Godfather, Part II was a great film, for many reasons. DeNiro, Gazzo, Pacino, Strassberg...

...but the real icing in this movie, for me, is Duvall. Somehow, I think GII would not have been the same movie if Duvall didn't reprise his role as Tom Hagen. I think the main reason is because Tom represents the "old ways," and is the one real "good guy" in the whole family business. By good guy, I mean a guy with a heart.

You had so many new characters in GII that, whenever Tom Hagen appeared in a scene, it was like, "hey, its Tom!" Its like I'm Senator Geary in the whorehouse, when he looks up and sees Tom there. Geary feels relief: "Hagen, that you?" As do I.

Tom's face is a calm, familiar one in a sea of turmoil. Tom's prescence is monumental to the film, and frankly Coppola was out of his mind to not meet Duvall's asking price for GIII in 1990. How much better would GIII have been if Duvall was there?