The Godfather Part II, cinema's greatest sequel, offers such a rich, dark, sprawling trip you'll be tempted to think it's better than the first. Two storylines entwine: the rise of the young immigrant Don Vito (Robert De Niro, who won an Oscar) in 1920s New York as he enters a life of crime and the reign of his son Don Michael (Al Pacino, nominated for an Oscar) in postwar America. Full of dangerous alliances and betrayals, lush mise-en-scène, and Nino Rota's unforgettable melodies. Francis Ford Coppola was justly awarded Best Director at the Academy Awards for this apotheosis of the mafia movie.