As a bonus—and thus further stressing Coppola’s preference for the new Coda version of The Godfather: Part III—the original and 1991 cuts of the third film are included on a separate 4K disc, and to Coppola’s credit, he commissioned restorations of these versions as well. A handful of new extras have been prepared for this release, including some behind-the-scenes footage of the first Godfather and remembrances by set photographer Steve Shapiro, but most exciting are the extended looks at the arduous restoration process. Everyone involved takes justifiable pride in the careful work that was done for this release; particularly revealing are comparisons of the new transfers to the 2007 restorations, themselves lauded at the time but now wholly obsolete. A slew of previously released extras are also included, ranging from deleted scenes from all three films to retrospective documentaries on the first Godfather’s complex and fraught production to the impact of the trilogy. Overall RUNNER UP - RRR It’s hard to overstate how irresistible RRR’s charms are. It’s near magical in its ability to never drop the ball, coming off one insane spectacle and diving directly into another. 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. 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.

Remastered and Restored in 4K with HDR-10 and DOLBY VISION, this collection includes Academy Award winners for Best Picture The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, alongside the acclaimed conclusion Mario Puzo's The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, as well as an extensive array of new and legacy behind-the-scenes special features.Now with Coppola’s new preferred cut Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, The Godfather Part III does gain some semblance of redemption and actually fits a little better within the greater story established by the first two films. For starters, the editing is far less clunky. Before this review, I’d only ever seen the 1991 Director’s Cut and I always felt like the edits were uncomfortably abrupt as each scene just smashed into the next. With this new version, the rearrangement of specific scenes at the outset and some of the later segments in Sicily feel more organic and natural and actually has a richer dramatic flow. A little tighter editing around some of the more stilted line reads feels more even-handed and actually helps the weaker performances in the film. Disc Four: The Godfather, Part III Theatrical Cut and The Godfather, Part III 1991 Cut (via seamless branching) (4K UHD) For the first time in one collection, this is the essential, definitive saga of the Corleone family, overseen by director Francis Ford Coppola and based on the bestselling novel by Mario Puzo. A global cultural touchstone captivating fans across generations, the enduring cinematic legacy of THE GODFATHER has immeasurably influenced popular culture, and rightfully earned its legacy as one of the greatest in the history of motion pictures. Remastered and Restored in 4K UHD with HDR-10 and DolbyVision, this collection includes Academy Award winners for Best Picture THE GODFATHER and THE GODFATHER PART II, alongside the acclaimed conclusion MARIO PUZO’S THE GODFATHER CODA: THE DEATH OF MICHAEL CORLEONE. Includes both the Theatrical and 1991 Cuts of THE GODFATHER PART III, as well as a special features Blu-ray featuring all-new content. Behind-the-Scenes featurettes (A Look Inside, On Location, Francis Ford Coppola’s Notebook, Music of The Godfather: Nino Rota, Music of The Godfather: Carmine Coppola, Coppola & Puzo on Screenwriting, Gordon Willis on Cinematography, Storyboards – The Godfather: Part II, Storyboards – The Godfather: Part III, The Godfather Behind the Scenes 1971)

The problem for me with this film’s approach is so much story time has passed from Part II to Part III that it wastes the first third essentially reintroducing everyone. You remember Johnny Fontane from the first film right? Have us a song, Johnny! Do you remember Al Niri from Part II? Hi, Al! Do you remember Lucy Mancini, the bridesmaid Sonny was boffing in the first film? She’s here too and so is Sonny’s illegitimate son Vincent who everyone knows but also needs to be introduced to again because he’s the possible future of the franchise. Oh, and don't forget Enzo the baker and Calo the bodyguard! Then we have a completely wasted John Savage as the now-dead Tom Hagan's son Father Andrew Hagan who easily could have had a much richer part had there been time to develop his role. So much time is wasted with throwaway lines reintroducing so many characters that I feel if Coppola and Puzo had gotten the time they wanted to appropriately develop and craft their screenplay this wouldn’t be an issue. Extras are still TBC, but thanks to some digging by The Digital Bits, we’ve included a list of expected (still subject to change and confirmation) below. New Extras: Introduction to The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola, Full Circle: Preserving The Godfather, Capturing the Corleones: Through the Lens of Photographer Steve Schapiro, The Godfather: Home Movies, Restoration Comparisons, Digital Copies of at least the films I, II, and Coda

