The Godfather Saga Keeps Pulling Us Back In
Michael Corleone may die in Sicily, sad and alone, but for many, The God-father is a New York story. If you grew up in or around the city you can identify the spot where they shot Sonny on the causeway, you remember the Best & Co. department store where Michael and Kay went Christmas shopping, you know where Clemenza left the gun—maybe even where he bought the cannoli. And you recognize the look in young Vito Corleone’s eyes on the boat, when Lady Liberty appears in the harbor and he realizes that anything might happen here.
The Godfather: Part III, which was released 30 years ago on Christmas Day, begins with Michael back in the Big Apple, still trying to legitimize the family business while also searching for a successor. At least, it did. On December 8 a new cut of the film will be released digitally. It now bears the title Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo wanted from the beginning: Mario Puzo’s The God-father, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. It has been painstakingly restored, frame by frame, and changes have been made to the beginning and the end. Other scenes throughout the film, which is 13 minutes shorter than the original cut, have been rearranged by Coppola. Too bad Frank Pentangeli isn’t around to see what happens.
This story appears in the December 2020/January 2021 issue of Town & Country. SUBSCRIBE NOW
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