Spielberg/Harris restoring Godfather trilogy

Premise · 08-22-07, 02:27 AM

From Hollywood Elsewhere:

Blue-chip restoration guru Robert Harris has been working on a photo-chemical restoration of all three Godfather films for the last few months, and the results may be digitally viewable as soon as December (a Danish DVD site is stating that restored DVDs of the first two Godfather pics are due for release on 12.6.07). Harris declined comment, but Francis Coppola said after a Godfather III screening at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn theatre that Steven Spielberg is the restoration project's financial savior.
Coppola said that Paramount was initially not interested in funding the restoration (deemed necessary due to the original negative having been "purposefuly damaged by idiots...misued, cut up") but all that changed when Spielberg stepped into the breach and said, "This is going to happen."

Coppola showed up on Monday August 6th, after a screening of Godfather III at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn theater. He didn't arrive until about an hour into a six person q & a with a variety of people in or attached to the film. He said it was a bit surreal to be there after we've been watching Godfather III because he had just come from the first viewing of the new restoration of the original Godfather, which he said 'it looks 'incredible.'

"Coppola also mentioned that the negative was basically going to dissolve, or very close to complete loss and it would have cost millions of dollars to restore. Paramount was not going to foot the bill for it, he said, but that after Paramount became Dreamamount Spielberg himself made sure they knew they had to restore The Godfather, and the restoration went forward.

RagingBull80 · 08-22-07, 03:21 AM

This is cool.

shanester · 08-22-07, 05:15 AM

Does this mean it might be released in HD??

Paramount please make me an offer I can't refuse

zombiezilla · 08-22-07, 06:09 AM

And now they'll have walkie-talkies instead of guns.

j/k

This is great news.

DVD Josh · 08-22-07, 07:17 AM

We'll see what these guys can do. Everything I read about the condition of the print contains the phrase "beyond repair". But if anyone can do it, it's Harris.

FantasticVSDoom · 08-22-07, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shanester

Does this mean it might be released in HD??

I sure hope so!

BuckNaked2k · 08-22-07, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Premise

......stating that restored DVDs of the first two Godfather pics are due for release on 12.6.07.......

Holy Cow! That's practically tomorrow.....this is almost beyond belief!

Giles · 08-22-07, 09:04 AM

let's hope Paramount can jump on the 4k restoration/video transfers that Warner Bros. is touting on it's upcoming film to HiDef projects.

Admiral7 · 08-22-07, 10:16 AM

Unfortunately, if it comes out in the next 18 months, it will now come out in HD-DVD ONLY. 3 hour HD movie on 30 GB disc.

paulringodaman · 08-22-07, 10:19 AM

that's cool..i wasn't disappointed with the trilogy on dvd...i wont be upgrading

Giles · 08-22-07, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Admiral7

Unfortunately, if it comes out in the next 18 months, it will now come out in HD-DVD ONLY. 3 hour HD movie on 30 GB disc.

you're in the BluRay camp arent' you?

Julie Walker · 08-22-07, 11:34 AM

I would hope the new releases of 1 and 2 would contain their original mono mix,then I would buy them instantly!

And Paramount must be pathetic to think allowing a famous classic/important film like this rot away is no big deal! Wow,I guess the money people really are clueless cheapskates looking to save a buck no matter what.

Johnny Zhivago · 08-22-07, 11:55 AM

Wowsers, that's cool news.

ctyankee · 08-22-07, 12:50 PM

So the news is that someone posted information on HTF and someone on some website I've never heard of quoted it?

Doesn't mean it not true but what it does mean is this is an unconfirmed rumor.

The Bus · 08-22-07, 01:33 PM

We've heard rumblings from someone associated with Paramount about a "major" trilogy being restored. So I would take this as a rumor, but a very likely one.

PatrickMcCart · 08-22-07, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zombiezilla

And now they'll have walkie-talkies instead of guns.

This is actually true from what I've heard. Not walkie-talkies, but they're going to digitally remove a lot of the gorier violence (like Moe getting shot in the eye) and the bullet holes in Vito's back. That's part of the compromise when Spielberg came on to help.

PopcornTreeCt · 08-22-07, 02:36 PM

I hope that was a joke.

mzupeman2 · 08-22-07, 02:39 PM

I'm sure it was. It is the internet, don't take anybody seriously.

And yeah, I agree about the comment of a 3 hour movie in relevance to a 30 gb disc. King Kong is arguably still the perfect-ish image on both formats, and that's one heck of a long movie as well.

DVD Josh · 08-22-07, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatrickMcCart

This is actually true from what I've heard. Not walkie-talkies, but they're going to digitally remove a lot of the gorier violence (like Moe getting shot in the eye) and the bullet holes in Vito's back. That's part of the compromise when Spielberg came on to help.

I'd rather have a shitty print of a COMPLETE version of the movie as the director intended instead of some Greedo shoots first bullshit.

jmj713 · 08-22-07, 03:43 PM

And what was wrong with the original trilogy set?

DVD Josh · 08-22-07, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmj713

And what was wrong with the original trilogy set?

The transfer sucked.

