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If one were to come up with a simple formula for the success of film trilogies, it would be this: The first does well, the second is usually pretty good, and the third is at best average and at worst a shame to the franchise.
It’s a common truism that applies to trilogies like Back to the Future, Toy Story, Shrek, and The Matrix. As such, it’s rare for the second film to surpass the first in commercial success and critical acclaim. But for many film buffs, that’s exactly what happened with The Godfather II, which is often pops into the conversation as the greatest sequel of all time, if not a rare better than the original; that’s at least according to Jamie Lee Curtis, who described both films as “perfect pieces of film art” and has continually cited The Godfather II in particular as one of her favourite films.
Francis Ford Copolla’s 1974 sequel continues the saga of two generations of successive power within the Corleone family in a sprawling gangster epic set against the backdrop of 1940s New York. The original was hailed as a masterpiece when it was released in 1972. Starring the now-infamous Al Pacino as Michael, the son of mafia don Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando, the film won three Oscars and massive critical acclaim.
But only two years later, Coppola’s sequel doubled its Oscar wins, bringing home a triple whammy of ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Director’, and ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for Robert De Niro, who took on the role of a young Vito Corleone, with the film continuing the story of the Corleone family and transporting audiences back to his roots and rise in Sicily before he emigrated to America.
“Everything about it, from every performance, the tiniest performances to obviously the grand performances that we all know and love so much, the cinematography, the art direction, the food, the eating, the families” put The Godfather II in “a separate category”, Curtis told Deadline.
Warning: spoilers ahead
The actor cited two scenes in particular that approached the trilogy’s central themes of power, control, rage, and vulnerability and offered audiences some of the best performances ever put on screen. The first scene is when Kay, Michael’s second wife, played by Diane Keaton, tells Michael about her abortion. “It’s such a brave action for her to take to dismantle it,” says Curtis. “There is nothing she could say or do that would hurt him more”. Getting emotional, she commented that she was “so moved” by that moment: “Her performance in that scene, and the two of them, and his range. I have goosebumps”.
Her second favourite scene takes place in the now infamous lake house, which features one of the trilogy’s defining acts, and where Fredo, the second son of Vito Corleone, played impeccably by John Cazale, meets his ultimate demise. “That character has become now a reference to so many people and so many families,” reflected Curtis. “It’s such a heartbreaking scene. So beautifully framed. No tricks, no pyrotechnics, just beautiful writing, exquisite acting and really elegant, delicate direction.”
“That turns me on, that level of the craft. I’m going to start to cry,” she said. Jamie Lee Curtis’ love of The Godfather II is a preference shared by many actors, critics and directors, including seminal Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa and film critic Roger Ebert.
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