The Godfather: Part 2 (8/8) Movie CLIP - Corleone Family Flashback (1974) HD 

“Do you go to college to get stupid?” I ask myself that question all the damn time.

Sonny isn’t mad at micheal for joining the Corps, he’s afraid of losing his brother to what he sees as a stupid war. Getting angry is the only way he shows his emotions. Amazing scene

"Go show Carlo the tree." How did that go down? "Hey Carlo, this is the tree."

And Fredo was the only one to convey words of encouragement to his brother.

There's just something unparalleled about this film. It seems so real, so natural. The best film ever.

0:58 Beneath Sonny's anger, he's really just afraid Michael might die in the war.

pretty scary, that half of the people in the scene in the beginning were murdered, and even scarier that half of these murders were ordered by a man sitting on the table with them

I can’t imagine anyone else playing the part of Sonny. RIP James Caan, you were perfect for the role.

It took me about 25 years to understand the meaning behind this scene, it all makes sense. Watch how each character walks out of the scene, a metaphor to the fact that Michael was all alone at that point.

Michael: You talked to my father about my future? You can see what makes him godfather settling in.

That laugh after she says 'daddy's fighting again' is one of the most heartbreaking pieces of cinema I've ever seen.

"Mommy, Daddy's fighting again."

This video clip should've been longer, because those 20 seconds after cut where Michael sits at the table all alone with the crowd family noise in the background speaks for itself. It really shows that in the end, contrary to all family affairs and chaos around him Michael’s decisions made him a man on his own and very lonely also.

Sunny really loved his family, despite all his short temper and weaknesses. He’d give his life for them if they’d ask. Which is why Mikey got his revenge.

I love how we don't see Don Vito in this scene, just everyone's reaction to him. It just adds to the haunting feeling. Arguably the best scene of all time.

The irony was by joining the Marines it was training Michael to be the Don. His rebellion against his dad’s plan led him into the family business. If he had gone along with Don Vito’s plan it would have veered him away from the family business to more legitimate enterprises, such as being a Senator. Vito was generally right in his decision making and assessment of people and situations.

Boy that Italian family at the next table sure is quiet.

The best part about this scene, is how each character has their moments that symbolizes who they were. We start with Sonny, the man of the house, the eldest brother in the family, sitting at the middle of the table. Showing his strength and fearlessness. We then have his daughter's at the back, laughing and saying, "Mommy Daddy's fighting again", this captures Sonny's character, the hot headed brother who's all power and no brains. Then we have Fredo, the weak minded, and isolated brother. Even before it all happened, Fredo was sat in the edge of the dinner table, barely anything to say and the topic of discussion was about Michael, and Sonny was the one in charge of the situation. Fredo was constantly, put to the side, whether he didn't like it, or because he was never interested, since he was always with women and messing about in Casino's etc. Why was it that it took him so long to express how he truly feels, he betrayed Michael, and when caught, he was scared and wanted sympathy. He congratulated Mike and went to handshake him, Sonny immediately broke that handshake, the bond, it can mean how Fredo wants to support Mike no matter what, but is often put to the side and shifted because of Sonny's presence. This scene captures his character perfectly, even at the dinner table, he's less involved. Fredo is my favourite character, very conflicted and the best part is a lot of people feel this way in reality towards their brothers. This stuff happens. Tommy Hagen, the man that is the voice of reason in the family. The man that sets everything clear, the brains of the family and a balance of right and wrong. He's the step brother, and we see him getting involved more than Fredo, and he's not blood related to them! He tries to calm everything and set them right before making any action. After hearing the news that Michael enlisted himself at the Marines, he asked Michael, why he never came to him, this describes his character, he always feels the need to discuss a matter before making any moves or decisions, after all he is a lawyer. He brings up how Vito tried his best to put him in College, to set Michael's path away from the crime. Then we have that traitor standing up, to put it simply, him not even engaged in the convo and not sitting with the family shows that he's all about his own well being, his own safety, what he feels is suited best for him, he doesn't want to sit, he doesn't care and then attempts to calm Sonny down then leaves! Michael was the one son that could have stepped away from all this carnage, the "good" boy, well mannered, respected and had a bright future in the family. He was to be the man that changed the Corleone family from the crime scene, set them off on a clean slate, or just make a better living for himself. He's a war veteran, educated, respected and never liked how his family done things at the time. He said it himself to Kay, "I'm not like my family". The reason being was because he never wanted to be involved in their affairs, he was the laid back and calm brother, he never had plans to take over his Father's position at the family and be the new Godfather. Talking to Tommy, about his future, asking about why he and Vito were discussing HIS future, just shows that he has his own plans for himself, he's self aware and can take care of himself. The fact that he enlisted without approaching any of his brothers to discuss his actions and dropping out of college, something that his father worked on hard to get him into, this contrasts with his actions in the future. These simple things symbolizes the man he becomes, once he's made a decision, it stands. If something he feels needs to be done, he wants to be SURE it's done to the end.

