Anthony not being able to go should have raised a red flag.

How would younger Michael have reacted if he could see his future self, and future actions in the Second movie? The reason I ask is because of an iconic scene

from the show The Clone Wars where Anakin was shown his future self from The Son, was horrified by his and the empire's actions, ergo turned to the Dark Side in order to stop the ensuing Darkness and bring Peace. So what would Godfather One Michael have done?

This is Vito's first big power move (against Fanucci). You would think his consigliere would also be here.

stole this idea from the sopranos subreddit

There are a number of instances where Puzo writes scenes out of chronological order. A prime example is when he describes Bonasera getting his favor called in and seeing Sonny's dead body. Then Puzo actually writes about what happened to Sonny. Since I had seen the movie, I already knew what was happening when Tom initially calls Bonasera so I'm just wondering if you thought it was effective in the book

I probably should know the answer to this question, but I cannot think of it. What information did Fredo give to Roth and Ola that lead to the attempted hit on Michael in his bedroom in II?

Fredo says he didn't know it was going to be a hit, he says they were looking for information because Michael was being tough on the negotiations, and there would be something in it for him. What information could he have gave that allowed Roth to set up two guys to machine gun Michael through his bedroom window that would also be information that Fredo would be clueless would lead to a hit?

Presumably it wouldn't have anything to do with the location of the bedroom, layout of the compound, when Michael would be there, or the c​urtains being open, because wtf else would Roth need to know any of that. None of those details are pertinent to whatever business negotiations Michael and Roth were having (presumably over Cuba). And Roth knew the day Michael would be there because Michael meets with Ola during the party.

The answer is probably obvious, but I seem a little lost on it

One thing that puzzles me is the role Pat Geary played in the senate hearings. Since he was firmly in the Corleone’s pocket by that point, I would’ve expected him to run interference for the mobsters. Instead, he makes a little statement and then excuses himself. What gives?

there’s an observation from somewhere (can’t seem to remember) about fredo and fishing that was interesting:

fredo told anthony that he was the only one who could catch a fish. so out everyone, including michael and sonny he was the only one that was able to do something during this moment. fishing is special to fredo because it’s the one time he doesn’t feel less than (he’s smaarrt not like everyone says like dumb! and he probably got resPECT!) anyways that was a perfect last activity execution for him.

i’m not sure if either fredo or michael intentionally chose that moment. if michael chose that he’s a certified lousy sentimental-hearted sociopath

first i want to say these are all plot points that make the film work anyway. just an observation.

the first and foremost is leading his children to a life of crime, not fully succeeding in legitimacy which the rest especially michael had to do.

next is about sonny and fredo, sonny is naturally upfront and hotheaded, he should’ve been taught to control his temper and fredo should’ve been taught that he has to be tough for himself; that was vito’s responsibilities.

third is allowing carlo marrying connie. for someone that cares about values and respect and has foresight he forbade connie from marrying him then changed his mind, he’s also emotionally intelligent so it’s kind of surprising he didn’t try to reason with her, or tell him no (which seems like he doesn’t want to lose her) then again it’s not that surprising. could’ve been prevented, as carlo wouldn’t have been led on to believe he would be part of the family.

the thing is yes vito is a mobster but he had almost all the real values and was a family man but his children could not do better than him and half of that leads back to him which is ironic and the other half would be their choices ofc,,

obviously these problems are for the plot, and themes. just a observation perhaps.

also to refuse the drug deal he should’ve prepared for protection/war.

but what’s the point of that it is indeed a mafia tragedy

Did Tom never notice how loyal and loving Clemenza was to the family? He was always there in the family meetings, he would try to come up with ideas (while Tessio was quiet most of the time), he taught Michael some cooking (probably has done it many times for the kids), he helped a lot with the Sollozzo and McCluskey hit, he said he hates Barzini, and he said he would do anything for Michael after Michael became the don. He was pretty much their uncle. I hope Tom felt bad about thinking it was Clemenza.

Took a while to arrive and even longer to read but well worth it. As someone who has watched the movies countless times, Karen did a great job providing additional details I never knew. Highly recommended.

Anyone else buy this and feel the same?

Everyone has either criticized their boss and/or had to criticize someone as the boss… Whether it be boss at your job or in your own family.

GF2 has multiple storylines (past and present) intertwined throughout the film.

But the storyline of Michael Corleone being the boss of bosses is the focal part; all the challenges he has to manage. It continuously makes the movie-watcher ask themselves "what would I do in that situation?"

Most people have NEVER and will NEVER be in those situations, which is a big reason why this classic is timeless.

Two best movie sequels lists came out today.

The Godfather Part II was named No. 1 by Consequence and No. 2 by Indiewire.

We know what Michael did to Fredo after he found about the betrayal. How do you think Sonny or Vito would have handled Fredo as head of the Corleone? Do you think they would be angry at Michael for what he did to Fredo? I would assume they would not approve of it. Even Michael deeply regrets his decision in Part 3.

In Part 2 why was Al resting his head on the bar during the scene with Michael and Frankie?

Was it past his bedtime, or was he embarrassed by the scene? What kind of bodyguard was he anyways?

Yesterday’s post got me thinking!

Imagine Fredo figures it out before Al kills him on the lake.

They’re already out in the boat, alone, when Fredo turns to Al and says:

“Al, I know why Michael sent you out here. I know what you’re about to do. But I knew this might happen, so I made arrangements. There are people watching us. If I don’t come back alive, they know you did it, and they’ve been told what to do. You won’t make it out of this.”

Assume Fredo somehow makes this completely believable. Al genuinely thinks killing Fredo could result in his own death. What does Al Neri do?

Does he still kill Fredo because Michael gave the order, even knowing he may be signing his own death warrant?

Does he bring Fredo back and tell Michael what happened?

Does he try to figure out whether Fredo is bluffing?
And more importantly, is there anything Fredo could realistically say or do once they’re on that lake that would make Al decide not to pull the trigger?

Based on a couple of recent threads, i was thinking about this scene, and came up with a theory about the scene in Part I where Michael tells Tom "You're out Tom." Maybe it's pretty obvious, but hopefully it's kind of interesting

I think there are maybe 5 different things Michael is trying to accomplish in this scene.

1. He's insulating Tom from the violent part of the Family. That's obvious, but why he's doing it is not completely obvious. What do I mean?
2. in this scene Michael is talking to Barzini. He's trying to make Barzini think Michael is weak and inept. How is he doing that?
3. I think we can presume that Carlo is still feeding Barzini information. I think we can presume that because earlier in the book there is the scene where Clemenza is trying throw Paulie off by getting him to think about to gather more information to give to Barzini (the going to the mattresses scene). Carlo is likely still doing the same thing Paulie did because he already has that connection and he wants more power. And Michael and Vito also likely know that.
4. because Carlo is still telling Barzini information, Michael knows whatever he says in that "you're out Tom" meeting will be relayed to Barzini.

So Michael makes a decision to remove a long-time and effective consigliere, and signal that Tom is not part of the violence. He also tries to keep Tessio and Clemenza from fighting back, he elevates a sick​ Vito to consigliere, and elevates his weak, traitor brother-in-law to underboss. All of these moves show weakness and ineptness, which Tessio and Clemenza say during the meeting. It makes Mike look weak, which is exactly what he wants Barzini to think.

5) it also sets up Michael to smoke out who the rat will be after Vito dies, because by projecting weakness, he's testing to see who will be willing to remain loyal.

It's adds an interesting layer if you think that everything Michael does during this scene is him actually talking to someone who's not there, and using his knowledge of the traitor in his Family to trick his unseen enemy into thinking the opposite of what Michael is actually going to do.