Originally posted by Sicilian Babe:
... when he describes Fredo's death, he says "I killed my father's son," as if, as a parent, he only now realized the enormity of what he did...
Don Cardi beat me to it, but I have to reiterate: that is a terrific insight.
Originally posted by Sicilian Babe:
... he had done his dastardly deeds only to protect his family, just as Vito had. However, he went horribly awry.
Yes, I agree. In fact, I thought FFC presented this very clearly in GF II. Michael had great love for his family. The whole reason he assumed control of the family business was for the love of his father and to protect his father's legacy, since he was the only suitable heir. And the reason he expanded his father's empire was to pass on an even stronger legacy to his own children. But the concept of "strength for his family" made Michael averse to any sign of weakness, making him believe he had to be the most powerful, the most feared, the most forceful. This corrupted his goals and made his dream go horribly awry, as you so aptly described.
It's just my opinion that this was so well portrayed in GF II that I didn't need it spelled out for me in GF III. I felt that GF III was spoon-feeding me with its repetitiveness. I do agree that GF III had touching moments. I just think that GF II, especially the ending, was done better. (But we both agree on that too.
)
Originally posted by Don Cardi:
Just a side note : Let's remember that when FFC made GFII, he wrote that ending with the intent of completing the story. It was supposed to be finished. Done. He never even thought of a GFIII at the time. If you look closely at Micahel at the end of GFII, he is made to appear older, his eyes are sunk in, dark, etc.
That's very interesting. I read another review where the writer also speculated whether the final image of Michael was actually one from years after Fredo's death instead of immediately afterward, since Michael did appear to have aged so much.
But to me, that just makes GF III all the more redundant. I thought I read that FFC was pressured to make GF III to get American Zoetrope, his production company, out of debt. If so, GF III was a financial, not an artistic, enterprise ... and it shows.
GF II was the perfect close of the Corleone saga. It just makes me so sad that the making of GF III places the
Godfather masterpiece dangerously close to becoming a franchise, a la
Indiana Jones.Just my two cents
... I guess you can tell that I consider
The Godfather Part II a masterpiece, and
Godfather Part III an unworthy successor.
