By order for Coppola to raise money for his next epic classic "Apocalypse Now", he asked his editor Barry Malkin to make a 7-hour Television mini-series of his films by putting them in chronological order and add the deleted scenes in. This version never got an official DVD release, but it did get two VHS release's, but none of them have all the deleted scenes, or was shown the same way, that they were aired on TV. As you know, I wasn't happy with his restoration of "Apocalypse Now", since it broke the flow, dragged on, were too boring, and some I couldn't believe made it into the Redux version (Brando in broad daylight). Knowing that "Godfather" 1 & 2 are my all time favorite movies, will this mini series make me love these two films more than ever, or will it be fixing something that's not broken ("Apocalypse Now" the Redux version). Join me as I review and talk about each Deleted scene in chronological order, starting with Vito's rise to power.
Before I begin, let me just say, I think they did a great job putting the two films in chronological order. Usually I'm against that. It'd be like seeing "Citizen Kane" or "Once Upon A Time America" in chronological order, it just doesn't work and takes away the narrative and mystery, as well as the themes of the films. Here, it's done right, as well as bringing a new feel to the film with a new narrative and adding in new scenes. It really shows the rise and fall of The Corleone family really well, and on top of it, it'll make more sense to the people who got lost in between plots of the second film. The only problem I have is in the 2nd film whenever we enter Vito's story, we can tell by his looks, new born babies, and rise to power that time has gone by. In this version on the other hand, if you haven't seen "Godfather Part 2" in its original cut, you'll think the event's happening with Vito is happening over the course of a few days, if you don't look at it carefully. For example, when we first see Robert DeNiro as Vito, his son Sonny is an infant, and after when Vito shows infant Sonny the rug, we cut back to Michael's story. When we cut back to Vito's story, baby Sonny has grown-up a bit; and we see Fredo and Michael as babies, but Michael is only an infant, and Fredo looks slightly older than Michael. Here, since there's no transition scenes, most people will assume that Vito is getting powerful really fast. To be fair (as much as I love "The Godfather" films) the films themselves at times get the dates mixed up as well, especially during the Senate hearing scene with Michael for example, which even I noticed when being a young film buff and Godfather fanatic. Michael killed Sollozzo and McClusky in 1946; the Senators say he killed them in 1947. Michael ordered the Five Families to be killed in 1955; the Senators say he killed them in 1950, when he hasn't even left Sicily yet. The 2nd film also doesn't match up the dates to Vito's Birthday, nor his age when we saw him in 1901, as depicted on his tombstone in the first film; however, since the dates on his tombstone are blink and miss and are not clearly shown, I can't really count that as a major flaw. Still with time flaws aside, the films are still awesome masterpieces and the way they managed to put them in chronological order works really well!
DELETED SCENES FROM THE PREQUEL PORTION OF "GODFATHER PART 2".
Now we head on to the Deleted scenes, which scenes do I think should be in this cut, and which scene's do I think should have stayed on the cutting room floor. Well, the first added scene is, after when young Vito's brother Paolo gets killed by Don Ciccio, two of Ciccio's henchman (Who look for Vito after he gets away from Don Ciccio) go to his home and tell his Mother that they're taking him away. Instead of Vito's Mother allowing it, she's tells them that he'll take him to Ciccio herself, which gives a better explanation of why Vito's Mother went to see him. Ironically, when grown up Vito visit's Sicily, in two back to back deleted scenes during his visit, he actually kills the two henchman that were looking for him. He kills one with a knife in his own bed, while taunting him with the words he said when looking for Vito when he escaped Ciccio; and the other one he beats to death with an oar in the middle of the sea. Those revenge scenes are both sweet and awesome, but I guess they were probably cut for time, and the tame violence for when Vito is slicing up the first guy.
Ever wondered what inspired Vito to kill Fannuci? There's a scene where Fannuci is seen taking on three punks, but fails and gets his throat cut by one of them, resulting him screaming for help. The scene that follows is Vito and his friend Genco talking about the event and showing that Vito would be willing to kill him if told to do so. I know the violence is tamed and Coppola also cut it to probably keep Fannuci threatening, but this does lead up to Vito's idea of killing him. Also Vito says to his friends that "there's three of us, and one of him", sound familiar?
