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THE GODFATHER: Popularly viewed as one of the best American films ever made, the multi-generational crime saga The Godfather (1972) is a touchstone of cinema: one of the most widely imitated, quoted, and lampooned movies of all time. Marlon Brando and Al Pacino star as Vito Corleone and his youngest son, Michael, respectively. It is the late 1940s in New York and Corleone is, in the parlance of organized crime, a "godfather" or "don," the head of a Mafia family. Michael, a free thinker who defied his father by enlisting in the Marines to fight in World War II, has returned a captain and a war hero. Having long ago rejected the family business, Michael shows up at the wedding of his sister, Connie (Talia Shire), with his non-Italian girlfriend, Kay (Diane Keaton), who learns for the first time about the family "business." A few months later at Christmas time, the don barely survives being shot by gunmen in the employ of a drug-trafficking rival whose request for aid from the Corleones' political connections was rejected. After saving his father from a second assassination attempt, Michael persuades his hotheaded eldest brother, Sonny (James Caan), and family advisors Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) and Sal Tessio (Abe Vigoda) that he should be the one to exact revenge on the men responsible. After murdering a corrupt police captain and the drug trafficker, Michael hides out in Sicily while a gang war erupts at home. Falling in love with a local girl, Michael marries her, but she is later slain by Corleone enemies in an attempt on Michael's life. Sonny is also butchered, having been betrayed by Connie's husband. As Michael returns home and convinces Kay to marry him, his father recovers and makes peace with his rivals, realizing that another powerful don was pulling the strings behind the narcotics endeavor that began the gang warfare. Once Michael has been groomed as the new don, he leads the family to a new era of prosperity, then launches a campaign of murderous revenge against those who once tried to wipe out the Corleones, consolidating his family's power and completing his own moral downfall. Nominated for 11 Academy Awards and winning for Best Picture, Best Actor (Marlon Brando), and Best Adapted Screenplay, The Godfather was followed by a pair of sequels.

THE GODFATHER PART II: 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 GODFATHER PART III: One of the greatest sagas in movie history continues! In this third film in the epic Corleone trilogy, Al Pacino reprises the role of powerful family leader Michael Corleone. Now in his 60's, Michael is dominated by two passions: freeing his family from crime and finding a suitable successor. 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. Francis Ford Coppola directs Pacino, Garcia, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Eli Wallach, Sofia Coppola, Joe Montegna and others in this exciting, long-awaited film that masterfully explores the themes of power, tradition, revenge and love. Seven Academy Award® nominations, including Best Picture.
On the DVD People used to say this was Frank Sinatra's world, and the rest of us just lived in it. After watching the multiple special features in the box set The Godfather - Coppola Restoration, one might conclude it's actually time for a cultural and historical revision: This is the Corleone family's world. The rest of us better tread lightly. Actually, the point of the half-dozen or so features crammed onto a disc accompanying the beautifully restored The Godfather, The Godfather II and The Godfather III, is that The Godfather movies have penetrated popular culture in such a deep and meaningful way that they are second-nature to everything. David Chase, creator of and writer on The Sopranos, for example, describes in the featurette "Godfather World" that his hit HBO series was intended to be the story of the first generation of mobsters actually influenced by Francis Ford Coppola's hit trilogy. Joe Mantegna calls the three films "the Italian Star Wars." (Mantegna co-stars in The Godfather III.) Alec Baldwin says no matter what one is doing, one is compelled to stop and watch the films if they're on television. Richard Belzer calls the films "a religion." And so on. A number of people similarly testify in "Godfather World" to the importance and ubiquitousness of The Godfather and its sequels in American life. There's no point in arguing, so its best to move on to the other featurettes, including "The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't," reviewing in detail much of what has been said about Paramount's mistreatment of Coppola, about casting fights (Steve McQueen as Michael?), about the studio's assumption they were getting a quick-and-dirty B-movie, and about producer Robert Evans' determination to keep his choice of director and unlikely actors under his wing. Fresh information within the special features, however, begins with "… When the Shooting Stopped," a fine study of post-production on The Godfather, with several surprising and fascinating facts. Among emerging details is an explanation of why Michael Corleone's scream toward the end of The Godfather III is silenced out. (Hint: it was meant to be the inverse of a sound effect in the first movie.) "Emulsional Rescue: Revealing The Godfather" talks about the painstaking work of restoring the first two films, beginning with a phone call from Coppola to Steven Spielberg (after the latter's DreamWorks studio became part of the Viacom family) asking if he'd request money from Paramount for restoration work. "The Godfather On the Red Carpet is a negligible series of fawning statements about the movie from hot young actors, while "Four Short Films" are brief and enjoyable takes on different aspects of The Godfather's impact on modern living. --Tom Keogh



Stills from The Godfather - The Coppola Restoration Giftset (Click for larger image)

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 "A great gift" 2010-07-29
By Lynn M. Ross
I purchased this as a birthday present for a friend. He loves the Godfather, so how could he not love this: all three movies, plus all of the extras and it's in blu-ray format. The response: A kiss on each cheek and a giant thumbs up.


