4 ms·

People always say that about Godfather 3, I always wonder if it’s just a thing to say because he put his own daughter in a lead role. Like the critics, I liked

People always say that about Godfather 3, I always wonder if it’s just a thing to say because he put his own daughter in a lead role. Like the critics, I liked it. Not nearly as much as II or I but still. It is a nineties movie though, it’s even different media wise, less grainy. Casting his own daughter when I think, Winona Ryder, dropped out was very nepotistic; and she’s a better director than actress. For me Garcia steals the show though, channeling Sonny and the ‘they pull me back in scene’ is amazing. I don’t know what my point is..

rg111 5y ago
I also liked Godfather III, but not as much as I or II. I see the third part as a portrayal of changing of times. Gone are the days of past, the time has changed, and so has characters and the story.
- pyuser583 5y ago
  It’s a good movie if you don’t hold it up to part I and II.
nocommandline 5y ago
I don't think it's because he put his daughter in it. Godfather I & II is based on the Book written by Mario Puzzo. Godfather III is not based on the book. Think of it from the POV of - wow, I & II were quite successful so let's milk it and see if we can make money with another sequel.
- bryanrasmussen 5y ago
  >Godfather I & II is based on the Book written by Mario Puzzo. ever read the book? It's a dog.
  - rwmj 5y ago
    I disagree, I thought the book was excellent.
  - barry-cotter 5y ago
    It’s very good pulp with at least one pointless side plot. If you’ve never read something that’s actually bad you might consider that a dog.
    - bryanrasmussen 5y ago
      Ok I guess dog is overstating it when there are Mack Bolan books out there, but on the other hand it is definitely not that you can point to the movies and say Well of course they're masterpieces! Just look at the book!
  - mhb 5y ago
    I don't think it's that bad, but it definitely gives the impression of having been written with the intention of it being made into a movie. It's worth reading to appreciate the many modifications that transformed it from a mediocre novel into a brilliant movie.
voidfunc 5y ago
Bingo. Gf3 is a good movie, the problem is Gf1 and Gf2 are to put it simply, masterpieces. Short of a masterpiece, there was no way for Gf3 to compete. For what it is worth, the recent remaster of Gf3, Gf3: Coda improves the storytelling of Gf3 significantly and I would say makes the movie considerably better, but it is still not competitive with Gf1 and Gf2. That said, I really recommend everyone watch the Coda remaster at this point and do it with an open mind.
filmgirlcw 5y ago
> Casting his own daughter when I think, Winona Ryder, dropped out was very nepotistic; and she’s a better director than actress. While I'll agree Sofia is a much better director than actress (she’s a truly outstanding writer and director) and that Ryder would have been better (Coppola later did work with her on Bram Stoker's Dracula), I’m not going to be mad at him casting his daughter or even blaming it on nepotism. After all, all the previous examples of nepotism, like working with his father, his sister, his brother-in-law, his nephew, etc worked out quite well. Like, the whole Coppola family thing is that they all work together and hire each other. She wasn’t a great actress, but I don’t think she’s want sunk that film. The truth is, any film in a series coming 15 years after two of the greatest films of all time (and the rare sequel that is arguably better than the original, which was already a masterpiece) would have an impossible standard to live up to. Even if Godfather III was a perfect film, I’m not sure it could live up to the hype that the first two carried, especially after 15 years. And it wasn’t a perfect film. It’s not a piece of garbage but it isn’t in the same league as the other two, which again, are two of the absolute greatest films of all time. But seeing how successful nepotism has been for the Coppola family, I think blaming his teenage daughter is fairly weak.
- richardfey 5y ago
  There have probably been better character analysis done, but I think Sofia did not have the time to "soak in" GF1 and GF2 to give her character any specific nuance that we could love. It's difficult to separate "blandness" and purity in her rendering of the daughter of the godfather, but consider also this: she was not a seasoned actress, and there were very few ways you could interpret this role in a great and memorable way (because of the unreachable success of GF1 and GF2, as others mentioned). TL; DR: it was a hard first role for a young actress
  - helloworld11 5y ago
    Hard role or not, first-time actress or not, and all nuance aside, she just acted terribly, full stop. Her acting was very nearly the definition of high school theater mediocrity and simply awful in virtually every scene. It would have looked bad in a completely average movie with completely average (but not bad) actors. But to watch her "act" in scenes with people like Pacino and in the case of this movie, especially Andy Garcia, it's just actoral travesty. I don't mind the Godfather III. It's not nearly the movie its predecessors were but it's also not nearly as bad as some claim, but during any scene with Coppola in it, I literally need to skip forward to avoid the sheer cringe effect she creates with her dialogue, facial expressions and gestures..

