The Godfather VS The Godfather: Part II

Now this is a tough one. I love The Godfather: Part II. It is one of my favorite movies. But in the grand scheme of things, I believe The Godfather is the better movie of the two. It is in this movie that we are introduced to the great characters that make up the Corlenone crime syndicate. Seeing Michael's rise to power and fall from grace has much more of an impact than seeing just how far he can fall in Part II.

Seeing the movie for the first time, you have no idea what to expect (assuming you haven't read the book). The horse head. Restaurant shooting. Sonny's death. The door closing. Such iconic scenes. Part II does not create as many iconic moments. Again, I love Part II and its my second favorite movie of all time (after Part I, of course).

Part II could have been my favorite of the two. But here are some things II had going against it. The writing off of Clemenza. If it were him in that bathtub, Jesus Christ! I loved him and it was a shame the actor wanted to write his own lines. WTF was he thinking? The off screen return of Vito. The studio should have just played ball with Brando and done all they could have to get him on the set for that one day of shooting. Although, I believe he was being pretty difficult. Had he returned for that final flashback, the scene would have carried more weight.

When all is said and done, I believe The Godfather is better than The Godfather: Part II. But if there is one thing we can all agree upon, it is that Part III is the worst of the bunch. Coppola, you should have called it a day after II. Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.