The Godfather Part III gets a new cut and a new title – The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone
It’s not just superheroes that are getting a new edit. Thirty years on from its release, The Godfather Part III gets a new cut and a new title – The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. Director Francis Ford Coppola and writer Mario Puzo’s original vision was a coda, rather than an official third part. A post script that closes out the journey of Michael (Al Pacino) from soldier to godfather.
The Godfather Part III has had a reputation somewhat similar to The Hobbit Trilogy or The Matrix sequels. Many defend it and point out moments worth celebrating, but generally it is considered a disappointment in comparison to its legendary predecessors. Overstuffed and melodramatic, it was a film trying to imitate the previous two, rather than a story cut from the same cloth.
Approaching his sixties and suffering from ill health, Michael attempts to make the family business legitimate by bailing out The Vatican in exchange for controlling interest in a European conglomerate. However, when a criminal organisation wants in on this new deal, Michael’s dreams of getting out of a life of crime begin to crumble.
This new Godfather trims the fat (it’s around 10-15 minutes shorter), and tweaks moments from restored footage. Most interestingly, the beginning and end are slightly altered to give a different emphasis to the title, but this is little more than a posh Director’s Cut.
The film still invites its own demise by staging scenes that are very similar to what has come before. We get a party scene with Don Corleone receiving visitors in his office, a large portion of the film set in Sicily, and many characters who feel like stand-ins for past favourites.
Andy Garcia (one of the hottest new talents at the time) has the thankless task of representing the next generation as Vincent Corleone, the illegitimate son of James Caan’s Sonny who initially wants to get in on the criminal side of the business. It’s an interesting arc from petty criminal to slick mobster, and is one of the better performances in the film.
The same can’t be said for Sofia Coppola, who was unfairly made the posterchild for the film’s failure when she appeared as Michael’s teenage daughter Mary when Winona Ryder dropped out. It’s still a pretty stiff performance, particularly during the spark-free romance between Mary and her cousin Vincent (“I love you, Cuz” remains a very uncomfortable line to hear in a love scene).
Coppola explores some interesting ideas, even if they don’t all work out. Pacino would go on to say that he felt it was a mistake to have Michael express guilt over killing his brother Fredo, but the film’s courtyard confession scene is a fascinating reveal, handled well by Pacino who smashes the walls surrounding his most famous character.
Equally intriguing is Diane Keaton as Kay, Michael’s ex-wife who battles him to let their son Anthony pursue his musical dream. Even with shaky dialogue, the Oscar winner manages to evolve her character in a legitimate way, “dreading” Michael more than she hates him.
This is far from the first time Coppola has tinkered with the past – he has released director’s cuts of The Godfather trilogy, a chronological version, and edited it into a TV miniseries. As such, this last stab at rewriting history is not exactly a surprise, but aside from a notable change in the final shot there will be little to win over the haters.
The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone is in cinemas on 5th-6th December, and is available on home video platforms from 8th December.