Speaking of his friends, we get to see him spend more time with the people around him. Ever wonder what Vito and his friends racket was? Well, there's a deleted scene of them in a warehouse smuggling weapons; loading a truck of stolen dresses; Vito meets Tessio for the first time; and the gunsmith who is named Augustino Coppola has his son Carmine play the flute for them (Which is a tribute to Francis Ford Coppola's Father and Grandfather). I'm glad to see this scene, but I'm glad it was cut out of the original film, not that it's bad, but I honestly don't know where Coppola would have put this scene in the theatrical version. Would it take place after we see a sick baby Fredo, if so, that would mean a few years has past do to baby Sonny looking older, and Michael still being an infant. However, what was Clemenza and Vito doing over the last two years? It's Vito's first time in a warehouse that stores weapons (Which explains what Clemenza was going to do with the weapons that he had Vito hide) and the first time that he ever meets Tessio; wouldn't Vito have been working for them for the past two years after stealing that rug, hiding stolen goods, and gaining Clemenza's trust? What makes it more confusing is the deleted scene that follows. After they load a truck full of dresses, Clemenza tries to sell a dress to a married woman, but ends up having (Off-Screen) sex with her, while Tessio and Vito wait outside. That scene takes place on the same day as when Vito meets Fannucci face to face. Also notice that when Clemenza visit's her, it's night time, and when he comes out, it's daylight, are Vito and Tessio that patient or was that not a dark window between those drapes? It's nice to see these scenes and I do personally enjoy them, but personally, I'd rather see those scenes in the deleted scene category than in this cut. However, maybe the scene when Clemenza is selling dresses to that girl fast forwards to a few years later, which would explain the various crimes that's been mentioned and how they were able to get $600 dollars and perhaps more.
If you remember on "My Top 20 Favorite Villain's List", I talked about the deleted scene, when Vito first meets Hyman Roth, and with Roth being the primary villain of the second film, it amazes me that the scene was cut. It shows you where Hyman came from; where he got his name; how he joined the family;and showing Vito having second thoughts about him. Why did they have to cut that scene out? The rest of the scenes are alter scenes. There's a bit of extra dialogue with Clemenza in the cafe; a longer version when Fannucci tells Vito about paying him; an extra part of the dinner conversation with Vito and Tessio; an introduction to Vito's Wife's friend with the Apartment problem; and a lengthened version of Vito's first meeting with the landlord Roberto. While, I enjoy seeing more of these characters, I still think Coppola did the right thing cutting those scenes out for timing in the theatrical cut.
DELETED SCENES FROM THE FIRST GODFATHER FILM
When watching the first film (Without seeing the 2nd Film yet), did you ever wonder who Genco was when Sonny said to Tom "Pappa, Genco, look what I got", or who was Genco that Vito's business was named after. In the second film, we find out that Genco is the son of The Grocery Store owner who took Vito in when he was a kid, and let him work at his Grocery store. He and Vito had a close friendship, and it becomes obvious that the two would do business together. However, what was Genco's role in the Family business? In this deleted scene, before Vito goes to take the picture and dance with his daughter Connie at her Wedding; he gets word from Hagen that his old consigliere Genco is "not going to last out through the night" at the Hospital. So Vito asks, Sonny, Fredo, Johnny Fontaine, and Michael to visit Genco on his deathbed. After the Wedding and before they visit Genco, we see Vito and Michael talk for a bit. We find out through their brief conversation that Vito is not a fan of Kay by referring to her as Michael's "American girlfriend"; he insults Michael's service in the army by calling the medals on him "Christmas ribbons" and that Michael would risk his life for strangers (Which was talked about in the very last scene of "Godfather Part 2" when Michael tells the family that he's enlisted in the Marines); and Michael reveals that his plans are to go to school, which Vito approves, but tells Michael that he has plans for him when he's finished with school. After the conversation, the group visits a dying Genco (Franco Corsaro) who begs Vito to help him get better. Vito regrettably says that he doesn't have the power to cure him, but tells him "Not to be afraid of death". Genco concerned that no one would be good enough to replace him as consigliere, he begs Vito to stay with him and help him meet death, hoping that death would be afraid of Vito, and leave him in peace. Vito agrees to aid is dying friend and the sons slowly leave as the scene fades to black. While I understand it was cut for timing, it's a wonderful scene. The acting is perfect and moving; we get to actually see Vito and his son Michael together before Michael gets mixed up in the family business; and the scene with Vito and Genco is really touching, and shot extremely well.
