Playlist: The Godfather Part II

Micheal Corleone is a bad Father:

On this "Fathers Day"...I got breakfast cooked for me...then my children had a pillow, blanket and a remote control on the couch. Tucked between the remote and the blanket was the Godfather DVD set...so I got to watch the Godfather Part II today.

What a great gift...in the morning, no interruptions...just this film that I have as the best film of 1974 and probably in my top 5 films of all time.

I haven't seen this full and uninterrupted in a long time. It holds up great, but a few observations.

1. "Keep your friends close but your enemies closer"...Micheal doesn't really know who tried to kill him early in the film...he tries to smoke out the rats through telling Tom Hagen, Hymen Roth, and Frankie Pantangelo all someone else "did it"...until Fredo...freaking Fredo makes the mistake of saying the wrong thing in front of Micheal...

2. Its all Pacino....sure DeNiro is in it...DuVall really has a small role as does Diane Keaton

3. Pacino never smiles and is never happy...not once

4. I miss Bruno Kirby

5. I think only 4 people die...wait maybe 5

6. Coppola tried to get Brando to reprise the role as Godfather in a flash back scene..he refused, which then gives us the picture above.

7. If it wasn't for the flash back DeNiro and Little boy coming to America scenes..this film is a downer...great...but a downer, revenge thriller...I have never seen the "Saga" version that just plays out in chronology all 3 films...but it would be interesting.

Lifetime Movies: 1974

Coming in later than our beloved Franco...let's get it out of the way and say that the easy choice, and the right choice, is Godfather Part II. Sure it's a no-brainer, but what about why it works..the great acting, the timeless tale, the morality play. Then there are the great actors...the saddest casting choice still is that FFC (Coppola) could not get Robert DuVall to be in The Godfather III...in my mind this would have led him to not focus on his sister and daughter so much in the failed last film of this great saga.

Also...I gotta say that this really was FFC's year, The Conversation also came out--this is a hidden classic, and FFC's last film to be written as an original script till last year's Tetro. Being that GF II is the first in this series lets also get straight that there was no way that Frank or I saw this as infants. I must have been 7 before I saw this film...it was always there, always a part of my life as a kid..the best memories must be reading the Italian and seeing DeNiro as my hero.

Other films that get a nod in 1974 are as follows with comments:

Benji: my first film I ever saw, it was in a church basement in Brooklyn

Godzilla v Mechagodzilla: funny I would have picked this to be made earlier, I loved all Godzilla films as a kid and loved the fact that all other ideas had failed and the Japanese had to resort to building a Mecha- version of Godzilla to defeat him

The Lords of Flatbush: this film is probably terrible...but as a kid from Brooklyn, you have to pay attention to films that specify your hometown, not to mention it features Stallone and the Fonz

A few other thoughts: There was a lot of crap this year, that's 1974...and it goes to show you, every year there is a lot of crap. It's our job to DISTILL it for you.

Lifetime Movies: 1974

Nominees: Blazing Saddles, Chinatown, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Young Frankenstein

The influence of Tobe Hooper's Chainsaw should be recognized not only as a genre touchstone, but for it's low-budget, indie success. And it's that rawness, the starkness of the violence, that has kept it alive and relevant through the years. (Plus, it gave us Francis "Chainsaw" Gremp from Summer School.) Speaking of influence, Chinatown is still regarded as having a nearly perfect screenplay, not to mention a powerhouse lead performance by Jack Nicholson. But the year comes down to the unlikely showdown between Mel Brooks and Francis Ford Coppola, each with an amazing 2 classic films released during the year. Blazing Saddles has long been a favorite (not to mention a sentimental choice because my grandfather was a big fan--ah, baked beans) and has held up better than a lot of Brooks' other films as I got older. Besides being relentlessly quotable, it's a rare important comedy, handling race in a way that would never be allowed today. That said, I can't go against the family (not to mention what may be the best movie of all time.) This one's for you, Fredo.

Winner: The Godfather Part II

Notes: A lot of really cool-sounding schlock this year (including 5, count 'em 5, Street Fighter movies), but it's hard to overshadow the all-time classics at the top of the heap...Even more impressive are the directors not mentioned above: Scorsese, Cassavetes, Peckinpah, and Altman...This was Gene Wilder--who needs to be remembered as one of the top comedic actors ever--at his peak...And get this--check out who else was born this magical Year of the Tiger: Christian Bale, Penelope Cruz, Hillary Swank, Amy Adams, Leo. And, of course, on October 28, Joaquin Phoenix. Suck on that, '75.

(For more info on this series, click here.)