Customer Reviews

The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration

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The new transfers for The Godfather Parts I and II are stunning. It really is like seeing them for the first time. All of the murky, faded colors have been restored to their original glory while still retaining the warmth of the film stock. Gordon Willis' then-controversial cinematography can finally be seen they way it was intended on these new discs. If you have the original box set, it is worth it to double dip if only for the restoration job on these two films.

Carried over from the original set are all of Francis Ford Coppola's commentary tracks for the three films. On The Godfather one, he appropriately enough, starts off by talking about the film's famous opening scene and how it was supposed to start with the wedding but a friend suggested he do something else. Coppola talks about how he organized the elaborate wedding sequence and shot it only 2-3 days! He talks about the pressure he was under by the studio and in read danger of being fired because they didn't like what he was doing. This is pretty solid track that we've come to expect from the veteran filmmaker.

Coppola's contributes another excellent commentary for The Godfather Part II. Initially, he had no interest in doing a sequel and dealing with studio bureaucracy. He suggested Martin Scorsese for the job. The studio balked at this idea and accepted all of Coppola's terms. The veteran filmmaker talks at length about the development of the Corleone family from Part I. Coppola is engaging and very articulate, delivering a top notch track that is well worth a listen for any fan of this movie.

Finally, there is Coppola's commentary for The Godfather Part III. One of the heated debates the filmmaker had with the studio was over Pacino's hair. He wanted Michael to look older and like a man in crisis, while the studio didn't want to mess with Pacino's distinctive looks. Coppola defends his casting of Sofia and feels that she delivered a "real" performance because she wasn't an actor. He also addresses the scathing criticism she received as in fact an attack on him. This is a solid track with good observations and analysis by Coppola -- better than the film itself.

The rest of the supplemental material is spread out of two discs. Thankfully for those who did not buy the first box set all of the extras from it have been carried over with a whole other disc of brand new material.

The fourth disc features all the brand new material and starts off with "Godfather World," which takes a look at how The Godfather films influenced popular culture, including parodies on The Simpsons and South Park, and how it informed the characters on The Sopranos. All kinds of celebrities, from William Friedkin and Alec Baldwin to author Sarah Vowell who sing its praises with clips of shows and films that reference it.

"The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't" tells the story of how Hollywood had changed at the end of the 1960s with the demise of the studio moguls and the rise of the film brats, the first generation of film students who became filmmakers. One of them, Coppola, ended up being picked to direct The Godfather. This is an excellent look at how the director almost didn't get the gig and why.

"...When the Shooting Stopped" examines the post-production phase of the first film. Coppola battled with the studio over the length of it. Executives initially did not like Nino Rota's score for the film and samples of some of his original and revised cues are played.

"Emulsional Rescue: Revealing The Godfather" takes a look at the newly restored transfers for Part I and II and how they preserve Gordon Willis' gorgeous cinematography. This featurette takes us through the restoration process, showing before and after examples.

"The Godfather on the Red Carpet" is a forgettable featurette shot during the premiere of Cloverfield with various minor celebrities gush about the films.

"Four Short Films on The Godfather" features celebs citing which one they prefer, Part I or II. Another one has Richard Belzer, and the man who adapted the films for the stage, quote their favourite lines, which turns out to be quite funny. The third one sees Coppola talk about his love of cannoli and how made it into the film. Finally, Coppola answers the question about what happened to Clemenza in Part II and why he died.

The fifth disc starts off with "A Look Inside," a feature-length documentary about The Godfather trilogy done when Part III was being made. As a result, a lot of the major players were interviewed. We see Coppola at work on this film with on-set footage of the director working with Pacino. We also see Coppola working on the script with author Mario Puzo. The doc then goes back to the first film with Coppola's battle with the studio over casting Brando, Pacino, et al. with fascinating vintage screen tests and rehearsal footage. This is an excellent extra that goes into great detail.

"On Location" revisits key locations in the lower east side of New York where they shot parts of all three films and how they transformed them into various historical periods.

"Francis Coppola's Notebook" examines how he adapted Puzo's book into the first film. Coppola shows us his notebook that he used as his master document that he would constantly refer to. This featurette provides fascinating insight into the man's creative process.

