The Godfather : Part III (1990) Film Review

The third part in The Godfather Trilogy, this film sees an aging Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) still trying to take his business straight. How? By going into business with the Vatican. Because that makes sense.

I’ve heard it said that many consider this to be the weakest of the films, yet I think it is still considered to be a good film. I dunno… I found that in the previous films, I quite liked Michael and hoped that he would come good. In this film, I felt he was too far gone – he was just so over the top, quite a caricature of who he’d been previously. And the whole Vatican story I found… quite stupid, really. I just couldn’t care less. Perhaps it was just too much Godfather in one weekend.

The Godfather : Part III was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Andy Garcia), Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction – Set Decoration, Best Film Editing and Best Music, Original Song

 

The Godfather: Part II (1974) Film Review

The Godfather: Part II tells two stories – firstly, the early days of Vito Corleone (played by Marlon Brando in The Godfather and Robert De Niro in this film) as he arrives in America as a child and his rise to power in New York; secondly, Michael Corleone’s (Al Pacino) rise and rise as he has taken over the family after his father’s death.

This was another mammoth effort of a film – two hundred minutes long. And really, it could easily have been two films. Actually, it would have been awesome as a series. Or a couple of series. As a whole, it was long, but great. I really enjoyed this one a lot more than the first. I especially enjoyed the scenes in the early days in New York. Some of the scenes in Cuba lost me a little, but I didn’t mind it too much.

The Godfather : Part II won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Robert De Niro), Best Director (Francis Ford Coppola), Best Writing, Screenplay Adapted From Other Material (Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo), Best Art Direction – Set Decoration, Best Music, Original Dramatic Score and was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Al Pacino), two nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Michael V. Gazzo, Lee Strassberg), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Talia Shire) and Best Costume Design.