The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration

As the recent split suggests, Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks might have been unhappy campers at Paramount, but Spielberg's association with the studio benefited Francis Ford Coppola and The Godfather. As Spielberg explains on one of a half-dozen new special features on The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration, Coppola called him after DreamWorks became part of Paramount, and asked if Spielberg would request money from the studio to restore his 1972 masterpiece The Godfather. The upshot is this boxed set, featuring the best-looking version of The Godfather (especially on the Blu-ray version) since its original release, as well as a newly restored The Godfather II (1974) and newly remastered The Godfather III (1990). Based on Mario Puzo's bestselling novel, The Godfather and its two sequels follow the fortunes (and misfortunes) of the mafia Corleone family over several generations. In addition to the original bonus features on 2001's The Godfather Collection (Copppla's audio commentaries, a behind-the-scenes documentary, featurettes, and additional scenes), the new supplements focus on two general themes: 1) how the films have permeated popular culture and, 2) the restoration process. For the former, a number of creative individuals share their thoughts on The Godfather trilogy's impact. The Sopranos creator David Chase talks about the fact (in the featurette “Godfather World”) that his HBO series was intended to tell the story of the first generation of mobsters actually influenced by Coppola's hit films, while Joe Mantegna, who costars in The Godfather III, calls the trilogy “the Italian Star Wars.” In “The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't,” viewers will revisit much of what has already been said about Paramount's mistreatment of Coppola during the filming of the original (including casting fights and the studio's assumption that the film was going to be a disposable B-movie), while “When the Shooting Stopped” offers a fine study of post-production on all three films, and “Emulsional Rescue” examines the painstaking work of restoring the first two films. The last two extras are a mixed bag: “The Godfather on the Red Carpet” serves up a negligible series of fawning statements from hot young actors, while “Four Short Films” offers brief, entertaining takes on classic bits of dialogue from the original film, and more. A must for both standard DVD and Blu-ray collections, this is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (T. Keogh)