The Godfather Part III is one of the most divisive movies ever made. Being the sequel to two iconic movies, the third entry in the series almost ruined the legacy of two of the best crime movies of the 70s. But now, celebrated director Francis Ford Coppola has attempted to right one of cinema’s biggest wrongs by releasing a new edit of the movie.
The result is surprisingly impressive, as the edit is delicate, tasteful, and it still respects the original material. Though the movie is still far from perfect and far inferior to its predecessors, it’s amazing how much of a difference a few small changes have made.
The Name
Coppola always saw the third movie as somewhat of an epilogue to The Godfather Part II, which is one of the things everyone needs to know before watching the new cut.
No longer is the movie called The Godfather Part III, but instead, it has been named The Godfather Coda: The Death Of Michael Corleone, which might be something of a spoiler for the end of the movie, but it’s the title that Coppola originally intended the movie to have.
Significantly Shorter
The third movie isn’t well known for a lot of things, but luckily, one of the series’ best quotes remains intact. However, around that famous quote, a lot of moments have been chopped.
Even though The Godfather Part III is about 10 minutes shorter than the first movie and 30 minutes shorter than Part II, it still felt much longer than both of them, and many fans felt that it was a bit of a slog for the most part. But with the new cuts, the shorter runtime makes the movie feel much more succinct.
A More Modern Look
Many fans of the films felt that one of the worst things about The Godfather Part III was the way that it looked, as its strange golden tint made it look like it was based in the 1950s. And as the movie is set in the 1970s, decades after the first two movies, the golden look didn’t sit well.
However, that has since been improved with the new edit, and it’s one of the most welcome changes, as the more modern look is incredible.
The Opening
Michael’s business acumen is one of the reasons why he was a better don than Vito, and now the movie doesn’t waste any time getting down to business, as the new edit drops viewers right into the negotiations between Michael and the Vatican.
This new opening makes it feel much more like a proper sequel to The Godfather Part II, as opposed to the original opening in which it took ages to get to the same negotiations.
The Flashbacks
With the opening seeing Michael getting straight down to business, that means that most of the original opening is gone, and it’s a much needed vast improvement. Most of the original opening was made up of flashbacks from the first two movies, including the murder of Fredo, Michael’s brother.
The flashbacks served as something like recap that would come before an episode of a TV show, and they were completely unnecessary in the first place.
Vincent’s Intro
Being one of the few new main characters introduced to the series, Vincent, played by Andy Garcia, is one of the best things about the third movie.
In the new edit, the character is introduced much earlier in the movie, making his importance in the narrative so much clearer, though his strange relationship with his cousin, Mary, is still as hard to watch as it was in the original cut.
The Scene Between Connie And Vincent
After the massacre in Atlantic City, which is completely out of place in a Godfather movie but still holds up as a great scene nonetheless, the movie originally featured a pivotal scene between Vincent and Connie, Michael’s sister.
In the scene, Connie tells Vincent that he has to assassinate Joey Zasa, but the scene has been completely redacted. Instead, it cuts to the scene in which Michael tells them to never do that, ever again.
Don Altobello
When Michael is in the hospital, after the scene in which his son says goodbye to him, the scene that originally followed was between Michael and Don Altobello.
There has never been a villain in the Godfather series like Altobello, as the reveal of his grand scheme is supposed to come as a surprise. However, the scene between the two makes it obvious that Altobello has a hidden agenda and it’s for good reason that it was cut.
Michael’s Death
Though the scene might be one of the most saddest moments in The Godfather trilogy, Michael’s death is easily the single most embarrassing moment of the franchise, even more so than the incestuous relationship between Mary and Vincent.
Not only is Al Pacino's aging make-up terrible, but as he keels over in his chair with an orange in his hand, it’s one of the most awkwardly shot deaths in cinema history. Thankfully, the whole shot of Michael dying has been completely removed.
The Final Quote
After the movie fades to black, right before Michael clumsily collapses and half-falls out of his chair, a quote appears on the screen that wasn’t featured in the original.
The quote, which says, “When the Sicilians wish you ‘Cent’anni’… it means ‘for long life.’ … and a Sicilian never forgets,” insinuates that Michael doesn’t actually die when it fades to black, but that he has to live with the mistakes he has made, which is arguably a fate much worse.