"What, did ya go to college to get stupid?" LOL. That's Sonny's way of saying "I love you, Michael." haha.

The part where Michael says "you talked to my father about my future" gives me the same vibes as the scene where Michael says "you straightened my brother out?" to the casino guy.

I’m 62, recall seeing this film as a teenager. My goodness, what an important moment. I learned a lot about life. No movies like this again.

"Did you go to college to get stupid?"

There was something really awesome about Santino. While he lacked Michael’s calculated intellect, Tom’s levelheaded presence, and Fredo’s familial warmth he had this innate charisma and energy the other siblings didn’t have. He truly loved Michael, he loved his family and would burn cities down to protect them. RIP James Caan, he killed this role

I love how Sonny's reaction is not just about fearing that Michael might die in the war, but also about how guilty he feels for his earlier comment. I'm sure most of us have experienced talking down on a group of people, only to realize later that someone we cared about is in that group, and then feeling like an idiot. Great scene.

I love how much Santino loved his family.

Sonny Corleone made that whole movie....damn what a character!

One of the most darkest endings in a film of all time. Such a masterpiece

It interesting how Michaels' loneliness is paralleled in both this flashback scene and then in the ending. At least back then, he was standing up for something honorable and pure but 18 years later we find him again alone, but only this time sitting quietly in the face of all the destruction he has caused to both others and his family.

To me that is the saddest scene of the trilogy. He lost most of the people that were at this table with him, his borthers, wife, sister ...

A flashback of 4 dead people... Sonny, Carlo, Sally, Freddo..

This is too short. The best part is Michael lingering at the table

1:32 freddo: contratulations mike. sony: Dont congratulate him! dont you know he gonna kill you in GodFather II? xD

One of the greatest scenes in movie history. Amazing how one 3 minute scene can sum up all of the brothers' personalities

The foreshadowing in this scene is amazing... after everyone leaves the dinner table, Michael is all alone. And in the end he was all alone.

Rip James Caan, a truly great actor and so sad to hear about his death Rip

It hurts that Fredo is the only one to congratulate Michael of going the army knowing what happened to him after.

Rest In Peace to a legend. He will be truly missed.

“I have plans for my future” This is honestly the saddest line in the trilogy. Life had other plans for Michael and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Carlo and Connie standing by the tree. Carlo: Ummm... nice tree Connie: I like the tree lights Carlo: yeah

“Mummy, daddy’s fighting again.” Even the three year old knows what a hothead Sonny is! 😂

I understand Michael's decision to do his own thing, I've been there myself. It isn't easy having relatives constantly telling you about what they or their elders expect of you, it feels like your breaking their hearts when you say no. End of the day, you either control your own destiny or you don't.

Lol James Caan made them pay him the same amount for this scene as they paid him for whole first movie. Also Brando was supposed to cameo but he felt mistreated by the studio and didnt show up for the single day's worth of shooting. How I wish we couldve seen Brando! Also this scene is interesting how Michael remembers a time before he was involved in the family business, when he could sit with them in innocence.

Time flies by fast. Rest in peace James Cann 'Sonny'. You'll be dearly missed 🕊

"Did you go to college to get stupid? You're really stupid." The way he delivers that line and then the sudden intervention by Connie is hilarious

Since I always see comments on James Caan and Robert Duvall's perfomances and never on John Cazale's part as Fredo, here's my little John Cazale appreciation post: Mostly everyone in the Godfather trilogy fandom dislike Fredo for obvious reasons: he was emotionally weak, terribly insecure, and indulged in women and alcohol in Las Vegas which came as an embarrassment to the Corleone family. And of course, his most hated action of all, his participation in the attempted assassination of Michael. In essence, Fredo is nobody's favorite character and I feel like its for this reason that hardly anyone ever talks about how amazing John Cazale played the part of Fredo. He captures all of Fredo's flaws perfectly...body language, facial expressions...You could tell that Cazale really had deep insight into Fredo's persona and was able to make such a convincing perfomance. RIP John Cazale!

