A Reel Review: THE GODFATHER CODA: THE DEATH OF MICHAEL CORLEONE

From STAR WARS to LORD OF THE RINGS to APOCALYPSE NOW, special-editions or director's cuts have been around for years, with most of them adding new elements for a new experience with the story. As explained by Reel Speak last month (HERE), famed director Francis Ford Coppola has released a new version of his 1990 film, THE GODFATHER PART III. Coppola, whose first two GODFATHER films are considered to be two of the greatest of all time, has given the film a new mouthful of a title; THE GODFATHER CODA: THE DEATH OF MICHAEL CORLEONE, and has re-arranged the story. 

 

The basic plot of CODA remains unchanged. Taking place years after the events of PART II, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), is haunted by his decision to order the death of his brother, and is spending his later years trying to make amends with his estranged ex-wife Kay (Diane Keaton), and children…including his grown daughter Mary (Sofia Coppola). Michael is looking to leave his criminal empire and life behind, but is pulled back in…

 

The first change made by Coppola comes in the very beginning. CODA opens with Michael meeting with the Archbishop, trying to finalize a massive deal worth $600 million to the Vatican. Gone are the opening shots of the former Corleone estate in Nevada and flashbacks to the death of his brother Fredo. The change closely mirrors the opening of the first two films, and even though it’s a cold-start that feels a little abrupt, it right away establishes the main plot…where the original cut took 40 minutes to get there. 

 

From there, the film moves into familiar territory, with the family party celebrating Michael’s new honor bestowed upon him by the Church. Michael’s bastard nephew Vincent (Andy Garcia) is introduced earlier, which helps his importance in the story. Joe Mantegna’s stupid Joey Zasa character is untouched, although the late great Eli Wallach’s character has many scenes cut. 

 

Other changes: a key scene in which Vincent, Al Neri (Richard Bright), and Connie (Talia Shire) give the order to whack Joey Zasa is now gone…and we don’t learn about who gave the order until Michael himself finds out…allowing us to learn about the hit along with him. The hospital visit with Michael’s children is cut short, along with another scene with Eli Wallach…a scene that deserves to be cut as the original version made his character’s treachery pretty obvious. Minor changes follow; a scene with Don Tommasino (Vittorio Duse) being carried from his wheelchair is gone, allowing for a quicker transition from Michael’s confession to his meeting with the future Pope. The climactic scene on the steps, in which Michael and Mary are shot, is tighter with less footage of the donkey-man assassin. 

 

The biggest change of the film comes at the end. In the original cut, Michael slumps over and dies. In CODA, the film fades with Michael sitting alone with his memories unfolding…seemingly in his own personal purgatory. And just before the credits, a new quote appears; When the Sicilians wish you Cent’anni…it means for ‘long life’…and a Sicilian never forgets. Leaving the film with Michael alive means the new title refers to his spiritual death, which gives things a better weight. A cynic may speculate that this was done to open the door for a GODFATHER IV (which, according to Garcia, was almost put into production years ago), but it still works as a better ending. 

 

THE GODFATHER PART III has a complicated legacy. It was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture, and some critics at the time, including Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, ranked it as one of the best of the year. The knocks against the film was that it wasn’t as good as the first two entries, was hard to understand, and the inexperience of Sofia Coppola as an actress. For Sofia, CODA doesn’t (and can’t) fix that…although this Blogger will always maintain that Sofia wasn’t that bad. Her co-star Joe Montegna is cartoonishly awful…and he’s the one who was supposed to be the seasoned actor. 

 

The re-edit of PART III does not put it on par with its predecessors, but to be fair…nothing on Earth is as good as those two masterpieces. CODA makes the final story of Michael Corleone more accessible and easier to understand, which is a slight improvement. Unlike most director’s cuts, CODA doesn’t feature any long-lost deleted scenes and instead trims the fat; making this an attempt at addition by subtraction. The new beginning and end are the most significant changes, and even though it’s a simpler movie, there’s not a lot that has been added. New editions of films should bring us something more. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it