What was your favorite Godfather film?

[fonzob1]

3. The Godfather Part III - I had the unique experience of seeing this before I saw the first two Godfather films, so I think I like it more than most people I know.
2. The Godfather
1. The Godfather Part II - this was a tough call but seeing Michael Corleone come into his own and get revenge on his enemies pushed it over the edge to #1

 

[Relayer1]

One.

Two's great, even if it has De Niro in it (I just don't like him as an actor) but he's good in it. It's just not as good as one, which is imho an absolutely perfect film. Even Caan's good in it !

Three's nowhere near as bad as it's supposed.

Can we have four now please ?

Four should fill in the years between the propper end of three and the tagged on death sene.

 

[fonzob1]

Three's nowhere near as bad as it's supposed.

I agree. I thought it was a great mafia film overall. It just gets flak because it lives in the shadows of the first two. My only major complaint with 3 is that Robert Duvall was not in it. He didn't make the budget because he wanted as much money as Diane Keaton was getting. Personally, I would have bumped Diane Keaton and brought Robert Duvall on instead. Keaton didn't really have that big of a roll in the movie anyhow.

Can we have four now please ?

Four should fill in the years between the propper end of three and the tagged on death sene.

Part IV was rumored at one point in time. But, the fact that Mario Puzo died in 1999 probably means we will never see a 4. I would have totally been on board with a 4 if Puzo had lived to write it.

 

[EnriqueH]

The first one.

I just love that the Corleone family seems in its prime, and the characters are all with us----Vito, Sonny, Clemenza.

I love Part II as well. When I saw the first one, Clemenza was one of my favorite characters and I was really disappointed that we don't see him in the 'present day' scenes in II.

I like III. When I saw it recently again, I thought Pacino was too Pacino and not Michael enough, but I still say it's an underrated film.

It is my least favorite of the III overall, thought I really enjoyed the climax at the opera. Some good suspense there.

 

[fonzob1]

I like III. When I saw it recently again, I thought Pacino was too Pacino and not Michael enough, but I still say it's an underrated film.

That is a good point. Michael Corleone kind of evolved into Al Pacino a little bit in that 3rd movie. I preferred the reserved, cool, and collected Michael Corleone we saw in part II.

 

[HIjol]

Jeezus, they all rock, in their own way! I agree withn Enrique about the Family in their prime, but Diniro in II, whoa. Andy Garcia smolders in III and, ah, shit, I was gonna wash the windows this weekend, but now I gotta go watch the Trilogy..

 

[Joel_Kirk]

The first one was my favorite, the second one was a bit boring and literally dark (very possibly a cinematography call) with the exception of the Robert DeNiro scenes, and the third was 'interesting' although not as solid as the first. That particular scene with Pacino crying over the death of his daughter was a bit over-the-top for me.

I know Coppola was rumored to want to do a fourth film with DiCaprio post-Titanic, but nothing ever came of that.

 

[EnriqueH]

I've read from a few sources over the years, (don't ask me where, because I don't remember), that they WERE developing a FOURTH film, but that Coppola abandoned the idea when Puzo passed away.

Now that I think about it, Coppola MIGHT have addressed the FOURTH film in the DVD commentaries, but don't quote me on that since it has been about 10 years since I've listened to those commentaries.

 

[Relayer1]

I know Coppola was rumored to want to do a fourth film with DiCaprio post-Titanic, but nothing ever came of that.

No, they must not let DiCaprio anywhere near a Godfather film. Four if it ever happens, should be Andy Garcia's.

 

[fonzob1]

I know Coppola was rumored to want to do a fourth film with DiCaprio post-Titanic, but nothing ever came of that.

No, they must not let DiCaprio anywhere near a Godfather film. Four if it ever happens, should be Andy Garcia's.

DiCaprio could have a smaller part. But, Garcia was obviously the new Godfather at the end. So, of course it's Garcia's movie.

Also, Al Pacino's acting has gone steadily downhill since "Scent of a Woman," so I really think the window of opportunity for a decent Godfather IV has long past (even with someone new writing it). I could be wrong though.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I've read from a few sources over the years, (don't ask me where, because I don't remember), that they WERE developing a FOURTH film, but that Coppola abandoned the idea when Puzo passed away.

As I understand it, Ed Falco's novel, The Family Corleone, is based on Puzo's script for The Godfather, Part IV. If the rumors that Coppola wanted to cast Leonardo DiCaprio as Sonny are true, I can believe that.

ETA: A three-year-old USA Today article confirms my understanding; it says that the book was adapted from "unproduced portions of the screenplays of Godfather 3 and 4, both written by Puzo, who died in 1999." I'm not sure what the book has in common with Part III, though.

 

[fonzob1]

I've read from a few sources over the years, (don't ask me where, because I don't remember), that they WERE developing a FOURTH film, but that Coppola abandoned the idea when Puzo passed away.

As I understand it, Ed Falco's novel, The Family Corleone, is based on Puzo's script for The Godfather, Part IV. If the rumors that Coppola wanted to cast Leonardo DiCaprio as Sonny are true, I can believe that.

ETA: A three-year-old USA Today article confirms my understanding; it says that the book was adapted from "unproduced portions of the screenplays of Godfather 3 and 4, both written by Puzo, who died in 1999." I'm not sure what the book has in common with Part III, though.

Hmmm...so is this like a prequel, or it has flashbacks (ala, Godfather Part II)? To be honest with you, while I do like some of Dicaprio's work, I wouldn't put the part of Sonny in his hands. I can't see him in that role.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Hmmm...so is this like a prequel, or it has flashbacks (ala, Godfather Part II)? To be honest with you, while I do like some of Dicaprio's work, I wouldn't put the part of Sonny in his hands. I can't see him in that role.

