Home/Episodes/The Godfather Part II
‘The Godfather Part II’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan, and Brian Koppelman
January 4, 2022 · The Godfather Part II (1974) · Crime · Drama · 2:33:24 · ▶ Listen on Spotify
Categories
Most Rewatchable Scene
Bill SimmonsSenator Geary negotiating with Michael, specifically the 'My offer is this. Nothing.' scene▶ 47:15
Brian KoppelmanThe first scene with Hyman Roth (tuna fish sandwich and college football scene) for its layered meaning and rewatchability▶ 53:43
Chris RyanSupports both the Senator Geary scene and the Hyman Roth/Mo Green speech scene, emphasizing the contrast between Roth's power and his modest lifestyle▶ 52:40
Sean FennesseyDiscusses the significance of Lee Strasberg's casting as Hyman Roth and the power dynamics in the Roth scenes▶ 51:30
Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
Bill SimmonsKate Corleone is terrible. Three exclamation points. Sad. Dumb performance. Bad.▶ 1:15:12
What's Aged the Best
Bill SimmonsThe scene where Senator Gary wakes up with the dead lady and Duval's performance revealing he's a bad guy▶ 1:32:26
Brian KoppelmanAgrees it's an amazing scene that's necessary for not realizing Duval's a bad guy▶ 1:32:57
Chris RyanAgrees with the power of the scene, particularly the shot when Al comes out of the bathroom▶ 1:32:50
What's Aged the Worst
Brian KoppelmanThat scene's aged the worst - referring to a specific scene/idea but not explicitly naming it in this segment▶ 1:33:04
Hall of Fame Plaque
Brian KoppelmanAgrees it should be in the Hall of Fame, emphasizing Serpico's cultural significance as a movie about the clash between old line corruption and hippie culture, calling it 'really crucial'▶ 1:39:56
Casting What-Ifs
Bill SimmonsJames Cagney — Discussed James Cagney being offered a part (possibly Roth), Richard Castellano declining to return as Clemenza due to demands about writing dialogue and weight issues, and argued the movie would be better with Clemenza instead of Frankie Pentangeli▶ 1:48:01
Brian KoppelmanJames Cagney — Expressed amazement at James Cagney possibility, discussed Peter Sellers consideration for Roth, argued strongly that Duvall should have been paid $5 million to return as Tom Hagen in Godfather III, and compared Clemenza vs Pentangeli characters▶ 1:48:06
Chris RyanRichard Castellano — Provided details about Richard Castellano's disputed version of events regarding his departure from the film, explaining his side of the story about weight loss/gain demands▶ 1:49:00
Sean FennesseyJames Cagney — Supported the idea that James Cagney was considered for Roth because 'Roth is Lansky and Cagney is the gangster hero villain of the 30s and 40s', and favored having Clemenza in the film▶ 1:48:13
Apex Mountain
Bill SimmonsFrancis Ford Coppola — Yes for Coppola, Pacino, Cazale; No for Lake Tahoe; Yes for horrific Oscar results▶ 1:55:43
Brian KoppelmanFrancis Ford Coppola — Yes for Coppola and Gordon Willis, Spradlin, Lake Erie, Paramount▶ 1:56:22
Joey Pants Award
Bill SimmonsTroy Donahue — Merle - because if he saw him in anything else, he'd be like 'Merle!'▶ 1:58:20
Brian KoppelmanTroy Donahue — Mentions Troy Donahue getting a name check in Grease and that his mom claims he was a heartthrob▶ 1:58:33
Chris RyanHarry Dean Stanton — Harry Dean Stanton - likes when he says 'Frankie, let's play hearts'▶ 1:58:28
Half-Assed Internet Research
Bill SimmonsIn early script version, Tom Hagen had affair with Sonny's widow; G.D. Spradlin wrote many of his own lines including anti-Italian speech; the Moshulu ship visible in Rocky and Blowout is now a floating restaurant in Philadelphia▶ 2:01:32
Chris RyanConfirmed Sonny's widow appears in Godfather III as Vincent's mother, engaged with the trivia discussion▶ 2:01:47
Best Quote
Bill SimmonsMultiple quotes including 'Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer', 'This is the business we've chosen', 'I don't feel like I have to wipe everybody out, Tom. Just my enemies', and 'He's been dying from the same heart attack for the last 20 years'▶ 2:16:44
Chris Ryan'Let Me Wet My Beak' and 'I don't want anything to happen to him while my mother's alive'▶ 2:18:09
Sean FennesseyI despise your master of it. The dishonest way you pose yourself, you and your whole fucking family▶ 2:18:44
Probably Unanswerable Questions
Bill SimmonsDid Pacino actually hit Diane Keaton in the abortion scene? (concludes no, but notes it's the most realistic punch of the 70s)▶ 2:19:04
Chris RyanDiscusses the Fredo situation, noting Puzo was resistant to Michael killing Fredo and added the 'wait till the mother dies' element▶ 2:22:59
Sean FennesseyBelieves Fredo wouldn't have betrayed the family again because he seemed relieved to be back fishing▶ 2:23:21
Who Won the Movie
Bill SimmonsAl Pacino — Pacino (greatest performance I've ever seen, first thing I think of when I think of this movie)▶ 2:31:02
Brian KoppelmanRobert De Niro — De Niro (announced himself as the next major movie star, did it all in Italian) and Lee Strasberg (proved a teacher can really perform at the highest level)▶ 2:30:06
Sean FennesseyFrancis Ford Coppola — Coppola (confirmation of one of the ten most important filmmakers in the history of the medium)▶ 2:29:55
Movies Referenced (58)
| Title (year) | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Godfather (1972) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 34 | Brian Koppelman, Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons | ▶ 1:48 |
| Prince of the City (1981) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 11 | Brian Koppelman, Bill Simmons | ▶ 1:39:05 |
| The Irishman (2019) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 11 | Brian Koppelman, Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 15:14 |
| Apocalypse Now (1979) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 9 | Brian Koppelman, Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 41:37 |
| Scarface (1983) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Brian Koppelman, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 1:30:32 |
| Rocky III (1982) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons, Brian Koppelman, Chris Ryan | ▶ 1:13:09 |
| Chinatown (1974) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 32:53 |
| Goodfellas (1990) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Brian Koppelman | ▶ 20:44 |
| Troy (2004) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Chris Ryan, Brian Koppelman | ▶ 1:57:06 |
| Uncut Gems (2019) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 1:25:32 |
| 2012 (2009) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 1:26:25 |
| Happy Gilmore (1996) | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | ▶ 18:35 |
Directors Referenced (12)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francis Ford Coppola | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Brian Koppelman, Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey | Apocalypse Now, The Godfather Part II | ▶ 3:41 |
| Kevin Garnett | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Bill Simmons | Uncut Gems | ▶ 1:25:52 |
| Barry Levinson | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Brian Koppelman | Rain Man, Wag the Dog | ▶ 2:32:10 |
| Sidney Lumet | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Brian Koppelman, Sean Fennessey | 12 Angry Men | ▶ 34:57 |
| Stormy Daniels | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey | The 40-Year-Old Virgin | ▶ 1:56:41 |
| Abel Ferrara | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | King of New York | ▶ 8:30 |
| Anson Jew | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | Wonder Woman | ▶ 2:14:05 |
| François Truffaut | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Bill Simmons | Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The 400 Blows | ▶ 35:24 |
| Ridley Scott | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Sean Fennessey | The Martian, Blade Runner | ▶ 43:15 |
| Roger Corman | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Sean Fennessey | The Silence of the Lambs, Apollo 13, Little Shop of Horrors | ▶ 52:24 |
| Sofia Coppola | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Brian Koppelman | The Godfather Part III, The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation | ▶ 45:19 |
| Woody Allen | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Brian Koppelman | Annie Hall | ▶ 1:56:25 |
Actors Referenced (53)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Pacino | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 46 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan | Dog Day Afternoon, The Godfather | ▶ 9:05 |
| Robert De Niro | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 29 | Bill Simmons, Brian Koppelman, Sean Fennessey | Cape Fear, Raging Bull, Taxi Driver | ▶ 14:07 |
| John Cazale | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 12 | Bill Simmons, Brian Koppelman, Sean Fennessey | Dog Day Afternoon, The Godfather | ▶ 26:52 |
| Frank Sinatra | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 11 | Brian Koppelman, Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan | From Here to Eternity | ▶ 29:50 |
| Art Carney | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 9 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Brian Koppelman | ▶ 32:38 | |
| Diane Keaton | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 8 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey | Annie Hall, Something's Gotta Give | ▶ 1:13:50 |
| Marlon Brando | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 8 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan | Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, On the Waterfront | ▶ 22:30 |
| Michael V. Gazzo | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 8 | Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, Brian Koppelman | The Godfather Part II | ▶ 32:43 |
| Bruno Kirby | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 7 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan | City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally... | ▶ 1:23:29 |
| Danny Aiello | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Brian Koppelman | Do the Right Thing, Moonstruck | ▶ 13:10 |
| Lee Strasberg | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Brian Koppelman, Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan | The Godfather Part II, And Justice for All | ▶ 51:27 |
| Talia Shire | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 5 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey | Rocky, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II | ▶ 40:33 |
Writers Referenced (7)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Puzo | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan, Brian Koppelman | The Godfather, The Godfather Part II | ▶ 7:56 |
| Roger Ebert | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 4 | Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 18:31 | |
| David Milch | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Brian Koppelman, Sean Fennessey | ▶ 1:32:20 | |
| James Cameron | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 3 | Sean Fennessey, Bill Simmons | Avatar, Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day | ▶ 43:15 |
| Nancy Meyers | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 2 | Bill Simmons | It's Complicated, Something's Gotta Give, Private Benjamin | ▶ 1:14:01 |
| Robert Towne | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Brian Koppelman | Chinatown, Mission: Impossible | ▶ 1:16:11 |
| Valerie Curtin | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 1 | Brian Koppelman | And Justice for All, All the President's Men, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore | ▶ 2:32:49 |
Cinematographers Referenced (2)
| Name | Links | Mentions | Mentioned by | Known For | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gordon Willis | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 10 | Brian Koppelman, Chris Ryan | The Godfather Part II | ▶ 39:22 |
| Ivan Strasburg | IMDb ↗Lb ↗ | 6 | Brian Koppelman, Bill Simmons | ▶ 32:46 |