The Godfather Part II

Its sequel, The Godfather, Part III, was released in 1990. Both shows also featured as their theme song "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets, which led to the song returning to the American record charts in 1974, 20 years after it was recorded. The success of The Godfather Part II began the Hollywood tradition of numbered sequels, as with Rocky III, Halloween 2, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and many others. The unexpected success of this film helped to inspire ABC to give the green light for the television series Happy Days, which also starred Ron Howard. Paramount Pictures was initially opposed to his decision to name the movie The Godfather Part II. According to Coppola, the studio's objection stemmed from the belief that audiences would be reluctant to see a film with such a title, as the audience would supposedly believe that, having already seen The Godfather, there was little reason to see an addition to the original story. The film is included in the National Film Registry. In the director's commentary on the DVD edition of the film (released in 2002), Coppola states that this film was the first major motion picture to use "Part II" as the title. The film was nominated for several Academy Awards:.

The film has also been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. Instead of attending college, he becomes an insurance salesman. Gazzo), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Lee Strasberg), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Talia Shire) and Best Costume Design. Ironically, by the end of the night it is Curt who goes off to college, while Steve decides to stay in town and settle down with Laurie. It was also nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Al Pacino), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Michael V. Terry uses Steve's car to pick up a girl. In addition to Best Picture, The Godfather Part II won Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Robert De Niro), Academy Award for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Director (Francis Ford Coppola), Best Music, Original Dramatic Score (Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola) and Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted From Other Material. John splits his time between trying to pick up girls and defending his reputation as the fastest drag racer in town.

In fact, some have commented that even while Coppola won Best Director for The Godfather, there is an equally good case for him to win the same award for The Conversation if he were nominated for that film. Curt spends the whole night riding around in other people's cars obsessing about a mysterious blonde driving a white Ford Thunderbird. The Conversation was released to theaters in 1974 and was also nominated for Best Picture, resulting in Coppola being the only director in Hollywood history to have two films released in the same year nominated for Best Picture and competing for the same prize at the Academy Awards. Steve, on the other hand, is not sure about his relationship with steady girlfriend Laurie, Curt's sister. In between The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, Coppola directed The Conversation, a story of a paranoid wiretapping and surveillance expert (played by Gene Hackman) who finds himself caught up in a possible murder plot. Curt is not sure if he wants to go off to college, despite receiving a lodge scholarship, much to Steve's consternation. The Godfather series remains the only series to win two awards for Best Picture award, however. The film focuses on vignettes about the four young men: Curt, Steve, Terry, and John.

The Godfather, Part II is one of only two sequels ever to win the Academy Award for Best Picture (the other being The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King). However, Wolfman Jack did broadcast from XERB, but not in the manner shown in the picture. Francis Coppola has suggested (perhaps retroactively) that the ambiguity of this plot reflects the double-dealings and betrayals of the underworld, in which no one can really trust anyone (despite the emphasis on "family" and "business" that is repeatedly stated throughout the series). This is because provisions of the Brinkley Act forbade cross-border broadcasting. The person responsible for this "mob hit" is never truly revealed, and some have said it is a weakness in the plot; however, audience members have generally chosen to overlook this plot point in favor of the overall story. The depiction of Wolfman Jack broadcasting live from a local studio in California via a transmitter in Mexico is not accurate. Some discussions and minor complaints from fans and film buffs focus upon one apparent plot hole in the story, involving an assassination attempt upon the Corleone family lieutenant in New York City, Frank Pentangeli (played by Michael Gazzo). The movie gained some of its popularity through its accurate reflection of period music.

By the time the film's climax is reached, in a montage of death and murder that mirrors the climax of the first film, Michael has committed unforgivable sins and destroyed the heart of the family—and his own soul. The low-budget movie was mostly shot during night in less than a month. Unlike his father, Michael finds himself in a changed world, where the Corleone family finds itself falling apart, even as Michael reaches to make the Corleone business more powerful than ever before. Although the movie was based upon the memories of George Lucas regarding his teenage years in Modesto, California, it was shot on location around San Rafael and Petaluma in the Bay Area of Northern California. The "modern day" portion of the film takes place several years after Vito Corleone's death, and his son Michael Corleone's ascension to the role of the new Don. The script was written by George Lucas, Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck. In a meticulous recreation of the Italian section of New York City at the beginning of the 20th Century, the audience experiences the early life of Vito Corleone, and his experiences with the Mafia: the murder of his father (first), brother (second) and mother (third) by a Sicilian crimelord; his flight to America, where he finds the mob in control of the Italian neighborhood of his new home; his beginnings as a petty thief, and his eventual rise to power as the new "Don." As in The Godfather, Vito Corleone portrays the mythical Mafia Don as a man of respect, someone who appears to be out to help his fellow men (despite the acts of murder and violence he commits). Suzanne Somers had a small but notable part as a blonde in the Ford Thunderbird.

This version of Vito is played by different actors at different ages, but the adult Vito is played by Robert DeNiro, who won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for a role in which, interestingly, he speaks almost no English-language dialogue. It also featured the first major public appearance by disc jockey Wolfman Jack. One storyline is the continuing story involving Michael Corleone in the 1950s; the other is a flashback sequence following his father, Vito, from his youth in Sicily up through the founding of the Corleone crime family in New York and the births of Michael and his siblings. American Graffiti starred Richard Dreyfuss (Curt Henderson), Ron Howard (Steve Bolander), Paul Le Mat (John Milner), Charles Martin Smith (Terry Fields), Candy Clark, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips and Harrison Ford. The plot consists of two parallel storylines, and the film switches back and forth between them. The film was followed by a sequel titled More American Graffiti in 1979. Coppola then insisted upon complete creative control of the film and a minumum of studio interference, plus a sizable salary; Paramount Pictures agreed to these conditions, and Coppola committed himself to directing the sequel. broadcasting studio that is linked to the transmitter of border-blaster XERB in Mexico.

He initially suggested to Paramount that Martin Scorsese (who was still an up-and-coming director at the time, as well as a friend of Coppola) direct the sequel, but the studio refused. The commentary is from his U.S. Coppola stated that he was not in favor of directing a sequel to The Godfather, because he had waged a number of battles with the studio (and at one point was even danger of being fired from his position). It is set in 1962 against the backdrop of commentary and music created by disc jockey Wolfman Jack. The film was written by Francis Ford Coppola from the original work by Mario Puzo, and was directed by Coppola. It tells the story of a group of small-town middle-class American California teenagers on the last night of summer. Many critics consider the sequel to be equal to (if not superior to) the original film in quality. American Graffiti is a 1973 film directed by George Lucas.

Gazzo, John Cazale, Talia Shire and Lee Strasberg. Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced - Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and George Lucas. The movie also stars Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Michael V. Best Picture - Francis Ford Coppola and Gary Kurtz. The movie follows the original Godfather film by alternating the story of a young Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro), with his son Michael's (Al Pacino) rise to control the Mob in Las Vegas. Best Film Editing - Verna Fields and Marcia Lucas. The Godfather, Part II is the 1974 sequel to The Godfather. Best Director - George Lucas.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Candy Clark.