The Godfather II by Mario Puzo – this magnum opus is celebrated as one of The Greatest Movies of All time, indeed, for some cinephiles and/or critics, it is nec plus ultra, along with the first part, which is reviewed on my blog, where you find hundreds of notes on films and books, the best though is https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/02/is-this-unique-could-it-make-money.html

 

The Godfather II by Mario Puzo – this magnum opus is celebrated as one of The Greatest Movies of All time, indeed, for some cinephiles and/or critics, it is nec plus ultra, along with the first part, which is reviewed on my blog, where you find hundreds of notes on films and books, the best though is https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/02/is-this-unique-could-it-make-money.html

 

 

10 out of 10

 

The Godfather is iconic, both the first and the second part belong to the Top 5 Best Movies, unless we are talking of newer compilations – The British Film Institute has updated its list of favorites, and at number one and in other places they have productions I have never heard of – and they are so iconic that

 

-          ‘You broke my heart Fredo’ is a line you hear in multiple motion pictures

 

Another look at the same Godfather II is at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-godfather-part-ii-based-on-novel-by.html - Michael becomes the new leader of the Corleone family, we have seen him rise in the first part, when he seemed to be following a different path, nothing to do with organized crime

 

Nevertheless, when there is an assassination attempt on the life of his father, Vito Corleone - portrayed by Marlon Brando when old and Robert De Niro as a young man – Michael is pushed at the forefront, when he tries to protect his parent, guarding the door of the hospital, he avoids murder, and gets punched in the process

Vengeance is also required, and from now on, Michael is ‘in’, after he kills the assassin and the accomplice, a corrupt cop, he has to leave the country, in Sicily he finds love, wants to marry, but the would be bride is murdered by a bomb, meant to eliminate the young Corleone, in this eternal vendetta between Mafia gangs https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-godfather-written-by-francis-ford.html

 

In the second part, Michael is The Godfather, but the fighting never ends, on the contrary, he is even more violent than Vito had been – the latter has another quote you hear so much ‘I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse’ – at the funeral of his father, he could see who the foes are, and then, there was a baptism

The occasion is used to kill almost all the other bosses of the gangster families, the brother-in-law who had beaten Connie – in the second part, the brother, Fredo, pays for his betrayal with his life – and we can see that it is a question of life and death, but the ruthlessness is nonetheless appalling, there is no mercy here

 

From Easy Riders, Raging Bulls https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/01/easy-riders-raging-bulls-how-sex-drugs.html we get details about how this was made, and other master works from the period, the project did not look like such a sure thing, they have had so many problems that they made a series about the story of the Godfather

One of the crucial characters was Robert Evans, actor, producer and head of Paramount, the one who is associated with the Godfather, but also with Rosemary’s Baby, Love Story, Chinatown and a few other big hits, he has written his own version of events, how he chose Francis Ford Coppola, challenges during the filming

 

For instance, Coppola wanted Al Pacino for the role of Michael Corleone, even if (or because) he was not a star, indeed, there is this funny conversation – Evans, who did not want Pacino, asks for him and the interlocutor had not heard of the thespian, he asked the name to be spelled, now he is seen as one of the greatest

I see a connection with the present, America, the MAGA side of it, has blessed the world with the Orange Chosen, a sort of Godfather, he sees the other countries as the mafia used to, he wants to shake them down, hence the disastrous tariffs of yesterday and all that clown show, what am I saying, he is worse than The Godfather, many more will die, suffer because of this monster

 

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/02/is-this-unique-could-it-make-money.html – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

 There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

 

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’