Director Robert Altman impressed me with this two earlier directorial efforts M.A.S.H and McCabe and Mrs. Miller, but I believe he really comes into his own with 1975’s Nashville. The way he directed his movie and the way he made it a very intelligent movie with many important themes but can be understood by the general public is just outstanding. However, if you don’t keep up with the movie, you can be sure to get lost in the overload of information Altman throws at you. On paper, the film may seem like a mess but it’s really not. The film really does not have an overall plot, but it has interwoven segments that are related with each other and I’ll discuss a little bit later on. This film is full of unique performances from an unusually large cast. It’s not unusual that there are many characters, but how many major characters there are. There are approximately 25 major speaking roles, and that has to be some sort of record. But all the performances are wonderful and unique and you feel for each character in the country music setting of Nashville.

So what exactly is this film about? Well, that’s really hard to pinpoint as there is no one big linear plotline. It is essentially about a group of people living life in Nashville during a political-happy time (kind of reminds me of the current 2016 political race). But let’s break down the plot into the little segments. We have Barbara Jean (Ronee Blackley) who is the current reigning country queen of Nashville, but health problems is causing her to fall apart and she also later becomes a symbol for political assassination. Then we have Delbert (Ned Beatty) and Linnea Reese (Lily Tomlin) who live a rather sad life because of a failing marriage and trying to take care of two deaf children. Delbert is involved in a politics as he is trying to bring politics and country music together. Then we have a British journalist named Opal (Geraldine Chaplin) who decides to get into the thick of events within the Nashville scene. As the famed movie critic Roger Ebert paraphrases what this movie is about, it’s many things. A musical, a docudrama about life in Nashville, a political story that was influenced by events like the Watergate scandal, and it is also a satire about country music.

With such a large ensemble, I was surprised how much Altman was able to get from all of his characters. They were superbly written and the performances were genuine. Many of the characters do their own singing, and you can tell they are not professional singers. While the voices may not be the best ones ever, I loved the raw, edgy sound with added to the realism of the performances. The film is not composed of big stars (at the time or even by today’s standards), but they often hit the spot. I loved Ronee Blackley’s performance as the country queen, Barbara Jean. Her singing is decent, but she brings a sensitive side to her character and she is involved in a big political showdown at the end of the movie. She reminds me of a similar real-life country singer, Loretta Lynn. Lily Tomlin delivered one heck of a impressive performance as the mother of two deaf children. I relate to her character because I suffer from partial deafness myself and I understand her pains. She brings such vulnerability to her character. Ned Beatty does a good job in playing the asshole husband who doesn’t care about his family but only about his job. We have very early performances from future stars from the likes of Jeff Goldblum, Scott Glenn, and Keith Carradine (who was impressive as a rock singer). Henry Gibson does a solid job as another famous country star named Haven Hamilton (and did have a good voice).

So there were many aspects to the plot I thoroughly enjoyed. I enjoyed the rather brutal satire on country music which gathered criticism from people within this industry. But my favorite was the political aspect of the movie. Maybe its because history and politics go hand in hand or maybe we are living in a political-happy environment at current time, but I feel like the politics aspect hold up strongly. I like the random scenes where we have this political party in support of a candidate named Hal Philip Walker whom we never meet, but his presence is always known. His politics and the country stars end up clashing in the end for a very powerful ending.

Overall, I really enjoyed Nashville. I don’t think it’s good of a masterpiece of Altman’s earlier McCabe and Mrs. Miller but this is his more mainstream effort. But use that word “mainstream” lightly because Altman brings his complicated style of directing to this movie. His use of the actors and his political and social commentary is widely shown throughout the film. As I say for most of Altman’s films, they are not for everyone. This film has excellent performances from everyone with my favorite performance coming from Lily Tomlin. There is an hour of music recorded for the film and despite the inexperience of the singers, the music mostly works with the film. Nominated for 5 Oscars and a 9 Golden Globes (a record that still holds today), Nashville is a solid work of filmmaking.

My Grade: A-

“I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart.”

