Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Remarkable conclusion to the Trilogy, 6 Nov 2004
I enjoyed this film even more than the acclaimed Godfather II and it provides a seamless and accomplished finale to the Godfather series. There is another awesome performance from Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, supported superbly by Diane Keaton,Talia Shire , Andy Garcia and Sofia Coppola who plays Michael's beloved daughter Mary. Godfather III is set in 1979 and deals with the declining years of Michael Corleone and his desire to distance himself from his gangster past and to achieve the respectabilty and legitimacy he craves for. This leads him into financial dealings with the Vatican and involves him in a brilliant, but controversial sub-plot concerning a web of corruption and murder within the Roman Catholic hierarchy. However it is family, tradition, revenge , love and power which are the main themes of the film. Michael's desire to mend fences with ex wife Kay and his relationship with his two children are superbly explored, yet his repemtance and paternal love remain always shadowed by a murderous criminal past that he cannot shake off. The climax of this film is superb, one of the best endings to any film I have seen, full of tension ,suspense and brilliantly directed by Coppola. The poignant final scene is a perfect conclusion to the whole trilogy.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Fall of the House of Corleone, 3 Sep 2007
I confess it! "Godfather III" is one of my favorite movies. All right, it has less-than-perfect moments, but it also has memorable ones, such as the touching confessional scene between Michael (Al Pacino) and the Cardinal (Raf Vallone) in the cloister, and the reconciliation of Michael and Kay (Diane Keaton) in Don Tommasino's dining room.
I especially enjoy the Italian locations, and since I spent the `80s in Italy, amidst rumors about what was commonly regarded as the suspicious death of John Paul I; the scandals of the Vatican Banco Ambrosiano (with the banker Calvi hanging from the London bridge); the P-2 scandals in the highest posts of the government, not to mention numerous assassinations of judges in Sicily, the background of the story--the last half of which takes place in Sicily--rang true for me. Furthermore--and more importantly--Coppola's brilliant use of recurrent visual and thematic imagery renders the film outstanding not only on its own merits but also in respect to the first two films. Besides the well-discussed use of oranges whenever a catastrophe is imminent, Coppola constantly juxtaposes themes of religion and death, replicating the events of the story--the biting of the ear; the religious procession, the veiling of the head--with those of Mascagni's magnificent opera about death, revenge, and religion in Sicily: "Cavalleria Rusticana." Coppola intersperses scenes of the opera with scenes of actual vendetta, as the plans of Vincenzo--the new godfather--are carried to their violent conclusion. The part I love the best, though, is when Coppola transfers the tragedy taking place onstage in the opera, outside onto the steps of the opera house--life imitating art. That final choreographed scene, staged to the heart-rending music of Mascagni, gets me every time (Please pass some more Kleenex tissue!).
Al Pacino's silent scream on the steps of the opera house embodies the mask of Greek tragedy. And tragic irony renders "Godfather III" particularly powerful, when the film is viewed in the context of the whole. For instance, the preservation of the family is the device that moves the plot of the entire trilogy. The crimes committed first by Vito Corleone and then by Michael are committed in order to keep the family safe, even though the meaning of 'family' becomes distorted from its original significance during the course of the trilogy. In "Godfather III," however, the aging Michael, who is trying to become a pillar of society in order to preserve his immediate family, accomplishes the very opposite of what he intended. The final scenes of "Godfather I" and "Godfather III"--both set in gardens--emphasize the tragedy. Whereas Vito Corleone dies in the garden, alone except for the youngest member of the family--his toddler grandson--at his feet, Michael Corleone dies in the garden, alone--except for a dog at his feet. Perfect examples of tragic irony!
I wish that Coppola would reprise his "Godfather Saga" which he made for television in the seventies. He reshuffled the scenes so that the narrative ran in chronological order from the funeral of Vito's father in Sicily at the beginning of "Godfather I" to the shooting of Fredo at end of "Godfather II." In combination with this particular format, "Godfather III" would make an especially effective tragic finish to the trilogy. The entire saga would then recall the Greek dramatist Aeschylus's trilogy. The original saga of family and its disintegration through revenge and murder, "The Oresteia" depicts the fall of the House of Atreus, just as the Godfather trilogy depicts the fall of the House of Corleone.
