The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone arrived in 2020, and while the 30th anniversary recut doesn't change much about the plot of the final Godfather movie, there are some key differences between The Godfather Part III and Coda. 1990's The Godfather Part III has always been a controversial addition to the masterful saga, with a decidedly mixed reaction. Coppola is no stranger to refurbishing the last Godfather film, as he'd previously released The Godfather Part III: Final Director's Cut in 1991. The Godfather Coda took another look at the maligned threequel with another extensive edit.

The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone does not make drastic changes to the original narrative. Instead, Coppola's edits bring about a significant tonal shift to The Godfather Trilogy, adding a sense of purpose missing in the original film. This is not Coppola’s first attempt to tinker with the third movie, as the film’s home video release added an eight-minute exposition to the theatrical cut. The title of The Godfather Coda is meant to highlight that the third Godfather is an epilogue to the previous movies rather than a continuation, and the edit attempts to make that more apparent.

The Godfather Coda: Changes In Length And Narrative Pacing

The Godfather 3 2020 Recut Is Four Minutes Shorter

The Godfather Coda has been slimmed down to a watch time of 158 minutes, as opposed to the original which ran a total of 162 minutes. Apart from this, Coppola has slightly tweaked the film’s pacing, as the reordering and complete absence of certain scenes add an aura of narrative clarity.

The Godfather trilogy actor Diane Keaton has stated that these changes are bound to make critics and audiences reconsider the creative merit of the last entry in the trilogy. Most of the edits are slight prunings, wherein scenes commence midway and cut off earlier, granting a better momentum to the plot and The Godfather Part III as a whole.

The Godfather Coda: Changes To The Opening Sequence

A Scene From 40 Minutes Into The Godfather 3 Opens The Coda Cut

The first words that greet audiences in The Godfather Coda are: “Don Corleone, I need your help.” This mirrors the iconic opening of The Godfather, wherein Don Corleone (Marlon Brando) is greeted by Amerigo Bonasera. The Godfather Part III opens with Michael’s (Al Pacino) abandoned Lake Tahoe Vegas compound and the presence of Mary (Sofia Coppola) and Tony (Franc D’Ambrosio) in the papal commendation ceremony. The lavish celebrations that follow serve to establish key dynamics within The Godfather's Corleone family, and the plot circling Vincent Mancini (Andy García).

The Godfather Coda opens with an entreaty from the archbishop, a scene which appeared in the original at around the 40-minute mark. The placement of this particular scene in the opening provides a solid foundation for the Coda cut, as everything that follows seems to seamlessly spring forth naturally from this interesting exchange. The omission of certain introductory scenes effectively eliminates unnecessary narrative baggage, as they only served to alienate audiences further in the theatrical cut of The Godfather Part III.

Moreover, the placement of this scene also brings greater clarity to Michael’s psyche, and the inner workings of his mind, when he demands a controlling interest in the Immobiliare conglomerate. The overarching theme of forgiveness and expiation for Michael is also introduced in the dialogue, setting the focus of The Godfather Coda from the get-go.

The Godfather Coda: Alterations In The Final Ending Shot

The Ending Of The Coda Cut Denies Michael Corleone's Redemption

The Godfather Part II had ended with Michael sitting in utter silence outside the Tahoe compound, alienated from humanity, cut off from any semblance of the stoic yet gentle Michael introduced in The Godfather. 20 years later, in The Godfather III, Michael desires redemption for his sins, especially for the assassination of his brother, Fredo. After Mary gets shot, the film ends with Al Pacino's Michael, old, solitary, and stricken with grief and guilt, dying unceremoniously while slumping over.

This is completely taken out in The Godfather Coda, which ends with Michael’s harrowing silent screams after the loss of his daughter, and the montage of women whose lives were marred due to him in one way or another, namely Kay, Mary, and Apollonia. This editorial decision adds profoundness to the new ending, placing Michael Corleone in a position that denies him redemption of any kind but instead further exacerbates his spiritual anguish.

The Godfather Coda: Changes That Were Not Made In The New Cut

The 30th Anniversary Godfather Part 3 Kept Some Of Its Worst Elements

It's also important to address the changes that weren't made to The Godfather Coda, especially those that contributed to the criticism of the original. The absence of Robert Duvall in The Godfather Part III cast still holds the film back, as Coppola had originally meant to solidify Tom as a moral and emotional counterpoint to Michael, a nuance that could have greatly improved the film.

