Product Details

• Actors: Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy Garcia, Eli Wallach
• Format: Color, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English, German, Italian, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Paramount
• DVD Release Date: May 24, 2005
• Run Time: 162 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (235 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0007Y08NI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,289 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "The Godfather, Part III (Widescreen Edition)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Sixteen years after Francis Ford Coppola won his second Oscar for The Godfather II (his first was for the 1972 Godfather), the director and star Al Pacino attempted to revive the concept one more time. Despite an elaborate plot that involves Michael Corleone seeking redemption through the Vatican while simultaneously preparing his nephew (Andy Garcia) to take over the Corleone family, the film fails to take shape as a truly meaningful experience in the way the preceding movies do. Still, Pacino is very moving as an elder Michael, filled with regret and trying hard to make amends with his wife (Diane Keaton) and grown children (one of whom is played, and not all that well, by the director's daughter, Sofia Coppola). --Tom Keogh

Product Description

In this third film in the epic Corleone trilogy, Al Pacino reprises the role of powerful family leader Michael Corleone. Now in his 60's, Michael is dominated by two passions: freeing his family from crime and finding a suitable successor. That successor could be fiery Vincent (Andy Garcia)... but he may also be the spark that turns Michael's hope of business legitimacy into an inferno of mob violence.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 84 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Please, No Godfather IV April 15, 2005

By Robert Morris HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

I have seen this film several times, all the way through or in parts. Frankly, I have mixed emotions about it because, when discussing it, I want to be fair and focus on it as a discrete film, judging it on its own terms; however, for me at least, that is impossible because it is the third of three Godfather films and its two predecessors are masterpieces. I cannot exclude vivid memories of scenes and even comments from films I first saw 18 and then 14 years before seeing this one for the first time in 1990. OK, that's my challenge. I finally decided to try to rate it on its own terms, hence the Three Stars. What it has going for it includes Pacino's talent, several plausible conflicts, brilliant cinematography, and a tone of melancholy which is consistent throughout the narrative. After years of broken promises to wife Kay (Diane Keaton), Michael has almost completed a process by which to extricate himself and his family from organized crime. However, his marriage has ended, mortal enemies remain such as Altobello (Eli Wallach) and Joey Zaza (Joe Montegna), his negotiations with the Vatican encounter unexpected complications, and finally, his physical health is poor as pressures and tensions in his life intensify. It is no wonder that he suffers a diabetic attack in his kitchen ("Just when I think I'm out....") from which he never fully recovers.

However, the film has several problems. One concerns the lack of a primary plot to give the narrative cohesion. There are hundreds of individual episodes in The Godfather and Godfather Part II (as in other films such as Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago) but they are coordinated effectively. Not so of the episodes in this film. Sofia Coppola's performance as Mary Corleone has been savaged by most critics. In fact, she is reputed to be a late replacement for Wynona Rider, had no prior acting experience in films, and was given a role as trivial as Anne Archer's in the three Jack Ryan films. I will not join others in bashing her. Another of the film's flaws is director Coppola and the three screenwriters' failure to do more with the role of Vincent Mancini (Andy Garcia). So many missed opportunities as Garcia's great talents are under-utilized, especially when on-screen with his obviously exhausted Uncle Michael. The illegitimate son of Santino ("Sonny") Corleone, Vincent is only occasionally allowed to show some of his father's passion, providing energy which this film desperately needs and otherwise lacks.

The jumpy plot and underdeveloped characters are, in my opinion, this film's major weakness but it has several fine moments as when Vincent challenges Zaza, when Michael meets with Cardinal Lamberto (Raf Vallone), the deadly sequence as the performance in the opera house proceeds to its conclusion, and the final scene when Michael reflects upon his empty life. Judged only on its own terms, Three Stars. Let's all hope that there will be no Part IV.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT. December 14, 2008

By Paco Calderón

Format:DVD

The first time I saw it, I felt disappointed. Several viewings later, I thought it wasn't so bad -not as good as the first two, but not bad. Last night I saw the trilogy non-stop, and yes, it is THAT bad. Here's what's wrong with it:

1.- Tom Hagen. He's crucial and he's missing. There's no Godfather III without him. And if Paramount didn't want to pay Robert Duvall whatever he wanted to reprise his role, they should quit show business altogether. Instead we get George Hamilton! What were they thinking, the penny-pincher idiots!

