The Godfather Part III
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{{Infobox Film
| name = The Godfather: Part III | image = GodfatherIII2.jpg | caption = The Godfather: Part III Theatrical Poster | imdb_rating = Image:4 out of 5.png
7.4/10 (30,124 votes) | | director = Francis Ford Coppola | producer = Francis Ford Coppola | writer = Mario Puzo
Francis Ford Coppola | starring = Al Pacino
Diane Keaton
Andy Garcia
Talia Shire
Sofia Coppola
Eli Wallach
George Hamilton
Joe Mantegna
Bridget Fonda | music = Carmine Coppola | cinematography = Gordon Willis | editing = Lisa Fruchtman
Jane Jenkins
Roger Mussenden | distributor = Paramount Pictures | released = December 25, 1990 | runtime = 162 minutes | language = English
Italian | budget = $54 million USD | imdb_id = 0099674
}}
The Godfather, Part III (1990) is the third film in the Godfather trilogy. It completes the story of Michael Corleone, a Mafia godfather who tries to legitimize his crime empire. The plot also weaves into its plot a fictionalized account of real life events--the mysterious 1978 death of Pope John Paul I and the Papal banking scandal of 1981-1982--and links them with each other and with the affairs of Michael Corleone. The film stars Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy Garcia, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, George Hamilton, Bridget Fonda, and Sofia Coppola.
The movie was written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, and directed by Coppola.
Unlike its predecessors, Godfathers Part I and II, Godfather Part III was not as widely critically acclaimed on release, and critics and fans remain divided on its legacy to this day.
Contents |
Plot synopsis
The final chapter of the Corleone saga begins in 1979. Michael Corleone is now in his sixties, his children are grown (his son does not want to be a lawyer in the family business) and he has not seen his ex-wife Kay (now remarried to a judge) in eight years. Tom Hagen is dead; Tom's son Andrew (John Savage) has become a priest. Feeling that he may have made the wrong choices in life, Michael seeks to legitimize the family business. But these plans are upset by Vincent Mancini (Michael's illegitimate nephew) and his nemesis Joey Zaza. There is also a subplot regarding corruption in the Vatican and how Pope John Paul I's short reign and suspicious death was tied to the Mafia.
Casting
Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, and Talia Shire reprised their roles from the first two movies, but Robert Duvall, who played Tom Hagen in the first two films, refused to take part. According to Coppola's audio commentary on the film in The Godfather DVD Collection, Duvall refused to take part unless he was paid the same salary as Al Pacino. This did not happen and Duvall refused to participate, forcing Coppola to rewrite his screenplay to portray the Hagen character as having died before the story begins. Coppola created the character "B.J. Harrison", played by George Hamilton, to replace the function of the Tom Hagen character in the story. (Coppola had gone through a very similar process in the making of The Godfather, Part II. In that film, Richard Castellano, who had portrayed the capo regime or lieutenant "Peter Clemenza" in the first Godfather film, had refused to participate. Coppola responded by writing Clemenza out of the story as having died and replaced the character with a new character, "Frank Pentangeli", played by the late actor/playwright Michael V. Gazzo in an Academy Award-nominated performance.) The director further states that, to him, the movie feels incomplete "without [Robert] Duvall's participation." According to Coppola, had Duvall agreed to take part in the film, the Hagen character would have been heavily involved in running the fictional Corleone charities.
Coppola further comments that before he was even brought on board, Paramount had already had a script prepared, centering on the Vincent Mancini character, the illegitimate son of Sonny Corleone, with a plot revolving around the "new kind of wiseguy" (in Coppola's words) of the 70s and 80s and involving the drug cartels. The Vincent Mancini character was portrayed by Andy Garcia who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Coppola says that he felt the Godfather saga was essentially the story of Michael, how "a good man becomes evil" as the writer/director puts it on the same commentary track referenced above. Coppola says he felt that Michael had not really "paid for his sins" in the second film and wanted this final chapter to demonstrate that. In keeping with this theme, Coppola wanted to subtitle the movie, "The Death of Michael Corleone," but Paramount balked.
