(Coppola’s cuts to the finale are much more minor.) Reordering everything sets the plot in motion earlier, and gives the whole film more momentum as it builds to its violent second act. Now Michael meets the corrupt banker in the very first scene, the papal ceremony is gone, and the story picks up with the afterparty. The Godfather Coda reorders the sequence of events and removes some elements entirely. Once consummated, the deal would finalize Michael’s long-held desire to transition from mob boss to legitimate businessman. In exchange, Michael demands a controlling interest in a European conglomerate. Afterwards, Michael meets with a Vatican banker (Donal Donnelly) who needs Corleone money to repay some of his debts. The sprawling celebration afterwards - an echo of the wedding that opens The Godfather and the First Communion party in Part II - reestablishes the Corleone family dynamics, and the main Mafia plot involving Michael’s ambitious nephew Vincent Mancini (Andy Garcia).
He invites Mary ( Sofia Coppola) and Tony (Franc D’Ambrosio) to attend a ceremony where he will receive a papal commendation. In the original Part III cut - which is included on The Godfather Coda Blu-ray set for comparison - the film opens with shots of Michael Corleone’s ( Al Pacino) abandoned Lake Tahoe Vegas compound from The Godfather Part II, before segueing into a Pacino voiceover, as Michael writes a letter to his now grown children. True to those stated intentions, Coppola’s new cut of The Godfather Coda trims roughly 20 minutes out of the film instead of three hours it runs closer to two hours and 30 minutes, making it noticeably shorter than the earlier two entries.Ĭoppola made his biggest alternations to the Coda’s opening.
Coppola always insisted that that the true story of The Godfather concluded with Part II, and that Part III - a phrase that was forced on the picture for understandable marketing purposes over Coppola’s objections - was always intended as more of an epilogue than a full-fledged chapter in the larger saga. And now The Godfather Part III - already a good and worthwhile film - has been rendered more valuable by a revision and restoration, supervised by director Francis Ford Coppola and given the new title The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone.Įven that name is a bit of an acknowledgement on Coppola’s part that the film is not the equal of its predecessors. While it’s accurate, it doesn’t change the fact that they’re both precious gems. But that’s a bit like saying a sapphire is not as valuable as a diamond. The Godfather Part III under any name is easily the worst Godfatherfilm.
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