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The Godfather Part II
(1974)
Album Cover Art
1991 MCA
2024 La-La Land
Album 2 Cover Art
Co-Composed by:
Nino Rota

Co-Composed and Conducted by:
Carmine Coppola

Produced by:
Tom Mack
Labels Icon
LABELS & RELEASE DATES
MCA Records
(March 26th, 1991)

La-La Land Records
(November 12th, 2024)
Availability Icon
ALBUM AVAILABILITY
The 1991 MCA Records album is a regular U.S. release. The 2024 La-La Land album is limited to 5,000 copies and available initially for $32 through soundtrack specialty outlets.
Awards
AWARDS
Winner of an Academy Award (both composers). Nominated for a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe.
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ALSO SEE





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Availability | Awards | Viewer Ratings | Comments | Audio & Track Listings | Notes
Buy it... if you seek to investigate only one score in this famous franchise, a compelling combination of the memorable themes from the first score with several powerful additions for the continuation.

Avoid it... on the longstanding original album release to appreciate the more varied interpolations of the primary set of themes, which are only fully illuminated on the expanded 2024 product.
Review Icon
EDITORIAL REVIEW
FILMTRACKS TRAFFIC RANK: #1,341
WRITTEN 10/5/09, REVISED 3/14/25
The Godfather Part II: (Nino Rota/Carmine Coppola) Considering all the popular sequels within the various franchises in Hollywood that have followed Francis Ford Coppola's extremely successful The Godfather Part II, it's astonishing to recall that Paramount was initially quite nervous about the financial viability of a direct sequel in 1974, fighting the director's attempt to use "Part II" as a portion of the title. Despite the eventual mutual interest in the second film, however, Coppola was disgruntled over his experience with The Godfather and, in an effort to appease him, the studio afforded Coppola a greater budget and the opportunity to make another fine picture of his choice the same year, The Conversation. For a second time, a superior script, again utilizing input from author Mario Puzo, and a phenomenal ensemble cast performance were highlights of the production (the last to be shot in Technicolor, too), leading to six Academy Awards in eleven nominations and inclusion high upon many accomplished critics' lists of the top films in the history of cinema. The plot of The Godfather Part II is even more sinister and depressing than that of the previous entry, despite the romantic half of the film dealing with Vito Corleone's immigration to America and ascension to power during the height of the family's promise. All three films in the franchise conclude with tremendous assassination scenes that eventually solidify Michael Corleone's general position in the mafia, the second film eliminating most of the remnants of the old Italian hierarchy (and some within) as the Corleone family moves into the realm of Nevada gambling in the 1950's. Coppola has long maintained that the first two films of 1972 and 1974 are the primary features and that The Godfather Part III in 1990 was nothing more than an epilogue. Indeed, The Godfather Part II is easily the undeniable powerhouse of the franchise, and the film also represented the pinnacle of the music for the topic as well.

The score for the original The Godfather caused a sensation, its two primary themes extremely memorable in the mainstream, though because Nino Rota adapted material from several of his previous works for these themes, he was ineligible for some awards consideration. The equation would be a bit different for The Godfather Part II, Rota returning and writing significantly more fresh music and the director's father, Carmine Coppola, again laboriously providing the source music heard in performances on screen. The balance between original score, original source music, and licensed material heard in The Godfather Part II is similar to what existed in The Godfather, but rather than regurgitate the three returning themes endlessly this time despite being effective in the first film because of their quality, Rota creates a larger selection of melodies from which to choose in this musical narrative. The returning identities include the famous "Godfather Waltz," the equally popular love theme, and the more elusive "Michael's Theme." The first two of these are largely marginalized and left literally unfinished at times as Michael Corleone moves further from the familial success that his father had achieved, thus affirming (along with some help from the third score in the franchise) that the tragic theme for Michael is indeed the final identity of the overall concept. The use of famous waltz and its secondary, solo trumpet phrases, is constricted in The Godfather Part II to mostly obligatory statements at the very outset of the film in "Main Title" and a fragile solo violin version at the end of "End Titles" that dies with an almost bizarre whimper and artificial resolution. It is also heard more longingly and in wistful instrumentation with the uncomfortable yielding at the end of "Kay" (alternately "After the Party"), in true, vintage form late in "Michael and Anthony," on ominous low woodwinds in "Fredo's Stay of Execution," in solitary foreshadowing in "Remember Vito Andolini," in fragments within "The Brothers Mourn," and in lonely contemplation during "Reflections on Romans."

