The Godfather 2

Prediction:

     In the second Godfather, Michael Corleone will regain control of the Corleone mafia by giving Tom Hagen his old duties and by Michael becoming the permanent Godfather once again. In the flashbacks, Vito Corleone will have more problems with Don Francesco and will end up killing him. I made this prediction because in a scene with Vito and the young Clemenza, Vito says "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse". Vito says this exact line in The Godfather 1 when he needed somebody to be killed. I also believe that either in the end of the Godfather Part 2 or the beginning of The Godfather Part 3 Vito will have another child named Michael and will state that he will not want Michael to be part of the family business. Michael in The Godfather 1 was put in the military to serve a different purpose than is family and was probably pushed towards that career by Vito.

     Michael will have more problems with Fredo as he misunderstands what Michael will do to him when Michael finds where he has gone. I think this misunderstanding will lead to Fredo's death and another part of the Corleone family lost. When this happens, I believe that Michael will need another important figure to help him run the family business. This person will have qualities like Tom Hagen's and might even take over his role of being a go-to person for the Corleone family. As Tom Hagen is becoming older and older, I think that his retirement nears and will have to be replaced by someone that is trustworthy and previously worked in the mafia business. This prediction is based solely on Tom Hagen's old age and Fredo's death.

Utilizing Light and Dark In "The Godfather"

     In the movie The Godfather, many shadows are used to illustrate uncertainty or power from different characters. In the first scene of the movie, Don Corleone is sitting at his desk speaking with Bona Sera in front of a lit window. The light seems to surround the head of Don Corleone acting as a halo and showing how much power he really has. In a scene where Tom Hagen is speaking with Virgil Sollozzo, the lamp that is the only object lighting the dark room, lights only half of his face showing that he is unsure of what to do or how to act. Another example of a scene where a halo is seen is the scene where Michael goes to see his father in the hospital. Immediately after he walks into the first room of the hospital and notices that there was nobody there, he knew something was wrong. He eventually finds his father and moves his bed to a safer location. Next to Don Corleone's bed, there was a lit lamp that curve the light upwards almost engulfing Michael's head. This, I noticed, was another work of Francis Ford Coppola's to illustrate a halo around the head of the son of the Godfather. When standing next to his father's bedside Michael says, " I'm with you know" almost implying that he now a part of the mafia gang. The halo could represent that Michael has power because he is the son of the Godfather or it could imply that he could have more power than his father in the future.

What Divides Normal Life and The Mafia Life

     In The Godfather, there is a scene that shows how a doorway could be used to illustrate something other than an item that opens and closes. When Luca Brasi was preparing to go befriend the Tattaglias, he was putting on his bullet-proof vest. The scene is shot from in front of the doorway to his bedroom. The camera is looking through the open door at Luca putting on his vest and a shirt. After he puts on his clothes, he walks out of the doorway (still in view of the stable camera) and grabs his gun where the movie then changes the scene. I think that the door really represents how the door divides his normal life and his mafia life. On the other side of the door, he is just a normal person changing to go to work and immediately after he walks through the door, he goes back to his mafia life and grabs his gun. This door can also symbolize a barrier between the safe world and the dangerous mafia world. In Luca's bedroom, he is safe but as he leaves his bedroom, he enters the unsafe mafia world where he needs to carry a gun to protect himself.

"He Sleeps With The Fishes"

     As Luca Brasi walks through a door towards Virgil Sollozzo and the Tattaglia family, the camera is left behind the door looking through the glass at Luca. On the glass directly in front of the camera, there are two fishes as decoration on the glass wall. These fishes foreshadow what is to happen in the near future. As Brasi tries to befriend the Tattaglia family, Virgil stabs the hand of Luca, and Bruno Tattaglia comes from behind and garrotes him until death. Obviously, the Tattaglia family knew that Luca Brasi was not telling the truth, and knew that he was still working for the Corleone's. A few scenes later, the Corleone's are trying to contact Luca Brasi but cannot because of his death (the Corleone's did not know of Luca's death at this time). Tom Hagen walks into the meeting holding a package. Tom gives the package to Sonny and Sonny opens the package revealing a bulletproof vest and a fish. Sonny then asks what this was. Clemenza responds saying, " It's a Sicilian message. It means Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes"(Francis Ford Coppola). In Sicilian tradition, when a fish is given as a gift with an article of clothing from a person, it is a symbol of death of that particular person. This is why the fishes on the glass wall were foreshadowing what was to happen in the future; it meant that Luca Brasi was going to "[sleep] with the fishes".

Character List

Don Corleone/ Vito Corleone-

The head of the Corleone family and often known in the trilogy as the Godfather. He is the leader of the mafia gang, and makes the most important decisions. 

Kay Adams- 

Michael's girlfriend at the beginning of The Godfather. 

Luca Brasi- 

Don Corleone's hitman and dear friend. 

Michael Corleone-

Vito Corleone's son. In the beginning of The Godfather, he is not involved with his father's work/ gang, but later in the movie, he follows in his father's footsteps and becomes part of the gang.

Bona Sera-

An acquaintance of Vito Corleone who is seen in the very first scene of The Godfather asking for a favour.

Santino (Sonny) Corleone- 

Vito's reckless son. He is also the oldest. 

Emilio Barzini- 

The head of one of the other five families involved in mafia work.

Virgil (The Turk) Sollozzo-

A gangster involved with narcotics. Virgil asks Vito for protection in The Godfather, but is denied as Vito did not want to be involved with drugs or other items that will give him a bad reputation.

Tom Hagen-

The Godfather's adopted son who also acts as the families lawyer. 

Jack Woltz- 

A hollywood film producer who does not want to give Johnny Fontane a role for a movie because Johnny ruined one of Jack's prospects in the movie industry.

Tessio- 

A member of the Corleone family.

Clemenza- 

A member of the Corleone mafia.

Fredo Corleone-

Another son of Don Corleone. Fredo is overshadowed by his other brothers.

Appolonia Corleone- 

A 16 year old living in Sicily. Michael eventually marries her when hiding out in Sicily near the middle of the movie The Godfather. 

Johnny Fontane- 

Vito's godson. Johnny is a famous singer and actor.

Mary Corleone- 

Vito's daughter.

Captain McCluskey-
A cop who was paid by Sollozzo to allow the killing of Don Corleone.