We all know Woltz as this famous Hollywood big shot who wouldn't give Vito's grandson Johnny a part in a film that can make him a big star, only to find the head of his prized horse in his own bed. However, what some of you didn't know is that he's not only a perv who sleeps with young beautiful woman (As mentioned in the dinner scene), but also sleeps with underage Hollywood actresses as well. In the theatrical cut, remember that young actress that Woltz briefly hugs before talking to Tom? In this version, we find out that this actress is one of the girls that Woltz has sex with. When we first meet Woltz, we see an extended scene of him throwing her a birthday party, and giving her a Pony as a present. Scenes later, as Tom leaves Woltz's mansion, he sees the actress that we saw earlier crying in tears as her Mother forcefully takes her back to Woltz's bedroom where she was raped by him earlier. We then cut to Connie and Carlo arguing for the first time, which pisses Sonny off. However, Vito tells him not to interfere. Tom tells Vito about what he just witnessed, and that he's not as tough as he makes himself out to be. Vito then tells Hagen to send Luca Brasi to "reason" with Woltz, which then cuts to the famous horse head scene. Again, I can understand that these scenes were cut for timing, but I love these scenes for a few reasons. One, the fact that Woltz is pedo, gives us more of a reason to hate him, and I'll be honest when I saw that revenge scene in this cut, I was smiling more than I did when I saw the original cut. I also love that we find out that it was Luca, who killed Woltz's horse, that gives him a much bigger and more memorable role in the film, than what was shown of him in the original cut. I guess some can argue also that the casual viewer will think that Brasi traveled to Hollywood within minutes since it happens in between conversation, but in the scene when Tom tells Vito about Sollozzo, we cut back and fourth between Sollozzo's arrival for his meeting with Vito, to Vito's current meeting with Tom and Sonny. So the horse head scene, could have possibly happened within a few days like how the whole discussion about Sollozzo sequence was done.
Right after we see Luca in his apartment, getting ready for his meeting with Bruno Tattaglia and Sollozzo, we see Michael and Kay in bed in their hotel room getting a wake up call at 3 P.M. so they can go to Vito's house for dinner. Michael and Kay decide to not go, and Michael calls Tom and lies to him that he and Kay are stuck in "New Hampshire", but will see the family on Christmas. While it's a cute scene with Michael and Kay together, aside from Michael later telling Sonny that he called Tom, it's obvious why they cut it out in the film version. It fits in this version, but let's be honest, most of us want to see Luca get whacked, than just see Michael and Kay fool around.
The next few scenes are Sonny on the phone, trying to figure out if his Father's dead; where Tom is; his suspicion that Clemenza might have set up the Don; and wondering where Luca is. We also see a brief conversation between Sonny and his Mom spoken in Italian. These scenes do bring great suspense to what's going on, as well as seeing Sonny for the first time act as the Don; but again, most viewers will think that it'll make the film longer than it is.
After when Michael gets the news from Clemenza that his Dad is going to "Pull through"; Michael takes Tom's wife into the study where Sonny and Tessio are wondering if it was Paulie or Clemenza who set up the Don. Sonny happily greets his brother, and tells Theresa that Tom will be released soon. Sonny asks the two to leave, but Michael stays and tells Sonny that he wants to help, despite not wanting to get mixed into the family business. Michael thinks that it was Paulie who set his Father up, and he was right, because Sonny got a phone call from an Agent that Paulie has been getting calls from the pay phone across his Father's building while he was sick. Michael then tries to convince Sonny to not kill any of the Families until their Pop is better, but Sonny refuses, and a few seconds later, Tom joyfully comes back hugging his Wife, telling everyone that he talked his way out of being killed by Sollozzo, after when Sollozzo hears the news about Vito surviving. This scene greatly shows Michael getting into the family business for the first time, as well as proving that he'd be a more suitable Don than Sonny. It also makes it clearer to the viewer, how they knew it was Paulie. It was probably cut out for timing, but personally I think it would fit the film fine in the theatrical cut.
