This is probably one of the most cobbled together articles I’ve ever written, which is fitting for this re-edit of a thirty-year-old film. That’s not why it’s so cobbled together, though. Part of the reason why is that I’m a bit burnt out with The Godfather at this point. I’ve written lengthy articles about all three films, and now I’ve written a second article about the third film. Another reason is that I’ve taken my time with this one and wrote a lot of notes, but they aren’t all that focused. So if Francis Ford Coppola wants to consider this film as more of a coda than a third film, then consider this article my coda instead of a fourth article.
As for the film itself, I’ve never hated Part III as much as others, and it seems like with time a lot of people have warmed to it. This new version will help the film’s reputation even more, but if people would simply revisit the theatrical cut, they’d probably realize they like the film more than they remember. It’s still interesting to watch this new version and compare it to the original cut.
Is It Better...or Necessary?
First off, this is not going to be a scene-by-scene comparison between this film and the original cut. I’m too lazy for that, and you can just Google the differences and find a dozen articles that do that. That written, I do have a comment or two in the random thoughts about a few differences I noted. Instead, I wanted to focus more generally on the idea of this cut and answer the basic question: is this a better movie than the original, and is it necessary?
Coda is a better version, in my opinion. Mainly because it makes Michael’s life even more tragic by altering the ending. Instead of him slumping over and dying as he does in the original, Michael is still alive at the end of this film, and it ends with a text pretty much saying he’s cursed to have a long life to suffer as long as possible for his choices. That’s a much more powerful ending, and it focuses on the point of the third film: Michael’s attempt at redemption.
Coda makes it clear that Michael never had a chance at redemption. Vito knew this, and it is why he is so heartbroken in the first film when he talks to Michael about being in charge of the family. Vito had no regrets about how he provided for his family, but he hoped Michael could legitimize the Corleones.
This led to Michael’s obsession with becoming legitimate in the subsequent films. But his blind pursuit of redeeming the family only took him deeper into the mob life while alienating the very family he claimed to be doing everything for.
This new cut smartly begins with Michael talking to the archbishop about “washing away” his family’s past by getting involved with the Catholic church’s finances. All that part of the plot is still pretty confusing, but it doesn’t matter. The point is that Michael thinks this deal he’s making will save his family and erase the past. Placing this scene at the beginning (it’s originally around forty minutes in) makes it more clear what this film is truly about.
Any kind of cutting like that makes the movie a bit sloppier, though. There are some jarring cuts throughout the film, especially when it comes to Michael going to Italy. He seems to bounce back and forth from New York to Italy from scene to scene at one point. This makes the movie move more quickly, but it’s also a little disorienting. It doesn’t ruin the film, but it does take me out of it at times.
Overall, I think this new cut is warranted, but it shouldn’t be a solo release. The blu-ray I bought contains only this cut. Yes, I already own Part Three, but this release should have both versions. It should also simply be added to any collection released in the future, even if it’s just a digital code or something. The ideal way to release this would have been as an exclusive for the new Paramount streaming app. I bought it because I’m a completionist, but others should have the option to simply check this out once on one of the streaming options out there.
Michael Corleone Is Dominic Toretto, or “Grumble, Grumble, Family.”
The Fast and the Furious franchise probably doesn’t come to mind very often when people watch The Godfather films, but during this rewatch, I kept thinking of Dominic Toeretto (Vin Diesel’s character) every time Michael claimed he was protecting his family.
Dominic Toeretto mumbles about family so much in the Fast films that it’s become a joke, and for good reason. In a series that began as a Point Break rip-off about street racers stealing VCRs and is now seriously considering sending the action to space, any claim that the batshit crazy action is actually about family is laughable.
The Godfather is never going to space, but that doesn’t make Michael’s claims about family any less ridiculous than Dom’s. Dom just uses family as an excuse to do crazy shit; Michael uses family as an excuse to keep power.
Just saying you’re doing things for your family doesn’t make it true. I do believe that Michael truly thought that everything he did was for his family, but he became blinded by this belief. When you kill your own brother and alienate your wife to the point that she would rather have an abortion than another child with you, then at some point your actions stopped being for your family and were just about you.
Both Michael and Dom could leave their dangerous lives and simply live off the grid with their families. It might not be ideal, and people would still want them dead. but it would still be safer than what they ended up doing. When you claim your actions are meant to protect your family, but those actions continuously put your family in extreme danger, then you are either lying to yourself or you’re stupid. But I’ll say this for Dom: at least he seems to be having fun.
Meaningful Quotes
I always include a section of favorite quotes in my articles, but for this film I came across so many important quotes that I wanted to pull a few and explain why I find them so meaningful.
“Your whole past history, and the history of your family and your children would be washed away.”
It makes sense that this line is spoken by the bishop who is revealed to be an enemy of Michael because it’s bullshit. Michael too easily buys into this idea that being connected with the church will save him and his family. Yeah, because the Catholic church has always been known to be free from corruption. I know this takes place in the 1970s, but I’m sure people still had an idea that the church was not exactly perfect.
“I spent my life protecting my family!”
This is just Michael being Dom again. Just keep saying it until it comes true, buddy.
