# Why I hate Godfather Part III **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 10, 2016, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676 "2016-01-10T10:52:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/1 "2016-01-10T10:52:13Z")
I just re-watched this movie, there’s a few problems. [ul] [li]Awful helicopter scene[/li] [li]The sets don’t look out of place in 1990’s NYC (When it was filmed)[/li] [li]Joey Zaza [/li] [li]Michael Corleone swearing[/li][/ul] I think the only saving grace is when Michael cries because his daughter is shot dead. Why was it so spectacularly bad? ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/2 "2016-01-10T11:03:22Z")
nice spoilers bro ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/3 "2016-01-10T11:58:47Z")
NM. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/4 "2016-01-10T12:17:06Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > nice spoilers bro That movie is 25 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/5 "2016-01-10T13:36:36Z")
I loved it. It made a nice ending to the trilogy. I was always hoping for GF4 - with Andy Garcia as the new GF. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/6 "2016-01-10T14:05:34Z")
I liked the Vatican angle. > [@White SIFL](#): > > I loved it. It made a nice ending to the trilogy. > > I was always hoping for GF4 - with Andy Garcia as the new GF. Supposedly that would have happened, writing was in progress, but Mario Puzo died and the project was folded. ---
**Author:** ![botsgotme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@botsgotme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/botsgotme)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/7 "2016-01-10T16:04:59Z")
The GF part 3 tries to do too much, with too many confusing themes. It is all about Michael’s last act-he dies forgotten and unloved…his life went from being an idealistic young man to a cynical old crook, with no redemption possible. It also attempts to show the rise of the "modern " Mafia (money laundering, entanglement with the Vatican), with another tragedy 9the murder of Michael’s daughter). The movies would have been much better if it just stuck to one theme. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/8 "2016-01-10T16:08:35Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > Michael Corleone swearing Michael Corleone swearing was probably the only thing in the entire trilogy that actually made me feel like I was watching a movie about the mafia. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/9 "2016-01-10T17:16:03Z")
It could have been good, but I don’t think they were ready for production. The script needed some work and the casting was obviously very poor, especially using his daughter. George Hamilton also feels out of place and they should have used an unknown in that role. I know Francis Ford Coppola needed money, but it would have better with even more pre-production. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/10 "2016-01-10T17:24:38Z")
I liked it. It had a different feel from the first two, but I don’t think there was anything wrong with it. It just suffered from an unfair comparison to two classics. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/11 "2016-01-10T18:13:17Z")
> [@botsgotme](#): > > The GF part 3 tries to do too much, with too many confusing themes. It is all about Michael’s last act-he dies forgotten and unloved…his life went from being an idealistic young man to a cynical old crook, with no redemption possible. It also attempts to show the rise of the "modern " Mafia (money laundering, entanglement with the Vatican), with another tragedy 9the murder of Michael’s daughter). The movies would have been much better if it just stuck to one theme. I thought that was its strength. Michael had spend his reign being in control. It was in a simpler time that allowed him to stay ahead of trouble. But as he got older and his family got diluted technology caught up with his strongarm tactic abilities. He tries to remain in control of his empire while keeping up with his changing and complicated world. In the meantime he has his children (who are now on their own and making their own decisions) to protect. I feel the movie is showing us Michael’s inability and frustration to juggle all of these competing forces. He is ultimately unable to do so and must pay the price, health-wise and personally. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/12 "2016-01-10T18:21:30Z")
If I and II didn’t exist, III would have been remembered as a very good movie. But when compared to two masterpieces, it just doesn’t fare very well. I thought it was done well enough, the end with Michael dying a dog’s death was a fitting end to the trilogy. The plot wasn’t as compelling as the other two and Sophia Coppola didn’t do particularly well with her part but still, I’ll watch it again and again. ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/13 "2016-01-10T20:21:28Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > If I and II didn’t exist, III would have been remembered as a very good movie. But when compared to two masterpieces, it just doesn’t fare very well. I thought it was done well enough, the end with Michael dying a dog’s death was a fitting end to the trilogy. The plot wasn’t as compelling as the other two and Sophia Coppola didn’t do particularly well with her part but still, I’ll watch it again and again. This. Had it just been a mob movie unrelated to the prior two, it would have been acclaimed as a classic, despite its flaws. Labeling it with the name “Godfather” created a level of expectation that it just couldn’t meet. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/14 "2016-01-10T22:56:03Z")
Good news for fans of _GF I_ and _II_ (only). HBO will be showing next Sunday (Jan 17) the entire _Godfather Epic_ (usually called the _Godfather Saga_). The old TV version with the two movies spliced together in chronological order. The real prize are the extra scenes. Several are fairly illuminating. Unfortunately, it was for network TV in the 70s so there was some censorship. I don’t know if this version restores those parts. Note that the _Saga_ has appeared on cable from time to time, but in a shortened form. Looking forward to it. It does not appear to be on the list of usual HBO endless repeats, so be sure to catch it the first time. Watch Genco’s deathbed scene! The surprising origins of the _Godfather Theme_! Clemenza eating lunch! (Well, maybe not that one.) ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/15 "2016-01-10T23:13:28Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > HBO will be showing next Sunday (Jan 17) the entire _Godfather Epic_ (usually called the _Godfather Saga_). > … > Note that the _Saga_ has appeared on cable from time to time, but in a shortened form. The “Epic” _is_ the shortened version of the “Saga.” ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/16 "2016-01-11T00:10:00Z")
I thought Don Thomasino’s house looked a lot better than during GF1. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/17 "2016-01-11T00:17:51Z")
A big part of it was only a vague sense of “time.” It took place in the late 70s… but nothing felt of the time. Everything looked like it was filmed in 1989…which it was so it seemed lazy. Wasn’t the original plot a “war” between Tom and Michael, but Duvall wanted equal billing and more money? I wonder if that would have been better. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/18 "2016-01-11T19:32:30Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > The “Epic” _is_ the shortened version of the “Saga.” Dagnabbit. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/19 "2016-01-11T23:18:21Z")
It’s still six and a half hours of Godfather, in chronological order, with some extra scenes. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2016, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676/20 "2016-01-12T07:07:38Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > Why was it so spectacularly bad? Because of the absence of Robert Duvall. Seriously, no offense to Pacino, he gave _Part III_ the ole’ college try, but the dynamic between the two of them (and between Duvall and James Cann in _Part I_) was the heart and soul of the movies. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-i-hate-godfather-part-iii/742676.md?page=2)