rg111 5y ago

I also liked Godfather III, but not as much as I or II. I see the third part as a portrayal of changing of times. Gone are the days of past, the time has changed, and so has characters and the story.

pyuser583 5y ago
It’s a good movie if you don’t hold it up to part I and II.

nocommandline 5y ago

I don't think it's because he put his daughter in it. Godfather I & II is based on the Book written by Mario Puzzo. Godfather III is not based on the book. Think of it from the POV of - wow, I & II were quite successful so let's milk it and see if we can make money with another sequel.

bryanrasmussen 5y ago
>Godfather I & II is based on the Book written by Mario Puzzo. ever read the book? It's a dog.
- rwmj 5y ago
  I disagree, I thought the book was excellent.
- barry-cotter 5y ago
  It’s very good pulp with at least one pointless side plot. If you’ve never read something that’s actually bad you might consider that a dog.
  - bryanrasmussen 5y ago
    Ok I guess dog is overstating it when there are Mack Bolan books out there, but on the other hand it is definitely not that you can point to the movies and say Well of course they're masterpieces! Just look at the book!
- mhb 5y ago
  I don't think it's that bad, but it definitely gives the impression of having been written with the intention of it being made into a movie. It's worth reading to appreciate the many modifications that transformed it from a mediocre novel into a brilliant movie.

voidfunc 5y ago

Bingo. Gf3 is a good movie, the problem is Gf1 and Gf2 are to put it simply, masterpieces. Short of a masterpiece, there was no way for Gf3 to compete. For what it is worth, the recent remaster of Gf3, Gf3: Coda improves the storytelling of Gf3 significantly and I would say makes the movie considerably better, but it is still not competitive with Gf1 and Gf2. That said, I really recommend everyone watch the Coda remaster at this point and do it with an open mind.

filmgirlcw 5y ago

> Casting his own daughter when I think, Winona Ryder, dropped out was very nepotistic; and she’s a better director than actress. While I'll agree Sofia is a much better director than actress (she’s a truly outstanding writer and director) and that Ryder would have been better (Coppola later did work with her on Bram Stoker's Dracula), I’m not going to be mad at him casting his daughter or even blaming it on nepotism. After all, all the previous examples of nepotism, like working with his father, his sister, his brother-in-law, his nephew, etc worked out quite well. Like, the whole Coppola family thing is that they all work together and hire each other. She wasn’t a great actress, but I don’t think she’s want sunk that film. The truth is, any film in a series coming 15 years after two of the greatest films of all time (and the rare sequel that is arguably better than the original, which was already a masterpiece) would have an impossible standard to live up to. Even if Godfather III was a perfect film, I’m not sure it could live up to the hype that the first two carried, especially after 15 years. And it wasn’t a perfect film. It’s not a piece of garbage but it isn’t in the same league as the other two, which again, are two of the absolute greatest films of all time. But seeing how successful nepotism has been for the Coppola family, I think blaming his teenage daughter is fairly weak.

richardfey 5y ago
There have probably been better character analysis done, but I think Sofia did not have the time to "soak in" GF1 and GF2 to give her character any specific nuance that we could love. It's difficult to separate "blandness" and purity in her rendering of the daughter of the godfather, but consider also this: she was not a seasoned actress, and there were very few ways you could interpret this role in a great and memorable way (because of the unreachable success of GF1 and GF2, as others mentioned). TL; DR: it was a hard first role for a young actress
- helloworld11 5y ago
  Hard role or not, first-time actress or not, and all nuance aside, she just acted terribly, full stop. Her acting was very nearly the definition of high school theater mediocrity and simply awful in virtually every scene. It would have looked bad in a completely average movie with completely average (but not bad) actors. But to watch her "act" in scenes with people like Pacino and in the case of this movie, especially Andy Garcia, it's just actoral travesty. I don't mind the Godfather III. It's not nearly the movie its predecessors were but it's also not nearly as bad as some claim, but during any scene with Coppola in it, I literally need to skip forward to avoid the sheer cringe effect she creates with her dialogue, facial expressions and gestures..