The Godfather: Part III (1990)

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.

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola

Stars:

Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

In the final instalment of the Godfather Trilogy, an aging Don Michael Corleone seeks to legitimize his crime family's interests and remove himself from the violent underworld but is kept back by the ambitions of the young. While he attempts to link the Corleone's finances with the Vatican, Michael must deal with the machinations of a hungrier gangster seeking to upset the existing Mafioso order and a young protoge's love affair with his daughter.

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Plot Keywords:

gangster | mafia don | vatican | mafia | revenge | 

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Taglines:

Real power can't be given. It must be taken.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian German Latin

Release Date:

25 December 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mario Puzo's The Godfather: Part III

Filming Locations:

Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$54,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$66,676,062 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Zoetrope Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

162 min 169 min (video)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The opening shots of the Corleone compound were originally filmed for The Godfather: Part II but were deleted from the final film. They were first used in the opening credits for The Godfather: A Novel for Television.

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Goofs

Although the details of Pope John Paul I and his death in the film are not always consistent with those of the real Pope John Paul I, this is not a factual error, as this film is only presenting a fictional story partially (and loosely) based on true events.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

"Dedicated to Charlie Bluhdorn who inspired it."

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood vs. Religion (1994)

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Soundtracks

"DIMMI, DIMMI, DIMMI"
Written by Carmine Coppola
Arrangement by Celso Valli

User Reviews

Unjustily Criticized

I stayed away from this film for a long time, doing a dumb thing: listening to the well-known film critics.

When I finally got around to it, I was very surprised. It was a good film. Not great, not intense as the first two Godfather flicks, but definitely a lot better than advertised.

Many people said this was filled with anti-Roman Catholic propaganda, but I didn't it find that way. Yes, the "Vatican bank," whatever that is, was portrayed as not on the up-and-up, but it was a little confusing to follow, maybe too confusing to get offended! Actually, there were some positive things, religious-wise, with Al Pacino's character, who sought forgiveness for his past sins and made a few very profound statements such as, "What good is confession if it isn't followed by repentance?"

Anyway, Pacino's acting talents are the main attraction in the lower-key, more cerebral Godfather film. There isn't that much action but when it occurs, it's pretty violent. As with the other two films in the series, it's nicely photographed with a lot of nice brown tints.

Finally, director-writer Francis Ford Coppola took a lot of flak for putting his daughter in such an important role but I thought she (Sofia Coppola) was fine and - like this film - unfairly criticized.