Sofia Coppola, the director's daughter, was forced into the role of Michael Corleone's daughter at the last minute when Winona Ryder dropped out of the film. Sofia's much-criticized performance resulted in her father's being accused of nepotism, a charge Coppola bitterly refutes in the commentary track, asserting, in his opinion, that critics were "using [his] daughter to attack him," something he finds ironic in light of the film's denouement when Sofia's character, Mary, pays the ultimate price for her father's sins.
As an infant, Sofia had played Michael Corleone's infant nephew in The Godfather, during the climactic baptism/murder montage at the end of that film, and her character's aunt is played by her real-life aunt, Talia Shire. Other Coppola relatives with cameos in the film included his mother, father and granddaughter, Gia. Michele Russo, who plays the son of the assassin "Mosca," is also a distant Coppola relative, from the same town as Francis Coppola's great-grandmother. In addition, Coppola cast Catherine Scorsese, mother of Martin Scorsese, for a bit part.
Awards
The Godfather Part III was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Andy Garcia), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Song (for Carmine Coppola and John Bettis for "Promise Me You'll Remember") and Best Picture. Sofia Coppola won a Golden Raspberry for worst supporting actress.
Historical background
Parts of the film are very loosely based on real historical events concerning the ending of the Papacy of Paul VI and the very short Papacy of John Paul I in 1978 and the collapse of the Banco Ambrosiano in 1982. Like the character Cardinal Lamberto, who becomes John Paul I, the historical John Paul I, Albino Luciani, reigned for only a very short time before being found dead in his bed. Journalist David Yallop argues that Luciani was planning a reform of Vatican finances and that he died by poisoning; these claims are reflected in the film. Yallop also names as a suspect ((fr:Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, who was the head of the Vatican bank, like the character Archbishop Gilday in the film. However, while Marcinkus was noted for his muscular physique and Chicago origins, Gilday is a mild Irishman. The character of Frederick Keinszig, the Swiss banker who is murdered and left hanging under a bridge, mirrors the fate (and physical appearance) of Roberto Calvi, the Italian head of the Banco Ambrosiano who was found hanging under Blackfriars Bridge in London in 1982 (although it has not yet been proven if Calvi was murdered). The character of Licio Lucchesi, who moves between the church, organised crime and Italian politics, recalls Licio Gelli, head of the Propaganda Due Masonic lodge. The character of Joey Zaza bears many similarities to the flashy Joe Columbo.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for the movie, The Godfather Part III (soundtrack), received one Oscar nomination, and two Golden Globe nominations, one for best score and two for best song, the film's love theme "Promise Me You'll Remember".
Trivia
- The character of Joey Zasa was one of the inspirations for Fat Tony, the resident mob boss on The Simpsons. Both are portrayed by Joe Mantegna.
- After the adverse critical response to her performance, Sofia Coppola largely abandoned acting in favor of directing.
- According to Francis Ford Coppola (see Director's Commentary track) Paramount Pictures was briefly controlled by Vatican Bank. He states that, on one occasion when he went to see Charles Bluhdorn, then chief of the Gulf & Western conglomerate, during the filming of the first Godfather film, he actually rode in the same elevator as Roberto Calvi--fictionalized as "Frederick Keinszig" (played by Austrian-born actor, Helmut Berger) in this film.
- This was the only Godfather film that didn't win the Academy Award for Best Picture, which it was nominated for. (The 1990 winner was Dances With Wolves, with Kevin Costner.)
Bibliography
- Rupert Cornwell, God's Banker: The Life and Death of Roberto Calvi, Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1984.
- David Yallop, In God's Name: An Investigation into the Murder of Pope John Paul I, Corgi, 1987
- Director's Commentary track on The Godfather Part III DVD by Francis Ford Coppola; included in the The Godfather DVD Collection
External link
Template:Godfatherde:Der Pate – Teil 3
es:El padrino III
eu:The Godfather Part III
fr:Le Parrain, 3ème partie
it:Il Padrino parte III
hu:A Keresztapa III.
nl:The Godfather Part III
no:Gudfaren del III
fi:Kummisetä, osa III