Mario Puzo's Der Pate, Epilog: Der Tod von Michael Corleone
The Godfather: Part III
Regie:
Francis Ford CoppolaKamera:
Gordon WillisBesetzung:
Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Andy Garcia, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, George Hamilton, Bridget Fonda, Sofia Coppola, Raf Vallone, Franc D'Ambrosio (mehr)Streaming (6)
Inhalte(1)
New York, 1979: Michael Corleone, der Pate, ist müde. Im Alter von 60 Jahren hat er noch zwei Wünsche: Er will seine Familie von seinen früheren Verbrechen reinwaschen und einen würdigen Nachfolger finden. Als Kandidat käme der temperamentvolle Vincent Mancini infrage. Doch der schreckt nicht vor Gewaltanwendung zurück und würde damit Michaels Hoffnungen auf eine endgültige Abkehr von der blutigen Vergangenheit gefährden. Für seine großzügige Spendenbereitschaft will ihn die katholische Kirche sogar ehren, was selbst seine geschiedene Frau und seine Kinder beeindruckt. Derweil eskalieren die Streitigkeiten zwischen seinen designierten Nachfolgern Vincent Mancini und Joey Zasa und gefährden Michaels Bank- und Immobiliengeschäfte. Michael gerät sogar in die gewalttätigen Auseinandersetzungen und entgeht nur knapp einem Anschlag. Daraufhin reist er nach Italien, wo sich sein Sohn Anthony auf seinen ersten großen Opernauftritt vorbereitet. Bei seinen europäischen Geschäftspartnern entdeckt der ehemalige Mafiaboss Michael ähnlich verbrecherische Methoden wie die seiner eigenen Vergangenheit. So kommt er sogar einer mörderischen Intrige gegen den neu gewählten Papst Johannes Paul I. auf die Spur. (ZDFneo)
(mehr)Kritiken (9)
In dem dritten Teil der Saga fehlt die Figur des Anwaltes von Robert Duvall, zu der ich die engste Beziehung hatte, sowie die Chemie zwischen den Mitgliedern des Clans, in dem sie für Zusammenhalt gesorgt hat. Pacinos Michael Corleone ist anders – ich würde sagen, dass seit dem vorherigen Teil nicht acht, sondern eher zwanzig Jahre vergangen sind. Die Übertragung der Handlung nach Sizilien und das Dealen mit der Kirche wegen des Zugangs in die höchsten Machtsphären ist aber ein fruchtbarer Boden für ein weiteres Panoptikum von korrupten Gaunern. Michaels Reflexion des eigenen Lebens und seine quälenden Gewissensbisse machen aus dem Film einen würdigen Abschluss der Trilogie. Und auch den emotionalsten.
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The Godfather is hands-down the best (rated) film saga that leaves me utterly underwhelmed.
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"Real power can't be given. It must be taken." Is returning to the subject matter sixteen years later just flogging a dead horse? No, not at all. Although The Godfather III can’t equal its predecessors, it is still so much better than most other movie productions that it is impossible to give it less than a full set of stars. And the closing half hour is the best passage of the entire trilogy. A marvelous (and again unforgettable) ending to this family saga.
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Completely different from the first two parts, deliberately so, and yet still brilliant. It starts off slightly slower, but the final half-hour is possibly the best of the entire saga. Coppola this time gives preference to the younger generation portrayed by the great duo Garcia+Coppola, with Vincent, as a younger version of Michael, taking the lead. It's a beautiful feeling when Connie or Kay appear on the scene, and the ailing Godfather watches over everything, his almost forgotten past resurfacing. Plenty of nostalgia, fate, and memories with a new twist, and throughout the entire duration, chills run down your spine as the viewer more than suspects how it will all end, but doesn't want it to be that way. And for it to end at all.
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I was the most worried about the last Godfather. After all, continuing the story so many years later is unusual and raises some concerns. A huge time shift in the story, the ageing of the main characters, and so forth. However, my fears were unjustified because the script is tightened to the last detail and doesn't lose any of the atmosphere of the previous films, but it pushes the plot all the way to 1978. Al Pacino is brilliant again as Don Michael, and Andy Garcia is great in the supporting role. The breathtaking Corleone saga comes to an end, and all we have left are the memories.
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For me personally, the best part of the trilogy. Coppola finally brought some dynamics and tension into it, which was missing for me in the first two parts. Bridget Fonda and especially Andy Garcia, who was rightfully nominated for an Oscar, also helped a lot. The ending was truly heart-stopping.
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The fourth star was squeezed out by the camera, because otherwise this family drama, which you can totally decode within an hour and you know exactly where it's going, has little to do with the mafia theme. Sadly, it's the takeover of the reins from the initially uncouth redneck Andy Garcia that makes it clear that the Corleone family corporation is effectively dead, because even distinguished behavior, an expensive jacket, and four liters of motor oil in his hair can't hide his true origins and violent nature.
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The third Godfather wasn’t as impressive as the first two. The heavy atmosphere was gone, Michael Corleone, now in his older age, gave the film a tired look. The film's extreme length felt overwhelming this time, the few bright moments got almost lost in it. A large part of the film bored me, and I was only pleased with the revelation that even mafia organizations are absolutely no match for the Vatican, and that Francis Ford Coppola understood exactly what kind of film he was making and made it a family business.
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Finally, I have also reached the third part of this trilogy, which I have constantly postponed due to its incredible length. It is finally behind me, but I am quite disappointed with the last installment. It feels like the aging of Don Vito Corleone portrayed by Marlon Brando is repeating itself, only now with a fairly charismatic and also brilliantly disturbed Al Pacino. Additionally, there are quite similar scenes to the first film here, so at times it seems that the whole material is just recycled. I am not disappointed, I'm just not as captivated by the film as I was by the previous two.
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