In my opinion Pacino was at his best in this film and the edning on the stairs is one of the greatest scenes i've seen in a film. The only let down in this film was the performance of Coppola's daughter playing Maria i thought her range was weak and she really didn't bring enough skill to play such an important role

Believe me friend, you and me are among the select few intellegent enough to know that GF3 is by far the best of the triligy.

Welcome to the forums

thanks for the welcome and i'm glad that someone agrees with me

I've never understood the criticisms leveled at Coppola's daughter about her performance as Mary. What was the substantive difference between her and any 19 year old girl you know? The character she portrayed had the vulnerability, naivite, spontaneousness, sensuousness, and emotional honesty manifested by most of the 19 year olds I've ever encountered.

GFIII to me was the most powerful of the three films. The ending left me emotionally exhausted. the silent scream was one of the most dramatic scenes I've ever witnessed in cinematic history. Some of it was a reach, but that could be argued about the previous two films.

Yeah I'd say you're alone in your opinion that Godfater III was the best of the trilogy. Most will say it was Part II but for me nothing beats the original

I agree. Welcome Corleone Legend!

Youre wrong about that - most will say Part I was the best, not II.

It is the popular opinion to love the first movie the most, no matter how good De Niro or Pacino were in II, The Godfather for ppl always bring back memories of Vito-Marlon Brando,his voice and his lines - that was the main reason this movie got so popular till this very day. Of course everything else in the movie is classic,the music,the other actors,the horse etc, but Vito is the main reason why GF I is the best.
You say Godfather to ppl in the street and the first image they see is of Vito, not even Michael who starred in all 3 movies.

I hope you are alone. Something would be wrong with the world otherwise. I agree with Irish, that nothing can beat the original, especially if you consider the book as the original. In comparison with it all three films have weaknesses, but GF3 has the most. Its plot and character development cannot survive the most primitive analysis. Even Pacino's performance is worse than usual. No silent screams can save this giftless movie, none of us can help it, unfortunately.
Anyway, welcome!

Well from the consenus I've gathered around this board, most here say Part II

I think the original was the best, but that the 2nd film is usually regarded as most people's favorite on these boards. The second is more dynamic in its plot, especially with the two different story lines. But for me, the characters in the original are what sets it apart: Marlon Brando's portrayal of Vito, Sollozzo, Clemenza, Carlo, Sonny, Moe Green, and Tessio.

I like the third film if it were to stand on its own, but it has too much to live up to as a sequel and falls short because of a) Sophia Coppolla, b) the lack of Tom Hagen's character, and c) the lack of believability I have that Vincent could go from what he was at the beginning of III to the head of the Corleone's by the end.

When I first saw the trilogy, I thought that Part III was the best, but that's because I was so emotional after the ending... it's the one I reacted to the most and it shed a light on the previous movies. It was like the key to the trilogy for me. I thought the first two movies were excellent but never really got attached to them until Part III. I think it's because Michael is more human in Part III and you can relate with him more and what he goes through, especially at the end on the opera steps. When my parents die I probably won't cry as much as I did after Part III. That sounded really bad, but it's probably true. I cried like a freaking baby for like 3 hours.

However, after repeated viewings, Part III is flawed. No matter how many people will spin Sophia's Mary as being "real," as an actress, it was horrible. That said I think the lack of Robert Duvall in the movie did more to damage it than Sophia's acting.

However, I love all the films. Godfather is just a small step down from the others for me. That said, it's probably the one I get most excited to watch.

Not really, just checked the GF Ultimate Questionnaire - GF I got 7 votes, GF II only 4.
Heres the link:

http://www.thegodfathertrilogy.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=005070

Another point that part I is rated as the 3rd best movie ever (AFI) while part II is in 32nd.
That was decided by a big number of voters - once again proves the majority feels the original is far superior. (3rd and 32nd are quite far from each other)

Ok well from the people on the board that I have heard from I have heard more people say they like Part II better than Part I, that's all I'm trying to get at. I don't agree with it and you might have heard differently. As for AFI, it's all opinionated. I'm sure LOTR is on the list in the top 10

I actually like to pretend a 3rd film was never made.

I'm glad to see that you all are expressing your opinions about GF3. Trust me on this; after 1 and 2, GF3 was a HUGE disappointment. The casting and performance of FFC's daughter as Mary has become a show biz legend as far as disasters go.
Not that 3 is a really bad movie but it didn't come close to living up to what was hoped for.

Having said all that, everyone is entitled to their opinions, and that's what this thing is for.

