The Godfather Part III (1990) - Coppola's operatic gangster opus finale

♥♥♥♥♥

Al Pacino looks vacantly at us from this dark, sparse poster for Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part III

Don Michael Corleone is attempting to legitimize the family mafia business and ready his successor, but as he gets near to his exit point, his past tracks him down, and soon death trickles forth everywhere around him, while a multi-million dollar deal with the Vatican crumbles.

The Godfather Part III is written by Mario Puzo (Superman (1978)) and co-writer/producer/director, master Michigander filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola (Rumble Fish (1983)). It is the finishing chapter in the Godfather trilogy and the first of them not directly adapting Puzo's original 1969 novel.
More accurately than a 'chapter' The Godfather Part III should be termed an opus, because it is an opera-like tragedy, and the film is about as grand and lavish and as they come.
The story of Part III is fundamentally different from the first two and more resembles a fascinating story of an emperor than 'reality.' This necessarily has changed Al Pacino's (Jack and Jill (2011)) Michael character dramatically. SPOILER Coppola executes his operatic finale in Palermo, Sicily with his daughter Sofia Coppola (Anna (1987)) as Mary Corleone, whose death comes as a majestic Flood, as the sins of the father seemingly demand this awful sacrifice.
Andy Garcia (Ballers (2016, TV-series)), Talia Shire (The Deported (2009)), Pacino SPOILER and not least Eli Wallach (Christopher Columbus (1985, miniseries)) as the film's traitor all give outstanding performances in The Godfather Part III, which, despite perhaps being the slightest film in the trilogy, still is a film of extraordinary class.

Related posts:

Francis Ford Coppola: Twixt (2011) - Coppola's dreamlike Gothic is a late-night gem 

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) - Coppola goes for the jugular with unsubtle, overlong adaptation

Top 10: The best adaptations reviewed by Film Excess to date

Apocalypse Now (1979) redux version - The horror of war  

The Godfather Part II (1974) - The great, icy monolith 

The Godfather (1972) - Coppola and Co.'s epic cinema magic
Dementia 13/The Haunted and the Hunted (1963) - Coppola's gothic AIP castle horror 

Watch a masterful scene from the film here with Pacino and Diane Keaton

Cost: 54 mil. $
Box office: 136.7 mil. $
= Box office success (returned 2.53 times its cost)
[The Godfather Part III premiered 12 December (Los Angeles) and runs 162 minutes. Coppola only agreed to make the film to help himself out of the financial slump he had put himself in with his enormous flop One from the Heart (1982). He envisioned Part III as an epilogue to the first two films, and he and Puzo proposed the title The Death of Michael Corleone, which Paramount refused. Julia Roberts and then Winona Ryder were cast as Mary but dropped out, and the role eventually went to Sofia Coppola, which the director was since heavily criticized for as her performance was lambasted and decried as an instance of nepotism. Shooting took place in Italy, including Rome, New York and New Jersey from November 1989 - May 1990. It opened #3, behind holdover hit Home Alone and fellow new release Kindergarten Cop, to a 6.3 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed in the top 5 for another 2 weeks (#2-#3) and grossed 66.6 mil. $ (48.7 % of the total gross). The film was nominated for 7 Oscars, winning none. Those were Best Picture, lost to Dances with Wolves, Supporting Actor (Garcia), lost to Joe Pesci for Goodfellas, Director, lost to Kevin Costner for Dances with Wolves, Cinematography (Gordon Willis), lost to Dean Semler for Dances with Wolves, Art-Set Decoration, lost to Dick Tracy, Editing, lost to Dances with Wolves, and Original Song (Carmine Coppola and John Bettis' Promise Me You'll Remember), lost to Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man) by Stephen Sondheim from Dick Tracy. It was also nominated for 7 Golden Globes and several other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. A 4th Godfather film was discussed, and Coppola and Puzo had worked on a screenplay, when Puzo died in 1999. Coppola returned with Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). Pacino returned in Frankie and Johnny (1991). The Godfather Part III is fresh at 68 % with a 6.42/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Godfather Part III?

The Godfather Part II (1974) - The great, icy monolith

♥♥♥♥♥

The sharp image of heir-to-the-throne Michael Corleone is right-of-centre and also throws the title off balance in this text and symbolism-heavy poster for Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather Part II

Michael Coleone takes over the New York mob family empire after his late father in 1958. SPOILER He and his wife Kay survive an assassination attempt, and the hunt for the traitor begins, followed by a failure in Cuba, miscarriage and more death.

The Godfather Part II is written by Mario Puzo (Superman (1978)), based partially on his novel The Godfather (1969), and Michigander master filmmaker, co-writer/producer/director Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather (1972)). It is the second part in the Godfather trilogy, which ends with The Godfather: Part III (1990).
Coppola boldly attacks his sequel to one of the biggest hits in 1970s cinema and fearlessly places everything on black, as he opens the film similarly to The Godfather with a large family celebration, but here a First Communion party for Michael and Kay's son with an atmosphere that is in stark contrast to the warm festivity at the Godfather wedding party. This icy-cold, highly different mood continues to seep from Part II, SPOILER which in large part centers on Michael's realization and dealing with the fact that his brother Fredo is the traitor.
Warmth and glow are found in the epic film in its sequences that follow Michael's father, Vito's childhood and youth in Sicily and New York, stylized and delicious visually (cinematography by Gordon Willis (Zelig (1983)) with Robert De Niro (Everybody's Fine (2009)) innovative and terrific as Vito.
None of the performances in Part II are less than great; and Nino Rota's (Roma (1972)) music is central to the film's power.
It is a matter of taste whether one prefers the first film or the drastically different tone of The Godfather Part II, which is very dark, full of bitterness and loss of values, certainly a very cold great achievement in film.

Related posts:

Francis Ford Coppola: Twixt (2011) - Coppola's dreamlike Gothic is a late-night gem 

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) - Coppola goes for the jugular with unsubtle, overlong adaptation

Top 10: The best adaptations reviewed by Film Excess to date

Apocalypse Now (1979) redux version - The horror of war  

The Godfather (1972) - Coppola and Co.'s epic cinema magic
Dementia 13/The Haunted and the Hunted (1963) - Coppola's gothic AIP castle horror 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 13-15 mil. $ (different reports)
Box office: Reportedly 88 mil. $
= Huge hit (returned at least 5.86 times its cost)
[The Godfather Part II premiered 12 December (New York) and runs 200 minutes. Puzo started writing the screenplay in 1971, before the release of the first film. Coppola was given great freedom following Godfather's enormous success, and the initial 6 mil. $ budget was allowed to more than double during production. James Cagney refused a part in the film. Coppola had to change the script to appease Pacino's misgivings just prior to production. Shooting took place from October 1973 - June 1974 in California, New York, Las Vegas, Nevada, Miami, Florida, Washington DC, Italy and the Dominican Republic. Marlon Brando failed to appear for his one day of shooting (a flashback scene), and the script was immediately changed to accommodate the no-show. Paramount opposed the 'Part II' in the title, as this had not been put in the title of a mainstream movie before, but Coppola had his way, and the practice was soon commonplace afterwards. The film grossed 47.5 mil. $ in North America (54 % of the total gross). Both domestically and internationally the film did far less business than its landmark predecessor, but it was still Paramount's highest-grossing movie of the year and the 7th highest-grossing film of the year in North America overall. The film won 6 out of 11 Oscar nominations. It won Best Picture (the first sequel to achieve this), Supporting Actor (De Niro), Director, Adapted Screenplay, Art-Set Direction and Score. It lost Actor (Pacino) to Art Carney for Harry and Tonto, two more Supporting Actor nominations (Michael V. Gazzo and Lee Strasberg), Supporting Actress (Talia Shire) to Ingrid Bergman for Murder on the Orient Express and Costume Design to The Great Gatsby. It was also nominated for 6 Golden Globes, won 1/4 BAFTA noms and several other awards. Roger Ebert initially gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch under this one, but later changed it to a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch higher than this one. IMDb's users have voted the film in at #3 on the site's Top 250 list, sitting between The Godfather (1972) and The Dark Knight (2008). Coppola returned with Apocalypse Now (1979). Pacino returned in Dog Day Afternoon (1975). The Godfather Part II is certified fresh at 97 % with a 9.62/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Godfather Part II?

The Godfather (1972) - Coppola and Co.'s epic cinema magic

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Proud of its cast and creators, in stark black and white, with the only graphical adornment the puppeteer's hand over the title, the iconic poster for Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather

Michael Corleone is the heir to Don Corleone's powerful mafia family in New York, and following an assassination attempt on the old man's life, Michael reluctantly returns home to definitively enter into the criminal family business.

"I believe in America" is said at the beginning of The Godfather, which, as the statement suggests, grows to something much greater than a mere gangster tale. It is an epic national drama. It was written by Mario Puzo (Earthquake (1974)), based on his own-same-titled 1969 best-selling novel, and Michigander master filmmaker, co-writer/director Francis Ford Coppola (The Bellboy and the Playgirls (1962)), whose 8th feature it was.
The wedding party at the outset of the film is a completely magical piece of cinema and worth the prize of admission or three hours running time in itself. The faces, atmospheres, music (Nino Rota's (Amarcord (1973)) authentic, soulful score), the characters and all the way out to the extras, this sequence is formidable.
Marlon Brando (Guys and Dolls (1955)) is awe-inspiring as the Don, and the film continues to the very end with tremendous scenes that once seen can somehow never be forgotten. The Godfather is an epic milestone.