“You became my horror.”
One of the best parts of this film is the segment in which he finally talks with Kay and listens to her. She says this to him early on in the film, but it’s probably her most important line to Michael. Hearing this might finally make him realize how awful he was back then. But it still can’t help him see what Kay sees: even when dealing with “legitimate” organizations, Michael can’t stay away from plots that end up involving murder.
“You will not change.”
The future Pope is talking about whether or not Michael believes his soul can be saved, but this line is more accurate when applied to Michael’s actions. Michael does believe he can be saved; that’s precisely why he’s so involved with the church in this film. He just doesn’t realize that just being connected to the church financially doesn’t make everything you do okay.
“What could I do?”
I understand that Michael felt the need to kill in the first film to protect his father and the family in general. There was no changing his mind about that. But everything he does in the second film was not so necessary, especially killing Fredo.
“I swear on the lives of my children. Give me a chance to redeem myself, and I will sin no more.”
What does this even mean at this point? What would Michael consider worthy of redemption? He’s so incapable of staying out of shit that leads to multiple murders, that the only real way for him to save his family is to die. This is why his survival at the very end is that much more miserable.
“I tried…”
How? By getting involved with crooked bishops and corporations and shit? He was too hung up on becoming officially legitimate and buying his redemption from the church. He could just as easily have sold off all his nefarious investments and left the mob shit to Zasa and the rest of the commission. They would be pissed, and they might even try to kill him, but his kids would be free of danger and the mob life in general.
I think Michael starts to believe he can be redeemed right before his daughter is killed, but why? Just because he met a “true priest” to hear his confession? He’s still doing all kinds of shady shit, especially taking on Vincent and allowing Connie to have people murdered. In this way, he’s still just like Dom. He can claim everything he does is for family, but he just does whatever the fuck he wants because he’s addicted to power.
The only change Michael has made is that he is now one more step removed from crime while still being the final authority on it. In the first film, he was willing to personally kill for his family. In the second film, he only commands others to do his bidding (although he does hit his wife himself). And now, he just leaves others, like Vincent, Connie, or Joey Zasa to commit crimes and murders. He may not make the orders, but he accepts the consequences after the fact. What he doesn’t seem to understand is that just because he removes himself enough to be considered “legal” in his actions, that doesn’t make them “good.” And while a priest may be able to grant him absolution, the world does not care.
Why Do I Own This?
I love The Godfather films, even the third one, so it was a no-brainer to cave in to this cash grab of a new cut. I don’t regret it, though. I buy very few films these days, so I’m okay with getting this as a way of completing my collection.
Random Thoughts / Favorite Quotes
In his commentary for Part III, Coppola said the original title was simply The Death of Michael Corleone. I like that much better than this current ridiculously lengthy title: Mario Puzo's The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone.
The letter at the beginning is to both kids? If both of the kids get a copy, is he handwriting two letters or just making a copy? And if he makes a copy, which kid gets the original?
You can't edit out that weird shit Sofia Coppola does with her mouth throughout the film in an attempt to appear flirtatious. She just ends up looking like Rocky Balboa.
“I’ve lost [...] the juice of youth.” Ew.
I wish Coppola would have filmed a new scene in which Michael slapped the fuck out of Johnny Fontaine just like his old man did.
The reporter lady insists on Vincent telling her he loves her. They just met that fucking day!
One of these days I’m going to watch this just to count how many times they say the name Joey Zasa. My guess is fifty, which is a fucking lot for a character with maybe ten minutes of screen time who dies halfway through.
“Now they’ll fear you.” Now, Connie? Do you have no memories from the days when you were banging your way around the world? Michael had his own brother killed. Every time his power is threatened, he kills everyone. What else does he have to prove at this point? I get it, “what have you done lately?” and all that, but come on; this is Michael fucking Corleone.
Coppola cut one of the don’s yelling, “Zasa, you son of a bitch!” from the helicopter scene. Why? If it was to cut down on how many times we hear “Zasa,” then fine. But otherwise, how does this line get cut, but the dildo trying to get his lucky coat stays?
The priest that has to light all of the bishop’s cigarettes is one busy motherfucker.
This finally occurred to me after all these years: how would Vincent had known how to ride a horse for the Zasa hit? Riding a horse is not a simple thing, and riding a horse and keeping it calm during a gunfight is a straight up complicated thing. I can buy Vincent as a cousin fucker, but not a horse rider.
Man, they really make Connie look like some kind of ancient Italian witch in this movie.
When Michael has another attack at the Vatican and requests something sweet, that priest has a tray of orange juice and candy within seconds. Are there just trays of sweets stationed throughout Vatican City? This isn’t Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
It's hilarious to me that Michael kept the picture from his son for all these years, but never checked yes or no on it. He’s still on the fence about it, I guess.
Kay brushes off a lot of shit during Michael’s little tour of Italy. “Hey, Michael, you know our daughter’s fucking her cousin, right?”
“Yeah, I won’t allow it.”
“Cool. Hey, Michael, remember when you got married here and never mentioned it to me when you came back to America? That kind of sucked, but whatever.”
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