The Godfather Collection (The Coppola Restoration) [Blu-ray]

Description

Francis Ford Coppola’s Masterpiece features Marlon Brando
in his Oscar-winning role as the patriarch of the Corleone family. Director
Coppola paints a chilling portrait of the Sicilian clan’s rise and near fall
from power in America, masterfully balancing the story between 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.
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)

Features:

Product Details:

• Genre: Drama, Crime
• Format: Blu-ray, Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen
• Contributor: Al Pacino, Francis Ford Coppola
• Language: English, French, Spanish
• Runtime: 9 hours and 9 minutes
• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.85:1
• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.72 x 5.5 x 6.86 inches; 7.84 Ounces
• Item model number ‏ : ‎ BSP 2032
• Director ‏ : ‎ Francis Ford Coppola
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray, Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 9 hours and 9 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ September 23, 2008
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Al Pacino