| | | The Coppola Restoration.
Features: DVD, Widescreen
One of the greatest sagas in movie history continues. In this third film in the epic Corleone trilogy, Al Pacino reprises the role of powerful family leader Michael Corleone. Now in his 60's, Michael is dominated by two passions: freeing his family from crime and finding a suitable successor. That successor could be fiery Vincent (Andy Garcia)...but he may also be the spark that turns Michael's hope of business legitimacy into an inferno of mob violence.Francis Ford Coppola directs Pacino, Garcia, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Eli Wallach, Sofia Coppola, Joe Mantegna and others in this exciting, long-awaited film that masterfully explores the themes of power, tradition, revenge and love. Seven Academy Award nominations for 1990 were the result, including Best Picture.
"...classic "Godfather" fare." Desson Howe, Washington Post
"A provocative and stirring climax to the Corleone saga, as well as an autonomous work that sometimes shows Coppola at his near best." Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
"Only a filmmaker like Coppola (teamed with writer Mario Puzo) could extend his history-making saga and make it work so well." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"...a work of high ensemble talent and intelligence, gorgeously mounted and crafted..." Michael Wilmington, Los Angeles Times
"...lushly photographed, brilliantly acted and wonderfully entertaining..." Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
"...Coppola unveils a vision of corruption that embraces the entire world, but he's also reveling in sheer theatrical magic in a way that only a master can." Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
"...matches its predecessors in narrative intensity, epic scope, socio-political analysis, physical beauty and deep feeling for its characters and milieu." Variety
Editor's Note
Francis Ford Coppola's grand finale to the epic Mafia saga once again stars Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, the aging don of the infamous Corleone family. Michael is on the verge of legitimizing the family business with the help of his nephew, Vincent Mancini (Andy Garcia). However, failing health and treacherous Mafioso colleagues Joey Zasa (Joe Mantegna) and Don Altobello (Eli Wallach) keep him immersed in the criminal life he had hoped to escape. Coppola reunited many of the same cast and crew from THE GODFATHER and THE GODFATHER, PART 2 in this continuing tale of family crime.
Plot Summary
In the third film of Francis Ford Coppola's Corleone family saga, 20 years have passed and Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) is in failing health and haunted by remorse over his brother Fredo's murder. As part of his plan for legitimizing the family business, Michael contributes a large donation to the church and accepts an honor from the pope. His nephew, Vincent (Andy Garcia), becomes his protégé with the help of Connie (Talia Shire) while his own children, Anthony (Franc D'Ambrosio) and Mary (Sofia Coppola), remain free from a life of crime. After selling his casinos and laundering his money through the Vatican, Michael attempts to take over a European-owned company, International Immobiliare. However, former mob colleagues Don Altobello (Eli Wallach) and Joey Zasa (Joe Mantegna) force his return to the underworld, and Vincent's brash temper almost starts a mob war. In Sicily, Michael instructs Vincent to form an alliance with his enemy, Don Altobello. Many of the same cast from Coppola's first two films are back in this powerful sequel. New to the series is George Hamilton, surprisingly effective as Michael's financial advisor, B. J. Harrison.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Paramount |
| Release Date: 9/23/2008 |
| Original Release Date: 1990 | | Catalog ID: 132934 | | UPC: 00097361329345 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Golden Globe (1991) | | | Al Pacino, Nominee, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama | | | Andy Garcia, Nominee, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture | |
Oscar (1991) | | | Andy Garcia, Nominee, Best Actor in a Supporting Role | | | Barry Malkin, et. al., Nominee, Best Film Editing | | | Carmine Coppola, John Bettis ("Promise Me You'll Remember"), Nominee, Best Music, Original Song | | | Dean Tavoularis, Gary Fettis, Nominee, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration | | | Francis Ford Coppola, Nominee, Best Picture | |
Golden Globe (1991) | | | Francis Ford Coppola, Nominee, Best Director - Motion Picture | |
Oscar (1991) | | | Francis Ford Coppola, Nominee, Best Director | |
Golden Globe (1991) | | | Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo, Nominee, Best Screenplay - Motion Picture | |
Oscar (1991) | | | Gordon Willis, Nominee, Best Cinematography | |
Golden Globe (1991) | | | The Godfather: Part III, Nominee, Best Motion Picture - Drama |
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| | Professional Reviews | USA Today
"...A good entertainment bet worthy of any moviegoer's shell-out..." 12/24/1990 p.1DNew York Times
"...Valid and deeply moving....More frankly, mournfully operatic than its predecessors..." 12/25/1990 p.9 ReelViews 9 of 10
Eighteen years after the first screenings of The Godfather, the long-awaited third and final chapter reached theaters. That it proved unable to fulfill expectations was a predictable - if somewhat disheartening - result, given the sixteen year buildup The Godfather Part III is a good movie, with moments of rare power, but it is not a great one - a reason why many fans of the series have voiced their disappointment...One of the most obvious problems with The Godfather Part III is that it covers little new territory. The plot is highly derivative of the original. This time, Michael fills Vito's role, and Vincent stands in for Michael. This method of too-obvious parallelism might have been more effective had Vincent's character been better developed. That isn't the case, however, because Michael is still the focal point...One thing that is not inferior, however, is Francis Ford Coppola's directorial flair...Despite its missteps, The Godfather Part III packs enough of a punch to deserve a place alongside its predecessors. This is no poorly-conceived curiosity. Not only does the film bring Michael Corleone's story to a conclusion, but it remains faithful to the form and style of parts I and II. Taken as one grand epic, with this chapter included, the Godfather movies represent one of the most solid, emotionally-rich tales ever committed to film. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
"The Godfather, Part III" continues the Corleone family history in 1979, as the sins of the parents are visited upon the children. Despite every attempt to go legit, to become respectable, the past cannot be silenced. The family has amassed unimaginable wealth, and as the film opens Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) is being invested with a great honor by the church. Later that day, at a reception, his daughter announces a Corleone family gift to the church and the charities of Sicily, "a check in the amount of $100 million." But the Corleones are about to find, as others have throughout history, that you cannot buy forgiveness...In the "Godfather" movies Coppola has made a world. Because we know it so intimately, because its rhythms and values are instantly recognizable to us, a film like "The Godfather Part III" probably works better than it should. If you stand back and look at it rationally, this is a confusing and disjointed film...We have been taught this world so well by Francis Ford Coppola that we enter it effortlessly has there ever before been a film saga so seductive and compelling, so familiar to us that even after years we remember all of the names of the players? Here, for example, is a new character, introduced as "Sonny's illegitimate son," and, yes, we nod like cousins at a family reunion, yes, he does seem a lot like Sonny...He's the same kind of hotheaded, trigger-happy lunatic. - Roger Ebert
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