Although Coppola initially refused to return for a third film, he eventually signed to direct and writePart III. In hisaudio commentary forPart II, Coppola stated that only a dire financial situation, caused by the failure of his 1982 musical fantasyOne from the Heart, compelled him to take upParamount's long-standing offer to make a third installment.[3] Coppola and Puzo wanted the title to beThe Death of Michael Corleone, for they felt that the first two films had told the complete Corleone saga, soPart III would serve as theepilogue, but Paramount Pictures thought that that title was unacceptable.[4]
Winona Ryder was initially cast in the role of Michael Corleone's daughter Mary, but eventually left production due to other commitments and nervous exhaustion. The role was ultimately given to Coppola's daughterSofia, a decision that garnered much criticism and accusations ofnepotism.Principal photography took place from late 1989 to early 1990, with filming locations in both Italy and the United States.
The Godfather Part III premiered inBeverly Hills on December 20, 1990, and was widely released in the United States onChristmas Day. The film received generally positive reviews, although it was considered inferior to the previous films by most audiences.[5] Critics praised Pacino's and Garcia's performances, cinematography, editing, production design and Coppola's direction, but criticized the plot and the performance of Sofia Coppola. It grossed $136.8 million worldwide, and garnered seven nominations at the63rd Academy Awards, includingBest Picture,Best Director andBest Supporting Actor (Garcia). It also received seven nominations at the48th Golden Globe Awards, includingBest Motion Picture – Drama andBest Actor – Motion Picture Drama (Pacino).
In December 2020, arecut version of the film, titledThe Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, was released to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the original version. Coppola called this version closer to his original vision for the film.
In 1978,Michael Corleone is approaching 60 years of age. Plagued with guilt over his ruthless rise to power, especially for having ordered his brotherFredo Corleone's murder,[a] he donates millions to charitable causes.
Michael andKay Adams are divorced;[a] their childrenAnthony andMary live with Kay. At a reception in Michael's honor atSt. Patrick's Old Cathedral that follows apapal order induction ceremony, Anthony tells his father that he is leaving law school to become an opera singer. Kay supports Anthony's decision, while Michael eventually agrees to let him go his own way. Kay reveals to Michael that she and Anthony know the truth about Fredo's death.Vincent Mancini, theillegitimate son of Michael's long-dead brotherSonny by his mistressLucy Mancini,[b] arrives at the reception. Michael's sisterConnie arranges for Vincent to settle a dispute with his rivalJoey Zasa, but Zasa calls Vincent a bastard, and Vincent bites Zasa's ear. Michael, troubled by Vincent's temper yet impressed by his loyalty, agrees to include Vincent in the family business.
The head of theVatican Bank,Archbishop Gilday, has accumulated a massive deficit of $769M. Michael offers $600M in exchange for the Vatican's shares in an international real estate company, Internazionale Immobiliare (a fictional company, but possibly a reference to the real-worldSocietà Generale Immobiliare),[6] which would give him acontrolling interest. Immobiliare's board approves the offer, pending ratification byPope Paul VI.
Don Altobello, a New York Mafia boss and Connie's godfather, tells Michael that his partners onThe Commission want to be involved with the Immobiliare deal. However, wanting to finally become legitimate, Michael pays them to sell his Las Vegas holdings instead. Zasa receives nothing and, declaring Michael to be his enemy, storms out. Don Altobello, assuring Michael that he can diplomatically resolve the matter, leaves to speak to Zasa. Moments later, a helicopter hovers outside the conference room and opens fire.
Most bosses are killed, but Michael, Vincent, and Michael's bodyguardAl Neri, escape. Michael realizes that Altobello is the traitor, and suffers adiabetic stroke. As Michael recuperates, Vincent and Mary begin a romance, while Neri and Connie permit Vincent to retaliate against Zasa. During a street festival, Vincent kills Zasa. Michael berates Vincent for his actions and insists that Vincent end his relationship with Mary because it is dangerous and they are first cousins.
