Review: 'The Godfather, Coda: The Death Of Michael Corleone' is a Grand Reimagining

Francis Ford Coppola has long been a grand tinkerer of his past work, including the recent release of "Apocalypse Now: Final Cut." But If we've learned anything from him revisiting his work with the latest in restoration technology, it's that he always returns to past films because he thinks there's more value to be found. "The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone" offers a retort to the criticisms of "The Godfather Part III" in the best way possible: Coppola has taken the maligned finale to his famous series and retooled it to be more powerful than ever.

It's a damn pleasure to see the rougher edges shaved off and the main tragedy emboldened. This is about Michael Corleone and his grand ignorance of his failures, rather than the original narrative of class ascension and ridiculous Vatican hijinks. Paramount Home Entertainment brings "The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone" to Blu-ray in an edition that's suspiciously spare of special features, but I imagine that's because Paramount plans on releasing all of "The Godfather" films to 4K Blu-ray proper at some point in the future. Even with no special features except for a brief introduction by Coppola himself, I'd pick this up if you want to see a better version of the finale of the famous film series.

Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), now in his 60s, is seeking to turn his empire legitimate by making a huge real estate deal with Archbishop Gilday (Donal Donnelly), who runs the Vatican's bank and is faced with a huge deficit. But with Michael's past wrongdoings wracking him with guilt, and a revolt by Joey Zasa (Joe Mantegna) building up right under his nose, his empire is in more trouble than ever. There's also the matter of Sonny Corleone's illegitimate son Vincent (Andy Garcia) and his love for his cousin, Mary Corleone (Sofia Coppola).

The one show-stopping change that I think viewers will like in this new cut is the opening. Gone is that sprawling intro that connects the film to its predecessors, and here is Michael, sitting in the Vatican making a deal that he thinks will legitimize his empire. He's flanked by the long, decadent vestibules of the Vatican, not realizing that the church is just as rapacious as he once was, and that the forgiveness he seeks by going legitimate will be undercut by a group that has no right in giving that redemption.

Coppola and his production company American Zoetrope worked from a 4K scan of the original camera negative and found alternate takes by sifting through cartons upon cartons of negative, resulting in a restoration that's truly a grand work of preservation. Gordon Willis' baroque cinematography looks better than ever. I highly recommend you pick up this release.

"The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone" is now available on Blu-ray and Digital from Paramount Home Entertainment.