When Francis Ford Coppola made changes to his war epic Apocalypse Now, the differences were evident. Missing scenes were included and others were extended, especially the French plantation scene which had gone unseen for over a decade. For myself, Apocalypse Now: Redux, as it was called, was a bloated mess and diminished an amazing film. After one viewing I set my DVD of that cut aside and returned to my old copy. I’m guessing others agreed with me because when the film was released on 4K last year it contained a trimmed down new Final Cut, the Redux Cut, and thankfully, the original theatrical cut.
Even with yet another cut, I still prefer the original.
Coppola wasn’t done tinkering. Here we are 30 years after the initial release of the much maligned concluding chapter of the Godfather Trilogy and Coppola has once again reached for his scissors and tape hoping to change public opinion on a film that upon release, despite its seven Oscar nominations, was considered a stain on the legacy of two of the greatest films ever made.
Anyone who has seen the original cut of Godfather 3 knows the complaints, so I’m not going to rehash them here. I only wanted to know if the recutting of the film now titled Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone is a better film than it’s first incarnation.
It is, and it isn’t, and ultimately to me it doesn’t matter.
All the major flaws from the original are still glaringly there. Would it have been possible to remove all the scenes with Michael’s daughter and Vincent and still have the film make sense? I think so, but those aren’t the type of wholesale changes that Coppola was interested in. Instead we are left with supposedly over 350 cuts that in most instances shorten scenes and some shifting around of others. Most notably the beginning is changed. In the original cut we see what is left of the decaying Corleone compound in Lake Tahoe, a location that was vital to part two, but has since been abandoned. I always like that opening because for me it symbolized what was left of Michael Corleone’s humanity after he had his brother Fredo murdered. It was a decision that would haunt him for the rest of his life, including in this movie, so it was nice to have that reminder. Instead, Coda kicks off with a scene that originally took place 40 minutes into Part 3, with Michael discussing business with a Cardinal of the Vatican. While that gets to the “plot” of the movie much quicker, it wasn’t what interested me in the movie.
The first Godfather films were all about familial ties, expectations, and dedication. While Part 3 had some returning members, notably his sister, his children, and his newfound nephew, it sorely missed the presence of Tom Hagan and the now deceased brothers. Even Kay, played by the always wonderful Diane Keaton, had little to do in this film, and no cuts would be able to fix that.
There was also a minor cut to the end of the film that changes it a bit, but I won’t spoil that here.
Godfather 3 or Godfather Coda, regardless of the cut, never needed to be made and will likely remain ignored on the shelf whenever I have the desire to rewatch the saga of the Corleone family.
Rated 3 out of 5 stars.