"Music of The Godfather" features an audio excerpt of a conversation Coppola had with composer Nino Rota about the music for the film. Also included is footage of composer Carmine Coppola (Francis' father) working on Part III. Francis talks about working with his father.

"Coppola and Puzo on Screenwriting" features the author talking about the origins of his novel while Coppola discusses adapting it with Puzo into the films.

"Gordon Willis on Cinematography" features the man talking his approach to the look of the film and the choices he made and why.

"Storyboards - Godfather Part II and Part III" allows you to see sketches for the look of both films and see how Coppola planned to shoot them.

"The Godfather: Behind the Scenes 1971" is a vintage promotional featurette done at the time of the production of the first film. This is a fantastic snapshot of the times.

"The Filmmakers" are text biographies of key crew members.

Also included are 30 additional scenes from the four eras, spanning the entire trilogy. Much of this footage was inserted into the first two films when they were shown on television.

"The Family" gives you a handy organization chart for the Corleone family. You can see who everyone is and how they are related.

Finally, there are "Galleries" with trailers for all three films, stills, a collection of portraits of enemies of the Corleone family, and footage of the Academy Awards wins for the first two Godfather films.

For those crying for the "Godfather Saga"/"Godfather Epic" versions, you are missing the point. Restoration expert Robert Harris (and countless others) worked for over a year from the best available print materials (as the original negatives are badly damaged and faded) to restore the first and second films to their original theatrical glory, which is something these iconic films of American Cinema deserve. That is the point of restoration.

If you are looking for a "wow" disc to show off your Blu-ray home theater sound and video, this is not it. If you are looking to experience modern American Gangster cinema in its 1970's glory, this is as close as you are ever likely to get, muted sepia-esque color, film grain and all.

These were not done exclusively for the home market. The priority was that they were restored for theatres, because that is where they would be judged the most critically, and all indications are that they do not disappoint. Never watch these films in your living room with the lights on. Watch them like you do in the theater, lights out, to appreciate the effort that went into these films.

Francis Ford Coppola and Paramount Home Entertainment held a press conference and street fair in Brooklyn, and yours truly was there! The exciting news, of course, was announcing the release of THE GODFATHER DVD COLLECTION on October 9, 2001! If the preview of the set is any indication, then I must say this will be the crown jewel in any DVD collection!

The three films will only be released together in this set. The Godfather and The Godfather Part III will each be on one disc, and The Godfather Part II will take two discs. The first of the good news? Francis Coppola has recorded full-lenth audio commentaries for all three films!

But wait, there's a fifth disc that will blow your socks off! Check this out -- the bonus disc contains 3+ hours worth of special features, including: > "The Godfather Family: A Look Inside" documentary > "Francis Coppola's Notebook", an inside look at taking the book to screen! > "On Location" with production designer Dean Tavoularis! > "The Godfather Behind The Scenes" 1971 featurette! > "The Cinematography of The Godfather"! > "The Music of The Godfather" -- two featurettes! > "Coppola and Puzo on Screenwriting"! > Storyboards from GF2 and GF3! > "The Corleone Family Tree" character and cast bios! > Academy Award® acceptance speeches! > Photo galleries with captions! > Theatrical trailers! > Filmmaker bios! > Corleone Family timeline, with real-life events mixed in! > Never-seen alternate opening of GF3! > And "all" of the extra footage found in the televised Godfather Saga!

The picture quality looked fantastic -- Coppola's American Zoetrope did a wonderful job restoring the films! From what I could tell, the sound quality was perfect, and the on-screen menus looked great. And the DVD packaging looks very nice.

All three films are in widescreen format with English 5.1 surround sound, French mono, and English subtitles.

Perhaps the only "bad" news I heard was that there were no plans at this point to release the chronological version on DVD. Francis said that the films were meant to be seen with the flashbacks, and I tend to agree. The biggest plus of having The Godfather Trilogy or Epic on tape, or watching The Godfather Saga on TV, was all the extra footage included. Well, the bonus disc in The Godfather DVD Collection contains "all" of the extra footage, and even something we've never seen anywhere before: an alternate opening for The Godfather Part III. Francis didn't give a firm "no" though; he cited technical reasons for not being able to include all the extra footage on DVD: the different scenes are in various levels of production ("they weren't mixed and scored"), making it difficult to add them seemlessly with today's technology. Maybe, but they seemed to be okay in the boxed sets and on TV to me.

