The Godfather, Part II

BFI Film Classics

by Jon Lewis

Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, Part II (1974) is a magisterial cinematic work, a gorgeous, stylized, auteur epic, and one of the few sequels judged by many to be greater than its predecessor. This despite the fact that it consists largely of meetings between aspiring 'Godfather' Michael Corleone and fellow gangsters, politicians and family members. The meetings remind us that the modern gangster's success is built upon inside information and on strategic planning. Michael and his father Vito's days resemble those of the legitimate businessmen they aspire or pretend to be.

Jon Lewis's study of Coppola's masterpiece provides a close analysis of the film and a discussion of its cinematic and political contexts. It is structured in three “The Sequel,” “The Dissolve,” and “The Sicilian Thing” – accommodating three avenues of inquiry, the film's importance in and to Hollywood history, its unique, auteur style and form; and its cultural significance. Of interest, then, is New Hollywood history, mise-en-scene, and a view of the Corleone saga as a cautionary capitalist parable, as a metaphor of the corruption of American power, post-Vietnam, post-Watergate.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 6, 2022

About the author

Jon Lewis is the Distinguished Professor of Film Studies and University Honors College Eminent Professor at Oregon State University and the author of Hard-Boiled Hollywood, and several other books on film.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Paul Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

An American senator wakes up in a hotel bed next to a dead prostitute. Tom Hayden, the Corleone family’s solicitor, arrives and calms the senator down. He says :

This girl has no family,… it’s as if she never existed.

Professor Jon Lewis comments:

The line played differently in 1974 than it does today, as some contemporary viewers, including many of my students, see Tom’s speech as dismissive of the working woman on the bed, dismissive of women in general.

Cut to the end of this little book, page 87 :

A few years ago, I taught The Catcher in the Rye in a class on American youth culture. Along with so many among my generation, when I read Salinger’s book (back when I was about the same age as my college students are now) I empathised with Holden Caulfield’s existential struggle. I was surprised and dismayed to discover that this new crop of late teens and twentysomethings had little patience for Holden’s “whining” – a view summarised neatly by a student who groused “why doesn’t he just get a job?”

Poor modern professors who live to see their cherished great works get chewed up by a cruel pack of clearsighted youth who do not choose to pay tribute to the hoary shibboleths of the past.

The Godfather, both parts, is still great though. But you can throw Holden Caulfield in a cement mixer for all I care.

Note : This BFI Flim Classics series of books is so exquisitely produced, they are like tiny boxes of jewels with tiny jewelled photos on every other page, and even when the critic writing the text is a little on the dull side they are still one of my favourite things.

[Peter Baran · Rating 4 out of 5]

In many ways, this is the most simplistically structured BFI Film Classic I have read. Bar an intro that doesn't have to work hard to justify the film's inclusion in the canon, and a short chapter that details its production (and Copolla's position and attempt to create a new studio structure) the majority of the book slips its analysis within a pretty detailed scene by scene synopsis of the film. I initially thought it was just doing the opening, but it soon becomes clear that this choice traps the monograph into a certain kind of analysis - themes are tackled as they appear in the film which sometimes means other overarching ideas in the film are given short shrift.

A good example is how the film deals with its poor female representation. Diane Keaton gets one big monologue here, which is rightly discussed at length, whilst Talie Shire Connie flits in and out of the film. Lewis probably spends more time discussing Shire as an actress than Connie's role in the films (she is admittedly a lot more important in Part 1), and yet because hers and Keaton's important moments don't turn up until the end of the film, this discussion feels relegated as an afterthought. But I suppose my main issue was that these monographs are short, circa 20,000 words, and about half of that here it feels is spent physically describing and telling the story of the film. It's a deep dive, and structurally pure method that feels unusual because it has the air of book report about it. I learnt things from the early pre-production part, and lots of interesting tidbits were teased out in the main body of the book, but I felt the structure didn't eventually help the argument.

[J Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Godfather, Part II, by Jon Lewis, is an excellent addition to the BFI Film Classics series. This is a series of short books that present a classic film, usually from a specific perspective, with an eye toward offering more perspective and ways into the film. Lewis succeeds here quite well.

In his introduction he lays out what the main analysis will cover, namely using the production and story of the film to discuss where the film industry was at the time. Turns out the future was nothing like they expected at the time and this film along with Coppola himself helps to understand what went right as well as what went wrong.

While the book does follow the film fairly closely, it is not a simplistic approach, it is using the structure of the film to highlight the many points of analysis Lewis makes. Looking both back to the first film and forward to later scenes, we can situate what is happening and what is produced within the context of the Godfather story and the Hollywood story.

Because of the nature of the series (short, focused books) this can't be everything to everyone. If you understand that these are short books, then to complain about not touching on every aspect is asinine at best.

I would recommend this not only to film buffs and Godfather fans, but also to anyone new to the film. It offers an analysis that presents several avenues into the film without being heavily theory driven.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting introduction talking about how the sequel and it's casting came about, followed by an in depth exploration of the film, interspersed with insight and bits of film gossip. Not quite the critique of the film that I may have expected but a good read nonetheless. Would be of particular interest to filmmakers but definitely only read if you've seen the film!

With thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Karl O' · Rating 5 out of 5]

For good reasons the book concentrates on the Michael saga. Probably because the Vito story is really WYSIWYG and lacks any tension. I took a lot of great ideas from this book.

[Jeff Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another solid addition to the BFI classics series.

This is one of those that moves through the film, analysing as it goes, with some nice insights and a well written introduction.