I just re-watched the Godfather 1 and Godfather 2 this weekend. Every time I watch these two movies I see something new, pick up on some nuance, and I marvel at what great movies and story telling they are.
Then I watch Godfather 3. I know, everyone knows how terrible it is, including me, but I always watch it anyway when I do a marathon with the other two. It isn’t just Sofia’s absolutely horrible, wooden, amateurish acting that stands out (they could have grabbed anyone off the street and with no rehearsal said “OK, look in the camera and read these lines” and they would have been better) but the story, the acting, the writing, even without Godfather 1 and 2 to compare it to, it would be a really bad movie. I have read backstories on the making of the movie, but I’m still amazed at how basically the same talent involved in 1 and 2 could not have at least made a GOOD movie, even if not a masterpiece.
It’s as if some hack got the rights to the Godfather franchise and forced Pacino and the others to participate.
What’s interesting is that the script was co-written by Coppola and Mario Puzo. I saw a documentary at the time where Michael was confessing (or praying?), and every time there was a gap in the dialogue, Coppola would continue with exactly what Michael was thinking. I felt like he really got this character.
But like I said, I’ll have to see it again. It’s been (checks watch) half a lifetime.
The first time I saw any of the Godfather movies was in a marathon of the trilogy back in college. At the time, I liked 3 more than 2. Over the years, my opinion has trended back to the orthodox (that 3 is the least of them) but there are several aspects of 3 that I still enjoy.
For instance, Don Corleone’s “just when I thought I was out, they PULL me back IN” line is as memorable and good as anything in 1 or 2. I also loved seeing Connie step up for the family, even pulling off assassinations and basically becoming a consigliere. She follows up on her “let me take care of you now, Michael” promise she made in 2.
I like seeing this screwed up Corleone family bumble its way around incompatible structures of morality, loyalty, and… I’m not afraid to use the word, ethics. And just like the Harry Potter or Before… movies, it’s fun to watch these beloved characters and actors grapple with the implacable hand of age. (I am not saying that Godfather 3 is just like Prisoner of Azkaban or Before Midnight, but that it’s fun to check in on beloved characters, as long as they’re still up to interesting stuff.)
It’s certainly a lesser movie without the presence of Tom Hagen. Also, the flashforward to the death of the Don that kiiiind of mirrors his dad’s death feels unconnected to the rest of the movie. Fan fiction, as Enidigm said.
I’ve only seen the trilogy once, back to back, in 1999 or 2001 I believe. Back then, I remember thinking Godfather 3 was the best movie out of the three because it felt the most like a modern movie with a more traditional story structure that was easy to follow. It was the only one out of the three where I really cared about the characters and what happened to them.
I should watch the trilogy again. It’s been a while, and I am much better versed in the world of cinema than I was back then.
I never knew that A Bronx Tale even existed until a couple years ago. I had never heard of it at the time - i guess i had other things on my mind being a teenager - and i don’t even remember an ad or commercial or anything about it.
I feel like a Bronx Tale is also somewhat fan fiction (of the Italian mafia genre) but is, at least, more riding of the coattails than the former. But it shares a similar vibe with Godfather 3, imo. Honestly it’s probably much better.
I was just thinking about revisiting 3 recently. It’s been a long time.
One of the most disappointing films I’ve ever seen. It wasn’t just Sophia Coppola; every actor in the first two brought their own unique personality and it all felt natural.
All the characters in 3 seemed like caricatures and there was some over the top acting (Andy Garcia, Eli Wallach, George Hamilton) some phone it in acting (Pacino, Keaton) along with Coppola’s non acting.
And now I can’t hear the line “…they pull me back in!” (over the top Pacino) without thinking of Silvio from the Sopranos.
But I will watch it again soon, anyway, with my wife who hasn’t seen it and really enjoyed 1 and 2 when she saw them for the first time a few years back. I want to get her take on it, not being a lifelong fan like me. Like, how much did expectation mold my reaction?
Also, I continuously cringed every time I heard Garcia’s obviously Cuban/Latino accent. Why didn’t they get an actor who COULD play an Italian American?
There are a few scenes in III I like. I like the mob boardroom scene where Wallach and Mantegna get out before the helicopter hit. I like the opera scene at the end. I like Andy Garcia on the horse chasing down Mantegna.
I detest Al Pacino in this movie, though. He is no longer Michael Corleone. He’s Al Pacino, chewing the scenery. Michael Corleone is calm and collected, calculating. When he’s angry he gets even calmer and colder. Pacino in III is just overacting all the time.
Does anyone know why his character was replaced in Part III?? That always seemed strange to me. Robert Duvall is still alive today, so I’m pretty sure he was alive back when this movie was made.
Addendum: I looked it up. It was over money: Al Pacino was paid $5M to reprise his role, while Duvall was only offered $1M. In retrospect, I should have been able to guess that.
Yeah, Duval was going to get less than Diane Keaton, held out, but the studio wouldn’t pay the but extra he wanted. A lesser film without him. There were entire threads of story that were going to be focused on the relationship between him and Pacino.
The writing and the acting is just so bad. It makes you wince. Not just Sofia, who was so bad I felt sorry for her. But even though Pacino’s acting in the first two was fairly minimalist you could still see and feel the resolve, the anger, the discipline, the pure drive in him. I get that in 3 that they were trying to make him an older guy with regrets, but his acting was wooden, and suddenly this guy was a pushover. He really was mailing it in. The writing and the dialog was soooooo bad. IMO of course. I think it really suffers after watching 1 and 2 back to back and then 3. But it does feel like a money grab.
Not that this excuses it as lots of other actresses would surely have been willing to take the role on short notice, but Winona Ryder was originally cast in the part. She pulled out I think because of overwork and stress-related issues.
I haven’t seen Godfather 3 since, I dunno, 1992ish. I mainly remember Pacino’s scream at the end and Andy Garcia saying ‘Za Za!’ I guess I’d have to watch it again to have a proper opinion. At least Gordon Willis’s cinematography is sure to look good.
G1 and 2 are great but I find myself coming back to the first one much more often. It’s just a super-engaging American epic. And Jesus, what a cast.
“She was beautiful! She was sweet! She was innocent! She was the best piece of ass I’ve ever had, and I’ve had 'em all over the world!”
This brings up an “important” point - what happened to Al Pacino?
He had two phases in life, a young persons voice, and then the gruff Al Pacino edge of vocal flair voice. Did he just smoke like a smokestack for a few years, or have some other medical issue? It’s like a switch was thrown.