Do yourself a favor and order the biggest DVD release of all time!

Let's put this behind us: the Godfather was, is and will always be 'grainy'. It's just the way they were shooting movies THIRTY-SIX YEARS AGO. So, yes, it's a 36 year old movie and it looks its age. It's true, '2001' looks a lot better on blu but, apparently, that's the best that could be extracted from the existing Godfather negatives - there is an entire 'extra' that explains how the transfer was done and the sometimes painful choices the restorers had to make. The transfer is grainy all over. It's grainy all the time. The whites are grainy and so are the blacks. In the end, it does not really matter or it didn't matter much to me because it's better than anything I've seen yet.

Moving beyond grainyness, the picture is steady like rock. I wasn't able to detect any major artifacts. The extra available on 'disk 4', showing the kind of work and the technology invested into this product convinced me that this is the best-looking Godfather except maybe the first screening at the Chinese theater in Hollywood that we are going to see in a long, long time. [A post blu-ray 'better' edition is possible in 10 years or so, when blu-ray is surpassed by a new technology, because the best negatives found were digitized on a resolution that's about 3 times higher than the current blu-ray.]

No major complaints about the sound. It's TrueHD 5.1, it's clear but don't expect any surround effects. I doubt the original was even stereo. It was a little bit low-volume on my stereo but it's probably my equipment to be blamed.

The extras on the 4th disk are actually worth watching. They are shot in HD. There's one where just about all major elderly and late-middle-age Hollywood directors and stars show up and say something, there's one about the restoration itself, a little short where some younger artists appear and say funny things. Overall... not too bad. Oh, besides the HD's, you also get the extras from the 2001 DVD edition and THAT's where you see the difference between Blu and the (previous) DVD version.

Now, for the bloopers section, get this: the blu-ray comes with the plastic disk case inside a cardboard boxy sleeve (very nice) but... there's also a nice 12-page brochure with the pictures of Coppola, Pacino, Brando and information on the contents of each of the 4 disks - coffee table style. Well... the brochure was meant to fit inside that cardboard sleeve, next to the plastic blu-ray disk case but it comes actually GLUED to the cardboard case because... it's too big. Someone forgot that the blu-ray cases are a bit smaller than the DVD's and, apparently, the brochure was supposed to be a 'one size fits all' kind of deal that doesn't fit the blu-ray. Sad.

Overall, I enjoyed the Blu Godfathers. While, yes, the picture is grainy and the transfer does not look like the Transformers or Ratatouille, not even like '2001', the blu-ray does look a lot better than the DVD version. This rendition of the Godfathers has many defects, it's far from perfect but, as far as I know, it's the best there is. I do not regret making the purchase.

I took away one star for the little brochure snafu and for the relatively high price (likely to go down) at release time.

NOTE: Opinions vary but MY review is designed to help those who haven't purchased the product decide whether or not they want to. If you disagree, write a review--the comments section IS for that but not the voting system.

A marvelous restoration job, "The Godfather-The Coppola Restoration Gif Set" includes all three original films as they were presented theatrical. It doesn't have the version that Coppola cut for TV and presented in chronological order. THe first two films are masterpieces and while the third is severely flawed, it does have its moments.

Keep in mind that these were restored for theatrical showings NOT for the home video market and, as such, these probably aren't the best Blu-rays to use to show off your home video system. Some people will no doubt be disappointed but, quite frankly, these films have never looked this good before on home video. Is this a big step up from the DVDs? Yes and no. The Blu-ray does provide better resolution but keep in mind it also shows the flaws inherent in the original films (and some people will regard the grainy images as being a flaw).

First keep in mind that "The Godfather" was meant to look grainy so those of you who hate grain will probably wonder why they didn't eliminate it. That's because to do so would have required altering the look of the film not restoring it and the usual result of eliminating film grain is that you lose detail. The result also makes it look like the actors are walking wax dummies. Some scenes are much grainer than others but that's the way the film was meant to look.

According to Harris in an article at American Cinematographer, the original film was in extremely bad shape and, in some instances, frames from outtakes had to be subsituted because damage had crept into the frame area of the film.

"The Godfather Part II" was in better shape for a variety of reasons and didn't require quite as much work on it as the first film.