The family goes to Sicily for Anthony's operatic debut in Palermo at theTeatro Massimo. Michael tells Vincent to pretend to defect from the Corleone family to spy on Altobello. Altobello introduces Vincent to Licio Lucchesi, Immobiliare's chairman. Michael visitsCardinal Lamberto, anticipated to become the next pope, to discuss the deal. Lamberto persuades Michael to make his first confession in 30 years, during which Michael tearfully confesses that he ordered Fredo's murder. Lamberto says that Michael deserves to suffer for his sins, but can be redeemed. He gives him sacramental absolution, permanently forgiving all his past sins in the eyes of God. Michael discovers that the Immobiliare deal is an elaborate swindle, arranged by Lucchesi, Gilday and Vatican accountant Frederick Keinszig.
Vincent tells Michael that Altobello has hired Mosca, a veteran hitman, to assassinate Michael. Mosca, disguised as a priest, kills Corleone family friend Don Tommasino as he returns to his villa. While Michael and Kay tour Sicily, Michael asks for Kay's forgiveness, and they admit that they still love each other. At Tommasino's funeral, Michael vows to sin no more. Following the pope's death, Cardinal Lamberto is elected to succeed him, choosing as his namePope John Paul I. Subsequently, the Immobiliare deal is ratified.
Gilday kills the new pope with poisoned tea. Michael names Vincent the new Don of the Corleone family, in return for ending his romance with Mary. The family sees Anthony's performance inCavalleria rusticana in Palermo while Vincent exacts his revenge. Keinszig is killed, and his murder is staged as a suicide; Connie poisons Altobello via a birthday cannoli and watches him die from the opera box; Calò, Tommasino's former bodyguard, kills Lucchesi; and Neri travels to the Vatican, where he shoots and kills Gilday.
At the opera house during Anthony's performance, three of Vincent's men search for Mosca, but he overcomes them. After the show, on the opera house steps as they leave, Mosca shoots at Michael, wounding him; a second bullet hits Mary, killing her. Vincent shoots and kills Mosca. Michael cradles Mary's body and screams in agony and horror.
Seventeen years later, an elderly and depressed Michael, sitting alone in the courtyard of Don Tommasino's villa, slumps over and dies.
In 1978, the studio hiredMario Puzo to write a story treatment for $250,000.[7] This was expanded into a 1979 screenplay byDean Riesner which would have combined the two concepts by having Anthony Corleone as a CIA agent responsible for assassinating the dictator and then taking over the Corleone crime family.[8]Gulf + Western CEOCharles Bluhdorn offeredRichard Brooks the chance to direct the film, but he declined.
First,John Travolta andEric Roberts were hired as Anthony Corleone. Production on this story did not move forward, and in 1982,Vincent Patrick wrote a new screenplay in which Michael Corleone and Tom Hagen would have been killed in the opening scene, and would have focused on the first film's protagonists' child. It was not produced after directorDan Curtis quit. In 1985,Nick Marino andThomas Lee Wright submitted a screenplay calledThe Godfather: The Family Continues featuring a gang war between the Corleones and the Irish Mafia inAtlantic City, but it was rejected by the studio's new presidentFrank Mancuso Sr. because he believed that it did not portray the Corleones sympathetically enough. Marino and Wright later soughtWriters Guild of America arbitration to receive a story credit on the final film, but were declined.[7]
In 1985, development ofThe Godfather Part III stalled because the cast of the first two films demanded more money to reprise their roles and because Paramount Pictures decided that a third film could not be made without Coppola's involvement. The studio had previously consideredMichael Mann,Martin Scorsese,Warren Beatty andMichael Cimino, and motion picture headNed Tanen favoredAndrei Konchalovsky. That year, Coppola began considering returning to the franchise because of a dire financial situation, initially caused by the failures ofOne from the Heart (1982) andThe Cotton Club (1984).[9][10][11][7]
The latter film's producerRobert Evans, who also collaborated with Coppola on the first film, tried unsuccessfully producing anotherGodfather film without Coppola's involvement. In 1988, after Puzo andNicholas Gage wrote another draft, Talia Shire convinced Coppola to sign a deal to direct and writeThe Godfather Part III for $6 million and a share of the film's profits.