The next two scenes happen during Paulie's execution sequence. The first scene is a brief conversation between Clemenza and Paulie's replacement Rocco, before Paulie's arrival. Clemenza gives Rocco the gun that he will use to kill Paulies and tells him one of my favorite lines that he will be "making his bones off of Paulie". After the trio leave Clemenza's house, Clemenza helps let Paulie's guard down by telling him that he's going to make a phone call. However, it turns out that he's having a quick lunch at his favorite restaurant, (Which is probably where he got the Cannoli's from). While being faithful to the book, it's pretty obvious why this scene was cut. Most of us (Including myself) just want to see Paulie get whacked and we can already assume that Clemenza got the Cannoli's during their trip. So it was really wise of Coppola to get rid of those two scenes. Though personally, I wouldn't mind the first scene being kept in out of the two, since we get a bit of insight with the character Rocco.
During Michael's walk with his bodyguards in Sicily, we see a few extra scenes. They see a bunch of communists marching through the hills; they find Vito's old house; but the biggest scene during the journey is, Michael and the bodyguards are relaxing, however, Fabrizio (The guy who killed Michael's Wife) tells Michael that he knows who he is and where he is from, and asks him about America and begs for Michael to take him there one day. That scene alone really shows how desperate Fabrizio is to go to America. What becomes a very relaxing and humorous conversation, turns into something big later on in the film. Again, understandable why Coppola cut the scene, since most of us want to get to Michael's first meeting Apolloina, but this is a character who will not only betray Michael, but will take away the love of his life.
After when Vito tells Tom that "it was Barzini all along", we cut to Vito and Michael standing by Vito's garden. Michael knows that his Father swearing to not break the peace with the other families is a sign of weakness; so he convinces his Father that he will take over as Don, since Michael never gave his word that he would not break the peace. Vito smiles and tells Michael "We have a lot of time to talk about it now" and the two walk off screen. I'm really unhappy that this scene was cut. It shows Michael's final transformation of becoming the criminal that he never dreamed of becoming; it's well acted; and it answers the question that I hear many people ask about if Vito went against his word. Great scene, and it should have never been cut.
Other scenes that didn't make it into the first film are a scene where Michael is lying in bed in shock after the death of his Wife, ordering Don Tommasino to find Fabrizio; Connie and Carlo are arguing in the bathroom after Connie receives the phone call from the woman asking about Carlo; Tom Hagen asking Michael "Why is he out" as consigliere is extended; but the scene that I'm ticked about that didn't make it under the deleted scenes category of the DVD, nor is it on the VHS copy that I own, is the scene with the undertaker. Before, he performs the service that Vito has asked him to do; we see him getting ready and angrily tells his wife how unhappy he is that he made a deal with Vito. That scene truly shows aside of the character that we never seen before; and not putting it on the tape or under the DVD bonus features, when it was shown on TV and is a scene that lasts for more than 30 seconds really ticks me off.
Most of the deleted scenes that are shown in the sequel portion of "Godfather Part 2" take place during the events of Michael's Son's communion party. We see a scene of Michael giving Santino's daughter Francesca his blessing to get married; we see Michael's son wander off towards the house where Michael does business, with Mafia men guarding the place, while Kay tries to keep him away from the house; and we see Fredo and his Wife fight when they enter the party. There's also two deleted scenes involving Frank Pentangeli. One scene is him refusing to drink champagne cocktails which leads to the scene when he's drinking from the garden hose (As shown in the film); and the other scene is him bonding with Michael's son which I thought is both fun and cute. It's obvious why Coppola cut those scenes out since they play little to no part in the story, which will only make the film longer than it already is; but it's great to see them in this cut. I don't know why, I just enjoy spending time with these characters. Also, Michael's meetings during the party has been rearranged. Instead of it being Senator Geary, Johnny Ola, and Connie; it's instead Francesa, Al Neri, Connie, Johnny Ola, and Senator Geary. I don't know why Coppola tried to fix something that's not broken, nor would it make a huge difference, but it surprisingly works fine!
