A Reel Retro Review: THE GODFATHER PART III (1990)

Reel Speak’s Retro Reviews have focused on films from the TCM library, with the intention of introducing forgotten gems from the past. But this week, we look back at one of the most divisive films of the last 30 years, which is headed back to theatres with a new look. 

 

Recently, famed director Francis Ford Coppola announced a new version of his divisive film, THE GODFATHER PART III (1990); the widely-panned yet under-appreciated sequel and finale to his own masterful THE GODFATHER (1972), and THE GODFATHER PART II (1974). The new cut will be 10 minutes shorter than the original, but it isn’t a straight cut as Coppola has apparently re-edited the entire film. It will sport the new mouthful-title of MARIO PUZO’S THE GODFATHER CODA: THE DEATH OF MICHAEL CORLEONE, and will hit theatres on December 4^th ahead of a blu-ray and digital release on December 8^th. 

 

How did we get here? After the great success of the first two GODFATHER films, Paramount Pictures had been after Coppola to do a third for years. A first draft of a script was penned in 1979, most of which was discarded. After Coppola’s financial disaster ONE FROM THE HEART (1982), he finally took Paramount up on their offer to do a third installment. The film would follow Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), in his final years as he tries to legitimize his criminal empire and make amends with his family, including his ex-wife Kay (Diane Keaton), and daughter Mary (Sofia Coppola). But just as Michael is free of his former mob associates, they find a way to bring him back in. 

 

Casting problems arose nearly right away. Robert Duvall, who played a major role in the first two films, turned down the chance to reprise over pay. Winona Ryder, who was originally cast as Mary Corleone, dropped out at the last minute. Coppola would cast his in-experienced daughter Sofia in the role. 

 

THE GODFATHER PART III would be a modest box office success, and would receive good-to-mixed reviews. The common criticisms were a convoluted plot and Sofia’s acting. Despite this, the film would earn seven Oscar nominations including Best Picture. It would not win any, the only film in the trilogy not to, but along with THE LORD OF THE RINGS, it shares the unique distinction of all of its installments nominated for Best Picture. 

 

Over the years, THE GODFATHER PART III has fallen deep into the shadows of its predecessors. Most cinema fans, when revisiting the saga, stop their marathons after PART II. Is it really that bad? Not really. The faults are clear; the plot is hard to follow and Sofia’s in-experience as an actress are glaring. But Sofia gets treated a little unfair; her co-star Joe Mantenga is equally bad…and he was the one who was a seasoned actor. 

 

THE GODFATHER PART III does have many merits. There’s a certain amount of joy in catching up with the characters after so many years, and it’s fascinating to see what has become of the empire-like Corleone crime family. The character work with Michael is a highlight; seeing the once boyish-man now as a broken soul trying to reclaim his humanity, and his line of they pull me back in ranks up there with some of the best of the saga. And as is the case with any Coppola film, PART III is beautifully shot and edited. Not to mention an ending that is appropriately tragic. 

Coppola himself has always considered the first two films to be the complete Corleone saga, with PART III serving as an epilogue. Through that lens it makes sense, and it’s unfair to judge PART III against the first two films…because there are very few films in history that can compete with those two masterpieces. The upcoming re-edit of PART III is fascinating, as there are no documented reports of Coppola’s original vision for the film being compromised by studio meddling or other factors. Whatever he has up his sleeve for CODA will make for another debatable chapter in the long history of THE GODFATHER. 

 

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Next week, Retro Reviews returns with a Holiday Series.