Крестный отец: Часть III (1990) Online

Cast overview, first billed only:
	Al Pacino	-	Don Michael Corleone
	Diane Keaton	-	Kay Adams Michelson
	Talia Shire	-	Connie Corleone Rizzi
	Andy Garcia	-	Vincent Mancini
	Eli Wallach	-	Don Altobello
	Joe Mantegna	-	Joey Zasa
	George Hamilton	-	B.J. Harrison
	Bridget Fonda	-	Grace Hamilton
	Sofia Coppola	-	Mary Corleone
	Raf Vallone	-	Cardinal Lamberto
	Franc D'Ambrosio	-	Anthony Vito Corleone
	Donal Donnelly	-	Archbishop Gilday
	Richard Bright	-	Al Neri
	Helmut Berger	-	Frederick Keinszig
	Don Novello	-	Dominic Abbandando

Al Pacino was offered $5 million, but wanted $7 million plus a percentage of the gross to reprise his role as Michael. Francis Ford Coppola refused, and threatened to re-write the script by starting off with Michael's funeral sequence instead of the film's introduction. Pacino agreed to the $5 million offer.

Al Pacino stated that he did not agree with the portrayal of Michael in the film. He didn't believe that Michael would ever feel regret or remorse for his actions, especially the murder of his brother.

Robert Duvall turned down the $1 million the studio offered to re-create his role of Tom Hagen. Duvall did not feel that his proposed salary was commensurate with what Al Pacino and Diane Keaton were getting ($5 million and $1.5 million, respectively). The character was subsequently written out. Duvall later defended his position on the grounds that the only reason why anyone wanted to make another Godfather movie after so many years was to make money.

Coincidentally, the Vatican Bank once owned Paramount Pictures.

Francis Ford Coppola once admitted that he was still unhappy over the final result, because of lack of time on working with the script. According to him, he wanted $6 million for the writer, producer, and director fee with six months work on the scriptwriting. The studio instead gave him only $1 million in fees and six weeks to work on the script, in order to meet the Christmas 1990 release. He also regretted that the character of Tom Hagen had to be written out of the script because the studio refused to meet Robert Duvall's financial demands. According to Coppola, with Hagen gone, an essential character and counterpart for Michael Corleone was missing from the movie.

Mary Corleone's (Sofia Coppola's) aunt is played by Sofia's real-life aunt, Talia Shire.

The first of only two trilogies to have all three films nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. The other is Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Sofia Coppola had to redub about twenty percent of her original dialogue for the final cut after a disastrous early screening for the New York press on December 12, 1990, where many of the critics acrimoniously singled out her performance. According to an interview in Entertainment Weekly the following month, she said her greatest vocal challenges for the role were eschewing her "Valley Girl" accent, and correctly pronouncing the name "Corleone".

Sofia Coppola (daughter of Francis Ford Coppola), played Michael Corleone's daughter, despite playing his nephew as an infant in Der Pate (1972), and an unnamed child on the ship In Der Pate 2 (1974). Winona Ryder was originally cast, but she withdrew so that she could appear in Edward mit den Scherenhänden (1990).

Vincent's mother, Lucy Mancini, is the bridesmaid with whom Sonny had an affair in Der Pate (1972).

Because of the popularity of the two earlier Godfather movies, Frank Sinatra reversed his anti-Godfather stance and expressed interest in playing Don Altobello. He lost interest because of the size of the paycheck for the role, and it went to Eli Wallach. Sinatra got his role in Verdammt in alle Ewigkeit (1953) when Wallach backed out because of the low pay for that movie.

Catherine Scorsese, Martin Scorsese's mother, is one of the women who stops Vincent to complain about the poor care of the neighborhood.

Robert De Niro lobbied for the role of Vincent Mancini. Francis Ford Coppola considered it, which would have included aging Al Pacino's Michael Corleone even more, but eventually decided against the idea.

Francis Ford Coppola had only a year to write, direct and edit the film.

Rebecca Schaeffer was in the running to play Mary Corleone, but she was tragically murdered on the morning of her audition. Winona Ryder was later cast in the part, which she was ultimately replaced by Sofia Coppola.

Every movie from The Godfather trilogy begins with a lavish celebration of some kind, with the first one being Connie's wedding, the second for Anthony's First Communion, this one in honor of Michael's award from Pope Paul VI.

