20 Times Directors You Trust Totally Let You Down
16. Francis Ford Coppola - The Godfather Part III
The Director:
Francis Ford Coppola has always been wildly inconsistent, but when he's on form he's nearly impossible to match. Few, if any, directors have had a run like he did in the 1970s, with four timeless classics: The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation and Apocalypse Now.
The Film:
Some defend The Godfather Part III, but it really is just a poor film through and through. Most will watch the first two films many times, but there's no reason to watch this one more than once.
There's nothing to get out of this one. The plot is too convoluted to take much away from, while the film-making on display can't hold a candle to the first two films. Thinking of, say, the brilliant baptism scene from the first one, and then comparing that to anything from this one, this threequel's inferiority only becomes even more embarassingly clear.
Coppola's biggest mistake? Casting Sofia Coppola, his daughter, as Mary Corleone. Luckily, she didn't try to continue acting and has had a prosperous directing career.
Has He Bounced Back?
Sort of. His output has been inconsistent since 1990, with some projects being more well-received than others. He hasn't been directing a lot recently.