His wife ( Diane Keaton) leaves him, his brother Fredo (John Cazale) turns against him, and he ceases to trust the consigliere Tom Hagen ( Robert Duvall). He is targeted by assassination attempts and government investigations.

Michael’s story then becomes one of betrayal, deceit, and paranoia. Gazzo) to approve a hit in New York City, because it would interfere with business with Jewish crime kingpin Hyman Roth ( Lee Strasberg). In the other narrative, Michael turns down a request from Frankie Pentangeli (Michael V. Vito gains more power and respect while retaining his devotion to family. When a neighbourhood crime boss (Gastone Moschin) demands a cut of Vito’s profits, however, Vito murders him. As a young man, he is introduced into criminal activity by his friend Clemenza (Bruno Kirby), beginning with thievery. The other storyline shows Vito first as a child arriving in New York City in the early 1900s after his family in Sicily was killed by the local Mafia. In the former storyline, set in the 1950s, Michael has moved the family and his base of operations to Nevada, seeking to expand his influence into Las Vegas and also into Havana. The Godfather: Part II juxtaposes two stories: that of Michael Corleone (played, as in The Godfather, by Al Pacino) in the years after he becomes head of the Corleone family business and that of his father, Vito Corleone, as a young man (portrayed by Robert De Niro). In the years since its release the film has gained the reputation of being the rare sequel that equals or perhaps surpasses the original. The Godfather: Part II, American gangster film, released in 1974, that was a sequel and companion piece to the 1972 blockbuster The Godfather, adapted from the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo.

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