For the thirtieth anniversary of the crime thriller "The Godfather 3" filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola will release a new, re-edited version of the film: in it, the director changed the beginning, the end, and also rearranged several scenes.

The director explained that this is how the film reflects his own vision of the ending.

With this vision, according to Coppola, the author of the novel The Godfather, Mario Puzo, who died in 1999, agrees.

The tape will be released completely restored and with a new title - "The Godfather, coda: Death of Michael Corleone."

“For Mario and me, The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone expresses our preference for the title of the film and our original vision for what eventually became The Godfather III.

For this version of the final part, I created a new beginning and end, changed some of the scenes, frames and music.

Thanks to these changes, as well as the restored video and sound, this version seems to me a better end to the story started in "The Godfather" and "The Godfather 2", - quoted by the director The Hollywood Reporter.

The new film is being produced by Paramount Pictures and American Zoetrope, founded by Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas.

Andrea Kalas, senior vice president of Paramount Archives, said the director personally oversaw the reconstruction process.

“During the work on the new version, Mr. Coppola carefully followed all aspects of the restoration.

He wanted the film not only to have impeccable picture and sound, but also to meet his personal standards and director's vision, ”- quotes the words of Kalas Collider.

The film will be released in limited release in December, followed by a web and Blu-ray release.

  • © Still from the movie "The Godfather" (1972)

The series of gangster films by Francis Ford Coppola is based on the novel "The Godfather" by Mario Puzo, first published in 1969.

The book tells the story of the life of the Corleone mafia family.

The novel sold approximately 21 million copies and became one of the most successful fiction books in history.

Coppola filmed Puzo's novel in 1972.

They worked with the writer on the script of the film of the same name.

The main role - Don Vito Corleone - was played by Marlon Brando, and his son Michael was played by Al Pacino.

The film grossed about $ 246 million with a budget of $ 6 million and received the highest ratings from critics: the rating of the tape on the Rotten Tomatoes website is 98%.

The Godfather was nominated for an Academy Award in 11 categories and won three (Best Picture, Actor and Adapted Screenplay).

In addition, Coppola's tape set new standards in cinematography and became a classic of American cinema.

The second film in the series, 1974's The Godfather 2, was also successful.

Michael was again played by Al Pacino, and the role of Vito Corleone went to Robert De Niro.

The tape also received high marks from critics and was awarded six Oscars, including in the main nominations - for best film, adapted script and direction.  

In 1990, the final part of the trilogy was released - "The Godfather 3".

Events in it unfold 20 years after the story shown in the second film.

The main role was played by Al Pacino.

The performance of this picture was not as impressive as that of the two previous films.

Film critics noted that the film turned out to be the weakest of the entire series in terms of storytelling.

Many called it sluggish and disappointing and concluded that the final part in this trilogy was superfluous.

The feed rating on Rotten Tomatoes is 69%.

The film was nominated for an Oscar, but failed to win in any of the seven categories.