Related posts:

Francis Ford Coppola: Twixt (2011) - Coppola's dreamlike Gothic is a late-night gem 

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) - Coppola goes for the jugular with unsubtle, overlong adaptation

Top 10: The best adaptations reviewed by Film Excess to date

Apocalypse Now (1979) redux version - The horror of war  
Dementia 13/The Haunted and the Hunted (1963) - Coppola's gothic AIP castle horror 

Watch an original trailer for the film here

Cost: 6-7.2 mil. $ (different accounts)
Box office: 246-287 mil. $ (different accounts)
= Blockbuster (returned at least 34.16 times its cost)
[The Godfather premiered 14 March (New York) and runs 177 minutes. Puzo's novel was the best-selling book for several years after selling 9 mil. copies in two years. Paramount optioned the novel before its publication for 80k $, which Puzo took to pay off gambling debts. Coppola was hired after 12 other prestige directors had rejected the offer to helm the film, and Coppola did it despite reluctance to Puzo's novel to pay off his own debts. He was reportedly paid 125k $ and 6% of the gross rentals; a likely eventually enormous amount due to the film's success, though his initial take is uncertain. Puzo was paid 100k $ to work on the screenplay along with an undisclosed percentage of the film's profits. Coppola and Puzo's final script was 163 pages long, about 40 pages longer than what Paramount had asked for. Brando was cast over Paramount's preferred star, Ernest Borgnine; Brando's pay deal resulted in a tall 1.6 mil. final salary. Coppola also got his way with several other key actors in the film, namely Al Pacino (The Irishman, VOD (2019)), whom he fought to have portray Michael. The budget was reportedly raised from 1 mil. $ to 2.5 mil. $ to more than double that, as Coppola was allowed extensive location shooting and schedule time, boosted by the novel's enormous popularity. The Italian-American Civil Rights League succeeded in getting the word 'mafia' removed from the screenplay. Shooting took place in Sicily, Italy, the Dominican Republic, Las Vegas, Nevada, California, including Los Angeles, New Jersey and New York from March - August. Coppola fired his editor and assistant director, who he felt were angling to get him fired from the film. Brando in turn threatened to leave the film, if Coppola was fired. The film had built up tremendous anticipation before its release and had already made 15 mil. $ in rentals before its release. It opened #1 to shatter records for a first week gross of 10 mil. $, earning a total 81.7 mil. $ in rentals in North America during its first release. It was the highest-grossing film of 1972 and beat Gone with the Wind's (1939) record as highest rental earner of all time, until Jaws (1975). The domestic gross grew to 134.9 mil. $ (47-54.8 % of the total gross depending on the correct number) after several re-releases. Its domestic success was such that it currently sits as the 25th highest-grossing film ever, adjusted for inflation. The film was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning 3; for Best Picture, Actor (Brando, - who refused to receive it and sent a native American representative to take it for him as a protest of the portrayal of native Americans in Hollywood culture) and Adapted Screenplay. It lost Supporting Actor (triple nomination for Pacino, - who also refused to attend the Oscars, because he had more screen time than Brando in the movie, - Robert Duvall and James Caan) to Joel Grey for Cabaret, Costume Design to Travels with My Aunt, Director to Bob Fosse for Cabaret, Editing also to Cabaret and Sound also to Cabaret. Rota was initially nominated for his score, but it was then found to be similar to a score he had made about 15 years earlier and the Academy withdrew the nomination. It also won 5/7 Golden Globe nominations, 1/5 BAFTA noms, 2 David di Donatello awards, 1/2 Grammy noms, 2 National Board of Review awards an many other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, in line with this one. NBC paid 10 mil. $ for the TV rights to first show the film on TV in 1974 over the course of two evenings, which was a ratings smash, increasing the anticipation for Coppola's 1974 sequel in the Godfather trilogy. The film spurred countless imitations and a wealth of portrayals of Italian-American gangsters in film and TV. IMDb's users have voted The Godfather in at #2 on the site's Top 250 list, sitting between The Shawshank Redemption (1994) and The Godfather: Part II (1974). Coppola first returned with The Conversation (1974). Brando returned in Last Tango in Paris (1972). The Godfather is certified fresh at 98 % with a 9.27/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Godfather?