When I once made this observation to my daughter, she gave me a sarcastic look and said: "Mom, you're over-educated!"
Mea Culpa!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The famous Al Pacino went to Rome to see the Pope, 23 Oct 2009
A story is told of the enthusiast who praised Verdi, saying, "In Otello, Verdi has raised Italian opera to the level of Shakespeare!" To which a critic replied sourly that actually, in Otello, Verdi had lowered Shakespeare to the level of Italian opera.
The first two Godfather films are great. In any survey of the top 100 movies of all time, they consistently feature near the top, and justifiably so. It isn't only *that* music, or the actors, or the epic cinematography, though that's a big part of it. But it's also because both films are about the Lear-like tragedy of the Corleone family, and the whole, transpiring sense that everything that proceeds is implicit from Vito's earliest days - a relentless vendetta that pursues and binds successive generations. Actions have consequences, decisions become unavoidable, evil erupts out of vengeance, out of escape, out of an honourable desire to protect one's family.
The obvious, natural sequel to Godfather II would therefore have been the unresolved story of Michael and Tom, two men with apparently parallel loyalties, but whose alliance was bound to disintegrate under the dual tensions of power and blood. Apparently, however, Robert Duvall wouldn't sign up. So Coppola went ahead without him.
In Godfather III, then, we find a modern-day (1979) Michael Corleone, with grown-up children, seeking to secure riches in heaven (as well as on earth) by acquiring the role of "God's Banker." And at first you don't notice anything wrong. It certainly looks just like a Godfather movie. The music is the same. The cinematography is as florid as ever - much of the action takes place in the Vatican, so plenty of Papal red and gold. And Pacino is back to reprise his role and do the best he can with the various members of Coppola's own family wandering about on set. It's only as the film goes on that it dawns on you, horribly, that Coppola has kept the external trappings in place, while jettisoning the element of intrinsic personal nemesis wholesale. Audiences, it seems, can no longer be trusted to work things out for themselves. Any impending tragedy must be flagged up. Heavily. So Michael swears "on the life of his children." Later, during a procession, a gilded plaster Madonna is brought crashing significantly to the ground, her innocent face shattered. So many, so heavy handed are the number of ominous foreshadowings, that it's only a matter of time before you start to think of Father Ted. By the time a cardinal was assassinated, in a ludicrously melodramatic scene, and came plunging down an ornate baroque staircase, face contorted, robes billowing in gorgeous, lovingly photographed slow-mo, it was to the accompaniment of remarks from our test audience of "Ah, I think I'll just give Father Cappaldi a ring now, he's always a great laugh."
And I'm sorry, but as far as I can see, some character motivations actually make no sense, no sense whatsoever. People do evil things because ... well. Just because. To get in on the act. If you do decide, against my recommendations, to watch this movie, wait for a certain scene near the end and you'll see what I mean. So. Sorry, Mr Coppola. With all due respect, most people do agree that in Godfather parts I and II, you raised the mob movie to the level of Shakespeare. But in Godfather III, sadly, you have brought it down to the level of Italian opera.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
![The Godfather: Part III [DVD] [1990]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512KPP9BTCL._SL75_SS50_.jpg)
![The Godfather Trilogy [Blu-ray] [1972]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41R2FZI7CUL._SL75_SS50_.jpg)
![Gandhi (2 Disc Special Edition) [1982] [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41jeHGyL9HL._SL75_SS50_.jpg)
![Rashomon [1950] [Special Edition] [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51PZsI4JyYL._SL75_SS50_.jpg)
![Mad Dog and Glory [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/218WPR8T3HL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
![The Unsaid [DVD] [2002]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51S2SRH9CRL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
![Rocky 4 [DVD] [1986]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Btm5G4cjL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
![Relative Strangers [DVD] [2006]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SGgj4peUL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
![Rocky 5 [DVD] [1990]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Avv8WXvYL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
