MovieChat Forums > The Godfather Part III (1990) Discussion > Was the final shot necessary? (SPOILERS)

Was the final shot necessary? (SPOILERS)


I mean, Michael Corleone falling from the chair, dying alone in Sicily with only a dog as witness.

Wasn't the death of his daughter enough? His character's arc was closed by this ultimate tragedy, and it was easy to figure that he would live a miserable life after that.

I could have done with the last shot of him, twenty years older, putting his glasses and remembering the past, it was obvious he would die soon, but Coppola could have spared us the sight of one of the most iconic characters dying in such a pathetic way, we had the major upset already.

Darth Vader is scary and I  The Godfather

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I get what you are saying but I also think that was the point. Michael, who after decades of doing what he did, under the auspices of the love and protection of his family ends up with nothing and no one in the last moment of his life essentially cementing the complete futility of everything he tried to do and be. The ultimate tragedy.

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I completely agree.

The part before with the death of his daughter and the silent scream is one of my favourite moments in the trilogy but the final 30 seconds of this film are unnecessary.

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I also found that final shot tacky and although we already know Michael would end up alone and miserable, do we really need to see him topple over with a dog for company? Michael deserves better than that and showing it that way really did disservice for such a great character IMO.

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Necessary for Coppola to ensure he wouldn't have to make Godfather Part IV. ;)

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Nobody noticed how unintentionally friggin HILARIOUS it was?? It was like a spoof, or a comedy sketch.

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They could always tell the years that took place before his death... or just the rise of a new generation without Michael.

They both sound like terrible ideas, but anything can happen.

It could be a standalone story in "The Godfatherverse".

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That's true, but that would be somewhat weakened by the fact that you know how Michael dies, that you know he won't get gunned down. Unless they would do a deconstruction that reveals what we thought was Michael dying was actually his clone. ;)

Another reason to have this final scene, I guess, was to make a parallel with the last scene of Don Vito.

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