The Godfather Collection – The Coppola Restoration has to be one of the best Blu-ray releases of 2008. Parts I and II are arguably two of the greatest films ever made, and now the entire trilogy is available remastered, with a high-definition Blu-ray picture and TrueHD 5.1 sound. This is just about as good as it gets.
For the Coppola Restoration, the first two films received significant clean-ups, color corrections, and restorations, and the third film a remastering. The work was worth it, because they look better than ever. Even before I watched a single frame of film, I knew I was in for a treat. Containing a fourth disc absolutely load with extras, this release is bound to delight film buffs everywhere.
The Godfather
The 1972 classic that started it all is based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Mario Puzo who also co-wrote the screenplay.. Although many films had been made about gangsters prior to The Godfather, it was Coppola’s sympathetic portrayal of the Corleone family and their associates, and his portrayal of mobsters as complex individuals that made The Godfather and its sequel especially unique. The Godfather was voted greatest film of all time by Entertainment Weekly, and is now ranked as the second greatest film in American cinematic history – behind Citizen Kane. Both The Godfather and The Godfather Part II have been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry, so it is fair to say that Coppola’s trilogy has had a major influence on not only American film, but the culture as well.
The Godfather chronicles the lives of two godfathers of crime, Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), the patriarch of the Corleone family, and his son Michael (Al Pacino), who eventually inherits the mantle of “Godfather.” The film opens in 1945, at the end of World War II and the wedding of Don Vito’s daughter, Connie (Talia Shire). With the wedding scenes, Coppola provides the viewer with a real sense of Sicilian family and culture. After all, these movies are about family above all else.
It’s during the wedding celebration that Coppola lets us know what the Corleone family is all about. As guests party outside, business goes on as usual; supplicants come to do homage to the powerful Don and ask him favors. We are also introduced to Don Vito’s son Michael, a returning War hero; his fiancée, Kay (Diane Keaton); Michael’s older, hotheaded brother, Sonny (James Caan); and the weaker brother, Fredo (John Cazale). Then there’s a long line of Mob associates: Peter Clemenza (Richard Castellano), Sal Tessio (Abe Vigoda), Luca Brasi (Lenny Montana) and consigliere Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall). In addition, we meet Al Martino as pop singer Johnny Fontaine (supposedly patterned after Frank Sinatra) and Richard Conte as a powerful rival gangster, the dapper Don Barzini. Later, we meet Sterling Hayden as a crooked police captain, McCluskey; John Marley as a Hollywood mogul, Jack Woltz; and Al Lettieri as a ruthless killer, Virgil Sollozzo.
It’s hard to fathom now, but it has been written many times that several of Coppola’s casting choices weren’t popular with executives at Paramount. The studio was particularly displeased with his choice of Marlon Brando to play Don Vito Corleone; they wanted Laurence Olivier. In the end, Coppola chose Brando over Ernest Borgnine on the basis of Brando’s screen test, which also won over the Paramount leadership. The studio didn’t want the unknown Al Pacino to play Michael, preferring Robert Redford or Ryan O’Neal. Paramount only relented after Coppola threatened to quit the film if Pacino wasn’t cast. Despite his casting victories, in the DVD commentary Coppola maintains that he was shadowed by a replacement director, who was ready to take over if he were fired.
The Godfather received a good deal of criticism (and still does), along with much praise. Some observers feel that Coppola painted a picture that is far too sympathetic to mob culture and their activities. Certainly, the director and screenwriter go out their way to make Don Vito an honorable man. But they don’t for a moment let us forget about the corrupt business they’re in. Despite a tight budget and heavy pressure from Paramount to produce a hit, Coppola produced a genuine classic. The Godfather eventually won three Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando), and Best Screenplay Adaptation.
The Godfather Part II
In the longest of the three Godfather films, Coppola provides two stories. One deals with Michael’s consolidation of strength as the new head of the family and his effort to head West to Las Vegas to operate casinos, While the other shows us how the family began Through a series of flashbacks, we see how a young Vito Corleone rose from poverty to become one of the most powerful figures in organized crime.
At first blush, not having Brando appear at all in the second film would seem to spell disaster. However, Coppola cleverly dealt with the issue by working around him, filming a few scenes with the older Don present but out of the room. Fortunately, the rest of the cast was to shine with even greater brilliance. Actor’s Studio director and “method” advocate Lee Strasberg made his screen debut as Hyman Roth, the money man of the mob families, a character patterned on real-life gangster Meyer Lansky. And in what was one of the best casting decisions in film history, Robert DeNiro played the young Vito in an Academy Award winning performance.
The Godfather Part II received eleven Academy Award nominations and won six, including the Best Picture Award and the Best Supporting Actor Award for Robert De Niro. The Godfather Part II is one of the few sequels in film history that is thought by many to be equal if not better than the first. Al Pacino’s performance as Michael in this film may be his best performance to date. He runs the gamut of emotions in this epic story and makes you feel hr is Michael Coreleone. I for one, have also been perplexed by the fact that he didn’t win an Oscar for that performance.
