The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone
“When they come, they come at what you love.”
Don Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) has learned some hard lessons during his reign at the head of the Corleone crime family. In the final installment of THE GODFATHER TRILOGY Don Corleone is nearly sixty years old and is plagued by the horrors he has ordered in his thirst for power. That’s why he wants to legitimise the family business and find a way out of the violent underworld at all cost. But the ambitions of the younger generation within the family, namely his brother Sonny’s illegitimate son Vincent (Andy Garcia), get in the way. In an attempt to link the Corleone capital to the Vatican, Michael is confronted with a power-hungry rival, which costs him dearly and unsettles the long-founded Mafioso order.
THE GODFATHER TRILOGY follows the Corleone son Michael for decades, starting from his initial refusal to be part of the family affairs to his ruthless rise to the top and his eventual, lonely downfall.
Creator and writer-screenwriter Mario Puzo and director-screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola tell a compelling story that in itself imagines the American Dream: everyone can make something of himself, as long as you work hard and have a little bit of luck. Whatever happens next, is up to the receiver of the dream. How did Michael, the most sentimental of the Corleone sons and a decorated war hero, become the most ruthless Don of the clan? During the first and second film, you’re left with questions: why did Michael agree to become the head of the family? The third film makes us understand: “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in,” Michael says after his meeting with the other Dons where he announces he’s going legit. We as the audience need the final part of the trilogy to watch Michael’s character development be completed. A man whose actions and obligations embody what the true meaning of crime and punishment is.
For the thirtieth anniversary of the film, Francis Ford Coppola released a recut in 2020, titled THE GODFATHER CODA: THE DEATH OF MICHAEL CORLEONE, which closer resembled his vision for the movie than the original release. This version includes a new beginning and ending with remastered images, sound and music. The cast and crew as well as the press consider this version an atonement for the conclusion of the trilogy, which would forever change American cinema. We screen Coppola’s CODA in 4K.
On Sunday the 1st of November 2026, we screen THE GODFATHER TRILOGY at De Cinema. With THE GODFATHER on 35MM, THE GODFATHER PART II on 35MM and THE GODFATHER CODA: THE DEATH OF MICHAEL CORLEONE in 4K.