 "Not worth the Blu-Ray" 2010-07-14
By J. Negron (milwaukee, wisconsin United States)
Dont get me wrong. I love the godfather! I owned all 3 on VHS and DVD. When I went from VHS to DVD, there was a HUGE difference in picture and sound quality. I loved it! So I decided, well since I got the blu-ray, let me get the blu-ray version of one of my all time favorite trilogies! Heck it is the The Godfather - The Coppola Restoration set, so the picture has to be UNREAL. Popped it in and the title menu was pretty grainey. So that was disappointing but I figure, just the title, no big deal. So I site back, get ready to experience my godfather flick in Blu-Ray, hit play and......WOW! STILL GRAINEY!! So really I was not sure why I just got rid of the DVD version to get the Blu-ray version!? But it is still the Godfather, I love the flick and can never get enough. If you have the DVD version, dont waist your money to get the blu-ray. There is not much of a change in picture quality.


 "Excellent" 2010-07-07
By Lisa
I bought this bluray for my partner for father's day and he just enjoyed the heck out of it.


 "THE CLASSIC MOB SAGA GETS A FACELIFT!" 2010-06-07
By ! MR. KNOW IT ALL ;-b (TRI STATE AREA)
I have seen 'The Godfather' films so many times I've lost count. I also own the 6 VHS director's cut which puts the three films together in chronological order and adds well over an hour of great footage(the best version by far!). I was contemplating buying the new restored Blu Ray edition and I'm very glad I decided to go ahead and buy it.

Like a lot of other reviewers have stated the films look better than they ever did, but naturally they do not look like state of the art films made in 2010. The Blu Ray version is a noticeable improvement and the films look bright and as clear as they will ever look. Coppola wanted a certain grainy look and to remove it completely would be like scrubbing the grit out of The Rolling Stones classic album 'Exile On Main Street'! Of course I'm talking mainly about the first film as part II looks better although many scenes are still dark, they are as bright as they will ever be. Part III looks exceptional and helps the overall experience of the film since it is by far the least of the three. The extras disc is full of hours of good stuff for hard core fans to navagate through including the extras from the 2001 DVD release which was a nice addition.

The first film is the greatest mob film ever made with the second film rating a very close tie with 'Goodfellas' for second place. Part II has a much more ambitious story and probably deserves top seed, but the character's of Don Vito(Marlon Brando), Tessio(Abe Virgoda), Clemenza(Bruno Kirby) and Sonny(James Caan)are sorely missed in part 2. That's not to say that the second film doesn't have great characters, I just prefer the original characters to part II.

What is incredible is the casting of Don Vito(Robert DeNiro), Clemenza(Bruno Kirby) and Tessio(John Aprea) in part II, it's very believable that these young guys are those older guys in the first film. I also think that the very underrated John Cazale gives a fantastic performance in part II as Fredo. As good as Pacino is in these films, he is not very likable and I find the other characters more appealing and interesting. I could have watched an entire film just following the young Don, Clemenza and Tessio for part II.

I know the third film has been bashed to bits, but how could part III have not been a disappointment? With what it had to live up to, it's surprising it was ever made. I have grown to like it more over the years. If only Duvall and Coppola could have come to a money agreement, I think the film would have been much better. For one it would have added another brilliant actor in the film and maybe that would have forced Coppola to edit out some of the religious overload.

If you have a Blu Ray player this is a must have as these films will probably never look better.My only gripe is they should have made this a deluxe box set with the director's cut of all three films included too, it has never seen a DVD release. I guess, I won't be retiring my VCR just yet. It's an amazing piece of work with a lot of stuff that was cut out of the original films. I'm not talking throw away stuff either, it's as close to watching a book as you'll ever get. Hopefully they will release it someday soon!


 "Worth every cent" 2010-06-06
By Vincent Imbesi Jr (NJ)
Just buy it! Picture is much more colorful after the restoration! The extra special features are nice too.


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