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Review of The Godfather Part II (Nino Rota/Carmine Coppola)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
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.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
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. The film's opening scenes offer the immigrant theme in full glory on soaring strings with resounding brass counterpoint, and it is likely this one cue that provided Rota with an Oscar win for this assignment. The theme and its compelling interlude sequence are almost always referenced in the flashback sequences, from "Vito and Abbandando" to supporting roles in "A New Carpet" and "Remember Vito Andolini." The tapering of this melody to its most melancholy form in "Michael and His Mother" and "The Brothers Mourn" to convey the death of Vito's widow and the impending killing of Fredo bring this theme about into a full circle, albeit a devastating one. The use of Michael's theme as persistently interrupting counterpoint to the immigrant theme in the latter cue produces one of the most effectively disturbing moments of music in the franchise, Michael's sister unsuccessful in persuading him to spare Fredo despite the concept of family struggling to persist in both concept and the immigrant theme. Rota revisits the idea in full symphonic glory with impressive brass counterpoint and forceful piano in the bass in "End Title." Also heard briefly in that summary "End Title" cue is the cute tarantella (modeled after Southern Italian folk dance traditions) for the more comical side to Vito's youth, burped with considerable humor from bassoon and tuba, among others, in "A New Carpet" and "We're in Business," skirting similar tones for a moer modern era in "Fredo Brings the Bread." The reminders of the immigrant theme in this piece are remarkably effective on screen despite the disparate tones. Some listeners do not consider this folksy interlude to be a theme in and of itself, which may be fair. Definitely an identity to be shattered in The Godfather Part II is that of Michael's wife, Kay, the unfortunately bystander and victim of the family business who is increasingly threatened and isolated in this story despite her eventual awarding of custody over the children. The establishment and death of her theme in The Godfather Part II, only to be revisited in ghostly form in the third score as necessary, is so blatantly tragic that it is even more depressing than Michael's theme, which is quite a feat. Kay's theme opens with a descending figure based on "The Pickup" from the first score that probably represents that "sinking feeling" she experiences at the end of the first film and eventually fully realizes when the door is literally shut on her a second time in The Godfather Part II. The lovely piano and whimsical light jazz version of the theme in "Kay" (reprised in "End Title") is suspicious in "The Godfathers at Home" and comes to an agonizing halt on faltering woodwinds in "Michael Comes Home." Brief reminders interject on lighter but defeated instrumental tones in "The Corleone Estate" and lost against Michael's theme "New England," the latter closing the film in a nightmarish stupor despite its relatively dainty demeanor. Among the greatest successes that Rota achieved in this franchise was the integration of the themes in The Godfather Part II. They are so expertly placed that you tend to forget that they don't experience significant evolution over the three pictures. The form of a theme in its first incarnation is likely similar to that of its last, and the instrumentation, despite the loss of the chorus as the story progresses, aids in maintaining that consistency. The only exception to that rule is the increasing urgency and outright horror that ultimately haunts Michael's theme, his material exerting an inevitable presence of gloom and dread upon all the other themes as the character loses everything in a desperate bid to consolidate the family's power. Still, Rota is so adept at offering the right themes at the right moments with just enough unique inflection to address each scene that his music for the franchise still functions perfectly, especially in this score. The reminder of the descending phrase for Kay at the end of "Remember Vito Andolini" is one solid example, as is the interesting mingling of the title waltz with Kay's theme in "After the Party." Much of that technique would be lost when Carmine Coppola took the reigns for The Godfather Part III (Rota had already been dead for a decade by 1990) and simply regurgitated some of Rota's themes as necessary. That said, The Godfather Part II isn't an entirely perfect soundtrack, and while it easily remains the strongest of the three in the franchise, a few nagging flaws do exist in its ranks. The theme for Kay, while expertly applied, doesn't really sound like a good representation of Diane Keaton's character. Rota attempts to address her with the sound of American jazz from an era thirty years prior to the setting of this film, and while the attempt to distinguish her sound from the otherwise Italian tone of the scores is understandable, the rambling piano, longing saxophone, and muted trumpet appeal is simply out of place in the late 1950's. Some of that circumstance is mitigated by the solo violin and xylophone performance of her theme in "The Godfathers at Home." Also disrupting the listening experience once again to some degree is Coppola's material; Rota was capable of writing this music himself and might have better worked his original themes into it. Also long problematic was the album presentation of The Godfather Part II. Several superior re-recordings of the immigrant theme in digital sound were good companions to the original performance, which itself is restricted in quality by technology of the era. While perhaps not as troubling as the album for the first film (this one did make the top 200 Billboard charts for a short time in 1975), the 1991 CD was likewise not complete. The sprinkling of several Coppola compositions didn't really help or hurt the experience. A 2024 2-CD expansion from La-La Land Records is absolutely necessary for any significant enthusiast of these scores, filling in the full breadth of Michael's theme in its horror mode and illuminating a few notable performances of other ideas as well. Several longer, film versions of cues are intriguing. Rota's material is also largely separated from Coppola's, his own source music collected alongside the main score presentation and before a handful alternate takes that include a bizarrely fascinating electric version of the main waltz. The second CD on the set offers the original album arrangement (remastered, as with the rest) and Coppola's source material. A demo recording on piano of the two new themes and significant amount of vocal banter is also a unique gem. The improvement in sound quality is impressive on this excellent set, helping alleviate many of the issues the score presented when heard on the prior album. Given that the third film's soundtrack was dominated by Coppola's two inferior themes, faint reminders of Rota's work, and the famous opera at the end, The Godfather Part II remains the pillar of strength in this franchise. *****
TRACK LISTINGS:
1991 MCA Album:
Total Time: 38:28
* composed by Nino Rota ** composed by Carmine Coppola 2024 La-La Land Album: Total Time: 136:39
* not used in film ** contains material not used in film
NOTES & 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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