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Would you have killed Fredo?

ebullientprism

ebullientprism

Member
Ok so Godfather 2 is fucking amazing. And it has (IMO) one of the best scenes of all time in it -



Michael silently giving Neri the go ahead to ice Fredo is breathtaking. Pacino's is absolutely sublime, his eyes are haunting. Cazale is a broken, lost man. Fredo was weak, jealous and also sorry for what he did. Michael was ruthless and soulless. Did Michael have him killed to ensure it didnt happen again or was it a punishment for what had already happened?

And was it necessary? Would you (if you were in place of Michael) killed Fredo?
 
at that point, if I'm in Michael's position, I probably would just exile Fredo or something like that and only allow him back during holidays or something. but I can understand where Michael's coming from. not saying it's right or wrong, but what he does I can understand. you don't get to that kinda position by being a softy, even (or especially) to your own family.
 
This scene was the turning point for Michael, in my opinion. Everything that happened to him after this decision was because of what he's done.

This film is, for me, the greatest film of all-time. What made it so is the fact that it's a sequel to possibly the greatest film of all-time and exceeded all expectations. Also, my relationship with my brother made this storyline between these two brothers even more compelling.

I personally would have never killed Fredo and just outcasted him. But again, Fredo was partly responsible for the attempted assassination of Michael and his family. The complexity of this situation is astounding and makes me realize how brilliant this film really is.
 
Of course not. The point of the movies is to not be like Michael. You become the kind of person who thinks ordering the murder of your brother is the only reasonable choice you have.
 
I always kinda thought that if he did nothing, others would think him weak and come for throne.
Whacking Fredo was just as much a punishment for Fredo, and Michael telling the rest of the fam "Dont fuck with me."
But christ, it's been probably 2 decades since I've seen this.
 
ClanOfNone said:
I always kinda thought that if he did nothing, others would think him weak and come for throne.
Whacking Fredo was just as much a punishment for Fredo, and Michael telling the rest of the fam "Dont fuck with me."
But christ, it's been probably 2 decades since I've seen this.
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You nailed it, or at least that is how I've viewed it. So because I agree with you I will anoint you with my agreeance. It is obvious Michael didn't take any pleasure or have a sense of relief that the "problem" was taken care of, but he did what needed to be done to secure his place in the family.
 
Goddamn this movie is a masterpiece, I still prefer Part 1 by the tinniest of margins. The scene in Part 1 when Vito and Michael talk after Michael has taken over is incredible.

 
Fredo was a special case because he would have been so helpless if Michael took all his privileges from him. Clearly Michael made the wrong choice since he was so lonely and pathetic afterwards. It was the one decision I think that his dad would have been ashamed and disappointed that he made. Family comes first.

Really enjoy the last scene that highlighted so much how Vito was loved and revered because of his love of family and how Michael became the opposite in the end. In the beginning all that Michael wanted to be was like his dad and be a good don.
 
DKehoe said:
Of course not. The point of the movies is to not be like Michael. You become the kind of person who thinks ordering the murder of your brother is the only reasonable choice you have.
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I wasnt asking if we should be like Michael. Pretend you are Michael already at that point. Is killing Fredo really needed?
 
their family is reprehensible (including mister fredo)

fratricide is one of the worst things you can do, there's no coming back from it
 
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Cult of FartNoise said:
Never, ever, ever go against The Family.

Enjoy the fishing, Fredo.

I've already killed men for far less...

allegedly
Click to expand...
tenor.gif
 
I mean, the whole story is about the destruction of Michael's soul.

But no, I would have just sent him to the sleepiest Sicilian town of all time to "rest" with a few bodyguards. Connie can visit him, nobody else.
 
No. You could exile him. Remove his ties to the family. Strip his wealth. There were many ways for such a powerful man to punish Fredo. In the end, that would not be disrespecting family, and he would still be just as powerful. By killing him, he went against everything his father stood for that made him so revered.

The family and other backstory is what was so great about the first. People are crazy who say the 2nd was better.
 
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I felt bad for Fredo the first time I watched it, but now I say fuck Fredo. Weak, and disloyal are two of the worst things you can be, and he was both.
 
Great... Now I have to watch them again... I'll struggle through these incredible movies again I suppose...

On a thread related note, yes I would have (if I was Michael).

He couldn't be trusted in a business that is only about trust. He would either do it again or flip when it came down to it. Michael couldn't allow that, he had to protect the "Family" regardless of the personal cost. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. No one gets special treatment, regardless.
 
The ending of Fredo's death with Vito's birthday scene shows that Michael was never really one of them, he doesn't have that sacred bond with his family members. He eschews the Italian-American tradition of family and religion, instead going to college, enlisting in the military, marrying a WASP, since was seduced by and pursued America's secular individualism and capitalist ambition. It made him more successful within the Mafia hierarchy than any natural born gangster could be, but it ultimately left him with nothing, as he wife aborts his third child and divorces him, two things which would have been unthinkable if he had remained within his family's ethos.

I can't put myself in that position because the uniqueness of this tension is what leads him to a unique and devastatingly tragic end. Godfather Part III is just the coda - Michael can only suffer after the saga had already reached its narrative conclusion.
 
I'd have him stripped naked, his balls slathered in peanut butter and set him loose on a squirrel farm. If you're thinking to yourself "there's no such thing as a squirrel farm", of course there is, you poor fool, I'm a f**king Mafia don. If I say I want a squirrel farm, my boys are going to build me the biggest, bestest, only squirrel farm in all the world and pack it full of fuzzy rodents waiting for a chance to nibble on Fredo's babymakers. I also believe this scene would be a perfect fit for the tone and nuanced family drama of The Godfather: Part Two.
 
xandaca said:
I'd have him stripped naked, his balls slathered in peanut butter and set him loose on a squirrel farm. If you're thinking to yourself "there's no such thing as a squirrel farm", of course there is, you poor fool, I'm a f**king Mafia don. If I say I want a squirrel farm, my boys are going to build me the biggest, bestest, only squirrel farm in all the world and pack it full of fuzzy rodents waiting for a chance to nibble on Fredo's babymakers. I also believe this scene would be a perfect fit for the tone and nuanced family drama of The Godfather: Part Two.
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Rentahamster Rentahamster thoughts?
 
No. Michael destroys his literal family for the sake of the figurative "family" and their wealth.

Like great, he expanded the family empire but who in the end reaps the benefits. Who ultimately is better off?
 
"In my bedroom where my wife sleeps...where my children come and play with their toys"

I'd have done it. But I would have done it in Cuba during the chaos, not years after the fact.
 
Trogdor1123 said:
Great... Now I have to watch them again... I'll struggle through these incredible movies again I suppose...

On a thread related note, yes I would have (if I was Michael).

He couldn't be trusted in a business that is only about trust. He would either do it again or flip when it came down to it. Michael couldn't allow that, he had to protect the "Family" regardless of the personal cost. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. No one gets special treatment, regardless.
Click to expand...

I think this is how I feel as well. Fredo was many things but the worst of them was untrustworthy. I imagine Micheal decided he had to go when Fredo started ranting about how he was smart and he could do things.



Another great scene. Both Pacino and Cazale kill it.
 
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