Coppola and Puzo completed their final draft of the screenplay on May 10, 1989, and it would include almost none of the elements in the scripts proposed over the previous 12 years, except for a home-invasion scene from the original Reisner script that survived in almost its original form.
Coppola intendedPart III to be anepilogue to the first two films, and was also inspired byShakespeare'sKing Lear. Coppola and Puzo preferred the titleThe Death of Michael Corleone, but Paramount Pictures found it to be unacceptable.[7]
Al Pacino,Diane Keaton andTalia Shire reprised their roles from the first two films, with Pacino accepting an $8 million salary.[7] According to Coppola's audio commentary in the film inThe Godfather DVD Collection,Robert Duvall refused to take part unless he was paid a salary comparable to the $6 million earned by Pacino in the previous film. In 2004, on theCBS program60 Minutes, Duvall said, "If they paid Pacino twice what they paid me, that's fine, but not three or four times, which is what they did."[7][12] When Duvall dropped out, Coppola rewrote the screenplay to portrayTom Hagen as having died before the story begins, and created the character B. J. Harrison, played byGeorge Hamilton, to replace the Hagen character and portray a role smaller than Michael Corleone's attorney in the story. Coppola stated that, to him, the movie feels incomplete "without [Robert] Duvall's participation". According to Coppola, had Duvall agreed to take part in the film, the Hagen character would have been heavily involved in running the Corleone charities. Duvall confirmed in a 2010 interview that he never regretted the decision of turning down the role.[13]
Coppola considered replacing Ryder with either Madonna,Annabella Sciorra orLaura San Giacomo.[7] Ultimately,Sofia Coppola, the director's daughter, was given the role of Michael Corleone's daughter. Her much-criticized performance resulted in her father being accused ofnepotism, a charge that Coppola denies in the commentary track, asserting that, in his opinion, critics, "beginning with an article inVanity Fair," were "using [my] daughter to attack me," something that he finds ironic in light of the film's denouement, in which Mary pays the ultimate price for her father's sins. Andy Garcia was cast as Vincent overAlec Baldwin.[7]
As an infant, Sofia Coppola had played Michael Corleone's infant nephew inThe Godfather, during theclimacticbaptism/murder montage at the end of that film (Sofia Coppola also appears inThe Godfather Part II as a small immigrant child, in which nine-year-oldVito Corleone arrives by steamer atEllis Island). The character of Michael's sister Connie is played by Francis Ford Coppola's sister, Talia Shire. Other Coppola relatives with cameos in the film include Coppola's mother, father (who wrote and conducted much of the music in the film), uncle and granddaughter Gia.[18]
However, production was delayed for three weeks due to the physical collapse of Ryder until a replacement could be found, which was complicated after Coppola was forced to declareChapter 11 bankruptcy due to his debts. Filming resumed in the early spring of 1990 inSicily, with scenes shot inPalermo,Taormina, andForza d'Agrò. Additionally filming took place in the United States inNew York City andAtlantic City at locations such as theWaldorf Astoria Hotel,Little Italy,St. Patrick's Cathedral, andTrump Castle. Coppola delayed the production in Italy even further by constantly rewriting and "tinkering" with the film, and reportedly did not come up with an ending for the film until two months before it was due to be released.[7]
The film, distributed byParamount Pictures, premiered inBeverly Hills on December 20, 1990, 16 years after the release ofPart II, and was widely released in the United States on December 25.
For the film's 1991 home-video release, Coppola edited it and added nine minutes of deleted footage, for a running time of 170 minutes. This cut was initially released onVHS andLaserDisc, and was advertised as the "Final Director's Cut". It was the only version of the film available on home video until 2020. The original theatrical cut was released in 2022, exclusively as a part ofThe Godfather Trilogy4K UHD Boxset.