Sofia Coppola's awkward scenes as Mary Corleone, whose death is supposed to add a heavy emotional weight to the film, have always been a point of critique too. Coppola did trim these down, but her performance still makes for an uneven watch. However, some scenes are imbued with new meaning, such as the vacation sequence in Sicily and the reconnection between Michael and Kay, which now appears tinged with a bittersweet melancholy.

Did The Coda Cut Changes Improve Godfather III?

Coppola's Changes To The Godfather Part III Made It Better

All in all, the tweaks and changes that Coppola made to The Godfather Part III in his 2020 cut seem to have been for the better. The streamlined narrative, slight reduction of Mary's appearances, reordering of key information, and change to Michael's ending all help the film feel more intentional. As the final installment of The Godfather trilogy, this feeling of purpose and finality is exactly what was missing when the film first came out back in 1990.

At the same time, The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone is still far from a perfect movie and doesn't fix the most glaring issues with the original. Granted, these problems (namely, Robert Duvall's absence and Sofia Coppola's presence) are impossible to fix at this point, but it's still hard to stack The Godfather Part III up against its predecessors, which remain nearly infallible classics to this day. The short answer is that the Coda cut did improve The Godfather Part III, but no amount of improvement will ever make it truly shine in the context of its forebears.

Why Francis Ford Coppola Made Coda In The First Place

The Director Wanted To Revisit The Godfather Part III With A New Title

Francis Ford Coppola's interest in revisiting The Godfather Coda is a bit surprising as Coppola never wanted The Godfather sequels at all. In an interview about The Godfather Coda (via NY Times), Coppola its even The Godfather Part II, which won Best Picture and Best Director Oscars, was not something he was interested in. He only took The Godfather Part III because he was in a tough financial position at the time. However, he its that he was compelled to return to re-edit the movie as it felt like unfinished business.

Coppola its it was the title of the movie that started him on the path to taking another look, as he had always wanted to name the third movie, The Death of Michael Corleone. Coppola says "It was the thread hanging out of the sock that annoyed me, so that led me to pull on that thread."

The result was him reworking the poorly received Godfather Part III and identifying some of the issues that he decided needed to be addressed to improve it all. Despite the changes, Coppola is also aware the new version will not fully change the opinion on The Godfather Part III as with any movie that comes out, "whatever the reaction is will define it for its entire life."

How The Godfather Coda Compares To Other Director's Cuts

Zack Snyder And Ridley Scott Are Other Directors Have Revisited Their Older Movies

Director's cuts are a controversial thing in the movie world as there are some who feel the released movie should be taken on its own merits without the ability to return to the story later and make adjustments. However, there have been a number of notable director cuts over the years that many would argue are worthwhile and greatly improve movies where the original vision of the filmmaker was hindered during the production. While The Godfather Coda was a slight improvement, there are other examples that greatly change the quality of a movie.

Ridley Scott has become well-known as a director who can improve the quality of his movies through his director's cuts. Blade Runner is a prime example as the theatrical release is now widely considered the worst of the Blade Runner. Blade Runner: The Final Cut is largely accepted as the true version of the movie as Scott was able to by the worried studio who felt audiences would be confused by the heavy sci-fi story. Similarly, following Kingdom of Heaven's lackluster reception, Scott's director's cut has been praised as a masterpiece.

A more modern look at director's cuts, Justice League represents an interesting circumstance in which fan demand led to Zack Snyder being able to return to complete his superhero team-up movie. Snyder was replaced by Joss Whedon once the studio decided they wanted a lighter tone similar to the MCU movies. While Snyder's previous DC films received mixed responses, Zack Snyder's Justice League was hailed as a vast improvement over Whedon's colorful take.

However, there are instances in which a director's cut can actually result in a less effective version of the movie. Walter Hill returned to his classic crime movie The Warriors for a director's cut that, among other things, added comic book s. While it is something Hill wouldn't have been able to do at the time, many found it unnecessary.

While Coppola's take on The Godfather Coda improved the theatrical version, the same is not said about his Apocalypse Now Redux, an updated version of his classic war movie. Unlike The Godfather Part III, Apocalypse Now's theatrical cut is widely praised as one of the greatest movies of all time. In contrast, the updated version added material that many viewers felt was superfluous and ultimately took away from the effectiveness of the story.