"The Godfather Part III" since it used different development techniques from the first three (and for other reasons you can read at the American Cinematographer website)and only required Harris to match the black levels and make sure the color scheme was done correctly.


Robert Harris has done a marvelous job on the restoration of the film. Colors are bolder than before with nice crisp images as cinematographer Gordon Willis originally shot the film. While the DVD looks terrific, the Blu-ray looks positively stunning. Does it look like a film released last year? No, of course not that would be impossible but Harris working with Coppola and Willis has brought the film into the 21st century without overprocessing the image (like the recent Blu-ray "Patton")and staying true to the original look of the original film elements if they were in pristine condition.

All of the previous extras from the boxed set have been ported over in HD along with some new extras including "The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't" documenting the difficult birth of the film from Paramount asking Puzo to initially change the period setting to 1970's Los Angeles to the constant threat of Coppola being fired during the shooting of the film. "When the Shooting Stops" covers the post-production efforts of editing and scoring the film.

THe humorous "Godfather World" has famous directors illustrated the cultural impact of the film and features bits and pieces from "The Simpsons" to "South Park"."Emulsion Rescue documents Robert Harris' restoration efforts of the aging film elements. "Four Short FIlms of "The Godfather" is amusing as well.


The 12 page booklet included with the Blu-ray was clearly designed for the DVD because it's much too large to fit in the Blu-ray holder (it's glued to the outside packaging). It's odd to design the booklet like this as you'll have to either trim it down to fit inside, slide it in where it might possible become creased or store it separately to prevent wear and tear. It has a bit of info on the Oscars for the films and the credits. It's an odd extra to include because it doesn't have anything truly essential NOT included on the Blu-ray or DVD boxed set.

I'd highly recommend this compelling saga on Blu-ray and DVD. It's a huge improvement on the previous set, has new and previously released extras (including Coppola's often blunt commentary tracks)and looks terrific. For those looking for the TV version that ran in chronological order just be aware it's not here as part of this set although many of the deleted scenes used to assemble that one are included.

This is gonna be great!! I can't wait! Amazon doesn't tell you what you're getting, so here is the scoop as I know it ...

The Godfather Trilogy is ONLY going to be released as a box set! (though I suspect that down the road you will be able to buy them individually)

The trilogy will run across four discs, with GODFATHER II on two discs, and all are in anamorphic widescreen with running audio commentary from Francis Ford Coppola.

The fifth disc will feature 3+ hours worth of bonus material, including Coppola's notebook on adapting the Mario Puzo novel for the screen

* A Documentary on the Making of the Films (73 minutes)
* Additional Scenes
* Cast Rehearsals
* Filming Locations Featurette
* Storyboards
* Cinematography of The Godfather
* The Music of The Godfather
* The Corleone Family Tree
* The Godfather Historical Time Line

That's what I know so far!!! Good stuff huh? Well what are you waiting for? ORDER IT !!!

First the good news...

I purchased the much-anticipated Godfather Box Set, knowing already what great movies these were (well, Part III is merely okay, but I'll spare the redundancies ...you've heard it all before!) The first two pictures continue to be towering achievements in epic film making. Coppola's treatise on family and the mob are undeniable classics.

Nearly as great an accomplishment is Al Pacino's performance in the first two films. If you only have knowledge of Pacino's later, over-the-top work (Scent of a Woman comes to mind), you will be amazed at the great subtleties he is capable of. He is mesmerizing to watch here. In fact, everything in Part's I and II is nearly flawless, from the the cinematography, Nino Rota's score, the period design, etc.

The bad news is all about the prodution of the DVD. Having both the VHS and Laser Disc versions of these movies, I was eagerly awaiting the DVD release. One of the main reasons I was in such a state of anticipation was due to the flaws apparent on those earlier formats. Both the tape and LD versions are rather dark, particularly the scenes in Vito Corleone's office and in Michael's boat house. Sadly, the DVD does nothing to help these scenes. In fact some are worse - for instance, when Jonnie Ola gives Michael an orange in Part II. Characters in these scenes are barely perceptible, fading into the shadows, only distinguishable by their voices.

There is a very bizarre video problem with one scene in particular. Near the end of Part I, at Vito's funeral, Tessio (Abe Vigoda) comes up to speak with Michael. As Tessio's back fills the cameral with a dark shadow, the image of a red face is superimposed on the shot. I could not believe what I was seeing the first time I saw it. I've replayed this, and used the still pause, and it is there! I seriously doubt that this was intentional as it is rather disturbing.

