Hi everyone! I am gonna ask this:Did you think that Sofia Coppola did a terrible job in the third Godfather like everybody says? Or do you dissagree with the critics? I have to say that I have Sofia's back and think that she did OK,but not awful like her performance was reputed to be.I also think that she had the exotic ethnic look for a film such as the Godfather,and she did the best she could playing Pacino's daughter,even though she wasn't four-star.She definatly did not deserve the harsh criticisim she recieved from the public.Do you agree with me? Shout!

I don't think she was HORRIBLE, but I don't think she was that great, either.

Welcome, Brwne Byte!
No, Sofia's wasn't the worst performance in GFIII (IMO, that dubious title belongs either to Eli Wallach or George Hamilton), but it was far from acceptable. The real point is that GF and II had inspired casting and no weak performances. That's one of the reasons why GFIII, though not a terrible film overall, is nowhere near the same league as GF and II. It is, IMO, an acceptable denouement to the Godfather Saga, but an unworthy successor to the first two films.

Thats an understatement. Sofia's acting lacked any feeling whatsoever. I cringe whenever she's onscreen in the movie.

Welcome to the BB, BB.

You all have very good points. I did feel like Sofia was sleepy half of the time. Godfather3 will indeed never live up to the others,but it is still good.I wonder what it wouldv'e been like had Winona not gotten sick.Guess we will never know.To digress, the ending of GDF#3 was a totle drag.I mean real depressing! I think they should have chose a different ending.That is one of the things that,had they done differently,would have made the film come out better.

Its all in the eye of the beholder. I thought the ending was the saving grace of the movie.

Michael tried to redeem himself (from the hellish character he portrayed in Part II) but it was too little, too late. It was appropriate he died alone, grieving for his daughter and his mother's son.

Did you see GF III in the theatres? I did, and by the end the crowd was laughing out loud whenever she spoke a line. Kind of ruined the movie.

It took me about 10 years to bring myself to watch it again and realize that it's not terrible, except perhaps in comparison to its predecessors.

George Hamilton was miscast, but the role was so minor that nobody could have done too much with it. Eli Wallach was hardly great, but Sofia was by far the worst.

In fact, I consider her performance the worst I've ever seen in a major dramatic film, with the possible exception of Anthony Quinn in Jungle Fever.

I thought her performance was on par with Bruce Jenner's in Grambling's White Tiger.
Her lack of emotion was even more pronounced when placed next to Pacino, Keaton and Shire.
You would hope for a more dynamic presence from the rebellious daughter of Michael and Kay.
By the way, she was very impressive as a director.

I did see it in the movies, and I think that the film had great MOMENTS, which is why we as GF aficionados find it such a frustrating film to watch. We see the potential.

Sofia was raked over the coals, and I felt badly for her and her father. However, her performance was just one huge whine, IMHO, and ruined much of the film for me.

I have to agree with SC on the ending. Michael never redeemed himself. His punishment for his sins was to lose his precious daughter and to die alone.

The ending to GFIII was meant as a metaphor for life - you reap what you sow, plain and simple!

Sofia's performance? It was right onthe money. I have five daughters and I have observed, actually lived through, their sensitivities, vulnerabilities, and unpretentiousness at their various ages just as Sofia portrayed. She portrayed herself. Nothing more was necessary!

Yeah, but she was supposed to portray Michael Corleone's daughter.

This is very true SC but I would've liked to known what happened to Mike and the family after Mary's death and when he died.

Agreed Turnbull, and my vote for worst performance far and away goes to Eli Wallach. I mean Hamilton was always a lightweight, and FFC castig him was similar to his casting of Merle in GF II, he was some 50's guy with a fake name...forget who.

Wallach, however has some creds as an actor, and his performance in this was so over the top and so bad, I can hardly watch him.

As for Sofia, she tried, but just didnt have the talent. She is one hell of a director though.

You are right,Sofia is a wonderful directer just like her dad.Maybe she needed to learn from her mistakes in GF3 so she could move on to directing and nurish her skills there.One of her films won an Oscer,right? That says something.As far as the ending being fitting,maybe your'e right about that as well. Michael was kind of a pitiful case in the final Godfather.Trying so hard to redeem himself and to protect his children,and then to finally have his efforts all crumble.Evrey time he tried to get out,they pulled him back in.In a terrable way,he did sort of -- deserve that.

Yes she won Best Director for Lost in Translation

Which shows how much she's learned about acting and directing!

I don't think Sofia Coppola delivered the Worst Performance Ever, but it was definitely bad. I also thought George Hamilton was horrible as well so I'm surprised that Sofia Coppola got all the blame for ruining GFIII.

It is really hard to imagine Winona Ryder in a Godfather film. Since Sofia Coppola is of Italian descent, I think she looked more fit for the role compared to Winona Ryder.