2.- Michael Corleone. Not the same guy. Sure, Al Pacino plays him, but unfortunately, he forgot everything about the character. Michael Corelone doesn't "love public speech"; he's a soft spoken, cold blooded, silent maniac who feels a fish out of water at weddings, first communions, baptisms, New Year's Eve, anything except funerals. A guy that seldom talks and never reveals his emotions. Here, he's a gregarious and bombastic party guy who yells all the time, talks all the time, curses, dances, mingles, counsels all the time. He's more Tony Montana than Michael Corleone. Not the same guy, I tell you. The hairdo doesn't help, either.

3.- Mary Corleone. Too ugly. Sorry; no offense, but that's it. Her character is a princess; it deserved a knockout beauty. Or... the part should have been changed to an ugly duckling in love with her handsome relative, a S.O.B. who uses her to climb to the top while fooling around on the side. But such as it is, both the part and the actress are simply not believable. And Ms Coppola can't act, by the way. I'm glad she turned out to be a magnificent filmmaker.

4.- Vincent Corleone. Too remote. Sonny's bastard boy. Mmmmmm, I dunno...too many heirs in front of him in line of succession. What happened to them? Coppola doesn't mention. Andy Garcia makes a terrific Corleone, but his part seems implausible. The obvious role was for him to play Connie's boy, Carlo Rizzi Jr, who happened to be Michael's first godson! Then everything falls into place: Carlo hates his godfather for having wacked his dad; Michael has a weak spot for him for the same reason, Mary has a fatal crush on her weasel cousin, he gets far too ambitious... see what I mean?

5.-Don Altobello. Altowho? Where was him in the previous films? If he was Connie's Godfather, why wasn't he at the wedding? And how come he knows Don Luchese? And who is Don Luchese? As for the actor, Eli Wallach plays the part with gusto; a coniving Sicillian Tuco. I loved it!

6.- The Vatican plot. Too murky, too preposterous. Coppola wanted to exploit the Banco Ambrosiano affair? Fine with me. Pope John Paul I strange and sudden death? Fine with me. Wanted to say that the Church is a bigger, meaner mafia than the mob itself? No problemo. But the Immobiliare thing gets far too confused, and one senses Coppola doesn't know where he's going or wants to. For such grand statements, he should have refined his story to perfection. By the way, both Pope Paul VI and John Paul I died in 1978, not 1979. Holy Blooper!

So there you have it. A movie made merely for the money, by people who have grown to hate the previous two. Not a good start by any standard. I heard Coppola was so fed up with the Corleones, he wanted to make "Abbott & Costello meet the Godfather". Well, if his heart was really into it ...Harvey Korman was around, Buddy Hackett was around, Marlon Brando was around ...he should have made it instead!

35 of 44 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic -- like Parts I and II January 28, 2000

By "rhodgelaw"

Format:VHS Tape

Some critics complain that Sofia Coppola was inexperienced for such a big role. I disagree. Ms. Coppola's inexperience helped her play the character of Mary more convincingly. While it is true she sometimes seemed rather "valley girl," this shouldn't be surprising. Michael did his best to shelter her from the harsh realities of life in the Corleone Family, and the upbringing and guidance from her father came across in her portrayal of Mary.

Another criticism is Michael's quest for redemption... that such a notion does not square with the character in Parts I and II. Again, I disagree. Recall Michael wanted nothing to do with the Family Business in Part I. His father had hopes he might become "Senator Corleone... Governor Corleone," but this was not to be. Michael had to step in for the sake of his family. This necessity does not change the fact that at one time he was a good son, who simply wanted to become a math professor, marry, and have a family. In Part II, he obviously put this notion behind him, but there must have been a part of the "old Dartmouth Michael" lurking somewhere deep inside.

In the years following the end of Part II in 1959, Michael took steps to legitimize the Corleones by getting out of illegitimate businesses. That done, he sought forgiveness for the wrongs he'd done. Had he not been betrayed in Part III, he would have likely found the redemption and peace he sought on a personal level. In addition, the Corleone Family would have been the legitimate family enterprise that would preserve and protect future generations of Corleones, as well as reform Vatican finances. This would have fulfilled his father's dream.

Some say the opera scene was too long. I disagree, and think it was both moving and beautiful. We're watching scenes from a violent opera that had a sub-theme of revenge. At the same time the opera is being performed on the stage, a real opera is about to take place in the audience. The music from "Cavalleria Rusticana" is perfect for this film - especially the final, moving scene in the courtyard of Michael's villa.

I'd say Part III is the "third best" of the series, but it is worth owning and watching, over and over again. The film should have received some academy awards, and I'll never understand why it didn't.