The last time fans were so excited for a re-edit of a classic movie, they were insulted by a CGI Jabba The Hutt, but with a new look at The Godfather Part III, Francis Ford Coppola has tastefully put together a concise and more straightforward version of the polarising 1990 gangster movie.
As the legacy of one of the best crime movies of the 70s was almost tarnished by Part III, it’s up for debate as to whether or not this new edition of the movie is worth it. After seeing all of the changes that have been made to the movie, there are several reasons why the decision to release the new edit was both a good and a bad idea.
Need It: To Right One Of Cinema’s Biggest Wrongs
The third movie isn’t well known for a lot of things, except for one of the series’ best quotes, and the reason is that most fans believe it to be far inferior to the second and third movies.
As the first two Godfather movies are considered two of the greatest films of all time, revisiting and re-editing The Godfather Part III could make the movie the quintessential ending to a trilogy that was promised 30 years ago, instead of being the movie that fans pretend doesn’t exist.
Don’t Need It: It Can Be Seen As A Cash Grab
If Francis Ford Coppola really wanted to make The Godfather Part III in the first place, he would have made it years before he actually did. As Part III was released 16 years after the second movie, and it came after a string of box office bombs from the director, many feel that facing bankruptcy is the major reason why Coppola agreed to finally round out the trilogy, and this new edit is so transparently no different.
The Godfather Coda, which probably took only a few days of work, will net a comfortable few million in sales and many fans of the series feel that’s the only reason the edit exists.
Need It: To Fix The Look
One of the big differences between the narrative in Part III and the two previous movies is the time in which the movie is set. Being decades later, Part III takes place in the 1970s, but the first edit of the movie has a strange, almost golden-like look that makes it seem like it’s set in the 50s.
The look is entirely out of place, but The Godfather Coda: The Death Of Michael Corleone thankfully sets the aesthetic straight.
Don’t Need It: Doesn’t Fix The Parts That Need Fixing The Most
Regardless of how divisive the original version of the movie is, there are a few scenarios that are unanimously seen as cringeworthy and ridiculous. For starters, with all of the scenes that have been cut, most of the scenes with Michael’s daughter and her cousin Vincent remain, and they're still just as uncomfortable as ever.
On top of this, one of the biggest problems the original had was the absence of Robert Duvall’s Tommy. And as he was never cast in Part III, there is no way that spectacular error can ever be fixed.
Need It: To Get Rid Of The Unnecessary Flashbacks
The original edit of the movie clocks in at just over two hours and 40 minutes, but a surprising amount of that time is made up of flashbacks to the previous movies, mostly towards the beginning.
The idea of the flashbacks works in a similar way to how a ‘previously on ...’ segment works at the beginning of a TV show: to remind audiences about what has happened. But in a movie, it’s completely unnecessary and getting rid of them greatly helps the pacing of the film.
Don’t Need It: More Of Mary
Many fans feel that Michael Corleone’s daughter, Mary, is undoubtedly the worst thing about The Godfather Part III. Not only is her incestuous relationship with Vincent awful and cringeworthy, but it’s some of the worst casting in history.
Francis Ford Coppola cast his own daughter, Sofia Coppola, in the role, and though she went on to become a prolific director herself, her acting skills don’t measure up. When the character kicks the bucket in the finale, many felt it was one of the best kills in the series.
Need It: To Introduce The Godfather To A New Audience
The Godfather is, arguably, the greatest film series of all time, but with so much content being thrown in consumers’ faces on 20 different streaming services, a lot of the classics can get buried under giant blockbuster movies and binge-worthy TV shows.
But with a new version of Part III, it could open the floodgates to encourage a younger audience to delve into the world of the Corleone family.
Don’t Need It: The Name Spoils The Ending
Coppola always saw the third movie as more of an epilogue than the big finale to the series, which is one of the things you need to know before watching the new cut. For that reason, the director originally wanted to name the movie The Death Of Michael Corleone, and in one of the few times the studio has ever been right, they decided against it due to the title being a huge spoiler.
However, with the new edit, Coppola brought back the title, and though enough time has passed that most adults have seen the movie, it still spoils the plot for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet.
Need It: The Final Scene
Even in 1990, when makeup and prosthetics weren’t as advanced as they are now, the makeup on Al Pacino to make him look older was heavily criticized. Then, when he keels over to his death, which is one of the saddest scenes in the Godfather trilogy, was one of the clumsiest and strangest looking on-screen deaths ever.
Thankfully, the new edit cuts away before it gets to this point and it has cleaned up the cuts around the makeup.
Don’t Need It: The Movie Was Never That Bad In The First Place
Compared to the first two Godfather movies, Part III is pretty bad, but as an actual movie, it’s still better than most gangster flicks released today. Part III focuses on Michael Corleone’s business negotiations with the Vatican, and his business acumen is one of the reasons why he was a better don than Vito.
On top of that, Andy Garcia’s performance as Vincent is one of the best things about the movie, and Kay and Michael’s relationship getting wrapped up is completely satisfying.