In the theatrical cut, we hear about a Casino owner named Klingman who the Corleone's plan to move out of the Casino business. However, we never see him, or see the Corleone's take action in moving him out of the business. In this deleted scene, Al Neri, comes to the Casino and fires Klingman telling him that the Corleone's now officially own the Casino. Klingman in disbelief calls the security service to toss Neri out, but the security doesn't respond since they're under Corleone control, and Neri starts slapping him around, chases him through the Casino and into a showroom during a dress rehearsal, and just as Neri is about to hit him with a chair, Klingman surrenders and clears out. Afterwards, Neri tells the showgirls to continue their rehearsal, and as the girls continue, Neri sits down to enjoy the show. I don't know why Coppola cut it out, because the Corleone's in the theatrical cut do talk about moving this businessman out of business. If they weren't going to include this scene, then why mention moving out Klingman at all? It's a badass scene with this great Corleone mobster and I personally wished that they kept it in the theatrical cut.
This next deleted scene is when Michael finds Fabrizio, and has him get killed the same way when he killed Michael's wife in Sicily. I already talked about this scene when I put Don Barzini and Hyman Roth as my 10th Favorite Movie Villains, so I won't talk too much about this scene. I will say that I honestly wish that this scene made it into the theatrical cut as well. I guess Coppola cut it out since the car explosion wasn't as big as when Michael's wife got killed, but personally I don't care. Every time I see this deleted, I smile at seeing Michael taking revenge on the man who killed his Wife, and seeing him crawl out of the car before collapsing made this revenge a lot sweeter.
After Michael's flashback of The Corleone family in the good old days (Which I'm more than glad that they didn't put it in chronological order, since it fits the ending so well), we see Kay alone in a Cathedral lighting candles for Michael as the credits role, thus concluding this 4 part mini-series, which I think is a wonderful and moving conclusion.
Putting the two films in chronological works better than you think it does! Even if it does make Vito's back story look like he's getting power really fast, I personally don't find it that distracting. The deleted scenes, while it's obvious why most of them were cut in the theatrical cut, I still think they're all wonderful and fit the story really well. What makes the whole entire concept work is that it is a four part miniseries made for TV. Each episode is 2 hours long, and the fact that the series breaks up this cut into four episodes, gives the viewer enough time to relax and take a break from watching the series, than feeling forced to sit through a whole 434 minute film. Like I said, it's extremely hard to find; all cuts of showing the films in chronological order don't have all the deleted scenes; and they only show it on TV once in a blue moon, with the violence and language edited. I hope someday that Coppola will release this cut in its entirety, with not only all the deleted scenes and being in 4 Parts; but also not editing the violence and language. This is indeed a director's cut that's not only as good as the original, but in my opinion, better than the original!
