Francis Copppla’s The Godfather, Part III (‘90) is the concluding chapter in the three-part Corleone crime family epic, The Godfather (‘72) and The Godfather, Part II (‘74) comprising the first two installments.

This is common knowledge, of course. It’s also understood among semi-literates that “coda” means “concluding passage of a piece or movement.” What, therefore, was the reason for retitling Coppola’s newly re-edited version of the final chapter as Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone?

19 syllables is at least 10 too long. And who needs “coda” in an already overloaded title? HE suggests eliminating (a) “Mario Puzo’s”, (b) “coda” and (c) “The Death of Michael Corleone” and just calling it Godfather III: The Last Reshuffle — 9 syllables!

Coppola’s official statement: