For 30 years The Godfather Part III has been the red-headed stepchild of director Francis Ford Coppola and author Mario Puzo's beloved Corleone gangster trilogy.
Released in 1990, 16 years after the first two films both took home Oscar gold for Best Picture within 24 months of each other, cementing Coppola as one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation, the third installment was widely maligned for its convoluted plot and the amateurish performance of then-19-year-old Sofia Coppola, the director's daughter.
For the film's 30th anniversary, Coppola was afforded an opportunity by Paramount Pictures to re-edit and re-imagine the film as the trilogy epilogue he and Puzo had originally intended, even giving it the title they always wanted, The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone.
It's 1979, roughly 20 years after the events of previous film, and patriarch Micheal Corleone (Al Pacino) is working on a deal with the Vatican Bank to finally legitimize his family's business holdings once and for all. It seems the institution has lost north of $700 million and needs Corleone to bail them out, a proposal the aging, second-generation don agrees to, as long as he is given the Vatican's majority stake in an international real estate conglomerate, an acquisition that would make Corleone one of the richest and most powerful men in the world.
But of course Michael's attempt to go straight is met with skepticism by both members of his immediate family and his business family, especially Don Altobello (Eli Wallach), who tells Michael that the other heads of the families want a piece of his new Vatican deal.
To complicate matters, Michael's only son Anthony wants to leave law school and follow his dream of becoming an opera singer, while younger daughter Mary (Coppola) begins a relationship with street tough Vincent Mancini (Andy Garcia, in an Oscar-nominated performance), the illegitimate son of Michael's brother Sonny.
The best thing about the third film has always been Andy Garcia. Coppola has restructured both the beginning and ending with Coda, trimming only about five minutes from the original running time, but it doesn't really provide any greater clarity or efficiency to a chapter that's always been a bit muddled and suffered from too many moving parts.
Oddly enough Sofia Coppola's performance comes across more nuanced three decades later, injecting just the right amount of naivete and innocence needed for the role, making the character's climatic fate seem even more tragic.
Newly released on Blu-ray by Paramount Home Video, Coda is presented in its native 1.85:1 aspect ratio and offers a satisfying viewing experience. The print is reportedly restored but it doesn't appear all that different from the one used for The Godfather Collection: The Coppola Restoration Blu-ray set back in 2008. Gordon Willis' cinematography is warm and full of color while natural film grain is maintained throughout. Overall a nice transfer for a film that visually blends in perfectly with the previous two chapters.
The Dolby 5.1 TrueHD soundtrack sounds great and both dialog and Carmine Coppola's score are clear and immersive at minimal levels.
The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone makes for an interesting watch, but ultimately doesn't change or bring anything new to saga. It frankly comes off as a bit gimmicky, a ploy by Coppola and Paramount to entice audiences to give the film a second chance.
Granted the original final installment was never in the same league with the earlier films, but it did act as a mostly serviceable epilogue for our beloved Corleone family. I'll stick with The Godfather Part III.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
