Editing The Godfather Part II (section)

== Production ==
=== Development ===
[[File:Francis Ford Coppola, Director (02).tif|thumb|upright|[[Francis Ford Coppola]] (pictured in 1973), director of the film]]
[[Mario Puzo]] started writing a script for a [[sequel]] in December 1971, before ''[[The Godfather]]'' was even released; its initial title was ''The Death of Michael Corleone''.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Godfather |url=https://www.oscars.org/collection-highlights/godfather?fid=57036 |website=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |date=April 28, 2015|access-date=March 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200331163421/https://www.oscars.org/collection-highlights/godfather/ |archive-date=March 31, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Francis Ford Coppola]]'s idea for the sequel would be to "juxtapose the ascension of the family under [[Vito Corleone]] with the decline of the family under his son [[Michael Corleone|Michael]]{{nbsp}}... I had always wanted to write a screenplay that told the story of a father and a son at the same age. They were both in their thirties and I would integrate the two stories{{nbsp}}... In order not to merely make ''Godfather I'' over again, I gave ''Godfather II'' this double structure by extending the story in both the past and in the present".<ref>{{cite book |first=Gene |last=Phillips |url=https://archive.org/details/godfatherintimat00phil |url-access=registration |title=Godfather: The Intimate Francis Ford Coppola |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8131-2304-2}}</ref> Coppola met with [[Martin Scorsese]] about directing the film, but Paramount refused.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Andy |last=Morris |url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/gq-film-godfather-part-four |title='The Godfather Part IV' |date=September 24, 2012 |magazine=[[GQ magazine|GQ]] |access-date=October 11, 2021 |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904102128/http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/entertainment/articles/2011-03/15/gq-film-godfather-part-four |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |first=Richard |last=Corliss |date=December 12, 2014 |url=https://time.com/3631617/the-godfather-part-ii-at-40/ |title='The Godfather Part II' at 40 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=October 11, 2021 |archive-date=November 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120105502/https://time.com/3631617/the-godfather-part-ii-at-40/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Charles |last=Barfield |url=https://theplaylist.net/francis-ford-coppola-godfather-drama-20190513/ |title=Francis Ford Coppola Explains How 'Patton' Saved His 'Godfather' Job & Why He Wanted Martin Scorsese To Helm The Sequel |date=May 13, 2019 |website=The Playlist |access-date=October 11, 2021 |archive-date=November 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120105520/https://theplaylist.net/francis-ford-coppola-godfather-drama-20190513/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2023/10/martin-scorsese-interview-killers-of-the-flower-moon-leonardo-dicaprio-robert-de-niro-1235359006/ |title=Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio & Robert De Niro On How They Found The Emotional Handle For Their Cannes Epic 'Killers Of The Flower Moon' |work=Deadline |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=May 16, 2023 |access-date=June 8, 2023 |archive-date=May 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230520221259/https://deadline.com/2023/05/martin-scorsese-interview-killers-of-the-flower-moon-leonardo-dicaprio-robert-de-niro-1235359006/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Coppola also, in his director's commentary on ''The Godfather Part II'', mentioned that the scenes depicting the Senate committee interrogation of [[Michael Corleone]] and [[Frank Pentangeli]] are based on the [[Joseph Valachi]] [[Valachi hearings|federal hearings]] and that Pentangeli is a Valachi-like figure.<ref>{{cite news |work=The Godfather Part II |title=Director commentary |date=1974 |asin=B00003CXAA}}</ref>

Production, however, nearly ended before it began when Pacino's lawyers told Coppola that he had grave misgivings with the script and was not coming. Coppola spent an entire night rewriting it before giving it to Pacino for his review. Pacino approved it and the production went forward.<ref name="DVDcom" />
The film's original budget was $6&nbsp;million but costs increased to over $11&nbsp;million, with ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''{{'}}s review claiming it was over $15&nbsp;million.<ref>{{AFI film|54026}}</ref>

=== Casting ===
[[File:The Godfather Screenplay.JPG|thumb|right|upright=1.36|Original screenplay at the [[National Museum of Cinema]] in [[Turin]]]]
Several actors from the first film did not return for the sequel. [[Marlon Brando]] initially agreed to return for the birthday flashback sequence, but the actor, feeling mistreated by the board at [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]], failed to show up for the single day's shooting.<ref name="Jagernauth" /> Coppola then rewrote the scene that same day.<ref name="Jagernauth" /> [[Richard S. Castellano]], who portrayed [[Peter Clemenza]] in the first film, also declined to return, as he and the producers could not reach an agreement on his demands that he be allowed to write the character's dialogue in the film, though this claim was disputed by Castellano{{'}}s widow in a 1991 letter to ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' magazine.<ref>{{cite book |title=Divine Intervention and a Dash of Magic... Unraveling The Mystery of "The Method" + Behind the Scenes of the Original Godfather Film |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vofvP3NROc4C |last=Sheridan-Castellano |first=Ardell |year=2003 |publisher=[[Trafford Publishing]] |isbn=1-55369-866-5}}</ref> The part in the plot originally intended for the latter-day Clemenza was then filled by the character of Frank Pentangeli, played by Michael V. Gazzo.<ref name=":0" />