RATING 5/5
When watching the first film (Without seeing the 2nd Film yet), did you ever wonder who Genco was when Sonny said to Tom "Pappa, Genco, look what I got", or who was Genco that Vito's business was named after. In the second film, we find out that Genco is the son of The Grocery Store owner who took Vito in when he was a kid, and let him work at his Grocery store. He and Vito had a close friendship, and it becomes obvious that the two would do business together. However, what was Genco's role in the Family business? In this deleted scene, before Vito goes to take the picture and dance with his daughter Connie at her Wedding; he gets word from Hagen that his old consigliere Genco is "not going to last out through the night" at the Hospital. So Vito asks, Sonny, Fredo, Johnny Fontaine, and Michael to visit Genco on his deathbed. After the Wedding and before they visit Genco, we see Vito and Michael talk for a bit. We find out through their brief conversation that Vito is not a fan of Kay by referring to her as Michael's "American girlfriend"; he insults Michael's service in the army by calling the medals on him "Christmas ribbons" and that Michael would risk his life for strangers (Which was talked about in the very last scene of "Godfather Part 2" when Michael tells the family that he's enlisted in the Marines); and Michael reveals that his plans are to go to school, which Vito approves, but tells Michael that he has plans for him when he's finished with school. After the conversation, the group visits a dying Genco (Franco Corsaro) who begs Vito to help him get better. Vito regrettably says that he doesn't have the power to cure him, but tells him "Not to be afraid of death". Genco concerned that no one would be good enough to replace him as consigliere, he begs Vito to stay with him and help him meet death, hoping that death would be afraid of Vito, and leave him in peace. Vito agrees to aid is dying friend and the sons slowly leave as the scene fades to black. While I understand it was cut for timing, it's a wonderful scene. The acting is perfect and moving; we get to actually see Vito and his son Michael together before Michael gets mixed up in the family business; and the scene with Vito and Genco is really touching, and shot extremely well.
We all know Woltz as this famous Hollywood big shot who wouldn't give Vito's grandson Johnny a part in a film that can make him a big star, only to find the head of his prized horse in his own bed. However, what some of you didn't know is that he's not only a perv who sleeps with young beautiful woman (As mentioned in the dinner scene), but also sleeps with underage Hollywood actresses as well. In the theatrical cut, remember that young actress that Woltz briefly hugs before talking to Tom? In this version, we find out that this actress is one of the girls that Woltz has sex with. When we first meet Woltz, we see an extended scene of him throwing her a birthday party, and giving her a Pony as a present. Scenes later, as Tom leaves Woltz's mansion, he sees the actress that we saw earlier crying in tears as her Mother forcefully takes her back to Woltz's bedroom where she was raped by him earlier. We then cut to Connie and Carlo arguing for the first time, which pisses Sonny off. However, Vito tells him not to interfere. Tom tells Vito about what he just witnessed, and that he's not as tough as he makes himself out to be. Vito then tells Hagen to send Luca Brasi to "reason" with Woltz, which then cuts to the famous horse head scene. Again, I can understand that these scenes were cut for timing, but I love these scenes for a few reasons. One, the fact that Woltz is pedo, gives us more of a reason to hate him, and I'll be honest when I saw that revenge scene in this cut, I was smiling more than I did when I saw the original cut. I also love that we find out that it was Luca, who killed Woltz's horse, that gives him a much bigger and more memorable role in the film, than what was shown of him in the original cut. I guess some can argue also that the casual viewer will think that Brasi traveled to Hollywood within minutes since it happens in between conversation, but in the scene when Tom tells Vito about Sollozzo, we cut back and fourth between Sollozzo's arrival for his meeting with Vito, to Vito's current meeting with Tom and Sonny. So the horse head scene, could have possibly happened within a few days like how the whole discussion about Sollozzo sequence was done.
Right after we see Luca in his apartment, getting ready for his meeting with Bruno Tattaglia and Sollozzo, we see Michael and Kay in bed in their hotel room getting a wake up call at 3 P.M. so they can go to Vito's house for dinner. Michael and Kay decide to not go, and Michael calls Tom and lies to him that he and Kay are stuck in "New Hampshire", but will see the family on Christmas. While it's a cute scene with Michael and Kay together, aside from Michael later telling Sonny that he called Tom, it's obvious why they cut it out in the film version. It fits in this version, but let's be honest, most of us want to see Luca get whacked, than just see Michael and Kay fool around.
The next few scenes are Sonny on the phone, trying to figure out if his Father's dead; where Tom is; his suspicion that Clemenza might have set up the Don; and wondering where Luca is. We also see a brief conversation between Sonny and his Mom spoken in Italian. These scenes do bring great suspense to what's going on, as well as seeing Sonny for the first time act as the Don; but again, most viewers will think that it'll make the film longer than it is.