Francis Ford Coppola was interested in making Michael Corleone pay for his sins in this third chapter.

Al Pacino and Diane Keaton had dated on and off for several years after making the first film together, ultimately breaking up for good when Keaton wanted a serious long-term relationship, and Pacino did not. This led to some friction when they first arrived on the set. Like their characters, they were able to get past the issues in their past. In real life, however, it involved Keaton travelling back to New York City with Pacino for the funeral of his grandmother, who had died during production.

When Andy Garcia filmed his fight scene, he insisted on beating the stuntman with a real pistol instead of a prop pistol. This resulted in the stuntman suffering a cut that required stitches.

This was the only film in the trilogy not to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, nor to be selected for preservation by the National Film Registry.

For her widely panned performance in this film, Sofia Coppola not only "won" two Razzie Awards (for Worst Supporting Actress and Worst New Star) but also set a new record for the percentage of votes received by any actor or actress up to that point in Golden Raspberry Awards history. In a field of five contenders, she took over 65% of Razzie members' votes in both categories.

At the reception, after the opening ceremony, Vincent bites Zasa's ear. Much later, in the opera house, during Anthony's performance (in "Cavalleria Rusticana" by Pietro Mascagni), he is very amused to see the scene with Turiddu biting Alfio's ear. It is not random: biting ear and drawing blood stands for fighting to the death, according to Sicillian custom.

When the movie was first released on VHS in 1991, the tapes were colored gold.

Paramount Pictures tried to go ahead with the film for many years without Francis Ford Coppola, who had refused to make another sequel. About twelve scripts were written. Most of the scripts included the Corleone family being led by Michael's son Anthony, battling the CIA, Fidel Castro's Cuban government, or South American drug cartels. A 1978 draft by Mario Puzo dealt with Anthony Corleone being recruited by the CIA to assassinate a Latin American dictator. Dean Riesner also wrote a draft based on Puzo's ideas. Drafts were also written by Paramount Pictures producers Michael Eisner and Don Simpson. The film was scheduled for a Christmas 1980 release date. These scripts were discarded when Coppola decided to work on the script with Puzo. But Coppola eventually abandoned the project. Puzo wrote another script in 1986 with producer Nicholas Gage that featured Sonny Corleone's illegitimate son Vincent Mancini, while showing the early life of the young Sonny Corleone. Paramount Pictures considered Sidney Lumet, Costa-Gavras, Alan J. Pakula, Robert Benton, Michael Cimino, and Michael Mann to direct. At one point, they were even close to signing Sylvester Stallone to direct and star in the film.

Despite bearing the title "Part III", Francis Ford Coppola considers this film to be the epilogue of the franchise.

After the argument between Michael Corleone and the members of the Vatican, he leaves the building, saying, "We're back with the Borgias". Mario Puzo, author of Der Pate (1972), later wrote a book about the Borgias called "The Family". It was later revealed, during the broadcast of the television series Die Borgias - Sex. Macht. Mord. Amen. (2011), that the Borgias were the original inspiration for the Corleones. Vito was based on Rodrigo Borgia, a.k.a. Pope Alexander VI. Michael was based on Cesare Borgia, Santino on Juan Borgia, Fredo on Gioffre Borgia, and Connie on Lucrezia Borgia.

The initial draft for this film had Tom Hagen in it. Robert Duvall wanted $5 million to reprise this role. Paramount Pictures turned him down, and the part was re-cast and altered for George Hamilton to play the new Hagen-like character, lawyer B.J. Harrison. A line of dialogue was inserted that explained Hagen had died several years before.

Early in the film, Joey Zasa presents Michael Corleone with the "Italian of the Year" award, for which he personally recommended him. This was in reference to James Caan, who is Jewish, receiving the award in 1973 for his portrayal of Santino "Sonny" Corleone in the original film.

The Vatican refused entry to the film crew.

Francis Ford Coppola did this movie as part of dealing with his personal and studio financial problems. Paramount Pictures approved this film with a $56 million budget under strict conditions that he was given $1 million for writing, producing, and directing; the final cut of the film must not be less than two hours and twenty minutes, and any additional expenses would not be covered by the studio.

The only film in the trilogy not to secure Al Pacino an Oscar or BAFTA nomination. Pacino did, however, receive Golden Globe nominations for his performances in all three films.

Winona Ryder's departure of the film created a major fuss on set and in the media. Ryder did actually arrive on set to perform the part of Mary Corleone, but ultimately backed out. She arrived on set in Rome, two days after completing work on Meerjungfrauen küssen besser (1990) in Massachusetts, but passed out immediately in her hotel room upon arrival, and was eventually examined with over-exhaustion. Following her departure of the film, several headlines were created about the exit, either claiming that she was pregnant, that she had a nervous breakdown, that drugs were involved, that her then-boyfriend Johnny Depp was having an affair and making her crazy, or that Depp talked her out of doing the film so that she could appear in Edward mit den Scherenhänden (1990). On-set, Ryder's replacement of the untested Sofia Coppola was a divisive choice among the cast of the film, and more than one name player reportedly threatened to quit the movie. Meanwhile, Ryder, still recovering from exhaustion, was threatened with lawsuits from several parties, such as Paramount Pictures. However, Ryder met a lot of support and empathy from the cast, including Diane Keaton and Al Pacino, who checked in on her well-being many times throughout several weeks.

Joe Spinell, who played Willi Cicci in Der Pate (1972) and Der Pate 2 (1974), was to have reprised his role, but died before production was to begin. An earlier version of the script had Cicci working for new characters, the Russo Brothers. The three characters were eventually combined into Joey Zasa.

When Winona Ryder withdrew from the film, Laura San Giacomo and Linda Fiorentino were considered for the role of Mary Corleone, before Francis Ford Coppola decided his daughter Sofia should play the part, even re-writing the script for the part to match Sofia's age (in the original draft, the character was more than five years older). Sofia Coppola, only nineteen, expressed apprehension at playing the role, as she was attending college at the time, and had only limited experience as an actress, but nonetheless bowed to her father's request, as production was already falling behind schedule.

According to Peter Biskind's book "The Godfather Companion", a 1985 script co-written by Thomas Lee Wright and Nick Marino, included a character based on drug lord Leroy 'Nicky' Barnes. When the script was briefly considered, Wright persuaded Eddie Murphy to take the role. Murphy reportedly said, "I would act in The Godfather for nothing."

The twin girls with long dark hair at Michael's party are Sonny's daughters, Kathryn and Francesca. They were also depicted in Der Pate (1972) and Der Pate 2 (1974).

Sofia Coppola is in fact the third member of Francis Ford Coppola's family to play a part in the franchise. Each time Coppola has done this, the cast member has had the same relationship to Michael on-screen as they have to Coppola off-screen. Talia Shire, Francis' sister, played Michael's sister. Italia Coppola, Francis' mother, played Mama Corleone during the funeral scene in Der Pate 2 (1974). Sofia Coppola played Michael's daughter. In addition, Diane Keaton has said that she based her performance as Kay on Eleanor Coppola, since they are both Protestants who married into a large Italian-Catholic family.

The music that's played during the closing scene and credits is Pietro Mascagni's Intermezzo Sinfonico from "Cavalleria Rusticana". It is also known for its appearance in Wie ein wilder Stier (1980).

The part of Anthony, Michael and Kay's opera-singing son, went to Franc D'Ambrosio after a worldwide search of over two hundred actors and tenors.

Madonna lobbied for the role of Mary Corleone, even meeting with Francis Ford Coppola and Robert De Niro. It was decided that she was too old for the role. She was offered the role of Grace Hamilton, but she wanted too much money for such a small part.

The opening shots of the Corleone compound were originally filmed for Der Pate 2 (1974) but were deleted from the final film. They were first used in the opening credits for Der Pate - Die Saga (1977).

Michael tells Vincent to "never let anyone know what you're thinking." His father Vito told Vincent's father Sonny the same thing in Der Pate (1972). In that case, though, the positions are reversed: Sonny wanted to do business with Sollozzo, which Vito refused to do. Vincent wants to strike back against Joey Zaza, while Michael encourages diplomacy.

The film is partly based on the findings of David Yallop's book "In God's name" first published 1984. The book is about the "30-day pope" Pope John Paul I, who is also depicted in the film.

This film takes place from 1979 to 1997.

Earlier drafts of the script included the character of Rocco Lampone showing that he survived his shooting at the end of Der Pate 2 (1974).

The film was made in part to address the financial problems that Zoetrope Studios had incurred as a result of the failure of One From the Heart (1982).

Talia Shire based her make-up and character thrust on Gloria Swanson's performance as Norma Desmond in Billy Wilder's Boulevard der Dämmerung (1950).

Even during filming, Sofia Coppola was acutely aware of the battering she was getting in the press for being the director's daughter in a choice part. She found it to be very distracting and upsetting when she was trying hard to concentrate on acting.

Actors competing for the role of Vincent Mancini, according to Francis Ford Coppola, included Alec Baldwin, Nicolas Cage, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Val Kilmer, Charlie Sheen, Vincent Spano, and Billy Zane.

Bridget Fonda auditioned for the role of Mary Corleone before being cast as Grace Hamilton instead.

Joe Mantegna also voices the character Fat Tony in Die Simpsons (1989). Die Simpsons: Moe Baby Blues (2003) has Fat Tony crying, "I haven't cried this much since I paid to see Godfather III", in addition to other references to the franchise.

Julia Roberts turned down the role of Mary Corleone in order to star in Pretty Woman (1990).

Joey Zasa, who takes over the Corleone Family's New York City operations, was modeled after Gambino Family boss John Gotti. In real life, Gotti lead the coup against the previous boss, Paul Castellano, the real-life uncle of Der Pate (1972) cast member Richard Castellano. In the story, Clemenza's character, Pete Clemenza, is the first heir to the Corleone operations in New York City.

Dyeing George Hamilton's hair proved to be problematic, as it invariably came out orange.

Annabella Sciorra was considered for the role of Mary Corleone after Winona Ryder dropped out.

John Savage plays the son of Robert Duvall's character from the previous films. Savage's sister, Gail Young, is Duvall's ex-wife.

Eccentric character actor Timothy Carey (who had turned down roles in both of the previous films) desired to play the role of Don Altobello. Coppola, however, was skeptical, convinced that Carey was too young-looking to play the part. Carey, undaunted, had an elaborate screentest filmed, in which he had colored his hair white and powdered his face to appear older, and had even gotten access to the Hilton Hotel. Coppola was apparently impressed and considered Carey for the part, but shortly thereafter, Carey suffered a serious stroke that put him out of the running.

Joey Zasa is named after Francis Ford Coppola's maternal grandmother, whose maiden name was Zasa. Lou Pennino is named after Coppola's grandfather, Francesco Pennino.

Corrado Gaipa, who played Don Tommasino, was to reprise his role, but died before production began. Coppola, working on the assumption that no one would remember Gaipa's character, hired Vittorio Duse to play Don Tommasino.

Unlike the previous two films, Al Pacino was not nominated for an Oscar for his performance in this one. However, as with the first film, he found himself competing with a cast mate at Oscar time. Previously, he was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, as were Robert Duvall and James Caan. For this film, Andy Garcia was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, just as his on-screen father James Caan had been. Pacino was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Dick Tracy (1990), a role which reunited him with James Caan.

Contrary to some advertisements, this is the only film in the trilogy that did not receive an extensive remaster as part of American Zoetrope's "Francis Ford Coppola Restoration" in 2008. Instead, a more traditional remaster was performed; most likely due to the film's then-recent vintage not requiring meticulous effort.

Charlie Bluhdorn, to whom the movie is dedicated, was the founder of Gulf+Western, which had acquired Paramount Pictures in 1966. He tried to keep the studio afloat after the disastrous failure of Darling Lili (1970) by making some shady transactions with the Italian firm Societa Generale Immobiliare International (SGI).

During shooting, George Lucas spent one day at the Atlantic City set, part of visiting his friend, Francis Ford Coppola.

The movie unites Al Pacino and Joe Mantegna, who share a role in common. Both have played Ricky Roma in different versions of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross. Mantegna originated the role in the Broadway play (1984) while Pacino played the role in the film version Glengarry Glen Ross (1992).

The film cast includes three Oscar winners: Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, and Sofia Coppola; and two Oscar nominees: Andy Garcia and Talia Shire.

Donal Donnelly, who plays the corrupt cardinal here, was long known to Francis Ford Coppola, as he had originally wanted to cast him as the leprechaun in Der goldene Regenbogen (1968).

Three years before the film was released, the title was used for an episode of Prost Helmut! (1982): Prost Helmut!: The Godfather: Part 3 (1987).

Mickey Rourke was a candidate for Joey Zasa, but was deemed "not Italian enough". Dennis Farina and John Turturro were also considered. Sylvester Stallone was offered the role, but passed on it.

The opening shot of the Sicilian section bearing the caption "Bagheria, Sicily" was shot on the road below the temple at Segesta, thirty-seven miles (sixty kilometers), away from Bagheria, and on no possible approach route. In the intervening twenty-five years, the area has been fenced, and the verges are grown, but it is still possible to stand on the side of the road exactly where the camera's point of view would have been.

Andy Garcia was widely felt to look too Cuban to play Vincent.

The movie would originally open with the scene of Michael talking business with the Vatican cardinal. It eventually opened with a Michael voice-over, and the original opening scene was pushed back to much later in the movie. The unedited version (where the two characters discuss Emperor Constantine) is seen on a DVD extra.

Francis Ford Coppola wanted Gastone Moschin, who played Don Fanucci in Der Pate 2 (1974), to play a different role in this film, but Moschin was unavailable.

The first song played by the band at Michael Corleone's party following the church ceremony is "Cuban Rhapsody", the same melody sung by "Yolanda", the entertainer in the New Year's Eve nightclub scene in Der Pate 2 (1974).

Madeleine Stowe was one of many actresses that Paramount Pictures proposed for Mary Corleone after Winona Ryder's sudden departure. Francis Ford Coppola, however, wanted to cast someone still in her teens.

Along with Rocky V (1990), this is one of two 1990 sequels to a Best Picture Academy Award winner to star Talia Shire (Connie Corleone).

Luke Perry auditioned for the role of Vincent Mancini.

Eli Wallach was previously considered for the part of Maggio in Verdammt in alle Ewigkeit (1953), but turned it down, leading to the part going to Frank Sinatra. Legend has it that Sinatra used mob ties to get the part, which inspired the Johnny Fontaine subplot in Der Pate (1972).

The license plate on the Cadillac Joey Zasa is auctioning away is "MEUCCI".

Many fans of the film were upset that the song "Brucia La Terra", which Anthony sang to Michael early in the film, was omitted from the soundtrack CD.

Richard Brooks, Alexander Jacobs, and Vincent Patrick are also among the writers who wrote rejected scripts for the film.

The shortest movie in The Godfather trilogy.

The M38 Carcano carbine used at the Opera by Mosca for his failed assassination attempt is a variant of the same rifle that was used in the assassination of President Kennedy.

Albert Finney, Marcello Mastroianni, Philippe Noiret, and Gian Maria Volontè were considered for the role of Archbishop Liam Francis Gilday.

This film is one of Walter Murch's four Academy Award nominations for editing to be edited in a different editing format, in this instance the KEM flatbed machine.

This movie was escorted by a handcuffed FBI agent to each movie theater first run prints, as it was shown that fear of theft of the completed film was quite justified, as recent films were on the black market the time the first showing was viewed by a paying customer.

Alec Baldwin was the original choice to play Vincent Mancini.

This was the first and only Godfather chapter to be shot in the Super 35 format.

Vittorio Gassman, Yves Montand, and Michel Piccoli were considered to play The Pope.

The first time a second sequel in a film series has been nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. It is also the only time an actor has been nominated for a role in the third film of a film series, with Andy Garcia being nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

Diane Lane and Virginia Madsen were considered for the role of Grace Hamilton.

The only Godfather film in the series to not have multiple acting nominations at the Academy Awards, and to not win any awards in the acting categories.

The only Best Picture nominee that year to be also nominated for Best Song.

Willie Brown: The former Mayor appears as the black man who manages to have a word with Michael in the party sequence. He appeared as a personal invitation by Francis Ford Coppola.

Sonny Grosso: The man who rudely interrupts the New York City stockholders press conference.

In a March 2010 interview, Andy Garcia revealed that Francis Ford Coppola had informally planned a fourth Godfather film. Much like Der Pate 2 (1974), the film would follow a parallel narrative in different eras, with one story focusing on Garcia's character, Vincent, leading the Family into the modern era, and the other story following the youth of Vincent's father, Sonny, with Leonardo DiCaprio tipped as Coppola's first choice for the role. Coppola, along with Mario Puzo, began working on the story, though Puzo's death cut short the development. Coppola didn't wish to continue without Puzo's involvement, so the project was abandoned. Paramount Pictures, however, has considered proceeding with a fourth film without Puzo, or even Coppola's involvement (possibly based on the Godfather novels by Mark Winegardner), though as of 2010, no official plans for a fourth film exist.

According to Francis Ford Coppola, in the final sequence, Michael's outcry was almost completely cut out, due to its agonizing sound.

A Corleone brother dies in every Godfather movie. Sonny was assassinated in Der Pate (1972), Fredo was murdered in Der Pate 2 (1974), and Michael dies at the end of this movie.

The presence of oranges in all three movies indicates that a death or an assassination attempt will soon happen: Don Vito places a slice of orange peel over his teeth to frighten young Anthony in The Godfather (1972). Michael sucks on an orange in The Godfather: Part II (1974) while planning Hyman Roth's assassination. Don Altobello tosses a kid an orange just before ordering Michael's assassination. An orange rolls over the table just before the helicopter attack. Michael and Altobello are seen drinking orange juice. Michael Corleone dies with an orange in his hand.

According to Francis Ford Coppola, the original script had a different ending, in which Michael and Kay reconciled together after the opera sequence. It dissolves to a church service sequence, in which a gunman guns down Michael before getting shot, and it ends with Michael lying to Kay for the last time before he dies. Coppola decided against that, and opted for the ending in the film with the gunman element from the original ending retained. The ending which was filmed, was inspired by a real-life incident in which Sound Designer Richard Beggs lost his daughter to that similar circumstance.

Originally, the script was to center around Tom and Michael. Tom was going to be an informant. When Robert Duvall got the script he realized his character was the second lead, yet the studio was offering the same amount of money as he received for the last film (around 1/9th the money all the other principals received). Duvall counteroffered through Francis Ford Coppola to Paramount Pictures. Paramount denied offering more money, and told Coppola to re-write the script without Tom. This version was the only one to feature Michael dying in a car accident at the end of the film.

The final sequence (Mary's death) was inspired by a real-life murder by stray shot of sound designer Richard Beggs' daughter.

Although the year Michael Corleone dies is never mentioned, the DVD's "Family Tree" feature confirms Michael died peacefully in 1997. Thus this scene took place seven years in the "future" during filming.

Writer-director Francis Ford Coppola lobbied intensely for the film to be called "The Death of Michael Corleone" rather than "The Godfather: Part III", but in the end, was overruled by the studio. However, when the film was released on DVD, the penultimate chapter was called "The Death of Michael Corleone".

Originally, Calo was to kill Don Lucchesi by snapping his neck and this was filmed. However, Francis Ford Coppola did not like how it looked, and decided to change it to a very bloody death, inspired by Akira Kurosawa's films. The blood spurt from Lucchesi's neck originally earned the film an NC-17 rating from the MPAA, so a few seconds were deleted in order to garner an R-rating. Although unused in the film, a clip of Calo snapping Lucchesi's neck was included in the film's official trailer.

Michael Corleone's funeral was written and rehearsed, but not shot.

Most of the rogue characters are based on the key players of the 30-Day Pope conspiracy during Pope John Paul I's brief reign. Kenzig the banker was based on Roberto Calvi, managing director of the Bank of Milan, who was found hanged in London in June 19, 1982. He was accused by Italian authorities of being involved in the disappearance of Vatican funds amounting to $1.25 billion. Lucchesi was based on Giulio Andreotti, an Italian politician and former Prime Minister. Gilday was based on Paul Marcinkus, a one-time Director of the Vatican Bank, who to this day has remained silent about the conspiracy.

The character of Joey Zasa was based on two mob kingpins of the 1960s and early 1970s. One was Joe Columbo, who organized the Italian-American Civil Rights League, which was supposedly a civil rights organization, but was actually intended to stop FBI investigations into mob activities. Colombo embarrassed others in the Cosa Nostra by keeping a high public profile, and enraged Mafia bigwigs when they discovered he was making a fortune from the organization, and not sharing any of the money with them. He was shot in New York City's Columbus Circle (though he didn't die until several years later) during a rally by his organization. The hitman, a black gangster, was immediately shot and killed by "person or persons unknown", according to police reports. The other is Joe Gallo, who organized the hit on Colombo, was known (and reviled by other mobsters) for recruiting blacks and Hispanics into his crew, and hung out with several Hollywood and Broadway celebrities, including Jerry Orbach.

The movie provides a fictional explanation for several events surrounding the real-life scandals of the Vatican Bank, from 1978 to 1982. Most notably, the film depicts the alleged murder of Pope John Paul I, who was found dead sitting up in his bed on September 29, 1978, only thirty-three days after assuming the papacy. Journalist David Yallop has speculated that John Paul I died after drinking poisoned tea (as depicted in the film), the victim of a conspiracy by archbishops and cardinals who were fearful of the new pope's planned reforms for the Vatican Bank (the character of Archbishop Gilday is based on Paul Marcinkus, a Chicago-born archbishop who was the head of the Vatican Bank at the time). Also in the film, the murder of the Swiss banker Frederick Keinszig mirrors the real-life death of Italian banker Roberto Calvi, President of the Banco Ambrosiano. In 1982 the bank--which had strong ties to both the Vatican Bank and the Sicilian Mafia--collapsed largely due to Calvi's shady international money exchanges. On June 18, 1982, Calvi (who had fled Italy to escape indictment) was found hanging from the Blackfriar's Bridge in London, with $15,000 in various currencies in his pocket. His death was first ruled a suicide, then later a murder. In 2005 five people, including two Sicilian gangsters--were indicted for Calvi's murder, but all were acquitted in 2007. Additionally in the film, the Sicilian Don Licio Lucchesi is a loose caricature of former Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, who had ties to the Sicilian Mafia early in his career, but who later turned on them. With Lucchesi's thick glasses and ever-present bodyguard, the caricature of Andreotti would be very recognizable to Italian audiences.

A Corleone brother dies in every film in the trilogy. Sonny (The Godfather), Fredo (The Godfather: Part II), and Michael (The Godfather: Part III).

Although being credited as one of the three editors, Lisa Fruchtman worked only on the final five minutes of the film, from Mary's murder until Michael's death.

When Michael and the rest of the family arrive in Sicily, a group of local citizens is holding up a banner greeting "Commendatore Michael Corleone", and the hammer and sickle of the Italian Communist Party appears on either side of the name.

During the parade scene, Joey Zasa says, "We got Don Ameche, who played the guy that invented the telephone." This is a reference to Liebe und Leben des Telefonbauers A. Bell (1939), in which Bridget Fonda's grandfather Henry Fonda played Thomas Watson. Furthermore, Ameche was considered for the role of Don Vito Corleone in Der Pate (1972) before Marlon Brando was cast. Joe Mantegna, who plays Zasa, co-starred with Ameche as a small-time gangster in Wo bitte geht's zum Knast (1988).

Although Altobello's first name is not revealed here, in the book "The Godfather Returns" by Mark Winegardner, his first name is Oswaldo.

When Michael and his daughter, Mary, pick up Kay, Mary turns around to take a picture of her parents, facing the camera, and says "Hey Dad, smile!", meaning, of course, Michael. Behind the camera is Francis Ford Coppola, the director, who is the father of the actress Sofia Coppola, playing Mary.

Although it is not explicitly stated, fan theory speculates that in the scene with Mary's murder, Michael went blind due to his extreme emotional grief and rage (which was aggravated by his diabetic condition, blindness being a possible effect of diabetes in some cases). The final scene with his death has him wearing dark glasses and keeping a cane nearby, both usual visual indications that a character is blind. However, this isn't actually confirmed or denied by either Al Pacino or Francis Ford Coppola.

The original script, with Tom Hagen, for this film written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola was very different from the final version seen on the film. In the original script, there was no Joey Zasa and no B.J Harrison. In the end, Mosca shoots Michael to his death. Michael dies on Tom's arms and Tom weeps over him bitterly. In the original script, Mary is alive and attends Michael's funeral with others.

As Vincent shoots and kills the two apartment intruders, over his left shoulder is a sepia colored photograph of his father Sonny Coleone.