The Godfather: Part II (Movie)

Subterms

    Latest story

    125 Shares149 Views

    Fred Roos, Casting Director and Coppola Collaborator, Dies at 89

    by

    Widely considered to have the best eye for talent in Hollywood, he shared the best-picture Oscar with Francis Ford Coppola for “The Godfather Part II.”Fred Roos, a casting director and producer who championed the early careers of A-list actors like Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson and Carrie Fisher, and whose long collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola and his family, stretching from “The Godfather” (1972) to this year’s “Megalopolis,” earned him an Oscar and an Emmy, died on Saturday at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 89.His death was announced by his family in a statement.Many in Hollywood said that Mr. Roos had the best eye for talent in the business. He championed the young, relatively unknown Mr. Pacino for the role of Michael Corleone in “The Godfather” when the studio executives at Paramount wanted a better-known actor, like Robert Redford or Warren Beatty. And when his friend George Lucas was leaning toward Amy Irving for the role of Princess Leia in “Star Wars” (1977), Mr. Roos suggested he cast Carrie Fisher instead.Mr. Lucas listened — after all, it was Mr. Roos who had assembled the cast for his breakout film, “American Graffiti,” in 1973, including then-unknown actors like Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss and Mackenzie Phillips. He later did something similar for Mr. Coppola’s 1983 adaptation of the novel “The Outsiders,” bringing together the future stars Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze.Al Pacino as Michael Corleone and Talia Shire as his sister, Connie, in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather Part II.” Mr. Roos was a producer of the film, which won the best-picture Oscar in 1975.John Springer Collection/Corbis, via Getty ImagesHarrison Ford and Linda Christensen in George Lucas’s “American Graffiti,” for which Mr. Roos assembled the cast.Screen Archives/Getty ImagesMr. Roos was particularly taken with Mr. Ford, whom he met while the young actor was doing carpentry work on his home. After getting him the uncredited role of Bob Falfa, a wisecracking drag racer, in “American Graffiti,” he cast him in small roles in Mr. Coppola’s films “The Conversation” (1974) and “Apocalypse Now” (1979).But when he suggested Mr. Ford for the role of Han Solo in “Star Wars,” Mr. Lucas balked. He said he only wanted to cast actors he had never worked with.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    More stories

    • 125 Shares129 Views

      in Movies

      A ‘Godfather’ Guide: How Francis Ford Coppola’s Trilogy Has Evolved

      by

      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best MoviesBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest TheaterBest AlbumsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyA ‘Godfather’ Guide: How Francis Ford Coppola’s Trilogy Has EvolvedThe newly re-edited version of “Part III” is the latest in a string of editions of the sprawling Corleone tale. Here’s a primer.Michael (Al Pacino), right, and Fredo (John Cazale) in “The Godfather Part II.”Credit…CBS, via Getty ImagesDec. 9, 2020, 4:41 p.m. ETThe director Francis Ford Coppola is releasing his reimagined version of “Part III” of the “Godfather” saga this month, now called “Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone.” It’s hardly the first time he’s returned to the iconic series. From the 1972 drama that started it all to sequels and restorations, Coppola and audiences alike couldn’t help but revisit the trials and tribulations of the Corleones as the years unfolded. Here’s a guide to the films and their different cuts:1972‘The Godfather’Based on the runaway best seller written by Mario Puzo (it was the first paperback to ever sell six million copies), the movie that changed both filmmaking and perceptions of gangster culture was an instant hit. “Francis Ford Coppola has made one of the most brutal and moving chronicles of American life ever designed within the limits of popular entertainment,” Vincent Canby, the New York Times chief film critic, raved when the film was released in 1972. The drama became the highest-grossing film of the year and, at that point, ever. Largely considered among the best movies of all time (the American Film Institute ranked it No. 2 behind “Citizen Kane”), it garnered 11 Academy Award nominations, taking home three: adapted screenplay, picture, and actor for Marlon Brando’s performance as Don Vito Corleone.1974‘The Godfather Part II’No movie ever had “Part II” in the title before, a renegade concept added at the behest of Coppola. And its sprawling story, ranging across the 20th century from Italy to New York, California and elsewhere, transcended the mere gangster film and lives as a uniquely American epic, complete with a re-creation of an immigrant’s journey through Ellis Island. A box-office hit that successfully turned Robert De Niro into a Hollywood star, the sequel collected 11 Academy Award nominations and won six, including supporting actor for De Niro, along with director and picture. It was the first film follow-up to win the top prize, effectively cementing the allure of the movie sequel.1977‘The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television’As the first two films reverberated throughout popular culture, their impact was bolstered by the power of television. NBC originally shelled out a reported $10 million in 1974 just for “Part I,” resulting in the biggest TV audience for a theatrical release at the time. Coppola, in need of money to help bankroll what would become his next masterpiece, “Apocalypse Now,” brainstormed an entirely new “Godfather” experience in 1977, recutting the first two films with the editor Barry Malkin. They toned down the violence, added scenes originally left on the cutting-room floor, and presented the story in sequential order in lieu of the epic’s time-shifting narrative. Later released on VHS, licensed by HBO, AMC and Amazon Prime throughout the years and marketed under numerous titles (“The Godfather Epic,” “The Godfather Saga”), this version, too, was acclaimed. “The chronological rejiggering works extremely well,” The Times’s television critic, John J. Connor, wrote in his 1977 review, adding that the reimagining, “in some ways, constitutes a pronounced improvement.”1990‘The Godfather Part III’Coppola has readily admitted that he was strapped for cash when Paramount Pictures coerced him into orchestrating another installment of the Corleone chronicles. While its story is just as grand as the others, including an art-imitating-life subplot about a Vatican in debt, the production was rushed, its over-the-top action scenes were reminiscent of the recent hit “Die Hard,” and when Winona Ryder dropped out at the 11th hour, the infamously inexperienced Sofia Coppola (Francis Ford Coppola’s 18-year-old daughter) stepped in to play the ill-fated Mary. The movie received mixed reviews from critics and posted lackluster box-office results. And while the film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, it walked away empty-handed.2008‘The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration’With Coppola’s gold signature on the box, Paramount released this strictly technical restoration of the theatrical versions of the series for home video. Spearheaded by the film historian and preservationist Robert A. Harris, this refresh further showcased the work of the cinematographer Gordon Willis and his distinctive, stunning visuals, whether in dim interiors or the shimmering Miami sun. It’s this version that Paramount subsequently released in various special home-video box sets, like a 2017 limited “Omérta” edition and a 2019 “Corleone Legacy” edition for Blu-ray.2020‘Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone’Coppola took the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the third installment to vent his frustration in the editing suite. He shuffled and snipped the derided original cut and even retitled the picture, which became available Tuesday in digital and Blu-ray formats. “It was really our intention to make it a summing-up and an interpretation of the first two movies, rather than a third movie,” he explained in a recent Times interview with Dave Itzkoff. The result? A less-convoluted film tweaked to pack a bigger emotional punch. Then again, fans of “The Godfather” don’t need much prodding to spend more time with the Corleones.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More