The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone (2020)
For the film's 30th anniversary, a recut titledThe Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone received alimited theatrical release on December 4, 2020, followed by digital and home releases on December 8. This version includes changes to the beginning and the ending, and some edited scenes and musical cues. It has a runtime of 158 minutes.[19][20]
Coppola has said that the 2020 recut is the one that he and Puzo originally envisioned, and that it "vindicates" its status inThe Godfather trilogy, as well as his daughter Sofia's performance.[21] Both Pacino and Keaton gave their approval to the new cut, noting that it is an improvement over the original theatrical release.[22]
The Godfather Part III grossed $66.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $70.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $136.8 million, against a production budget of $54 million.[2]
The film opened in 1,901 theaters, and grossed $19.6 million in its opening weekend, finishing second behindHome Alone.[23] It went on to generate a total of $6 million on Christmas Day, which was the highest at the time. For seven years, the film held that record until 1997, when it was surpassed byTitanic.[24] In its second weekend, it made $8.3 million, finishing third.[25]
On the release of the recut version,The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, in December 2020, it made $52,000 from 179 theaters.[26] In total, the film made $95,000 domestically, and $71,000 in four international markets.[2]
Sofia Coppola's performance in the film was panned by some critics.
Common criticisms ofThe Godfather Part III focused on Sofia Coppola's acting, the convoluted plot, and the film's inadequacy as a "stand-alone" story.[27][28] OnRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 66% based on 68 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "The final installment ofThe Godfather saga recalls its predecessors' power when it's strictly business, but underwhelming performances and confused tonality brings less closure to the Corleone story."[29]Metacritic assigned the film aweighted average score of 60 out of 100, based on 19 critics, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".[30] Opening day audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on ascale of A+ to F.[31]
In his review,Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times stated that it is "not even possible to understand this film without knowing the first two". Nonetheless, Ebert wrote an enthusiastic review, awarding the film three-and-a-half stars out of four. He also defended the casting of Sofia Coppola, who he felt was not miscast, stating, "There is no way to predict what kind of performanceFrancis Ford Coppola might have obtained fromWinona Ryder, the experienced and talented young actress, who was originally set to play this role. But I think Sofia Coppola brings a quality of her own to Mary Corleone. A certain up-front vulnerability and simplicity that I think are appropriate and right for the role."[32]
Ebert's colleague,Gene Siskel of theChicago Tribune also gave the film high praise and placed it tenth in his list of the ten best films of 1990. Siskel admitted that the ending was the film's weakest part, citing Al Pacino's makeup as very poor. He also said, "[Another] problem is the casting of Sofia Coppola, who is out of her acting league here. She's supposed to be Andy Garcia's love interest but no sparks fly. He's more like her babysitter." In response to Ebert's defense of Coppola, Siskel said, "I know what you're saying about her being sort of natural and not the polished bombshell, and that would've been wrong. There is one, a photographer in the picture, who takes care of that role, but at the same time, I don't think it's explained why [Vincent] really comes onto her, unless this guy is the most venal, craven guy, but look who he's playing around with. He's playing around with the Godfather's daughter."
Leonard Maltin, giving the film three out of four, stated that it is "masterfully told", but that casting Sofia Coppola was an "almost-fatal flaw".[33]James Berardinelli gave the film a positive review, awarding it three-and-a-half stars out of four.[34]John Simon of theNational Review described the film as "a tedious effort to flog an old hippopotamus into action".[35]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the recut version,The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, holds an approval rating of 86% based on 59 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads: "The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone pulls the audience back into Francis Ford Coppola's epic gangster saga with a freshly — albeit slightly — edited version of its final installment."[36] On Metacritic, the film was assigned a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[37]
Writing forThe Guardian,Peter Bradshaw gave the film three out of five stars and stated, "I'm not sure how much, if anything, Coppola's re-edit does for the film, but it's worth a watch."[20]
Owen Gleiberman ofVariety stated, "Here's the news and the ever-so-slight scandal: It's the same damn movie. [...] The one impactful change is the new opening scene" and that the film "gathers force as it goes along. It's a movie that can sweep you up if you let it [...] I salute Coppola's decision to put the movie back out there. I hope that a lot of people revisit it (or discover it for the first time), using that word 'coda' as a key — for, of course,The Godfather Part III always was an extended coda to what is arguably the greatest epic saga in the history of American cinema."[38]
Writing forIndieWire, David Ehrlich said, "But when it was announced that [Coppola] had inevitably assembled a new cut of his most famous cause célèbre and re-christened it with the title he'd always wanted for the film... he wasn't trying to make it 'better' so much as he was trying to shift its place in history and reframe the picture as less the third part of a flawed trilogy than the postscript of a legendary dyad."[39]
The film was also nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards, but did not win.[42]Sofia Coppola won twoGolden Raspberry Awards for both Worst Supporting Actress and Worst New Star.
