“It is even better than the first film, and has the greatest single final scene in Hollywood history, a real coup de cinéma.” - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“This magnificent 1974 sequel, the centerpiece of Coppola and writer Mario Puzo's 20th Century gangster saga, is still one of the most ambitious and brilliantly executed American films, a landmark work from one of Hollywood's top cinema eras.” - Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
Saturday, August 8, 6:30 p.m. | Set both before and after the events of THE GODFATHER, Francis Ford Coppola's gangster picture sequel is just as violent, devastating, self-serious, actually serious, and as full of life as its reputation suggests. Pauline Kael identified one reason we're still so drawn to the Corleones: "the casting is so close to flawless that we can feel the family connections." Technicolor delayed the decommissioning of their dye-transfer printers to accommodate the release printing of THE GODFATHER PART II, a film which has the distinction of being one of the last films printed in Technicolor — as well as one of the longest. (Julian Antos, Chicago Film Society)
Awards & Nominations
1975 Academy Awards - Winner, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Robert DeNiro)
Chicago Film Society Presents: Technicolor Weekend | August 7–9, 2026
The Chicago Film Society returns for its fourth iteration of Technicolor Weekend, a series which showcases prints made using the Technicolor printing process. All of the films in this series will be projected from prints that were at one point or another saved by private collectors. They were intended to last only through their initial runs, but instead have endured hundreds of screenings, studio mergers, film exchange closures, and multiple private owners. These unlikely survivors offer us a view of what these films looked like before digital color correction and other modern restoration techniques, and are stunning examples of an incredibly complex industrial process that delighted millions. Synopses courtesy of Chicago Film Society. Learn more at chicagofilmsociety.org.
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu