Do any of you know someone who has only seen Part III or who saw it before seeing I and/or II? If so, what did they think of it when they saw it? I ask because the consensus on this board seems to be that although III is not on the level of I and II, if one judges it by the standard of movies in general, it's still a good movie (I largely agree with this; on IMDB I rated Part I a 10--on a 1 to 10 scale--and III a 7, I haven't rated II yet). Although someone who has not seen the first two Godfather movies will completely fail to understand the significance and history behind much of what it said and alluded to in III, they will also view III with a freshness which those who have seen the first two will not have, and their enjoyment of the film is likely to be enhanced by not having the first two to compare it with. Therefore, I'd be very interested to know what those whose first Godfather movie was III thought of it, having such a different perspective than the rest of us.

Standing alone it remains filled with bad writing holes in the plot and Sofia's acting. For a Godfather fan it is IMHO not as awful as many say, but it is not close to I and II.

Although I agree that III has many serious flaws (I discussed these flaws on another thread), I disagree about Sofia. While I don't think her acting was particularly great, I think it was actually rather appropriate to the character of Mary Corleone. Mary was supposed to be a shy, awkward young woman who wasn't particularly self-confident, and this was reflected well in the way Sofia portrayed her.

Yes, but did she have to be so damn whiny?? And there was zero, and I mean ZERO, chemistry between her and Garcia. This was supposed to be about a forbidden love that was so incredibly compelling to both of them that they were willing to risk everything, and it just fell flat.

No argument there.

I agree with dontomasso and Sicilian Babe. Part III isn't a bad movie at all, but compared with Part I and II it's a disappointment.

You clearly see Sophia's inexperience and I'm also not quite pleased with Pacino's portrayal of the older Michael and the weird choice of his son for becoming an opera singer. Kay's character also get's too much expansion.

As I've said before in another topic I really think Winona Ryder would have been perfect for her role as Mary.

However, it's biggest flaw is the absence of Tom Hagen.

Perhaps I didn't make myself clear--I agree with this as well. Not only is III a disappointment compared to its predecessors, but compared to Goodfellas as well (III and Goodfellas were both released in 1990 and both nominated for Best Picture).

I just wanted to know if anyone here knows someone who saw Part III first (or just III), and if so, what that person thought of it.

I saw the complete GF 3 before I completely watched the first 2 parts.

I thought it looked like an NBA Sunday movie.
Scene that stands out was the helicopter shooting at the mob gathering....

I was creeped out by the Garcia-Copolla "affair".and i might have FF those parts..


Just disappointed that I had heard the word "classic" whenever the GF was mentioned and thought this was indicative of how the first 2 films were.


*If you guys recall, the GF and GF2 were NEVER EVER there when you wanted to rent them..always out...but GF3 was always in the store...

I'd seen bits of the first 2 on tv...but never watched more than 10 minutes...

I never said you didn't Vito. I was only responding to them, but I understand you're point.

The thread appears to have taken the usual turn of comparing GFIII to GF and GFII.

To respond to your ORIGINAL thought which was a pretty interesting one...I cannot even imagine why someone who has not yet seen The Godfather and/or The Godfather Part II, even being interested in viewing GFIII.

Other than getthesenets who pretty much admitted it was due to video rental availability (nuff said)....has anyone even answered your question?

Actually the guy who played the Archbishop did a good job. He really portryed a corrupt and ultimately cowardly cleric very well (and Michael knew how to play HIM)

Nope, no answers yet, other than the one you mentioned.

As for whether someone would be interested in Part III without having seen the first two, I don't know. I saw Die Hard II when it came out in the theater, and watched it numerous times on TV, before seeing Die Hard for the first time. But Die Hard II wasn't nearly as connected to its predecessor as GFIII is to Part I and II.

The only Star Trek movie I've even seen is Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

I will say this, seeing Part III puts a whole new spin on a seemingly innocent scene in Part II. When Michael and Kay are arguing in their hotel room in DC, Anthony and Mary are shown outside in the hall, with Mary playfully running around a little. If Part III had never been made, this scene would seem unimportant. But given that it was, it's hard to look at this and not feel very sad, knowing what the ultimate fate of this little, innocent girl will be.

I disagree, those few seconds of the children & their nanny out in the hallway are actually VERY important, and it was left in for a reason.

The behavior of the children indicates that Michael's personality and demeanor is clearly already affected by his father's business and emotional distance, while Mary remains for the time being a carefree toddler, oblivious to all around her. Same story later in the film while Kay is trying to say goodbye and get out of the house before Michael arrives. Alot is said in those two brief moments.

Despite knowing of Mary's eventual, tragic demise, we did NOT need the existence of GFIII to convey the importance of that scene of the children in the hallway. In fact...funny but I never even think about ANY aspect or eventuality portrayed in GFIII when watching the first two.

In fact, your mentioning of it is the first time I EVER made that connection in any way! Shows what a separate and outrageously unequal story GFIII is and always will be.

You mean Anthony's personality and demeanor, not Michael's.

Whoops!!
Yes...Anthony. Thanks for correction!!!