I think that it was virtually impossible to ever hope for III to be as good, or better, than the 1st two. The bar was set way too high and III just had too many negative things going for it. Most people on this board don't have any major criticisms of the first two films, just nitpicking kind of stuff (myself included).

I ALSO love the 3rd part the best ending ever
in movie history imo

Having not been attached to The Godfather, this movie would be much more loved and heralded than it is now.

I rank the quality of the three films in exactly the order they were made. I do think GFIII gets an unfair bad rap, and have posted on this extensively elsewhere.

You have to be joking right? Part III the best?! I know its a matter of opinion, but come on, which one does Geoff prefer? Anyone know?

I believe also that The Godfather Part III is the best throughout the trilogy. But, you see the thing is, its not much of a Mob movie.

Don't get me wrong, anything with The Godfather in front of it can be considered an essential Mafia item (minus The Godfather Returns), but its much more of a story of a man trying to redeem himself after a lifetime of sins. And with a subplot that involves such men as the Pope and other high ranking officials in the Italian government, it is definately one of my favorite movies period.

The only thing, that i can relate to that many see as a weakness in the Godfather III is that it is not set up like the other two movies. It is, indeed, a bit complex, and confusing on the first few viewings, but I find that, once you understand the movie in full, you can realize that it was essential to complete The Godfather legacy in its current state.

With all the newcomers to this board and all the talk about which GF movie is the best, It may be time to do another poll. I am going to post a poll in this thread. Cast your votes!


Don Cardi

I always hesitate before I vote on this particular question. While I definitely agree, the first is the original, a classic, a perfect masterpiece, I can't help but be drawn to GFII, so that's what I voted for.

I guess, for me anyway, I loved the flashback scenes and the early days of Vito. I liked the to see the characters evolve; the way Michael became a cold hearted killer; Kay finally having enough and getting an abortion (unheard of and unacceptable at that time); Connie going from shy/timid punching bag, to leaving her kids and traveling the world with strange men...and poor Fredo being booted from the family (and later killed) by his little brother. Heck, the first two are both "great", but I had to pick one, so I went with GFII.

As far as GFIII goes, it's the least likeable of the three, but on it's own it isn't a bad movie, no match for the first two, but not a bad movie. I found the whole Vatican storyline confusing and a little boring. I didn't like the Vincent character popping up...I do agree that the ending scene was powerful, and as usual Pacino was his usual best.

TIS

Kay didn't have an abortion, remember? In TGR we learn that she just said that to Michael to make him mad.

There must be a lot of new people on the board because I remember when I first joined the subject of the quality of GFIII was discussed. I offered my opinion that to me GFIII was just an expensive soap opera. The plot was absolutely not even ridiculous--it was downright stupid. The actors, especially Pacino, were (again, in my opinion) terrible--all of them. Eli Wallach was laughable--a real clown in my opinion. I watched it again just recently because a Canadian channel plays the GF Trilogy periodically all the way though. I watched about an hour of it and I couldn't watch anymore, it was that boring to me. Even Andy Garcia (with whom I hope I am in the shower with!) was TERRIBLE...and he is a fairly good actor.

In the original post months ago about this same subject, I believe the general consensus was that GFIII was an embarassment for most people. To hear now that people think it was the BEST of all three, is truly surprising to me. It is clear that there are lots of new people on the board!

Please know that I am not criticizing anyone for their opinions--just noting the vast difference is all. I still hold to my original opinion on GFIII. Sorry!

I totally disagree with you. I love Part III even with its flaws.

I think Part 1 was definatly the best and I too liked part 3 a lot I thought it was good and it did pull the other 2 parts together and the ending left you thinking about the lives of the Corleone's..

I agree with Goombah, but I think you can add some more to that cast that makes it really stand out.

To me, if you wanted to make the third one, Coppolla and Puzo could have reached back into the original book and pull out the Maranzalla war. With this, you have the reason others feared Luca Brasi, the potential rise of Sonny, the reason Carlo was "kept in the dark" and more relevance for the consigliere role with the contrast of Hagen (and I mean, the third would have to have Duvall) and Genco.

You could have kept some of the plot from 3 and include these bits, rather than rely on the name of the actors, the director and the writer of the screenplay.

My (humble) opinion.

You got her name wrong . It's Mary.

Anywho, Part III was a descent movie; deffinatly not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. If it were not for the success and greatness of the first two films, this film would have gotten at least three stars... But the fact of the matter is, the first two are classics. They completely blew this one out of the water, and it's hard for both fans and critics alike to look past that.

With the passing of the Pope and a new one in office I will have to watch GF3 again.