The Godfather Coda: The Death Of Michael Corleone (1990) ***1/2

From what I can recall, Francis Ford Coppola's new cut of The Godfather: Part III (1990)—titled The Godfather Coda: The Death Of Michael Corleone—isn't all that much of a departure from the 1991 "Final Director's Cut" (which added 9 minutes of deleted footage to the Theatrical Version and was the only version available on home video until Coda was released). All the key scenes and themes remain in Coda and it really didn't play too differently (at least from my memory). 

In any version, I have and continue to think that GIII is a really good film and has always been a bit unfairly maligned. Sure, Sofia Coppola's acting isn't the best, but come on now—we've all seen much worse. It's also always amused me that Francis was accused of nepotism by casting her, when (a) he did what he had to when Winona Ryder had to drop out last minute and (b) he's always worked with various members of his talented family on his films (his sister Talia Shire, his father Carmine, his son Roman, his nephew Nicolas Cage). In any case, Sofia's acting doesn't make or break the film, at least not in this viewer's opinion. If anything, I'd argue that Diane Keaton's acting is just as underwhelming and Shire is a bit too over-the-top (though it mostly works for her character).

The filmmaking itself is as good as anything Coppola has directed—gorgeous cinematography from Gordon Willis (DP for both of the first two films), a beautiful score from returning composer of the series Carmine, and a natural extension of where these characters' lives would lead, given their pasts. I anxiously await the day that the entire trilogy gets a 4K UHD Blu-ray release—I can't wait to revisit the first two films and to see how good all three can look and sound in the current best available home video format.

You can find my Francis Ford Coppola Feature Films Ranked list here.