Best 4K Blu-ray Limited Edition - DRIVE 4K BLU-RAY

The Godfather: Home Movies—An assortment of 8mm home movie footage shot in 1971 offers a candid glimpse into the production of The Godfather. Shot on location at the Norton family estate on Staten Island’s Emerson Hill, this is the first time it’s been made available to the public.

On March 21st (my birthday, in case anyone is feeling generous…) The Godfather Trilogy is coming to 4K, complete with remastered and restored versions of all 3 films, as well as 3 different cuts of The Godfather Part III. A Look Inside (73.5 minutes): This is a nice meaty making-of from 1990 that focuses mostly on the first two movies, with the third film viewed through rose-colored glasses since its release was imminent at the time. There’s plenty of behind-the-scenes footage to be found here, including some interesting Godfather screen tests, such as Robert DeNiro trying out for the role of Sonny. Audio: 2007 Walter Murch-approved mix in 5.1 Dolby TrueHD and 5.1 Dolby Digital, plus newly-restored Mono (for films 1 and 2)

As it enters its fourth year, Apple TV+ is still going strong, maintaining its defining trait as the only streaming service which produces ALL of its own content, and equally maintaining its determination to supply every single production in the best possible quality. Amaray case ships inside a form-fitting and embossed slip box. Both share identical front cover art but the Blu-ray case offers the usual info cluster The film looks beautiful in 4K, as you’d expect, and I’m sure many pixels will be spent on comparisons between the Blu-ray version and this one. An incredible amount of work was put into preserving the film, as displayed in a couple of the new bonus features, and I’ll get to that later in this review. Paramount tossed in some new bonus features, along with codes for digital copies of the films, but before I get to that, let’s take a look at the movies in this collection.

Celebrating 50 years, this deluxe limited edition set offers, for the first time in one collection, the essential, definitive saga of the Corleone family, overseen by director Francis Ford Coppola and based on the bestselling novel by Mario Puzo. A global cultural touchstone captivating fans across generations, the enduring cinematic legacy of THE GODFATHER has immeasurably influenced popular culture, and rightfully earned its legacy as one of the greatest in the history of motion pictures. Remastered and restored in 4K UHD with HDR-10 and Dolby Vision, this collection includes Best Picture Academy Award winners for Best Picture THE GODFATHER and THE GODFATHER PART II, alongside the acclaimed conclusion MARIO PUZO’S THE GODFATHER CODA: THE DEATH OF MICHAEL CORLEONE. Includes both the Theatrical and 1991 cuts of THE GODFATHER PART III, as well as a special features Blu-ray featuring all-new content." During the film’s opening, which depicts the wedding of Vito’s daughter, Connie (Talia Shire), Michael is introduced to us in military fatigues, with his blond-haired, WASPy girlfriend, Kay Adams (Diane Keaton), on his arm. And by the film’s end, he’s embraced the shadows outside of bourgeois American life. As he says at the beginning of The Godfather Part II, officially sanctioned politics and nefarious organized crime are both part of the same hypocrisy.Paramount has again released 'The Godfather' trilogy to Blu-ray, now with the first two films remastered. This release, in celebration of the first This UHD boxed set of The Godfather trilogy includes all three films, including no less than three cuts of the third film: theatrical, 1991, and anniversary, appears alongside the franchise's UHD debut set (as well as the larger boxed set). This four-disc Blu-ray set is quite different from the UHD set: Restoration Comparisons—Before and after highlights showcase extensive picture quality improvements to The Godfather.