I just love that Michael's best responses are. Simply restating what someone says

Michael really is that person who was too young to develop a great appreciation for his culture and suffers from “youngest sibling” syndrome. He’s split between being an American and being an Italian. It’s something that often happens to people existing between two cultures or two worlds. You never feel like you belong to either one and you often hurt both sides of your identity just by your decisions.

I hope peaky blinders do something like this where you see Tommy’s personality before the war.

One of the saddest things left out of this clip is at the end Mike is the only one sitting at the table by himself.

This scene is so brutal. So much emotions, foresight and tragedy all in one piece.

First time I saw this movie, this scene gave me chills. This family goes through so much. Especially when you watch the full trilogy. You see what they all go through. This scene is perfect because it shows them together again during a simpler time. I’m sure if they could, they’d all go back to this. The scene is very profound. This movie is a complete masterpiece.

Never trust anyone even those closest to you. Carlo got Sonny killed, Fredo and Tessio tried to get Michael killed. And they were all sitting at the dinner table eating with each other. Never think those closest to you won't fold on you

This is my favorite scene. It is such a perfect encapsulation of the main characters of the two movies. Michael always doing what was necessary, going to war, taking over the family business, protecting the interests of the family at all costs. Sonny, being emotional, always acting on pure instinct. Fredo just trying to be noticed but not being able to read the room, Tom being the voice of the head of the family at all times.

There’s always love in a brothers anger

This scene shows each of the Corleone brothers characters. Sonny the aggressive and emotional one, Fredo the sweet and caring one, Tom the intelligent and total awareness, finally Mike with his cunning and shyness, what I mean cunning he's always reveal his secrets and bites when the time is right.

Sonny loved Michael. Great big brother. Great acting.

"Mommy, Daddy fighting again!" was a clever detail. This shows how good was Copolla to made the acting become more realistic.

The best is when Tom stare at fredo, 1:31, after he says "come on", and Fredo look back at him like dumb.

RIP James Caan. 1940 - 2022 😔

I love how sonny was such a unpredictable hot head that could snap at any second, yet when his father walks into the room sonny is extremely obedient and submissive to his father.

For me, this is the best scene. Showing all the brothers together and how Michael enlisted. So sad because Fredo was the only one who supported Michael's decision, and Michael ends up having him killed. Great film.

Rest in peace Mr. Caan. Movies like this will always keep you alive.

"Mommy. Daddy's fighting again"

In my opinion...James Caan never got the recognition for his acting in the Godfather. He should have won an academy award for supporting actor.

Am I the only one who likes Fredo? One difference between Vito Corleone and Michael Corleone is that Vito would not have had Fredo killed

Connie was so beautiful...a true Italian American princess...just gorgeous

Sonny and Michael were polar opposites. Sonny doesn't explode at Michael joining the Army, he explodes when Michael brushes off what his father did for him like it was nothing. Sonny, for all his faults, wasn't cold blooded like Michael, and the callous attitude Michael had when he said "I didn't ask for it" offended Sonny.

"What did you go to college to get stupid?" ... Some things never change!

A great scene. Michael was the youngest but he had the courage to think for himself, which Sonny and Tom respected on the low. From this scene, you could tell that Sonny and Michael fought plenty of times growing up, which is why Michael didn't fear telling his brothers, or his father for that matter, that he planned to go his own path. Tom and Sonny followed the path that was laid out for them. The tragedy in this is Fredo, who was never really respected by his brothers and was cast out as the black sheep, which led to his later altercations with Michael.

James Caan was payed the same amount for this scene as he was for the entire Godfather 1. Totally worth it. Marlon Brando was also supposed to be in this scene but Brando didn't arrive at the set due to his disagreement with Paramount. Francis Ford Coppola rewrote the scene without Brando on the day of the shooting. And it also worked out great since The Godfather 2 is about Michael and having Brando would've taken the focus out of Micheal. So many little things went well for this masterpiece!

Only Sonny had guts to call Mikey a Punk! The other one who called him was shot dead by him

Fredo picking up the fallen chair got me emotional

Rest In Peace, Sonny. You were a great actor, James Caan.

Clip cuts too soon.... watching Michael sitting on the table all alone while everyone else goes to say hi to Vito is crucial for the scene.

