I just joined -- thanks for the words of welcome in replies to my earlier posts.

One little detail about GFIII has been on my mind. Escaping from the helicopter massacre, Vincent and Michael enter the parking garage and drive away in a car Vincent breaks into. But Neri is nowhere to be found. He is the one who blows open the door leading to the garage, but we don't see him come out into the garage or enter the car with the other two. Neri is with Michael, Vincent, and Connie afterwards -- eating an orange as they watch the news coverage of the incident and confer with each other about their next move. But why didn't he leave the massacre with Michael and Vincent? And why didn't Michael and Vincent ask each other where Neri was before leaving? Moreover, who planted the shotgun behind the bar?

That's one of several holes in the screenplay. It's been discussed before, and nobody knows the answer.

Maybe he jumped in a cab with the guy who killed the Tahoe hit men.


Don Cardi

Perhaps Neri went to return the lupara to the Props Department, where he filed it under "F"--for Fortuitous Gadgets.

Seriously, Olivant's right: it's yet another hole in the Swiss cheese screenplay of GFIII. If I bend over backward--far
backward--for FFC, then maybe he was trying to reinforce Vincent's growing indispensability to Michael by having him, not Neri, spirit Michael away from the massacre.

Good point Turnbull. Of course, there's also the convenient availability of the lupara behind the bar and Neri knowing that it's there.

Neri snatched that guy's bullet ridden "lucky coat" and snuck out of the room after Vincent got the door open. Then he went downstairs and there was a bus filled with old ladies who had been on a gambling junket which happened to be headed toward Manhattan. They gave him a lift, and when he got to the terminal he took a cab to Mike's apartment.

I believe the whole helicopter scene was a shameful piece of film that should have been reconstructed entirely.

During the massacre itself, the film lowered itself to B-movie quality with the ludicrous "lucky coat" bit. I was laughing so hysterically over the delivery of the "Zasa, you son-of-a-bitch" line by one bloodied gangster that I did not even notice the Neri issue on the first watch. I honestly couldn't believe Coppola left such silliness and cheesiness in a movie meant to portray life and death.

Yes, the helicopter attack was what I'd expect to see in an Arnold movie. Of course, you probably noticed also that very few (if any) are ducking for cover. Noone gets under the table. Noone fires back. Madonne!

They were too busy looking at all that jewelry.

Before going to Mike's apartment Neri stopped off to cash in his $20 travel voucher. (He traded the bullet ridden "lucky coat" for one of the old ladies' vouchers).

Actually he took that voucher back to the China Bowl Restaurant where Mike and Altobello had dinner and got them to discount the meal.

I would argue that Neri, being the excellent employee that he is and being a former cop, stayed to retreive the checks and any other evidence that Mike was even any where near this massacre to keep his name out of it.

That would make sense, best idea I've heard about where Neri went. Though, Michael or Vincent should have mentioned it somehow like...

Michael- Where's Neri?
Vincent- He went back to retreive the checks...

Yes, that's an excellent suggestion -- thanks, GP. And I would actually say on that basis that it makes perfect sense that Michael and Vincent said nothing to each other about Neri staying behind. Micheal probably didn't even have to tell Neri to stay behind to collect the checks -- Neri would know without being told, just as he knew that Michael would want Fredo killed at some point after Michael said to Fredo in the boathouse that "you're nothing to me now."

It is possible, though, that there was some very brief, perhaps non-verbal communication 'off-camera' between Michael and Neri as Michael and Vincent were exiting.

Thanks Bduff and 90 caliber.
As I have said before and argued with some here at work, Neri and Clemenza would never have betrayed Mike NO MATTER WHAT. Neri had Mikes absolute trust. If you look at the scene where mama Corleone is laid out and Fredo is hugging Mike, Mike looks up at Neri and Neri gives a very indiscrete nod. He knows what he must do, just by Mikes look. He probably liked Fredo, but a job and an order is not to be denied. Neri's attention to detail and commitment to his work is seen throughout the movie as well as some deleted scene's. My favorite is the casino - Klingman scene. Neri was just the type of character where he didn't have to say much, but when he did, he made it count and you had better listen or pay the consequences.