9.2 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
An epic tale of a 1940s New York Mafia family and their struggle to protect their empire from rival families as the leadership switches from the father to his youngest son.
Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard S. Castellano, Robert DuvallEpic | 100% |
Drama | 99% |
Crime | 93% |
Period | 80% |
Melodrama | 33% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Reviewing a production as profound as The Godfather is a great pleasure and also an exercise in futility. Those who haven’t seen the film aren’t likely to rush out and grab a copy based solely on my affectionate analysis, and long-time fans shouldn’t need additional prodding. As such, I’ll leave the rigorous debating to the film historians, and simply focus on the success of the film, as well as my personal opinion on its relevance.
Last year, I went on a 26-mile backpacking trip with a group of six friends with a variety of backgrounds. One of the guys in the group was raised without a television, and spent the better part of his 20’s catching up on everything he missed in his childhood. As an outdoor lover, I find it hard to criticize anyone who chose to promote physical activity rather than sitting in front of the television, so despite the shock of a television-free childhood, I could understand his parents reasoning. What I couldn’t understand, is how he managed to dig into everything under the sun during the past 12 years, and never take the time to watch The Godfather trilogy. He earned his fair share of group chastising while the rest of us praised Coppola’s cinematic gems, and eventually promised to watch the films back-to-back during the inevitable recovery period at the conclusion of our trip. Whether or not he followed through is irrelevant, but our group discussion of The Godfather brought two things to light. First, I’ve never stumbled across another film series with such a loyal following. If you walk down the street and ask ten people if they’ve seen The Godfather, I’d imagine nine of them will say yes. Second, everyone who views the film will come away with a different analysis of what makes it so profound. Coppola didn’t simply make an entertaining film; he made a masterpiece with limitless appeal.
There's one key family member missing from this image.
Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 26Mbps), The Godfather looks better than I ever thought possible. The restoration efforts by Robert Harris and the MPI group are nothing short of amazing, especially when you consider the exhaustive effort they put into tracking down negatives with the least damage. One of the highlights on the boxed set of the complete collection is an informative documentary by Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Harris (restoration expert), and Gordon Willis (cinematographer), covering the restoration process in detail. Those of you who never viewed The Godfather during the days of VHS or any other point during the past 38 years should take the opportunity to witness the level of effort required to restore the film.
Now that we have that out of the way, I should make it abundantly clear this is an exquisite restoration that pays homage to the original intent of the filmmakers. It's not meant as demo-worthy material for your new HD display, and may seem off-putting to newcomers of the film. The original layers of grain are left intact, skin tones vary in shade from scene to scene, and there are abrupt reductions in fine object detail. Those who don't know better might pass these off as worrisome elements, but this is precisely how the film was created to look. Adding to the stylistic nature of the cinematography, the color palette reveals a constant push toward yellow, facial tones dance from red to orange, and blacks crush every last detail in the backgrounds. In many cases we'd consider these tendencies a bit troublesome (if this were a recent production), but given the age of the film and creative manner in which Coppola and Willis transport viewers back to a distant point in American history, I wouldn't want it any other way. For long-time fans this is a true revelation, so there's never been a better time to experience the rich visual style of Coppola's masterpiece.
Delivered in TrueHD 5.1, the primary audio track is nearly as impressive as the visual presentation, though Paramount's likely faced with a small number of fans prepared to cry foul over the decision to tinker with the original mono track. Fortunately, the mono offering is still provided on the disc, but I'd wager most viewers will opt for the newly remastered lossless track. As such, I've stuck with the lossless offering for this review, and found the results immensely satisfying. Beginning with the musical score by Nino Rota, we realize a dramatic sense of immersion and depth in the rich instrumental numbers that orchestrate the changes in emotional tone throughout the film. A mono soundtrack simply can't create the same effect as a robust (surround) musical experience, and it's in that element where we realize the greatest gain in the transition to multi-channel audio. Other elements in the mix are also enhanced, but listening to the dialogue and surround effects, I still had a sneaking suspicion they were mostly emanating from the front sound stage. This shouldn't be seen as a disservice to the overall audio experience (given the source material), but it's worth mentioning to anyone who's hoping for a jaw-dropping upgrade. Aside from the improvements in the musical department, the most profound progress can be found in the overall richness or tone of the track. Gone are the occasional moments of hiss or dropout, dialogue never descends into muffled territory, and intricacies in the environment of each scene are afforded more weight in the well-balanced track. When it comes to value-added audio tracks, this one ranks near the top.
This is the one area where I feel compelled to downgrade the individual "Sapphire Series" release of the first two films (the third entry in the trilogy was left out since it didn't win an Academy Award, despite receiving seven nominations). Given the wealth of supplements included on the bonus disc of the The Godfather Collection, I can't fathom how any fan could be satisfied with the mere inclusion of Coppola's audio commentary track on each disc. When I say mere, I'm not downplaying the significance of the director's in-depth discussion of the film's production, story, themes, and actors, but simply pointing out the value that's lost when you remove the excellent documentaries included in the full set.
In the end, this is the version to get if you're only concerned with owning the films themselves, and bonus materials are of little concern (or if you kept the prior DVD bonus features and are uninterested in the newly added HD content). Personally, I found the documentary on the restoration process worth the price of admission alone, so I fall in the camp that would rather own the complete collection.
If you chose not to pick up the original 4-disc collection containing The Godfather trilogy, and you despise The Godfather, Part III enough to pass on the wealth of special features included in the prior release, this is your opportunity to add a historical classic to your collection. From a personal standpoint, I'd much rather own all three films and a wealth of special features, but that's coming from a guy who doesn't dislike the third entry in the series. From a technical point of view, this is the same lovely presentation featured in the original set, which stands as the definitive example of what's possible when you clean the original elements rather than tampering with them.
Paramount 100th Anniversary
1972
The Coppola Restoration
1972
The Coppola Restoration
1972
Sapphire Series
1972
1972
50th Anniversary Edition
1972
1972
1972
1974
1990
Extended Director's Cut
1984
1995
1990
1993
2010
2007
2019
2016
2002
2013
Gold Edition
1983
1994
Remastered
2002
1997
1990
2014
1990
1999-2007