The love theme from this franchise is, for some listeners, largely abandoned in The Godfather Part II, though many of its structures and sensibilities would be adapted into Rota's primary immigrant theme for the picture. The only performances of note for the love theme exist softly in "Intermezzo" and with more impact in "Remember Vito Andolini," a scene of appropriate formal merging of the love and new immigrant themes in a redemption tone. The theme for Michael that made such an impressive impact in the concluding cues of The Godfather, as reinforced by choral accompaniment, is increasingly pervasive in this work. It immediately and seamlessly follows the famous trumpet phrase that usually preceded the waltz in "Main Title" before sounding alarms in the suspense of "Finding the Man" and "The Search Continues," turning softer in "Michael and Anthony," strikingly horrific from chopping strings in "Fredo's Panic," ominously overshadowing a new theme for Kay in "Michael Comes Home," a portent of death over the immigrant theme in "The Brother's Mourn," stuttering lightly in "Death of Three," and again opening "End Title" with significant ensemble weight but no chorus. None of the performances of these returning themes is particularly remarkable in The Godfather Part II, each mostly overshadowed by the new identities. The romantic tone of "Remember Vito Andolini," with its flute performances of the old love theme, is a surprising highlight. The continued employment of mandolin, accordion, and acoustic guitar provide more than enough continuity on top of those thematic references. Of the three new themes Rota composed for The Godfather Part II, none has as much impact as the one for a young Vito Corleone, often termed the "immigrant theme." It is easily the centerpiece of this score, taking many familiar parts of the love theme and infusing theme into a robust symphonic representation of hope that counters the extremely drab personality of Michael's increasingly dominant theme that brings brooding darkness and increasing, unyielding panic to the soundscape.


Ratings Icon
VIEWER RATINGS
506 TOTAL VOTES
Average: 3.92 Stars
***** 228 5 Stars
**** 124 4 Stars
*** 74 3 Stars
** 48 2 Stars
* 32 1 Stars
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COMMENTS
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The Godfather Part II Formula
Bruno Costa - December 5, 2010, at 3:46 a.m.
1 comment  (1744 views)
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Track Listings Icon
TRACK LISTINGS AND AUDIO
Audio Samples   ▼
1991 MCA Album Tracks   ▼Total Time: 38:28
• 1. Main Title/The Immigrant* (3:25)
• 2. A New Carpet* (1:58)
• 3. Kay* (2:58)
• 4. Ev'ry Time I Look in Your Eyes**/After the Party* (2:33)
• 5. Vito and Abbandando* (2:36)
• 6. Senza Mama/Ciuri-Ciuri/Napule Ve Salute - performed by Livio Giorgi (2:34)
• 7. The Godfathers at Home* (2:33)
• 8. Remember Vito Andolini* (2:59)
• 9. Michael Comes Home* (2:18)
• 10. Marcia Stilo Italiano** (2:00)
• 11. Ninna Nanna a Michele - performed by Nino Palermo (2:18)
• 12. The Brothers Mourn* (3:18)
• 13. Murder of Don Fanucci - performed by Marcia Religioso/Festa March (2:48)
• 14. End Title* (3:51)
* composed by Nino Rota
** composed by Carmine Coppola
2024 La-La Land Album Tracks   ▼Total Time: 136:39

Notes Icon
NOTES AND QUOTES
The insert of the 1991 MCA album includes extensive photography and captions about the plot but no extra information about the score. That of the 2024 La-La Land expansion offers details about both the film and score.
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or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from The Godfather Part II are Copyright © 1991, 2024, MCA Records, La-La Land Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 10/5/09 and last updated 3/14/25.
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