The flashback (birthday scene) at the end of the film is the most tragic scene of the whole film (including I and II), and it is also the hinge of the combination of the two films. It is even better in expressiveness than the immortal scene of Corleone's death in The Godfather. The only regret is that it can't exist independently. The significance of this tragedy refers not to a single event, but to the whole movie, which contains all the themes involved in the whole story, among which the most important elements are three: first, the American dream and its disillusionment and sin; The second is the conflict and evolution of traditional family concepts (including religion and honor concepts) in Italy (Sicily) in different environments and times, that is, the collision of two cultures; The third is the puppet fate that people can't escape, which seems different and equally sad. This scene happened before the story of The Godfather and after the story of Corleone in The Godfather 2. This is a private family gathering, because it's Corleone's birthday. He is shopping for Christmas presents and hasn't come home yet. The dialogue also revealed the background of the times, that is, the time when the United States declared war on Japan. The main characters of this play are Corleone's three biological sons and adopted sons, Sonny, Fredo, Mike and Tom. Other people present were Connie, Carol, Tom's girlfriend Teresa and Tessel. The scene is suitable for Sonny to take Carol home and introduce him to everyone. When introducing Mike, he mentioned that his family called Mike a college student and called him "Einstein" in a joking tone. In the chat, Sonny mentioned that the United States declared war on Japan and said that people who volunteered to join the army were idiots. Mike retorted that his views were the same as his father's, and Sonny couldn't tell the difference. He asked him why he didn't join the army since he agreed. Mike said that he had joined the navy, which surprised everyone. Tom said that Corleone had made great efforts to make Mike postpone the draft, and Mike said noncommittally that he had no such request; Sonny pulled Mike angrily and asked him why he did it. Tessel quickly dissuaded him. Sonny held back his anger and let Connie and Carol go to the living room, leaving four brothers to sit at the table. Sonny complained that Mike shouldn't hurt his father on his birthday. Fredo supports Mike. Sonny pushed back his outstretched hand and asked him to pour a glass of wine. Tom said that Corleone had plans for Mike's future, Mike said that he had plans for the future, Tom said that his father had high expectations for him, and Mike said that he wanted to decide his own future. Sonny called Mike stupid when he was in college. Connie came in and said that his father had come back and Sonny had left with Tom. Sonny called Mike an idiot while walking, leaving Mike alone in the room, thinking about the noisy cry "big surprise" outside the painting ... This is a scene with infinite connotation, which not only complements the gap in the plot in structure, but also makes Godfather II and Godfather echo each other and effectively enhances the theme of the story. According to the general narrative order of the story, let's look at the scattered contents related to this scene, and how they get together and produce chemical reactions. In order to avoid involving too many corresponding scenes, we only focus on the content between father and son, omitting another important part, that is, the details of many grievances between brothers. ) ○ In the opening paragraph of The Godfather, Mike in military uniform is in sharp contrast with his brothers who are gangsters. This gap puzzles us. Why is he different? The flashback scene gives the answer: it was the day he came back from the army. But why did he join the army? Because he went to college, education (American) gave him values different from those of his family members (immigrants). Therefore, he has his own expectations for his future. In a sense, this smacks of a son rebelling against an authoritarian father, which is a typical mentality of young people. ○ In many scenes, Mike's position in Corleone's mind was positively or laterally explained. Connecting with the flashback scene, we can be sure that Mike is the most beloved of the brothers, and his father has expectations for him. What are these expectations and plans? How is it different from Mike's own expectations? To be sure, going to college is the first step to realize this expectation, but after this step, Mike himself chose a different direction from his father's plan. During the wedding, Tom said that Corleone wanted to talk to Mike. As you can imagine, as long as Mike accepts his father's kindness now, Corleone's expectations will be back on track. This is a special period, and everything is possible. In the scene where Mike was beaten by the sheriff, we learned from the dialogue of the characters that Mike not only joined the army, but also made meritorious military service and was an American hero. Then Clemenza taught Mike to use a gun and told Mike that he was a hero to everyone, including his father