My other complaint is about the sound on Part I. In spots, it is very echoey, sounding as if the film were shot in a cavernous sound stage. I can only guess that this problem cropped up during the remixing of the soundtrack for Dolby Digital. In any event, it is not apparent on either the VHS or LDs.

There are some nice extras on the fifth DVD, but overall I was a bit disappointed at how this package turned out.

"The Godfather DVD Collection" gives the greatest movies of all time the special treatment they deserve. The Godfather Complete Epic combined the first two films into one movie, with the action taking place in chronological order. In addition, some scenes that were originally edited out were put back in. I much prefer "The Godfather" and "The Godfather Part II" in their original versions, which is the way they appear in this DVD collection. Both movies won the Academy Award for best picture, which is an amazing achievement. In addition, "The Godfather Part III" was nominated for best picture. A partial cast list includes some of the greatest actors of all time: Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro, Robert Duvall, Talia Shire and Diane Keaton.

What really sets the Godfather DVD Collection apart is the Bonus Materials disc. It includes a documentary on the making of the films, deleted scenes from all three movies, theatrical trailers and much more. I discovered a hidden bonus in a normally boring feature. In the section entitled "DVD Credits", I kept hitting next to fast forward past the extensive lists of names. After the last list, it takes you to a scene from the HBO series "The Sopranos." They're trying to watch a bootleg copy of the Godfather DVD! That's an extra surprise in a disc already packed with features.

Probably the two best known trilogies in the history of cinema are the "Star Wars" trilogy and "The Godfather" trilogy. To look at all three films by Francis Ford Coppola is to look at three examples of great cinema, of great acting and composition. The first "Godfather" is a true masterpiece, full of so many characters and such a moving story. Marlon Brando is unforgettable in probably his best role. It's also a great parable on the son taking over for the father, of a bloody family tradition being passed down the generations. And the funny thing is, even the son who didn't want anything to do with the family business, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), is eventually the one who ends up commanding it. "The Godfather Part 2" is a brilliant look at both the father and son at the same age. Coppola shows us the rise of Michael as a ruthless mafia don and the ascendance of Don Vito from part 1 in the 20s as a crime boss as well. Coppola nicely balances both, and created a weird moving experience. The movie is elegantly mounted and goes out further than the first one, even takes us to Cuba where Michael flees the night of Castro's takeover. Everything from the sets, suits and music is rich. And the ending is haunting. "The Godfather Part 3" finalizes the saga as we see Michael as an old man, already tired of the violence and wants to legitimize his family. But the past is seductive, and Michael is pulled back in. This movie is rich in cinematography and music. It has a lot of style and great performances by Pacino and Andy Garcia as the trigger happy Vincent. The movie is haunting in it's own way, and exciting. It's great to watch this and connect it's threads with the other two. With part 3 "The Godfather" series ends on the right note. Every film in this collection is a masterpiece and Coppola's best work. It's an example of true cinema.

I don't really care that much about the new extras, the real need to double-dip for this release is the improvement of the video for the three films. If you own the original release you'll have noticed just how un-watchable the three movies were, specially because of the incredible amount of specs and marks which I've found distracting and downright intolerable; there's not a +/-5 second period in which a spec does not appear on I & II while the video in III is affected by terrible color and brightness.
While watching the new release of the Bond fims a few months ago I concluded I couldn't be long before the GODFATHER series received a similar treatment and sooner rather than later, here we are. I really hope the price for this edition is brought down by Amazon from the 62.99 it currently stands but, even if it doesn't, two of the greatest films of all time are worthy of just swallowing and making such expense. I like III very much too but obviously it isn't in the same league with the first two, just about no other film ever made is.
10/13 UPDATE TO THIS REVIEW: Having finally seen this DVDs: fantastic picture, much improved sound. There are plenty of images and sounds there to find which simply couldn't be appreciated in past editions. But you'd think that for $62.99 they'd get the labels on disc 4 & 5 right ! $62.99 !!!! You can find this collection on e-bay for half the amount. Very sorry to say that for the last several months, Amazon has been pricing themselves out of being considered the best option in DVDs.