson for one of his now-iconic roles, Jake Gittes in Chinatown. And they both lost — instead it was veteran actor Art Carney of The Honeymooners TV fame who took home Best Actor, for Harry and Tonto.

This event was a family affair for the Coppolas. Francis’ sister Talia Shire was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the only daughter of Vito Corleone, Connie, who pleads for peace between her living brothers. And the patriarch of the family, Carmine Coppola, with Nino Rota, won for Best Score, marking two generations of winners at this ceremony.

The Godfather changed filmmaking in a way few movies have, entering into our pop culture with phrases like “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.” But the two films work so well together it’s now hard to imagine the existence of the first without the second — which also gave us some great quotes, like “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” Both have been copied, parodied, and honored many times over.

The third entry in the trilogy, The Godfather Part III, was released 15 years after the second, and concluded Michael Corleone’s story. But it’s the final scenes of The Godfather Part II that completely captures depth of the storylines — Michael’s memory from years before, when he, as a young man, startles his siblings with his plans for his own future, and is left sitting at the family table, alone and reeling from his family’s disappointment. Then it cuts to the older, more cynical, Michael, already visibly tortured by the weight of his decisions over the prior few weeks, with Carmine’s hauntingly beautiful score perfectly reflecting his pain.

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