‘The Godfather: Part III’: THR’s 1990 Review

Duane Byrge
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

On Dec. 20, 1990, Francis Ford Coppola unveiled The Godfather: Part III at its premiere at the Academy Theater in Beverly Hills. The film went on to gross $136 million globally and nab seven Oscar nominations at the 63rd Academy Awards. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:

It’s business, and personal. A complex depiction of Michael Corleone’s dying-days attempt to cement the family in the “legitimate” business world and attain spiritual redemption, this third installment of the Corleone Family chronicle is a full-bodied, albeit somber dramatic orchestration.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

However, legitimacy has its price — respectability exacts a grayness and a tempering of one’s style and substance — and this splendidly conceived, although often confusing saga, is itself vulnerable to the dramatic doldrums of Michael’s venture into “respectable” dominions.

The Godfather, Part III does not go to the mattresses, it goes to the boardroom, and mainstream viewers after being served up several early scene courses of the Byzantine world of international commerce will yearn for more old-Corleone action. Francis Ford Coppola’s splendidly symphonic tale, although certainly not devoid of fireworks and cannons, is a more subdued, legato movement. The public will certainly be beneficent in filling the boxoffice plates, but the substantial tithe will be more earth-bound than heavenly.

While it will be no revelation to sophisticated viewers that the Vatican’s temporal, big-business side has swum in some very muddy moral waters, it’s hard not to expect out rage over the film’s content, as the Catholic Church lays down here with the mob and, in this case, proves itself to be the less honorable partner.

The Godfather, Part III is more a character study than a “gangster” movie. It’s a brilliant portrait of the now-elderly Michael Corleone’s (Al Pacino) desperate efforts to atone for his life of crime and his most haunting transgression, the murder of his brother Fredo. He barges into good works and charity — he bestows $100 million to the Catholic Church for his beloved Sicily — but, more than anything, he’s obsessed with leaving his family on high, “legitimate” grounds, severing all business ties with the other “families.” As such, this third-part Godfather is substantively the saga’s dramatic denouement, a post-climactic wrapup of the Corleone crime years and a turn in a new direction.

Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola’s shrewd and character sensitive screenplay is a grand-scale distillation of fact-based materials as Michael Corleone enters into a clandestine pact with the Vatican to win control of the world’s largest conglomerate, of which the church holds a 25% voting interest. Necessarily, such a narrative necessitates numerous static scenes — stockholder meetings, PR functions, etc. — and Godfather III sometimes bloats under this gray ceremonial pomp. Michael Corleone now has his “war lawyers” fight his battles.

Godfather Ill‘s suit-coated side, however, is spectacularly juiced up, fortunately, when Michael’s old-world foes re-appear — ties he can’t shake. The film is at its most exciting in these violent, confrontational scenes, with Michael’s “nephew,” Sonny’s illegitimate son (Andy Garcia), flexing the family’s muscle, a role that the honored Michael has abdicated. Unfortunately, the film’s cross-cut, highly-choreographed finale may prove somewhat incomprehensible to mainstream viewers as scores of unrecognizable gunmen assassinate scores of equally-gray guys.

Al Pacino’s lead performance is Oscar-caliber, a brilliant portrait of a tormented man grasping for straws. Charismatic Andy Garcia will become a household name with his stiletto-sharp performance as the fiery family-shield bearer. Under paterfamilias Coppola’s grand guidance, all performances are generally impeccable, with highest praise to Diane Keaton for her sensitive portrayal of Michael’s estranged wife.

The film’s technical contributors, like the skilled artisans who worked on the great cathedrals, have crafted a masterwork. In this splendid case, they should not remain anonymous. Highest craft honors to Dean Tavoularis (production design), Milena Canonero (costumes), Carmine Coppola and Nino Rota (music) and Gordon Willis (director of photography). — Duane Byrge, originally published on Dec. 17, 1990.

The Godfather (1972) Review I The Godfather Part II (1974) Review

Best of The Hollywood Reporter