The Godfather: Part III (1990)

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers (WGA):

Mario Puzo (written by) &
Francis Ford Coppola (written by)

Release Date:

25 December 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

All the power on earth can't change destiny.

Plot:

In the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealings in 1979 New York and Italy, aging mafia don Michael Corleone seeks to vow for his sins while taking a young protégé under his wing.

Plot Keywords:

Mafia | Mafia Don | Gangster | Vatican | Epic

Awards:

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Al Pacino	...	Don Michael Corleone
Diane Keaton	...	Kay Adams Michelson
Talia Shire	...	Connie Corleone Rizzi
Andy Garcia	...	Vincent Mancini
Eli Wallach	...	Don Altobello
Joe Mantegna	...	Joey Zasa
George Hamilton	...	B.J. Harrison
Bridget Fonda	...	Grace Hamilton
Sofia Coppola	...	Mary Corleone
Raf Vallone	...	Cardinal Lamberto
Franc D'Ambrosio	...	Anthony Vito Corleone
Donal Donnelly	...	Archbishop Gilday
Richard Bright	...	Al Neri
Helmut Berger	...	Frederick Keinszig
Don Novello	...	Dominic Abbandando

Also Known As:

Mario Puzo's The Godfather: Part III (USA) (complete title)
The Death of Michael Corleone (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

162 min | USA:169 min (video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Italian | German | Latin

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:16 | Canada:14A | USA:R (certificate #30195) | Brazil:14 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Portugal:M/12 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Israel:PG | Japan:PG-12 | Norway:15 | Peru:18 | Singapore:PG | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Poland:15

Filming Locations:

Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Joey Zasa is named after Coppola's maternal grandmother whose maiden name was Zasa. Lou Pennino is named after Coppola's grandfather, Francesco Pennino.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the assassins find Frederick Keinszig and begin to subdue him; he reaches for his gun on top of the table of stolen money. As he struggles, one of the top bills gets moved to reveal that the stacks of money are mostly just blank pieces of paper.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Michael Corleone: [voiceover] My dear children: It is now better than several years since I moved to New York, and I haven't seen you as much as I would like to. I hope you will come to the ceremony of papal honors given for my charitable work. The only wealth in this world is children; more than all the money, power on earth, you are my treasure.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Dream Studio (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

PROMISE ME YOU'LL REMEMBER

Most movies are overrated in IMDb, but this one is underrated

This movie is Rated a 7.2 here by IMDb voters; I feel it should be rated higher. Perhaps a 7.9, which might move it into the top 250 of all, and perhaps it deserves that.

The ending of this movie is sterling, of the highest quality. Pacino really lets rip.

The other actors? Sofia Coppola is, as others have pointed out, not all that great. Talia Shire? She was never that good, and she does an "OK" job here. Both of those actresses got into movies via their relative, Francis Ford Coppola, who directed this film. Nepotism....it shows. How Talia Shire ever got as much work as she has, I will never know....

Keaton is held back a bit in this movie, perhaps so as not to overshadow Pacino. Not one of her best performances.

Andy Garcia? I am not all that big a fan. I think his performance here is overrated a little bit. He is a ham. And Pacino is, too. But he has something Garcia will never have.

But many other rather good roles for a lot of great character actors, who perform well. Those character actors, along with Pacino, are the heart of this movie. That, and a very good script and production values and direction. Seamless direction!

A high quality film. Almost as good a script as parts 1 and 2.

I give it a 7.9.