Parts of the film are very loosely based on real historical events concerning the ending of the papacy ofPope Paul VI, the very short tenure ofPope John Paul I in 1978, and the collapse of theBanco Ambrosiano in 1982. Like the character Cardinal Lamberto, who becomes John Paul I, the historical John Paul I, Albino Luciani, reigned for only a very short time before being found dead in his bed.
JournalistDavid Yallop argues that Luciani was planning a reform of Vatican finances and that he died by poisoning; these claims are reflected in the film.[44] Yallop also names as a suspect ArchbishopPaul Marcinkus, who was the head of theVatican Bank, like the character Archbishop Gilday in the film. However, while Marcinkus was noted for his muscular physique andChicago origins, Gilday is a mild Irishman. The character has also drawn comparisons to CardinalGiuseppe Caprio, as he was in charge of the Vatican finances during the approximate period in which the movie was based.[45]
The character of Frederick Keinszig, the Swiss banker who is murdered and left hanging under a bridge, mirrors the fate (and physical appearance) ofRoberto Calvi, the Italian head of the Banco Ambrosiano who was found hanging underBlackfriars Bridge in London in 1982 (though it was initially unclear whether it was suicide or murder, in 2002 courts in London ruled the latter).[46] The name "Keinszig" is taken from Manuela Kleinszig, the girlfriend of Flavio Carbone, who was indicted as one of Calvi's murderers in 2005.[47]
Don Lucchesi is widely seen as partly inspired by seven-time Italian prime ministerGiulio Andreotti, who wore similar thick-rimmed glasses. The line spoken to Lucchesi by Calò immediately before stabbing him,"Il potere logora chi non ce l'ha" ("Power wears out those who don't have it"), is a quote attributed to Andreotti in response to the claim that he and his party had become worn out from years of being in power.[48][49][50]
Following the reaction to the third installment, Coppola stated that the idea of a fourth film was discussed but Mario Puzo died before he was able to write it. A potential script, told in a similar narrative toPart II, would have included De Niro reprising his role as a younger Vito Corleone in the 1930s;Leonardo DiCaprio was slated to portray a young Sonny Corleone gaining the Corleone family's political power;[51] García as Vincent Corleone during the 1980s running the family business through ten years of destructive war, haunted by the death of his cousin Mary, and eventually losing the family's respect and power.[52] García has since claimed the film's script was nearly produced.[52]
Puzo's portion of the potential sequel, dealing with the Corleone family in the early 1930s, was eventually expanded into a novel byEdward Falco and published in 2012 asThe Family Corleone.[53][54] Paramount sued the Puzo estate to prevent publication of the novel, prompting a counter-suit on the part of the estate, claiming breach of contract. The studio and the estate subsequently settled the suits, allowing publication of the book, but with the studio retaining rights to possible future films.[55]
^Vankin, Jonathan; Whalen, John (2004).The 80 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time: History's Biggest Mysteries, Coverups, and Cabals. New York City: Citadel Press. pp. 172–174.ISBN0-8065-2531-2.
^Banakas, Efstathios K. (1996).Civil Liability for Pure Economic Loss: Proceedings of the Annual International Colloquium of the United Kingdom National, Committee of Comparative Law Held in Norwich, September, 1994. Philadelphia: Kluwer Law International.ISBN978-90-411-0908-8.