The Family Corleone is a straight-up prequel to The Godfather. It's largely about the building of the Corleone crime family and the childhoods/young adulthoods of Sonny, Fredo, and Michael.

What I remember hearing about The Godfather, Part IV in the 90s was that it was going to be split like The Godfather, Part II -- flashbacks to Sonny in the past, Andy Garcia in the present. That's what we don't have now, whatever the post-Godfather, Part III story would have been.

 

[Mojochi]

Two is my favorite, but only because of how it relates to the 1st, the dynamic shift of the two Corleone's, the juxtaposition of how everything Vito did was to build a life for his family, and no matter what Michael did, it ended with the family taking a back seat to the business, his wife, his children, and eventually his brother. That he lost the family because he lost sight of how important it was to the business

" It was a son, Michael. A SON! And I had it killed, because this must all end!"

That might be the cruelest "hit" in any mob movie ever. With the loss of his heir, and his brothers, his parents, an ostracized wife and children. I felt the story was concluded. I never understood the need for a third film. It all just seemed like a run-on sentence. The point's already been made

Don't get me wrong. The 1st is still a perfect film. I just find the story of the unlikely son becoming the Don holds my interest less over the years than the story of two generations equating to the rise and fall of the regime,

and so much nuance in the dialog. Things being said but something else being meant. A film that' s intent is all read between the lines. Say the opposite of what you mean. Make the listener interpret the meaning

"I don't want anything to happen to him... While my mother is alive" instead of saying he's to be killed once my mother is dead. It's really quite brilliant

 

[fonzob1]

Although Godfather III is not as good a film as the first two, it does fit in the story arc. The Godfather series is the rise and fall of Michael Corleone. He peeks during part II, and he loses his daughter and his will to lead the family in part III.

 

[Mojochi]

It still felt like an addendum to me. The clear intent of the 2nd was to imply that Michael had ended the family, by losing sight of its importance. No heir. No future.

To say that The Godfather series is ultimately the story of the rise and fall of Michael does a disservice to both other films, wherein Vito is also a driving force

 

[fonzob1]

To say that The Godfather series is ultimately the story of the rise and fall of Michael does a disservice to both other films, wherein Vito is also a driving force

I never implied that there were not other significant characters in the story arc. I am just pointing out that the three films together do show the rise and fall of Michael Corleone, and I felt that Godfather part III had its place in that arc.

 

[EnriqueH]

I've read the argument "III was unnecessary" before, but I have to admit that I don't totally understand that philosophy. I kinda do and don't.

I get that Michael lost sight of what was more important, but I don't completely see why it makes a third film unnecessary.

 

[Mojochi]

I've read the argument "III was unnecessary" before, but I have to admit that I don't totally understand that philosophy. I kinda do and don't.

I get that Michael lost sight of what was more important, but I don't completely see why it makes a third film unnecessary.

Well, and this is just an opinion, but 1 & 2 are a complete unit unto themselves. The tale of a family, that roots its story in the juxtaposed philosophies of it's two patriarchs. The former being a tale of the failure of Vito, who intended his eldest to succeed him, and had never intended his youngest to do so, and of how it was destined that Michael come to power the way he did, not because he was the smartest, but because he was the most cold & calculated. Fredo was naive & Sonny was ill-tempered, and it is that attribute of Michael's which shapes the future of the family. Pt. 1 is the reign of Vito & the rise of Michael

Pt. 2 is the B side, the reign of Michael & the rise of Vito, told in flashback. It is the tale of how something as powerful as a mafia crime empire can be built from the simple beginnings of a man intending to make a good life for his family, and how that same powerful empire can be brought to an end by the failure to recognize the importance of that family

The story of the Corleone empire and its two patriarchs is two sides of a coin, night & day. A coin doesn't have 3 sides. The 3rd film is a faint echo of the 1st, with different set dressing. Half sequel, half reboot, or whatever they call that, when they carry on the same story with new faces. It's generally considered a weaker film than the others. Well, why is that?

The acting from Pacino & Garcia is wonderful. The cinematic production values from the director are just as good. As a stand-alone film, pt. 3 is not all that bad. As a chapter in the Corleone saga, it is a coda at best, and ultimately a let down, because the whole point of it was established already at the end of the previous film anyhow. By the end of pt. 2, the history is in the book. The writing is on the wall, as they say.

To push that story onward, the way they did is really just a gratuitous money grab. They might as well have done a 4th , at that point, to at least give closure to this new ill-conceived element they introduced. That's why people want a 4th. The story was done. They added something they didn't need to, and it left people felling like it was open ended. Pt. 3 is a new coin that people want the flip side of, but I think the whole addition is unneeded. It's not a serial, especially if it's only to tell how a new Don comes to power. It's a contained story about how two patriarchs are the lords of their shared family at different times. Godly fathers.

That's my take on it. I suppose the notion of a "3rd film" in and of itself isn't categorically unnecessary, but the addition of this 3rd film is, and I personally can't think of a 3rd that would be necessary

 

[Relayer1]

As far as I know, four would have been split between young Sonny and Andy Garcia's reign as Godfather. It would have been the rise and fall of the Corleone family. Garcia's Don was to get the family involved in narcotics, and things go downhill from there.

It sounded a bit of a downbeat end and I just don't see DiCaprio as young Sonny, but I'd still love to see the story finished.