The Godfather: Part III - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of The Godfather: Part III or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to The Godfather: Part III

[dustin]

The opening shots of the Corleone compound were originally filmed for The Godfather: Part II (1974) but were deleted from the final film. They were first used in the opening credits for The Godfather Saga (1977).

[alyssa]

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.

[mathew]

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, before she was ultimately replaced by Sofia Coppola.

[marc]

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

[ronnie]

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.

[frances]

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

[camila]

This is the second movie in which Andy Garcia appears in a major scene where he shoots someone on long stairs. The first being The Untouchables (1987).

[gerald]

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.

[janice]

Sofia Coppola (daughter of Francis Ford Coppola), played Michael Corleone's daughter, despite playing his neice as an infant in The Godfather (1972), and an unnamed child on the ship In The Godfather: Part II (1974). Winona Ryder was originally cast, but she withdrew so that she could appear in Edward Scissorhands (1990).

[kenzi]

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

[sophie]

Joe Mantegna later joined the cast of Criminal Minds (2005); while discussing mobster movies in the episode "Criminal Minds: Snake Eyes (2012)", his character claims that, having seen too much violence like that in his life, he's not a fan of them.

[wallace]

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.

[jim]

Eli Wallach was previously considered for the part of Maggio in From Here to Eternity (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 The Godfather (1972).

[ella]

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.

[russell]

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

[christina]

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

[jesse]

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.

[nicholas]

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).

[cameron]

Alec Baldwin was the original choice to play Vincent Mancini.