It served as both a sequel and a prequel to The Godfather (1972) by weaving back and forth between the aftermath of the original movie and the backstory as to how and why Vito Corleone immigrated from Sicily to the U.S., and his rise as the founder of his family enterprise in New York City.
Historic: The Godfather Part II is the first sequel to have won a Best Picture OscarĪlthough The Godfather II (1974) did not surpass the original film commercially, it did go on to become Paramount Pictures' highest-grossing film of 1974, ultimately earning $93 million at the world wide box office on a $13 million budget. It became the highest-grossing film of 1972, and for a time it was the highest-grossing film ever made, earning between $246 and $287 million at the box office. The character's arc is about as good as it gets for an actor: going from shy son and reluctant family outsider who served his country honorably in World War II, to unsuspecting hitman, and eventually the ruthless mob boss of the Corleone family. He was just 31 and only had one film on his resume when Coppola approached him about playing Michael Corleone. Over these five decades since its release, the film has received universal acclaim from critics and audiences alike, with praise for the performances, and in particular Brando, Pacino, James Caan and Robert Duvall, Coppola's directing, the screenplay by Coppola and Puzo, cinematography, editing, and the music score.ĭressed in all black, consisting of blazer, pants, t-shirt, scarf and sneakers, the 82-year-old Pacino talked about his life as an actor leading up to the shoot for The Godfather and the aftermath.