I know this is off-topic, but I thought Lost in Translation was boring. I didn't think the film deserved Best Original Screenplay, but I'm not very familiar with a lot of other Sofia Coppola works (I believe she also wrote-directed The Virgin Suicides, right?).

Lost in Translation is one of my favorite movies. I thought her Oscar win was deserved. An actress, no. A director, yes. Although I understand her recent movie, Marie Antoinette, got booed at the Canne Festival. Don't think it was released in this country.

I like the movie but her acting had no emotion whatsoever.

Actually, Peter Jackson won the Oscar for best direction that year.

Still, she was nominated.

You are right! She won for screen writing. Gotta go back to bed!

honestly 2 me she did really really really bad... since da beginnin when she goez up 2 her cousin (i forgot his name) she triez to act all sexy lol is lik she is just readin some liez Also when is her, Michael n her brother in Sicily when Michael told her that she cant love her cousin and one of the reasons is cause he is her first cousin shez like "well i'll love him first" she showed no emotion, again just readin some linez ... n da endin 2 me ... it was pretty tight

That is not at all fair!! I am pretty excited to see Marie Antoinette,and I don't care what critics say.I just love those costumes.People do not know how to just sit back and enjoy a fun movie in those festivals.

O RLY?

Byte, I agree with you about Sophia's acting in GFIII. Frankly, I think it is highly "stupid" on the part of her detractors to criticize her the way they have. I have five daughters, all of whom have been 19 at one time or another. They each had a unique character and manifested different levels of emotion, in different ways, over different things. Sophia portrayed a 19 year old as a scion of one of the most wealthy and powerful men in the world, raised in a broken home, having witnessed an attempt to kill her father, and God knows what else. She was growing, developing, maturing, and finding her way just as any young women in quite arduous circumstances. I think she portrayed her character just fine. Madonne!

Also, I think that when she did a scene in which she had to cry and be upset over her breakup with Vincent, that she pulled that off quite well. It is a tedency of magor critics to somtimes over emphisize and exaggerate aspects of a film. But perhaps we can say that Sofia's charecter was just a quiet-like person.That she does not have to spill over with emotion and passion simply because she's Micheal Corleone's daughter, and we would expect her that way. And indeed, her deminer and attitude is sutible for a young girl of 19.

personally i think she is the worst thing ever in gf3. really cant believe my eyes or ears when watching her slow and awkwardly delivered lines....but i havent seen her in much else. all that said i find her quite attractive. eh?!?!?!

I don't envy Sofia Coppola. She was up against the top actors in Ameriacan theater playing mythic roles they themselves created. Few actors could have held their own there, much less an absolute amatuer. Her performance is, in a word, disappointing. I know some of you find it acceptable, but in reality she just couldn't deliver. Her rookie mistake was underplaying so much that she came across as laconic. It didn't help that her dialogue was so poor, but she really seems lost in a Valium haze.

The Corleone family is volatile, emotional, forceful. Throughout the films we see characters who exist in all dimensions and they give fire to our belief like few film characters ever have. Look at the scenes between Kay and Michael in 3. The dialogue is again, not great, but those scenes slam you out of 3 and take you straight back to I and II. We see Kay and Michael, all their history, all their animosity, all their distance, and all their closeness, not two actors going through the motions for some sub-par, grab-the-money, half-hearted add-on. They are two master actors doing their top work. To keep-up with that is next to impossible for someone so untrained as Sofia.

It's hard to soar with the flock when you're still a chick. Thinking back, I don't know there was any known actress at the time who could have measured-up to the role. It's like trying to find actors of the appropriate age to play Hamlet, it's next to impossible to find someone that age who is that wise in their ability.

My greatest complaint is the dreadful dialogue in III and the general lack of majesty I and II had. Talia Shire had it the worst. Her lines ranged from dreadful to absurd, "Would someone please hail Mary? Oh, forgive me your excellency," and, "He did the right thing! He got Joey Zasa's name!" Pacino didn't have it much better, "Now he has to send YOU a message back." WTF? What did Michael think the message was before? A greeting card? Joey Z just tried to have Vincent killed, you don't get more of a message than that. It's the worst exchange in the film save for Sofia's horrible line, "I want this to bring me closer to you," delivered with all the conviction of choosing a pair of socks at Walmart. She was much better in I and II when all she had to do was cry or stare.

Sofia is a great director. Lost In Translation is a beautiful, subtle, layered film all about what is not said in a relationship. Virgin Suicides is an outstanding first effort. She very richly deserved her Best Screenplay Oscar. She pulls off another film like that one and she'll get a Best Director without a hitch. I wish her nothing but success and hope she stays behind the camera.