After when Michael gets the news from Clemenza that his Dad is going to "Pull through"; Michael takes Tom's wife into the study where Sonny and Tessio are wondering if it was Paulie or Clemenza who set up the Don. Sonny happily greets his brother, and tells Theresa that Tom will be released soon. Sonny asks the two to leave, but Michael stays and tells Sonny that he wants to help, despite not wanting to get mixed into the family business. Michael thinks that it was Paulie who set his Father up, and he was right, because Sonny got a phone call from an Agent that Paulie has been getting calls from the pay phone across his Father's building while he was sick. Michael then tries to convince Sonny to not kill any of the Families until their Pop is better, but Sonny refuses, and a few seconds later, Tom joyfully comes back hugging his Wife, telling everyone that he talked his way out of being killed by Sollozzo, after when Sollozzo hears the news about Vito surviving. This scene greatly shows Michael getting into the family business for the first time, as well as proving that he'd be a more suitable Don than Sonny. It also makes it clearer to the viewer, how they knew it was Paulie. It was probably cut out for timing, but personally I think it would fit the film fine in the theatrical cut.
The next two scenes happen during Paulie's execution sequence. The first scene is a brief conversation between Clemenza and Paulie's replacement Rocco, before Paulie's arrival. Clemenza gives Rocco the gun that he will use to kill Paulies and tells him one of my favorite lines that he will be "making his bones off of Paulie". After the trio leave Clemenza's house, Clemenza helps let Paulie's guard down by telling him that he's going to make a phone call. However, it turns out that he's having a quick lunch at his favorite restaurant, (Which is probably where he got the Cannoli's from). While being faithful to the book, it's pretty obvious why this scene was cut. Most of us (Including myself) just want to see Paulie get whacked and we can already assume that Clemenza got the Cannoli's during their trip. So it was really wise of Coppola to get rid of those two scenes. Though personally, I wouldn't mind the first scene being kept in out of the two, since we get a bit of insight with the character Rocco.
During Michael's walk with his bodyguards in Sicily, we see a few extra scenes. They see a bunch of communists marching through the hills; they find Vito's old house; but the biggest scene during the journey is, Michael and the bodyguards are relaxing, however, Fabrizio (The guy who killed Michael's Wife) tells Michael that he knows who he is and where he is from, and asks him about America and begs for Michael to take him there one day. That scene alone really shows how desperate Fabrizio is to go to America. What becomes a very relaxing and humorous conversation, turns into something big later on in the film. Again, understandable why Coppola cut the scene, since most of us want to get to Michael's first meeting Apolloina, but this is a character who will not only betray Michael, but will take away the love of his life.
After when Vito tells Tom that "it was Barzini all along", we cut to Vito and Michael standing by Vito's garden. Michael knows that his Father swearing to not break the peace with the other families is a sign of weakness; so he convinces his Father that he will take over as Don, since Michael never gave his word that he would not break the peace. Vito smiles and tells Michael "We have a lot of time to talk about it now" and the two walk off screen. I'm really unhappy that this scene was cut. It shows Michael's final transformation of becoming the criminal that he never dreamed of becoming; it's well acted; and it answers the question that I hear many people ask about if Vito went against his word. Great scene, and it should have never been cut.
Other scenes that didn't make it into the first film are a scene where Michael is lying in bed in shock after the death of his Wife, ordering Don Tommasino to find Fabrizio; Connie and Carlo are arguing in the bathroom after Connie receives the phone call from the woman asking about Carlo; Tom Hagen asking Michael "Why is he out" as consigliere is extended; but the scene that I'm ticked about that didn't make it under the deleted scenes category of the DVD, nor is it on the VHS copy that I own, is the scene with the undertaker. Before, he performs the service that Vito has asked him to do; we see him getting ready and angrily tells his wife how unhappy he is that he made a deal with Vito. That scene truly shows aside of the character that we never seen before; and not putting it on the tape or under the DVD bonus features, when it was shown on TV and is a scene that lasts for more than 30 seconds really ticks me off.
DELETED SCENES FROM THE SEQUEL PORTION OF "GODFATHER PART 2".
