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The Godfather: Part III (1990)

Starring Al Pacino, Andy Garcia, Diane Keaton, and Sofia Coppola.  Cinematography by Gordon Willis.  Edited by Barry Malkin, Lisa Fruchtman, and Walter Murch.  Produced by Francis Ford Coppola.  Written by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo.  Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

It is 1979 and Don Michael Corleone (played by Al Pacino) is in his sixties. Success has come easily over the past years and the Corleone crime family is unfathomably wealthy.  Michael now struggles to legitimize his family business and it seems that he might soon succeed. He has passed on the rackets to a new generation of criminals who seem to be more ruthless than he ever was, including his nephew Vincent (played by Andy Garcia).

But his dreams of a crime-free future and financial contributions to the Catholic Church can not cleanse the sins of his past and they are now crawling out of the woodwork to haunt him. Michael is forced to choose between the future of sin that Vincent represents and the future of redemption that his daughter Mary (played by Sofia Coppola) represents.  But the decision becomes more convoluted when these two sides of the coin fall in love with each other. 

Paramount Pictures had been trying to get Francis Ford Coppola to finish the Godfather Trilogy for years, but he was no longer interested in “gangster movies”.  Paramount had even made a few attempts to pursue the project without him. Mario Puzo had written scripts for the sequel twice; once in 1978 and once in 1986, but nothing ever came of them.

So instead of choosing the almost guaranteed success with another Godfather film, Coppola spent the Eighties, and millions of dollars, developing new and experimental projects. His ambition is admirable, but nearly every picture that he produced turned out to be a financial disaster and by the end of the decade he was hurting for a success. It was finally time to return to the franchise that earned him his fame.

With Puzo at his side, he developed an intricate and multi-layered story that mixed Shakespearian drama with actual headlines, and was a fitting end to a brilliant series.  He titled his film The Death of Michael Corleone, which was ultimately changed (under his protest) to the predictable The Godfather: Part III.

Most of the significant cast and crew returned for the sequel, but the production was troubled.  The actors endlessly bickered with each other and Coppola seemed to be fighting a bought of depression, but overall it must have felt like smooth sailing compared to his recent filmmaking experiences. When the film was finally released to its overly eager public, it was generally well received.

Most of the criticism was pointed towards his daughter Sofia’s performance; criticism that Coppola insists is misdirected towards him.  But regardless of what came up on screen the film could have never lived up to its own hype. It is in itself a great picture and rounds out the franchise nicely.

Two years later Coppola edited all three films together into one massive five hundred and eighty three minute epic that was released on video.

Budget: $54,000,000

Total US Gross: $66,520,529

Genre: Crime

Runtime: 162 Minutes

US Release Date: 12/25/90

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Awards:

Academy Awards:
Nominated for best art direction/set decoration, editing, cinematography, original song, supporting actor, director, and picture.

Golden Globes:
Nominated for best original song, best score, screenplay, actor, supporting actor, director, and picture.

Directors Guild of America:
Nominated for the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures.

Tagline: All The Power On Earth Can’t Change Destiny.

Quote: “I swear on the lives of my children, give me one last chance to redeem myself and I will sin no more.”

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