Seller:Amazon Video On Demand Rating:56 reviews Sales Rank:1,691
Genre:Classics Rating:R (Restricted) Media:Video On Demand Running Time:202 Minutes
Theatrical Release Date:December 20, 1974 Release Date:September 23, 2008 Availability:Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Synopsis:
This brilliant companion piece to the original The Godfather continues the saga of two generations of successive power within the Corleone family. Coppola tells two stories in Part II: the roots and rise of a young Don Vito, played with uncanny ability by Robert De Niro, and the ascension of Michael (Al Pacino) as the new Don. Reassembling many of the talents who helped make The Godfather, Coppola has produced a movie of staggering magnitude and vision, and undeniably the best sequel ever made. Robert De Niro won an Oscar??; the film received six Academy Awards, including Best Picture of 1974.
The New Restoration Collection does not disappoint!September 22, 2008 Cubist(United States) 128 out of 130 found this review helpful
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.
Too bad I didn't refuse the offer for the original release !May 22, 2008 G.V.(Mexico City, Mexico) 28 out of 31 found this review helpful
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.
An honest reviewApril 24, 2009 B. Jones 10 out of 10 found this review helpful
I just purchased and finished watching all 5 discs of "the godfather" restoration gift set. After reading through a lot of the reviews posted I hope that I may clear up a lot of the confusion and critical comments that may be discouraging anyone from buying this classic and timeless film of iconic characters. The 2 special features disc were very interesting, enlightening and enjoyable! I own the "the godfather" on VHS I bought a decade ago and I was under the impression that the special features from my VHS would simply be transferred to the DVD. I was completely surprised to discover everything on both discs are all never seen before features! I felt like for once a DVD that advertised never seen before special features which actually lived up to the promotion.
Ok I've been hearing some viewers complaining about the color in the film. They added a bit of a tangerine color to give the movie a more warmer and updated feel which looks good in my opinion. Some people are giving the implication that the added coloring is consistent throughout the movie and its only in the scenes where its really dark or there's lighting with a shade that gives off that particular color. If you look in the area where the light shines you'll see the tangerine color and if you look at the window the coloring is very natural as daylight would look in any window. Reviewers must remember this is a movie that was filmed in 1972 and resurrecting it I'm almost certain was a difficult and delicate process, so if this is your favorite film give the studio credit for a good job in refining a film shot with old technology 35 years ago. So for the complaints about the color, I can only say to those critics to try adjusting the color settings on your TV.
Complaints about noise, I did not hear any loud subway or train like noises that overwhellmed the dialogue, except the one scene where Micheal was mentally preparing himself to kill Solotso and that was done purposely. So again to those complainting about noise try adjusting the sound settings on your TV or maybe you got a defective copy.
I read a couple reviews about something being on the camera midway in "the godfather II". I found nothing at all that was on the camera and not a part of the film, again maybe you have a defective copy. I honestly have no criticism for this gift set and in my humble opinion this film still looks like the masterpiece that it is and I strongly recommend it to anyone pondering purchasing it!!! Also to all the other complaints I've read about the special features I think its nonsense and your expectations are far too high. I hope that my genuine and honest feelings about this gift set will serve anyone who reads this review. Purchase it and enjoy it as I have and will continue to.
Nice new restorations, but where's the chronological edit?July 12, 2008 Christopher P. Keller(Berwick, PA USA) 16 out of 18 found this review helpful
I love that these landmark movies got a squeaky clean restoration, added special features, and that Godfather II is on one disc instead of two. As a Godfather fan, of course I've ordered this new set, BUT I can't wait for a definitive chronological edit to hit DVD someday (soon?).
Previous chronlogical edits include: (1) "Godfather 1902-1959: The Complete Epic" which is a VHS-only 402 min. chronological edit of Parts I & II not available on DVD or laserdisc. Doesn't include Part III (171 min.) which would take it to 573 min. total; (2) "Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980" which is a Laserdisc chronological 583 min. edit of Parts I, II, & III (std 171 min. for Part III); and (3) "Godfather Saga" (aka Mario Puzo's The Godfather Saga: The Complete Novel for Television) which is a chronological 605 min. edit of Parts I, II, & III with added footage (434 min. for Parts I & II plus std 171 min. for Part III) done for TV broadcast only. This version was never issued commercially in any format. Some lucky people like me were able to record it off TV.
ALL of these chronological versions are slightly different and all contain at least some footage not contained on the other versions! Come on Francis, give the fans a super complete chronologiocal edit sooner rather than later!
Here's the low-down on what is on "The Godfather Trilogy - The Coppola Restoration":
The Godfather & The Godfather Part II fully restored including 5.1 stereo for the first time, with direct involvement from Francis Ford Coppola
5 discs box set, including 2 special features discs
New Special Features:
Godfather World
The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't
When The Shooting Stopped
Emulsional Rescue - Revealing The Godfather
The Godfather on the Red Carpet
Four Short Films on The Godfather: GF Vs. GF Part II; Cannoli; Riffing on the Riffing; Clemenza
Previously Available Special Features (also included)
Director's Commentary for all 3 films
Behind the Scenes
Additional Scenes Chronology
The Family Tree
Photo Galleries
Theatrical Trailers
Acclaim and Response
Filmmaker Biographies
Enjoy This GiftApril 27, 2009 Schlobber Hans(Pleasant Prairie, WI USA) 5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I have to admit I had my fingers crossed when I ordered this package. I had my fingers crossed because I had read some extremely negative reviews about The Godfather Director's Restoration here at Amazon.
I'm happy to report that my experience is the direct opposite of those negative reports.
The colors are beautiful. The lighting is perfect. The audio if flawless. The music is faithfully reproduced. Even the subtitles included words and word parts which I had never picked up before.
Francis Ford Coppola's commentary tracks added immensely to my enjoyment and understanding of the three Godfather movies.
The special features (most of which I had not seen before) were both fun to watch and instructional.
All the effort the Mr. Coppola and his team put into this restoration project is rewarded in the final result. The price I paid was quite a bargain considering what I got.
I recommend this product hightly to anyone who has an interest in the Godfather movies and also to anyone who has an academic interest in experiencing what a world class "Director's Restoration" can accomplish.
Ignore the negative reviews. Enjoy this gift from the Coppola family to us.
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.