Most of the deleted scenes that are shown in the sequel portion of "Godfather Part 2" take place during the events of Michael's Son's communion party. We see a scene of Michael giving Santino's daughter Francesca his blessing to get married; we see Michael's son wander off towards the house where Michael does business, with Mafia men guarding the place, while Kay tries to keep him away from the house; and we see Fredo and his Wife fight when they enter the party. There's also two deleted scenes involving Frank Pentangeli. One scene is him refusing to drink champagne cocktails which leads to the scene when he's drinking from the garden hose (As shown in the film); and the other scene is him bonding with Michael's son which I thought is both fun and cute. It's obvious why Coppola cut those scenes out since they play little to no part in the story, which will only make the film longer than it already is; but it's great to see them in this cut. I don't know why, I just enjoy spending time with these characters. Also, Michael's meetings during the party has been rearranged. Instead of it being Senator Geary, Johnny Ola, and Connie; it's instead Francesa, Al Neri, Connie, Johnny Ola, and Senator Geary. I don't know why Coppola tried to fix something that's not broken, nor would it make a huge difference, but it surprisingly works fine!
In the theatrical cut, we hear about a Casino owner named Klingman who the Corleone's plan to move out of the Casino business. However, we never see him, or see the Corleone's take action in moving him out of the business. In this deleted scene, Al Neri, comes to the Casino and fires Klingman telling him that the Corleone's now officially own the Casino. Klingman in disbelief calls the security service to toss Neri out, but the security doesn't respond since they're under Corleone control, and Neri starts slapping him around, chases him through the Casino and into a showroom during a dress rehearsal, and just as Neri is about to hit him with a chair, Klingman surrenders and clears out. Afterwards, Neri tells the showgirls to continue their rehearsal, and as the girls continue, Neri sits down to enjoy the show. I don't know why Coppola cut it out, because the Corleone's in the theatrical cut do talk about moving this businessman out of business. If they weren't going to include this scene, then why mention moving out Klingman at all? It's a badass scene with this great Corleone mobster and I personally wished that they kept it in the theatrical cut.
This next deleted scene is when Michael finds Fabrizio, and has him get killed the same way when he killed Michael's wife in Sicily. I already talked about this scene when I put Don Barzini and Hyman Roth as my 10th Favorite Movie Villains, so I won't talk too much about this scene. I will say that I honestly wish that this scene made it into the theatrical cut as well. I guess Coppola cut it out since the car explosion wasn't as big as when Michael's wife got killed, but personally I don't care. Every time I see this deleted, I smile at seeing Michael taking revenge on the man who killed his Wife, and seeing him crawl out of the car before collapsing made this revenge a lot sweeter.
After Michael's flashback of The Corleone family in the good old days (Which I'm more than glad that they didn't put it in chronological order, since it fits the ending so well), we see Kay alone in a Cathedral lighting candles for Michael as the credits role, thus concluding this 4 part mini-series, which I think is a wonderful and moving conclusion.
Putting the two films in chronological works better than you think it does! Even if it does make Vito's back story look like he's getting power really fast, I personally don't find it that distracting. The deleted scenes, while it's obvious why most of them were cut in the theatrical cut, I still think they're all wonderful and fit the story really well. What makes the whole entire concept work is that it is a four part miniseries made for TV. Each episode is 2 hours long, and the fact that the series breaks up this cut into four episodes, gives the viewer enough time to relax and take a break from watching the series, than feeling forced to sit through a whole 434 minute film. Like I said, it's extremely hard to find; all cuts of showing the films in chronological order don't have all the deleted scenes; and they only show it on TV once in a blue moon, with the violence and language edited. I hope someday that Coppola will release this cut in its entirety, with not only all the deleted scenes and being in 4 Parts; but also not editing the violence and language. This is indeed a director's cut that's not only as good as the original, but in my opinion, better than the original!
RATING 5/5
How do I get a copy of this
ReplyDeleteI managed to buy a VHS copy of it online years ago, but it was really hard to find as well as being pretty expensive. There's sadly no DVD or Blu-ray release of the series either, but most of the Deleted Scenes I talked about are featured on the current DVD and Blu-ray release of "The Godfather Trilogy". Hopefully my review will inspire Godfather fans to demand a DVD and Blu-ray release of this four part mini-series uncut.
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