Sonny appearing was a sight for sore eyes. Such a great character. Caan was perfect as Sonny.

Rip James Caan, Godfather would have been far less without him. As an Italian American that grew up watching the movies with my dad and the ps2 game I’m heartbroken.

This is the best final scene of all time. This flashback almost 20 years earlier from Part 2's storyline shows just how much Michael Corleone has lost in his climb to power. He personally ordered the deaths of 3 people at the table and his brother Sonny was long ago assassinated himself. The contrast between finding himself alone in 1941 at the table as a young newly enlisted soldier and then again in 1959 on the bench as the most powerful Mafia Don in America was the perfect ending to the saga.

I love how they treated Tom as their equal.

In this scene just showed the difference of Micheal and Sonny. Even how brute and brutal Sonny is he'll never ever lay his finger to his family. Even with a heated argument with Tom, he'll never hurt anyone in his family.

RIP JAMES CAAN.

In the begining of the first movie he said to his girlfriend that this was his family business, not his. My interpretation of the ending is Michael realizing how much he changed and becoming aware that the power that he pursued brought nothing good after all.

Such a transformation, from the idealistic starry-eyed kid to the cold-hearted mob boss. Pacino in his prime.

dude's like a ball of anger all the time

every brother can relate to this scene

This flashback is sad because it's Michael reflecting on happier times.

"You go to college to get stupid?" XD

From their father- Mikey got all the brains, Sonny all the guts, and Fredo all the heart.

I kinda wished we got to see Brando in this scene. Just one last reminder of the family being "happy" together before everything went wrong.

Timeless masterpiece

Al Pacino is soooooo handsome in this scene... he looks so young with his nice hair and suit.. and although he speaks quietly, he has presence.. his soft voice has that power of a don.. he is superb !!

1:23 the one character who really is different than the book is Fredo but John Cazale made him his own. No longer the tough suave but kind of dull middle son, he is meek and sweet. When Santino rips away his hand i cant help but laugh while feeling quite sad

It's such a cute scene with all of the grown up siblings sitting together and still behaving and looking like kids

This is just another masterwork of Coppola’s. He couldn’t convince the actors playing Clemenza and Vito to come back for this scene and it’s so much better WITHOUT them. The film just shifted from freddo and michael and the treachery towards each other to focus on all 4 brothers in the one scene with the 2 traitors Carlo and Sal among them, they’re all one big family. The traitors are both among the brothers and within them.

R.I.P. James Caan. ❤

One of the most overlooked sub plots in the entire movie is how much Santino cared and looked out for his younger siblings. There are just subtle scenes in the series that illustrate this. Fredo was allowed to be weak because he had such a stronger older brother that would always look after him. There is no way Michael would have been able to kill Fredo later on if Sonny was around because Fredo was family and no matter what he did or did not do, Fredo would always be family, Sonny always looked after his kid brother. With Connie, that was his baby sister and no one was going to cause her any pain, this protectionism is what inevitably cost him his life. With Michael, he knew this was his father's favorite child, therefore, he had to be somewhat reserved because he knew his father would come down on him if he acted on his impulses, but still, the scene where MacClusky broke Michael's jaw, when he said "let me look at you, beautiful, you look beautiful" elder brother pride in his younger brother. Sonny knew Michael was smart, therefore he would listen to what he had to say. The scene where Clemenza is making the sauce, Sonny orders men to protect his baby brother. The last scene when they embrace as Michael is going off to kill the Turk. The hiding Michael away in scissily, all were under the orders of Sonny. The all out war Sonny ordered after Vito was shot was always underestimated, it was a show of strength that proved the Coleone family was not to be underestimated, this later led to leverage power for Vito when negotiated for the peace talks and bringing Michael back. All were possible by the actions of Sonny. Plus, Sonny fathered the child who would eventually take over the family after Michael stepped down. Even though Sonny got killed because of his temper and protecting his baby sister, he lived a much happier life than any of his other Siblings.

Love that Michael isn't the least bit afraid of Sonny or his Dad.

James Caan was one of the best character actors ever.

RIP James Caan. He even agreed to voice for Sonny Corleone's character in The Godfather game.

Santino hot-headed always gets the best of him, but acting so naturally , James caan was brilliant as Sonny I think everybody deserve an Oscar on this 2 films

2:02 Sonny’s line!! So true!