THE GODFATHER PART III (1990): Diane Keaton Reacts to Francis Coppola’s Recut

Diane Keaton Reacts to Recut of The Godfather Part III

Diane Keaton who played Kay Michelson in the Godfather film series was thrilled to see director Francis Ford Coppola‘s new recut of The Godfather Part III despite not liking the film’s original release the actress said in a recent interview with Variety.

Thirty years after the critical and box office failure of The Godfather Part III, Coppola returned to reedit the coda to his widely acclaimed series of mafia films. The director reordered scenes, edited audio and musical features, and gave his film a new beginning and ending. Coppola named his new creation Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, and invited Keaton, Al Pacino, Talia Shire, and George Hamilton to see it at a private screening at Paramount Studios.

“It was one of the best moments of my life to watch it,” says Keaton. “To me it was a dream come true. I saw the movie in a completely different light. When I saw it way back, it was like ‘Oh, I don’t know.’ It didn’t seem to do that well and the reviews weren’t great. But Francis restructured the beginning and the end and man, I’m telling you it worked.”

With regard to the original cut of the film, Keaton said that she didn’t “know why people didn’t appreciate it, but I was one of them,” she admits. “What was wrong with me? Why didn’t I like this before? But I didn’t. I kind of just dismissed it and thought, ‘oh well.’”

Keaton said she thinks that Coppola’s new cut will convince people to reconsider the movie in addition to Sofia Coppola‘s performance as Mary Corleone, which was one of the most derided aspects of the film. The young actress had very little experience when she had to fill in for Winona Ryder just before shooting began. Critics panned her performance “calling it flat, amateurish and unconvincing.”

“That’s not going to happen anymore,” Keaton said. “She’s what a daughter would be like if you had this guy as your dad, the head of a criminal organization. She was not so sure of herself and is kind of quiet. Kind of haunted. I thought she was fantastic.”

Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone will soon be available on premium video on demand and Blu-ray on December 8th.

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