THE GODFATHER & THE GODFATHER: PART II
AMC, 5:30 p.m. ET
First there was The Godfather, Francis Coppola’s super-smart cinematic adaptation of the pulpy Mario Puzo novel. Then came The Godfather Part II, one of the few (and first) sequels to live up to the original entry. Marlon Brando, who portrayed Vito Corneone brilliantly in the 1972 film, makes way for Robert De Niro, who portrays the young Vito in extended flashbacks in this 1974 follow-up. Al Pacino co-stars in both, as Don Corleone’s son Michael. It’s the long, extended narrative, across two countries and several decades, that makes this movie so great – and today, AMC shows both films in succession.