Ah, those infamous words spoken in The Godfather Part II by Michael Corleone and those words essentially define the route this sequel took. Mike is the head of his family, but he is broken, angry man and no one can escape his wrath, not even his poor older brother. This film is a film that  laments for loss and is full of bitter emotions…….but this is also arguably one of the greatest sequels of all time to one of the greatest films of all time. This is one of favorite all-time films, and I wouldn’t hesitate to call it better than the first movie. This movie excels at everything, especially when it comes to storytelling. and the devolution of Michael Corleone’s humanity and morality. The film invokes emotion from us for many reasons from the sad but powerful score by Nino Rota, to the powerhouse acting from everyone in the cast especially from Al Pacino, a story that introduces the past effectively, a very shocking ending, tight editing, powerhouse directing by Francis Ford Coppola, and the list goes on and on. Sequels were not a commodity back in the day, and this sequel to the huge 1972 film The Godfather is one of the first of its kind. The success of this film is why today’s movie business relies upon sequels to make money. Regardless, this is one of the greatest films of all time.

This film continues the saga of the Corleone family as we continue from the events of the first film. Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) is trying to expand the family’s business into places like Hollywood and Cuba. His character takes a dive as he clashes with his brother Fredo (John Cazale), his lawyer Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), his wife Kay (Diane Keaton), and his sister Connie (Talia Shire). He is suspicious of his business associates activities such as folks like Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg) and Frankie Pentangeli (Michael Gazzo). But this film incorporates another story into this story: the past. We meet Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) when he was growing up in Sicily and emigrates to New York City where be becomes connected with the mob life.

I loved how the story is told thanks to the masterful storytelling by screenwriter Mario Puzo and director Coppola. They successfully tell two stories over the course of the movie without any trouble. Each story complements each other very well. The continuing saga of the present day family remains a high point. Of course the central character is Michael Corleone. The first film he was a man reluctant to take over the family business, but now he is turning into a control monster who trusts no one, not even his inner circle. It’s a sad thing to watch as his morality crumbles and the final scene-one of cinema’s most famous scenes, makes the case to show why Michael Corleone turns into a monster.

I enjoyed the flashback sequences featuring young Vito. De Niro absolutely nails his role as Vito and he inherits the older Vito’s mannerisms very well. It was fun to see how Vito turned into the man we knew him from the first film. The scenes in Sicily, where he is connected with a local mob boss is very powerful because Vito’s mother was shot down. But that event helped turn Vito into the kind of man he was and to my happiness, Vito exacted the perfect kind of revenge. These scenes in Sicily and New York are beautifully shot and they really understood what New York was supposed to be in 1910.

This is a film full of performances, all of them wonderful. Pacino excels as Michael Corleone once again. I really wish he won an Oscar for this role because he deserved it. His performance was effectively scary. Robert De Niro was absolutely amazing as the younger Vito and his role showed the kind of versatility this man has. Diane Keaton was effective as Kay. This film has Kay standing up to his man as she eventually leaves his side. Duvall is always great as Tom Hagen. John Cazale has a bigger part in the second film, as he tries to do what’s best but simply does not have the brains and ultimately pays the price. His performance was a powerful one. Then we have the likes of the little known actors who gave an impression like Lee Strasberg who played the business partner Hyman Roth who wants Michael killed and Michael Gazzo who plays Frankie, a relative and associate of Michael’s.

There are some interesting things I have noticed. Just like the first film, this film has a big party sequence in the opening. Michael is seen in the office talking about business. This is a great homage to the first film. I liked how the film incorporated real history in its events. The beginning of the film has young Vito at Ellis Island, a major immigration center for potential Americans and being denied entry at first due to sickness. Then, this film also uses the Cuban Revolution for a story arc. Fidel Castro actually takes Cuba while Michael was there.

The Godfather Part II is one of the greatest films of all time. The Godfather is an amazing film, but this one may just be a tad better. That is a rarity because 1.) Just look at the quality of the first film and 2.) sequels are rarely better than the original film. Speaking of sequels, this is the only sequel to this day that has won Best Picture at the Academy Award. Indeed, it’s a very amazing feat. Although to be taken with a grain of salt, but on the website IMDB, this movie is ranked #2 of all-time. That goes to show the commercial value of the movie. I loved this movie for many reasons. From Al Pacino’s wonderful performance to the chill-inducing score by Nino Rota. There was also a flashback sequence that harkens back to the first movie as it brings back James Caan although Marlon Brando declined because he felt underappreciated. Anyhow, Coppola does an amazing job with the first two movies in the series. That end shot……just wow.

My Grade: A+