Corleone. This paper explains Corleone's gentle side as a father and Corleone's contradictory situation as a father. The gap between flashback and wedding is full of pride, worry and hidden "expectation". When Corleone came home from the hospital, he shook his head and sighed when he learned that Mike was involved in the incident. He had expectations for Mike, and after Mike refused once, he vaguely had the possibility of realization; But I didn't expect him to be involved because of himself, which was both gratifying and sad. At this point, not only did his plan fail, but he knew that Mike's own plan also failed, and he would embark on a road that everyone was trying to avoid. The answer to the question is about to be revealed. When Mike and Kay met again, their views on their father changed. He said that his father was a man of great responsibility, "just like the president and the senator". Kay said presidents and senators don't kill people. This is another moment with many metaphors. Most directly, it says Corleone is like a president and a senator. Then Mike pondered a little and said, "Who is naive?" , the same metaphor and reference. Kay's words also made him realize the most important thing, which may be his first discovery, but at the same time he also realized the gap between the two. And his answer refers not only to his father, but also to himself. Their respective plans, a different plan about the future, on the one hand, are the father's expectations for his son, on the other hand, they are loyal to their own expectations for the future, and finally all the mistakes are empty; And they are obviously naive in the face of fate. ○ Then there is the key scene corresponding to flashback, the dialogue between Mike and Corleone, and everything will be revealed here (it is said that this is Robert? 6? 1 Tang). During the conversation, Mike saw from Corleone's hesitant attitude that he was in trouble, so he asked, and Corleone finally revealed his heart. "I knew Sonny would get his family business, Fredo ... but I never ... I never wanted you to come. I have worked all my life and have no regrets. I took care of my family, but I would never be stupid enough to let those big shots manipulate me behind the scenes. I don't need to apologize. This is my destiny, but I think ... one day you can be a manipulator, Senator Corleone, Governor Corleone and so on. The helplessness behind the glamour of a mafia boss, the ambition pinned on the loss of his son, and the ardent expectation of an Italian immigrant father for his son are all contained in a mutated "American dream". An ideal of these two generations was finally ruthlessly buried by reality, which profoundly pointed out the illusory nature of the "American Dream". From this flashback scene, two independent films are perfectly integrated into one story, and the three periods told by the two films are perfectly integrated into one period. Only the father-son relationship is extracted here, and the story also has a broader brotherhood. Just like the tragedy contained in the father-son relationship (the contradiction between expectation and reality), it is also full of contradictory sadness and helplessness of the characters. In order to protect his family, Mike had to kill his family. This part is not just a father-son relationship, and both films have considerable space to express it. This scene exists in the script and finally appears in the movie, which is inevitable; But there is a little accident in the inevitable. This scene is Corleone's birthday. He should have appeared as the only protagonist, but he didn't appear in the picture. I always thought it was an original design after I accidentally realized the wonderful play in several revisits. This time, watching Coppola talk about this scene in the tidbits, I realized that the design was based on an accident. Actually, I was going to invite Malone? 6? 1 Brando made a guest appearance, and he accepted it himself, but in the end he was forced to cancel it, so Coppola had no choice but to adopt the current design. There is a saying that Brando is limited by the contract, but it is obviously not convincing enough. The other is obviously the root: Brando won the best actor in The Godfather. He not only refused to accept the award, but also arranged for an Indian woman to take the stage to attack the unfair treatment of Indians, causing an uproar. As a result, he angered Jagland, the boss of Paramount, and Brando failed to make a splash in The Godfather II because of his obstruction. This fact is also quite ironic. If Brando appears, the expressive force of this scene will be greatly reduced, and this scene will certainly not end with Mike alone. At the same time, Coppola deliberately put Mike across the crowd when dealing with this scene. If Corleone is present, the contrast will be weakened and the design will be exposed. When Brando can't appear, but wants to show his existence, everyone must go out of the living room and leave Mike alone in the dining room. The "big surprise" in the voice-over is therefore full of strong black effects. The metaphor of this lonely image is the keynote image shaped by godfather II.