Another reason, of course, was Francis Ford Coppola. When he had made Part I, Coppola was a struggling young filmmaker, known for talent, but not a proven box-office commodity. After Part II, he was the King, with two Best Picture Winners, two box office smashes, and a third movie (THE CONVERSATION) which also pleased critics. But in the years after Part II, he lost a studio, made APOCALYPSE NOW - which cost him much financially and personally, and divides people to this day - lost his son Gio in a boating accident (in 1986), made the scandal-plagued THE COTTON CLUB, and had a decade of mostly flops (ONE FROM THE HEART) and few hits (PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED). So like Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in Part III, Coppola was trying to recapture something he had lost.
Finally, it seemingly wouldn't be a Coppola film without controversy during the shoot. Of course, the most famous story came when Winona Ryder, scheduled to play the part of Mary, Michael's daughter, fell ill to exhaustion, and Coppola had to place his daughter Sofia, a mostly inexperienced actress, in the part. There was also the matter of Robert Duvall not returning to his role as lawyer Tom Hagen, and the rush to complete the film for release at Christmas of 1990. So, the question becomes, was it all worth it?
Almost no one, of course, thought it was on par with the first two. Yet there were many people who thought it was a good film nonetheless, and I'm one of them. Not that there aren't flaws. The movie is set in the late 70's, during which time Pope John Paul I died after a short reign under mysterious circumstances, and the film uses that as a reference point. But if memory serves, the film gets its dates mixed up. Also, Bridget Fonda is wasted in the small role of a reporter who tries to get an interview with Michael, but instead, thanks to Michael's nephew Vincent (Andy Garcia), gets a first-hand look at the seamy side of business. Finally, I think it's a little too much to believe Michael's sister Connie (Talia Shire) would become an enforcer on her own.
