I also guessed it without authorization: Because Coppola himself is an Italian-American, he can hardly see any derogation of the Mafia in Godfather 1. It is estimated that he himself should reflect on his praise blindly, so in Godfather 2, More bloody and cruel. But Mike was too cruel, and he couldn't accept it, so he added a period of early Victor's struggle as an Italian immigrant to make this cruel movie more warmth and sunshine.
From this perspective, the Godfather 1 who is basically faithful to the original is a gangster movie, and the Godfather 2 with Coppola's private goods becomes an immigrant movie. Describes the changes in the values of two generations of Italian immigrants. The old godfather advocated friendship and family, and the new godfather received American education and advocated order and authority. Godfather 3 is a continuation of Godfather 2, rather than from Godfather 1. Godfather 2 and Godfather 3, truly became the epic trilogy of the struggle of Italian immigrants in the United States.
In The Godfather 2, the part of the old Godfather Victor is about the struggle history of the first generation of Italian immigrants after they came to the United States, which is rising. The part of the new godfather Mike describes the struggles and changes of the second generation of Italian immigrants in Italian traditions and American values, which are perverted. Perhaps in Coppola's view, Mike's loneliness and cruelty, and his efforts to maintain his family but eventually lost his loved ones one by one and became a lonely godfather is the result of the mixed effect of his Italian tradition and American values.
Victor is an Italian living in the United States. He respects Italian traditions in his bones and puts family and friendship first. He has friends and relatives. We can also see in Godfather 1, when faced with his son Fredo, who made mistakes in choosing his own bodyguard and personally becoming a bodyguard, the old godfather chose tolerance, and he even made the mistake of Frey. Go to Las Vegas to learn to manage hotels and casinos to lay the foundation for your new business. For the two column leaders who are eager to stand on their own, the old godfather also persuades them to stay in the family, instead of hurting the killer (there is no way to settle accounts like Mike). In short, the so-called "business" of the old godfather (including family matters such as extortion, murder and intimidation) is entirely for family and friendship.
Mike is an American living in an Italian family. Although he follows Italian traditions, he still agrees with American values. It's even more because he served in the US military, and he regards order, authority, and "business" as unshakable values. The family is certainly important, but if anyone dares to injure order, authority, or "business", then no matter whether he is blood relatives or close friends, he will be cleansed and never tolerated. This is why he acted on business partners, his own column leader, and his own brother. When Mike reconciled with Fredo at his mother's funeral, he glanced at Al on the opposite side, Al's expression was a bit disdainful. Perhaps it was the subordinates questioning himself that made Mike the killer. Mack would rather betray his pedigree and maintain his authority. Even Mike himself admits that his Corleone family is maintained by "business" rather than blood. If he agrees with this view, it is enough to explain that the Italian tradition passed down by the old godfather Victor has not much left to him. Although this tradition can still affect his family view, it can no longer be used to maintain the entire family.
The problem of the marriage between Mike and Kay is precisely the manifestation of the conflict between these two values. Mike's Sicilian tradition is incompatible with Kay's American life attitude. Kay couldn't be indifferent like Victor's wife, burying his opinions for the family, and didn't want her husband to continue the criminal order in Sicily. The quarrel and contradiction between the couple is actually the quarrel and contradiction between the father and son Victor and Mike, two generations of godfather, and two generations of immigrants.
Mike's betrayal of Italian traditions is also reflected in his transformation of the entire Corleone family. TOM retired, but the Corleone family did not have a successor, which shows that Mike has a high self-esteem. Within the family, the old godfather who once served as a military adviser has passed away. Apart from Mike, who can stand on the height of the old godfather and become a military adviser? Except Mike himself, no one dared to say that he could do it by himself. It was precisely because Mike was both a leader and a military division that he destroyed the layer-by-level command system originally designed by the old godfather himself that allowed Frank, the role of the family column leader, to skip the military division and directly accuse the chief. It can be said that if the litigation storm could not have happened in the old godfather's time, at most it would be for the military division to commit the crime, and it would never reach the highest level of the family.
In addition, the old godfather believes that his underground order cannot be seen, so he has the idea of letting Mike receive higher education and enter politics after bleaching. After Mike became the godfather, Mike not only acted as the leader of the family power, made a tough stance to fight back against the senator, and set a trap to make the senator surrender. What's more, he has to participate in the consortium created by Hymen Ross to carve up Cuba! The consortium led by Hymen Ross is not so much a consortium as it is the shadow government of Cuba. Not only playing with politicians, but also making the underground order into the ground order, and making the underworld into a white society, this is something the old godfather dare not even think of. And this arrogance and self-confidence can only be possessed by the second-generation immigrant Mike who has received American education and believes in the American dream.
Finally, a few words:
1. In the original work, Hymen Ross is not a Jew, but an Italian. His family is called the "Jewish Gang" because he appointed Jews as a military adviser. The Corleone family was called the "Irish Gang" because of the appointment of Tom as a military division. In the movie, Hymen Ross was changed to Jew, probably to meet his needs as a broker of Cuban President Batista, and also to compare the old and new godfathers on the issue of his attitude towards him.
2. Little Victor took a boat to New York for a while. On board were immigrants from various countries and even had yellow faces. The shot of everyone looking at the Statue of Liberty was very shocking. The Statue of Liberty also appears constantly in movies, perhaps as a hope in the hearts of new immigrants.
3. Victor’s assassination of Van Renche, Victor’s assassination and the Festival of San Gennaro (Festival of San Gennaro, is a festival for immigrants from southern Italy to celebrate the patron saint of Naples. I don’t know if it’s this festival. If you’re wrong, Anyone who knows, please correct me.) The switching clip of the scene is exactly the same as that of the assassination of the five family chiefs-Godfather for Connie's child in The Godfather 1. Does this indicate that at this moment, Victor became the protector of the community, and Mike became the true godfather at that moment.
4. In the paragraph about Victor, I used a lot of smooth and elegant long shots, very epic. The close-up shot of Mike inherited the lens language of the old godfather described in The Godfather 1: Backlight, small elevation, and the partial background of the interlocutor as a foil. Coupled with the dim indoor lighting and the same furnishings, all this constitutes the image unity of the two generations of godfathers. Under such a lens, the godfather's aura is just right.
5. In this film, Al Pacino's performance does not need to be said, and it is not too much to give too many beautiful words. But all of Al Pacino's acting talents are concentrated in his eyes, his eyes, how many great movies have been made. Perhaps only his eyes can create such an unforgettable image-Don Mike Corleone.
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