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The second part of “The Godfather” saga and, arguably, the best film of the three Francis Ford Coppola directed continues to resonate because of the dramatic dilemma that faces Michael Corleone (Al Pacino). “The Godfather Part II” also ranks as one of the best American films ever made. As to where it fits on that list, you’ll have to decide for itself. Coppola’s classic still has to duke it out with “Citizen Kane”, “Vertigo”, “2001: A Space Odyssey” and other classic films. Faced with betrayal on all sides Michael becomes the thing he hated most; the shadowy monster that his father hid from is family. This is the closed that cinema has ever come to an epic American Shakespearean drama. Coppola in collaboration with novelist Mario Puzo turned what could have been a soap opera into a dark morality play. It was all about business but business here quickly turns into murder. It’s been nearly 10 years since Don Vito Corleone’s (Marlon Brando) death. Michael faces challenges from his rivals in a story that parallels the rise to power of young Vito (Robert De Niro in a tour de force performance tha equals Pacino’s masterful turn) in Little Italy. Coppola weaves their two stories in an amazing visual and narrative dance that makes it one of the greatest films to emerge from American cinema. ---

We get the original theatrical trailer but not much else but given the film’s length and the anamorphic transfer here, that’s not really a surprise. Fans of the first two movies will be happy that they can finally get them without being stuck with “The Godfather III”. It’s unfortunate that Paramount chose not to include the extras that were a highlight of the boxed set released in 2001. At the very least, the studio could have done a brand new digital high definition transfer along with a featurette on the making of the film. ---