Coppola offered [[James Cagney]] the role of Hayman Roth, but he refused as he had retired from acting.<ref>{{cite book |first=James |last=Cagney |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E89eHUUePgEC |title=Cagney by Cagney |publisher=Doubleday |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-671-80889-1 |access-date=October 15, 2020 |archive-date=November 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114034811/https://books.google.com/books?id=E89eHUUePgEC |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/arts-and-culture/morgan-a-suitable-case-for-special-treatment-1954628</ref> [[James Caan]] agreed to reprise the role of Sonny in the birthday flashback sequence, demanding he be paid the same amount he received for the entire previous film for the single scene in ''Part II'', which he received.<ref name="Jagernauth">{{Cite web |first=Kevin |last=Jagernauth |date=April 9, 2012 |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2012/04/5-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-the-godfather-part-ii-252707/amp/ |title=5 Things You May Not Know About the 'The Godfather Part II' |website=[[IndieWire]] |access-date=October 10, 2021 |archive-date=October 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010144751/https://www.indiewire.com/2012/04/5-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-the-godfather-part-ii-252707/amp/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Among the actors depicting Senators in the hearing committee are film producer/director [[Roger Corman]], writer/producer [[William Bowers]], producer [[Phil Feldman]], and actor [[Peter Donat]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eagan |first=Daniel |title=America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry |publisher=Continuum |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-8264-2977-3 |location=New York |pages=711}}</ref>

=== Filming ===
''The Godfather Part II'' was shot between October 1, 1973, and June 19, 1974. The scenes that took place in [[Cuba]] were shot in [[Santo Domingo]], [[Dominican Republic]].<ref>"[http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2006/12/5/113159/369/hotels/Movie_Set_Hotel_The_Godfather_II Movie Set Hotel: The Godfather II] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929000001/http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2006/12/5/113159/369/hotels/Movie_Set_Hotel_The_Godfather_II |date=September 29, 2007 }}", HotelChatter, May 12, 2006.</ref> [[Charles Bluhdorn]], whose [[Gulf+Western]] [[Conglomerate (company)|conglomerate]] owned Paramount, felt strongly about developing the Dominican Republic as a movie-making site. [[Forza d'Agrò]] was the Sicilian town featured in the film.<ref name="TI-Sicil">{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/in-search-of-the-godfather-in-sicily-595994.html |title=In search of... The Godfather in Sicily |date=April 26, 2003 |work=[[The Independent]] |publisher=Independent Digital News and Media Limited |access-date=February 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511094252/http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/in-search-of-the-godfather-in-sicily-595994.html |archive-date=May 11, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Unlike with the first film, Coppola was given near-complete control over production. In his commentary, he said this resulted in a shoot that ran very smoothly despite multiple locations and two narratives running parallel within one film.<ref name="DVDcom">''The Godfather Part II'' DVD commentary featuring Francis Ford Coppola, [2005]</ref> Coppola discusses his decision to make this the first major U.S. motion picture to use "Part II" in its title in the [[Audio commentary|director's commentary]] on the [[DVD]] edition of the film released in 2002.<ref name="DVDcom" /> Paramount was initially opposed because they believed the audience would not be interested in an addition to a story they had already seen. But the director prevailed, and the film's success began the common practice of numbered sequels.

Only three weeks prior to the release, film critics and journalists pronounced ''Part&nbsp;II'' a disaster. The cross-cutting between Vito and Michael's parallel stories were judged too frequent, not allowing enough time to leave a lasting impression on the audience. Coppola and the editors returned to the cutting room to change the film's narrative structure, but could not complete the work in time, leaving the final scenes poorly timed at the opening.<ref>''The Godfather Family: A look Inside''</ref>

It was the last major American motion picture to have release prints made with [[Technicolor]]'s dye [[imbibition]] process until the late 1990s.

=== Music ===
{{Main|The Godfather Part II (soundtrack)|l1=''The Godfather Part II'' (soundtrack)}}
The score is by [[Nino Rota]] with additions by [[Carmine Coppola]]. It won the 1974 [[Academy Award for Best Original Score]].