The Godfather Part III
By Christmas day 1990 when The Godfather Part III opened in U.S theaters, it had been sixteen years since the second films triumphant reception. In that time, tastes had changed, and the movie going public wasn’t as enamored with mobsters as they once were. As a result, the third installment of the Godfather trilogy fell short in both Box office receipts and critical acclaim. At the time, many critics blamed the films lackluster performance on Francis Ford Coppola’s decision to cast his daughter Sofia, in the major role of Michael’s now-grown daughter. Many thought her lack of experience detracted from the high standards set by the actors around her. Admittedly, at the time I agreed, simply because it seemed like as good a reason as any to explain some of the films rough patches. In hindsight, her performance works well for the character.
After watching the film again for this review, I was struck at how complicated The Godfather Part III was in relation to the first two films. When I think back on seeing the movie during its original theatrical run, I remember being confused by all its complexities; I imagine many others joined me in that camp. Most of the Corleone family we had come to recognize had disappeared or been killed. There was no more Brando or De Niro or Duvall or Caan or Castellano. Only Pacino, Shire, and Keaton were still in evidence, looking much older.
Andy Garcia joins the fray as Sonny’s son (and Michael’s protégé), Vincent, Eli Wallach as old Don Altobello, Joe Mantegna as gangster Joey Zasa, George Hamilton as new consigliere B.J. Harrison, and Raf Vallone as Cardinal Lamberto.
The final installment begins in 1979. Michael and Kay have divorced, and Michael has moved back to New York. As he looks back on his life, Michael sees that he has gained everything yet nothing, and he now seeks respectability and redemption. He tries to go legitimate by severing his ties with the old Mafia families, but, as he says, “Just when I thought I was out, they force me back in.”
Michael is moving in to take over a worldwide corporation (Immobiliare) run by the Vatican. In order to do this, he essentially tries to bribe the church. He negotiates the transfer of $600,000,000 to the Vatican Bank with Archbishop Gilday, who has plunged the Holy See into tremendous debt through his poor management and corrupt dealings. The Church honors Michael for his deed, and secretly agrees to go along with his plans to take over the reins of the company they own. But the old Mafia families want in on the deal with him. This is where the film gets a bit cluttered. I’ve seen the film at least three times, and I still don’t understand all of the details and internal machinations that go on.
The Godfather Part III was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Andy Garcia), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Song (for Carmine Coppola and John Bettis for “Promise Me You’ll Remember”) and Best Picture but won none.
The all-new 1.85:1-ratio transfers, with The Godfather Parts I and II fully restored and Part III getting a remaster leaves us with a set of films looking better than they ever have before. All three films come on BD50s, with 1080p, MPEG-4/AVC reproduction, with cinematographer Gordon Willis’ intentionally dark and dusty look intact.
Compared to the 2001 DVD release, these new BD ones standout with a greater depth of color and cleaner screens. However, some of the graininess that was present in the original theatrical print remains here. Parts I and II boast the deepest colors, a direct result of the color correction and restoration process, and Part III, with its slightly more subdued characteristics, looks to me marginally the more realistic.
All three films offer English soundtracks in Dolby TrueHD 5.1, with Parts I and II offering Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural as well. Like the older DD 5.1 mixes, the three films provide a varied batch of audio qualities. The remixes in “Parts I and II” can sound smooth and reassuring on the one hand and harsh, raspy, nasal, and hollow on the other, depending on the scene. The dynamic range is fine, although most of the sound in all three films is fairly low in volume, mainly dialogue. Still, when we hear gunshots or see explosions, they have authority behind them. There is more surround activity in the third film than in the first two, where the various rear and side effects tend to seem a bit heavy.
This new set doesn’t skimp on extras. All of the extras from the previous SD release have been ported over, and there are several new ones to boot. Repeated extras include Coppola’s quite excellent commentaries on all three films, where he isn’t shy about discussing both his own and his actors’ mistakes.
• Behind the Scenes – Gives viewers more than an hours worth of first hand stories about making the trilogy.
• The Filmmakers – Puts the focus on the talent behind the screen; from writer Mario Puzo to the production staff.
• Additional Scenes and Chronology – Presents a lot of the material deleted from the theatrical release, but later aired on television.
• Acclaim and Response – Features footage of cast members and crew at Oscar ceremonies and Coppola’s introduction for the chronological television version.
• Family Tree – Allows you to see various family members in cut scenes from the film.
Finally, you also get Storyboards, Trailers, Photo Galleries and a Rogues Gallery featuring all three films.
There are several special features new to this release, all in HD.:
• The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn’t – Discusses the chaos between Paramount and the filmmakers.
• Godfather World – Features “experts” like Homer Simpson explaining what the Coreleone’s mean to all of us.
• Emulsion Rescue – Robert Harris discusses the restoration of the films.
• When the Shooting Stopped – Deals with post-production issues.
• The Godfather on the Red Carpet – The Stars of Cloverfield are asked to comment on the film. This one is sort of out of left field.
• Four Short Films on The Godfather – Little riffs on various elements found in the various films.
• Crime Organizational Chart – shows the rap sheets of various characters, and Connie and Carlo’s Wedding Album.
• 12 Page Booklet – Filled with credits for each film and some Oscar information.
