The Godfather Part 2 Poster Original Daybill 1974 Al Pacino
Daybill Poster.The Godfather Part II is a 1974 American crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay co-written with Mario Puzo, starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. Partially based on Puzo's 1969 novel The Godfather, the film is both sequel and prequel to The Godfather, presenting parallel dramas: one picks up the 1958 story of Michael Corleone (Pacino), the new Don of the Corleone crime family, protecting the family business in the aftermath of an attempt on his life; the prequel covers the journey of his father, Vito Corleone (De Niro), from his Sicilian childhood to the founding of his family enterprise in New York City. Following the success of the first film, Paramount Pictures began developing a follow up to the film, with much of the same cast and crew returning. Coppola, who was given more control on the film, had wanted to make both a sequel and a prequel to the film to tell the story of the rise of Vito and the fall of Michael. The Godfather Part II opened on December 20, 1974 and grossed $47.5 million in North America on a $13 million budget. The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards at the 47th Academy Awards and became the first sequel to win for Best Picture. Its six Oscar wins also included Best Director for Coppola, Best Supporting Actor for De Niro and Best Adapted Screenplay for Coppola and Puzo. Pacino won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Both The Godfather Part II and its predecessor remain highly influential films, especially in the gangster genre. Some have deemed it superior to The Godfather.
