
The Godfather Trilogy (1972)
Monday 7th February 2022
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Francis Ford Coppola's Academy Award®-winning masterwork The Godfather, meticulously restored under the direction of Coppola, Paramount Home Entertainment is releasing The Godfather Trilogy on 4K Ultra HD for the first time ever on 21st March 2022.
"I am very proud of The Godfather, which certainly defined the first third of my creative life," said Francis Ford Coppola. "With this 50th anniversary tribute, I'm especially proud Mario Puzo's The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone is included, as it captures Mario and my original vision in definitively concluding our epic trilogy. It's also gratifying to celebrate this milestone with Paramount alongside the wonderful fans who've loved it for decades, younger generations who still find it relevant today, and those who will discover it for the first time."
Coppola's masterful film adaptation of Mario Puzo's novel chronicles the rise and fall of the Corleone family and the film trilogy is rightfully viewed as one of the greatest in cinematic history. In preparation for the 50th anniversary of the first film's original release on March 24, 1972, Paramount and Coppola's production company American Zoetrope undertook a painstaking restoration of all three films over the course of three years.
Every effort was made to create the finest possible presentation for today's audiences who can watch the films using technology that has advanced dramatically since 2007 when the last restoration was completed by eminent film historian and preservationist Robert Harris. Using that work as a blueprint, the team spent thousands of hours to ensure that every frame was evaluated to create the most pristine presentation while remaining true to the original look and feel of the films.
The monumental effort included the following:
- Over 300 cartons of film were scrutinised to find the best possible resolution for every frame of all three films
- Over 4,000 hours were spent repairing film stains, tears, and other anomalies in the negatives
- Over 1,000 hours were spent on rigorous colour correction to ensure the high dynamic range tools were respectful of the original vision of Coppola and cinematographer Gordon Willis
- In addition to the 5.1 audio approved by Walter Murch in 2007, the original mono tracks on The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II have been restored
- All work was overseen by Coppola.
"We felt privileged to restore these films and a little in awe every day we worked on them," said Andrea Kalas, senior vice president, Paramount Archives. "We were able to witness first-hand how the brilliant cinematography, score, production design, costume design, editing, performances, and, of course, screenwriting and direction became famously more than the sum of their parts. It was our commitment to honor all of the filmmakers' exceptional work."
Newly restored and remastered in Dolby Vision, all three films in the landmark saga are released together on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray for the first time ever. The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray set will include The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II, and three versions of The Godfather: Part III: the theatrical cut (first time ever on home media), Coppola's 1991 cut, and Coppola's recently re-edited version of the final film, Mario Puzo's The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. The disc set includes commentaries by Coppola on The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II and the 1991 cut of The Godfather: Part III. Plus special features on a blu-ray disc.
In addition to the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray set, a 4K Ultra HD Limited Collector's Edition will also be released in deluxe packaging and includes a hardcover coffee table book featuring stunning photographs, as well as portrait art prints on archival paper. Both 4K Ultra HD sets include new bonus content including an introduction to The Godfather by Coppola, a featurette about the preservation process, photos by acclaimed photographer Steve Schapiro, home movie footage, and comparisons of the new restoration to earlier versions of the films.
- The Godfather - Regarded as one of the best American films ever by the American Film Institute, Francis Ford Coppola's epic masterpiece features Marlon Brando in his Oscar-winning role as the patriarch of the Corleone family. The Godfather(tm) is a violent and chilling portrait of the Sicilian family's struggle to stay in power in a post-war America of corruption, deceit and betrayal. Coppola begins his legendary trilogy, masterfully balancing the story of the Corleone's family life and the ugly crime business in which they are engaged. Based on Mario Puzo's best-selling novel and featuring career-making performances by Al Pacino, James Caan and Robert Duvall, this searing and brilliant film garnered ten Academy Award nominations, and won three including Best Picture of 1972
- The Godfather: Part II - In what is undeniably one of the best sequels ever made, Francis Ford Coppola continues his epic Godfather trilogy with this saga of two generations of power within the Corleone family. Coppola, working once again with the author Mario Puzo, crafts two interwoven stories that work as both prequel and sequel to the original. One shows the humble Sicilian beginnings and New York rise of a young Don Vito, now played in an Oscar-winning performance for Best Supporting Actor by Robert De Niro. The other shows the ascent of Michael (Al Pacino) as the new Don. Reassembling many of the cast members who helped make The Godfather, Coppola has produced a movie of staggering magnitude and vision; the film received eleven Academy Awards nominations, winning six including Best Picture of 1974
- Mario Puzo's The Godfather Coda: The Death Of Michael Corleone - Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of The Godfather: Part III, director/screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola brings a definitive new edit and restoration of the final film in his epic Godfather trilogy - Mario Puzo's The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), now in his 60s, seeks to free his family from crime and find a suitable successor to his empire. That successor could be fiery Vincent (Andy Garcia)... but he may also be the spark that turns Michael's hope of business legitimacy into an inferno of mob violence. The film's meticulously restored picture and sound, under the supervision of American Zoetrope and Paramount Pictures, includes a new beginning and ending, as well as changes to scenes, shots, and music cues. The resulting project reflects author Mario Puzo and Coppola's original intentions of The Godfather: Part III, and delivers, in the words of Coppola,"a more appropriate conclusion to The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II."
- Full Circle: Preserving The Godfather®
- Capturing The Corleones: Through the Lens of Photographer Steve Schapiro
- The Godfather®: Home Movies
- Restoration Comparisons
- Introduction from Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather®, The Godfather® Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone)
- Making of The Godfather®
- Additional Scenes
- Filming Locations
- The Corleone Family Tree
- The Music of The Godfather®
- Profiles on the Filmmakers
- Photo Galleries and Storyboards
- 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®
Please note - Disc special features are subject to change, may differ from format to format and/or may differ from region to region.
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