-YouTube had the entire episode of Al Pacino's actor's studio appearance, and it made me re-think the Godfather Part III. Out of the holy trinity of "Sequels That Torpedoed (or almost Torpedoed) Their Otherwise Profitable Film Franchise," the Godfather Part III is probably the best. (The other two, for those who don't know, are Rocky V and Star Trek V.)
It's not a horrible movie, unlike the other two. Heck, it even got an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. The film's greatest sin however (amongst many, keep reading) was that it failed to measure up to Godfather Part II. Granted, Part II is considered the greatest sequel ever made, is arguably better than the first, and the only sequel to ever win Best Picture, but still.
But what was good about the film? Let's break it down:
- the subtle characters that only hard core fans remember, like Lucy Mancini and the twins from the wedding.
- Andy Garcia as Vincent. I used to fault him because he wasn't Italian, and it was a freakin' Godfather movie, but then again, he played Sonny's illegitimate son, and James Caan isn't Italian either. (No, James Caan is not Italian. For you Italians that didn't know, please don't hurt yourselves. While we're at it, De Niro is three quarters Irish.)
- Joe Mantegna as Joey Zaza. Fat Tony himself. Four years afterwards, he was in Baby's Day Out and Airheads. Go fig.
- The scene where Michael confesses to Cardinal Lamberto about killing his brother. His father's son, his mother's son, he killed his mother's son.
- The great integration of Cavalleria Rusticana into the end. What a great way to end the film. And not just because Mary bought it. For years, Michael screaming in the end was my Al Pacino impression.
And the lows:
- The anachronistic feel of it. The film was set in the late seventies, yet it didn't feel like the late seventies. Where were the awful clothes? The horrible hair styles? The disco? The first two FELT like they were set in the 40's and the 50's. There was nothing late seventies about the film.
- Kay not having a problem with Mary being in love with her first cousin. Unbelievable. Maybe it's this Sicilian thing, something that's been going on for thousands of years, but you don't bugger your cousins. You figure that a WASP like Kay would be the first to object to this.
- Not opening up the coffers and bringing back Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen. How can you not bring back Tom? Godfather movies aren't made all the time, so just bring the man back. It's Robert Duvall!
- The guy that played Anthony Corleone is a singer, first and foremost, and not an actor. It showed.
- And finally, Sofia Coppola as Mary Corleone. I don't want to pile on the poor woman, who is a fine director, and it's not her fault that she can't act, it's daddy's fault for putting her in the movie in the first place. Yes, she was a last-minute sub for Winonna Rider, who had to drop out of filming, and yes, she actually looks like she might be the offspring of Al Pacino and Diane Keaton, but wow, she rewrote the book on how to totally distract the viewer from the rest of the movie via a horrible performance. (close second, Natalia Portman in any Star Wars movie.)
It's not a horrible movie, unlike the other two. Heck, it even got an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. The film's greatest sin however (amongst many, keep reading) was that it failed to measure up to Godfather Part II. Granted, Part II is considered the greatest sequel ever made, is arguably better than the first, and the only sequel to ever win Best Picture, but still.
But what was good about the film? Let's break it down:
- the subtle characters that only hard core fans remember, like Lucy Mancini and the twins from the wedding.
- Andy Garcia as Vincent. I used to fault him because he wasn't Italian, and it was a freakin' Godfather movie, but then again, he played Sonny's illegitimate son, and James Caan isn't Italian either. (No, James Caan is not Italian. For you Italians that didn't know, please don't hurt yourselves. While we're at it, De Niro is three quarters Irish.)
- Joe Mantegna as Joey Zaza. Fat Tony himself. Four years afterwards, he was in Baby's Day Out and Airheads. Go fig.
- The scene where Michael confesses to Cardinal Lamberto about killing his brother. His father's son, his mother's son, he killed his mother's son.
- The great integration of Cavalleria Rusticana into the end. What a great way to end the film. And not just because Mary bought it. For years, Michael screaming in the end was my Al Pacino impression.
And the lows:
- The anachronistic feel of it. The film was set in the late seventies, yet it didn't feel like the late seventies. Where were the awful clothes? The horrible hair styles? The disco? The first two FELT like they were set in the 40's and the 50's. There was nothing late seventies about the film.
- Kay not having a problem with Mary being in love with her first cousin. Unbelievable. Maybe it's this Sicilian thing, something that's been going on for thousands of years, but you don't bugger your cousins. You figure that a WASP like Kay would be the first to object to this.
- Not opening up the coffers and bringing back Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen. How can you not bring back Tom? Godfather movies aren't made all the time, so just bring the man back. It's Robert Duvall!
- The guy that played Anthony Corleone is a singer, first and foremost, and not an actor. It showed.
- And finally, Sofia Coppola as Mary Corleone. I don't want to pile on the poor woman, who is a fine director, and it's not her fault that she can't act, it's daddy's fault for putting her in the movie in the first place. Yes, she was a last-minute sub for Winonna Rider, who had to drop out of filming, and yes, she actually looks like she might be the offspring of Al Pacino and Diane Keaton, but wow, she rewrote the book on how to totally distract the viewer from the rest of the movie via a horrible performance. (close second, Natalia Portman in any Star Wars movie.)
posted by J. Yeh | 15:51
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