Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 09/23/2008 Run time: 549 minutes Rating: R

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)

I love these movies first off or atleast one and two. I have the DVD box and now the Blu-ray. I can definetly tell a difference. Is it worth buying again? That is debatable but since I love these movies and bought them with a gift certificate and there is a rebate, I am completely satisfied.

If you don't own these movies yet, get the Blu-ray ASAP. If you do own these on DVD then you may want to wait and see if the price comes down or ask for it as a holiday gift.

For those looking for an improvement over the DVD and VHS releases, Blu-Ray is here! With the awesome quality of most blu-ray movies being released today, it is easy to get spoiled. Older films rarely look truly hi-definition when compared to current releases. However, when it is a truly great film like this, I do not mind spending money on yet another version of the same movie, provided it is significantly better than the previous versions. All too often this is not the case. Here the studio has done an exemplary job of restoring the original film. I never saw it in the theater, but I cannot imagine it looked any better at my neighborhood theaters back then. This film will always deserve 5 stars as a movie. However, this 5-star review is for the restoration!

The Godfather Series (I-III) is without doubt the greatest trilogy to be placed on film. Add a bonus disc that includes interviews, behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes and much more and you have a collectors edition. Put it on Blu-Ray and you have a fantastic experience. On a winters weekend in Michigan, my wife and I watched the entire set and it was like watching for the films for first time. Many scenes were filmed in dark settings (to set mood), however VHS, Laserdisc and even standard DVD did not do justice to the experience. The Blu-Ray version however blew me away. No need to review the movies unless you have just crawled out from under a rock, however if you want to know if the investment is worth the price? It is for us...

As a fan of the Godfather series, I was very pleased with the Blue Ray Trillogy. All I can say is GREAT.

I am personally not a fan of The Godfather Part III, I don't even regard it as part of the trilogy. This review is only for Parts I-II.

These films have been restored to what Paramount claims to be "the best they'll ever look." I agree with them about 95% on this statement. Here's why:

On both films (especially Part I), there are a few instances of white specks and minor print defects. Also, the colors arent 100% consistent all of the time. I agree that color problems can't be helped, it's probably due to problems with the original source.

However, with films like Casablanca (from 1942) looking spotless, I can't help but think that these scratches and white specks could have been eliminated entirely. They certainly were for about 95% of the film.

This is my only qualm however, and it is still a minor one compared to the rest of this set's beneficial aspects. The picture and sound, save for white specks, are pretty much perfect (or as perfect as they will ever be). The special features are EXCELLENT, and kudos to Paramount for porting over all the extras from the 2001 DVD release. It seems that some of these features could have even been remastered for this release!

I own the Blu-ray version of the set. I have a friend that doesn't have Blu-ray who bought the standard DVD set. After doing a comparison, I have come to the conclusion that the Blu-ray set is vastly superior to the new DVD set. I HIGHLY RECCOMMEND buying this set!