This movie shows us two stories: now Michael is trying to put the family on a legal level, but it’s hard. Then we see the past, Vito’s life since he was a child, how he grew up to become the Don.
Robert De Niro did a good job, I always liked him much more than Brando.
Life of Vito Corleone:
when Vito was 9 his father was murdered for an insult to the local Mafia boss, in the town of Corleone, Sicilia. His older brother was killed too because he wanted revenge.
- There were moments that people were speaking in Sicilian and the subtitles said: speaking Italian… :lol, definitely not Italian, no.
Vito Andolini was the woman’s only son now, so she went to beg Don Ciccio for his life, but the man insisted that he’d grow up and seek revenge. At this point the woman put a knife at the Don’s throat. She was killed, of course, the don was not alone, but she succeeded in what she wanted to do. Vito escaped. Someone helped him exit the town, and he sailed to America.
Once there, he was registered as Vito Corleone. He was sick so he stayed three months in quarantine.
He grew up, got married and had a son, Santino. At the theatre, a friend points Don Fanucci out to him. He’s Italian but he harasses other Italians because he knows nobody can protect them. Now Fanucci wants Vito’s boss to hire his nephew, but the man can’t afford to pay two men, so he lets Vito go. Vito understands.
He has a second son, Fredo, who is not well, little thing.
He makes a living by stealing with two friends, and is not happy about having to pay Fanucci. His friends are scared, Fanucci owns the neighbourhood, but Vito insists he’ll talk to Fanucci himself, to make him accept a lesser payment, he tells them that he’ll make the don an offer he can’t refuse… Vito only speaks to him and they leave in peace, but then Vito enters his house and shoots him dead.
He has a third son now, Michael.
Some time later, he’s known to everyone in the neighbourhood, business is good, now he has money and people know him. A widow, friend of his wife, asks for help to keep her home, she’s been evicted, so Vito talks to her landlord. When he asks around and learns who Vito is, he gives Vito back his money and even lowers the woman’s rent.
Vito went back to Sicily to meet some relatives with his four children, and of course he personally kills old Don Ciccio.
Michael:
It’s his son’s First Communion. “Connie” Costanza has a new man and is very richly dressed, and spoiled.
A senator speaks at the party. Tom is his lawyer. They’re in Nevada, and already have four hotels.
The senator is not nice to Michael, when they speak in private. He tells him he doesn’t like his kind, doesn’t like his kind of people to come to his town, trying to pass as decent Americans… and he goes on, very disrespectfully. He wants 250.000$ for a license that should cost 20.000 tops, so Michael answers that he’ll give him nothing but will have it anyway, and the senator himself will pay for it.
Connie has her audience with Michael. She’s getting married again (she’s recently divorced). She barely sees her children. She’s here now because she needs money. Michael is not pleased.
Kay reminds him of what he said about making the family’s business totally legitimate, legal, and that was seven years ago. That night, someone tries to shoot him in his own house, through his bedroom windows. He decides to leave, alone, and he leaves all his trust on Tom.
Michael goes to meet Mr Roth, a man he’s sort of doing business with. He tells him the man who tried to kill him is Frank Pentangeli, because Frank asked Michael’s permission to kill the Rosato brothers, but Michael said no because it interfered with his business plans. Now he speaks to Roth because he wants nothing to ruin their business plans for the future. Roth has no objections. Michael then talks to Frank and tells him that Roth is behind it, and gets Frank’s help in finding out who in his family betrayed him.
When Frank goes to his meeting with the Rosato brothers, they try to kill him for Michael. Or so they say, but it’s not true.
Michael and Roth have business in Cuba too.
Michael tells Fredo the same thing, that it was Roth. Fredo lies to him about knowing Johnny Ola, but later betrays himself talking about him. Ola is Roth’s man.
The senator woke up with a dead prostitute in his bed, but Tom/Michael “helped him out”.
Michael tells Fredo he knows that he’s the traitor, and it broke his heart. Michael has Johnny killed, but his man is killed before he can finish Roth off as well.
He goes back home. Roth is getting better in Miami. Tom tells him that Kay lost the baby she was carrying.
Michael is under investigation. Frank is still alive and scared out of his mind that Michael will kill him because he thinks he tried once before.
Michael hears Fredo’s lame explanation for what he did, then says he’s nothing to him now, but doesn’t want anything to happen to him as long as his mother is alive.
At the trial, Frank’s big moment is here, but he sees his brother present, so he goes back on his previous statement. Vincenzo can now go back to Sicily knowing that their honor is whole.
Kay tells Michael she wants to leave and take the children with her, their son and daughter. Michael says he’ll never allow her to take the children away, then Kay tells him that it was not a miscarriage but an abortion, she did it because she didn’t want another child to grow up as a murderer. Enraged, Michael slaps her but tells her she’ll never take his children.
When his mother dies, Connie asks to come back to the family, and she smuggles Kay in to meet the children when Michael is out. When he sees her, he closes the door in her face without a word.
He has Roth killed. Frank though commits suicide knowing that this way his whole family will be safe. Next is Fredo, killed while fishing.
Michael has won, but he is alone.
We’re now close to where the first film started. Vito’s kids are grown up, and at his birthday party they’re all home for him. Sonny introduces Carlo to Connie. Michael then makes Sonny angry by saying that he joined the Marines, annoyed that his father and brothers try to plan his future. He wanted to choose it himself.
Next scene shows us Michael now, alone.
Michael - Al Pacino
Tom - Robert Duvall
Vito - Robert De Niro
Fredo - John Cazale
Kay - Diane Keaton
Connie - Talia Shire
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