Josh Z · 08-22-07, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Admiral7

Unfortunately, if it comes out in the next 18 months, it will now come out in HD-DVD ONLY. 3 hour HD movie on 30 GB disc.

King Kong and Grand Prix are both 3 hour movies that look fantastic on 30 gB HD DVDs. Grand Prix even has an hour of bonus features on the same disc.

Mr. Salty · 08-22-07, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DVD Josh

The transfer sucked.

No, it didn't. The condition of the films sucked.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmj713

And what was wrong with the original trilogy set?

This isn't just about a DVD rerelease. It's about a multi-million-dollar restoration of the original film elements, which (for the first two movies) were seriously deteriorating. The side benefit to restoring and preserving the original negatives is that a release of the restored films to home video is sure to follow.

DVD Josh · 08-22-07, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Salty

No, it didn't. The condition of the films sucked.

Which resulted in a crappy transfer. It's called a print on film and a transfer on disc.

Premise · 08-22-07, 11:52 PM

From the AFI website:

Screenings of THE GODFATHER and THE GODFATHER PART II are cancelled. The films have been pulled from circulation in anticipation of their restoration and re-release in 2008. We apologize for the inconvenience.

08-22-07, 02:27 AM	#1
Premise DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 1,279	Robert Harris restoring Godfather trilogy From Hollywood Elsewhere: Blue-chip restoration guru Robert Harris has been working on a photo-chemical restoration of all three Godfather films for the last few months, and the results may be digitally viewable as soon as December (a Danish DVD site is stating that restored DVDs of the first two Godfather pics are due for release on 12.6.07). Harris declined comment, but Francis Coppola said after a Godfather III screening at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn theatre that Steven Spielberg is the restoration project's financial savior. Coppola said that Paramount was initially not interested in funding the restoration (deemed necessary due to the original negative having been "purposefuly damaged by idiots...misued, cut up") but all that changed when Spielberg stepped into the breach and said, "This is going to happen." Coppola showed up on Monday August 6th, after a screening of Godfather III at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn theater. He didn't arrive until about an hour into a six person q & a with a variety of people in or attached to the film. He said it was a bit surreal to be there after we've been watching Godfather III because he had just come from the first viewing of the new restoration of the original Godfather, which he said 'it looks 'incredible.' "Coppola also mentioned that the negative was basically going to dissolve, or very close to complete loss and it would have cost millions of dollars to restore. Paramount was not going to foot the bill for it, he said, but that after Paramount became Dreamamount Spielberg himself made sure they knew they had to restore The Godfather, and the restoration went forward. Last edited by Premise; 05-18-08 at 12:48 AM.

08-22-07, 03:21 AM	#2
RagingBull80 DVD Talk Ultimate Edition Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Norman, OK Posts: 4,130	This is cool. __________________ "Buying a fish sandwich from an Oklahoma gas station is a 'horrible decision.'" - Josh-da-man "Everyday I discover a new reason to hate people." - whoopdido "God, I hate people so much." - whoopdido

08-22-07, 05:15 AM	#3
shanester DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 2,202	Does this mean it might be released in HD?? Paramount please make me an offer I can't refuse __________________ Samsung HL-T6187S Sony BDP-S550, VQM-1000 (Region Free) Polk Audio RM6750's Denon AVR-788 7.1 Set Up 387 Blu-Rays

08-22-07, 07:17 AM	#5
DVD Josh DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: In My Own Little World Posts: 19,355	We'll see what these guys can do. Everything I read about the condition of the print contains the phrase "beyond repair". But if anyone can do it, it's Harris. __________________ *DVDTALK GOLD TRADER* http://www.invelos.com/dvdcollection.aspx/cwrujosh

08-22-07, 09:04 AM	#8
Giles DVD Talk Hero Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Washington DC Posts: 29,864	let's hope Paramount can jump on the 4k restoration/video transfers that Warner Bros. is touting on it's upcoming film to HiDef projects. __________________ [2ndDVDTalk Action/Adventure/Crime Challenge 2013 Film List / Unrated-Alternate-Director's Cuts: DVD (updates) / My DVD collection Entertainment or Die soundillustrated - Weekly Music Food

08-22-07, 06:09 AM	#4
zombiezilla Banned Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: teXXXas Posts: 1,389	And now they'll have walkie-talkies instead of guns. j/k This is great news.

08-22-07, 10:16 AM	#9
Admiral7 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 474	Unfortunately, if it comes out in the next 18 months, it will now come out in HD-DVD ONLY. 3 hour HD movie on 30 GB disc. __________________ <a href=http://www.dvdaficionado.com/dvds.html?&id=admiral7>My DVD List at DVD Aficionado</a>My DVD List

08-22-07, 10:19 AM	#10
paulringodaman DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The city with no sports championships...Cleveland Posts: 2,109	that's cool..i wasn't disappointed with the trilogy on dvd...i wont be upgrading __________________ "Hey, there goes Garth and his friend Wayne... the psychopath."

08-22-07, 11:34 AM	#12
Julie Walker DVD Talk Ultimate Edition Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 4,342	I would hope the new releases of 1 and 2 would contain their original mono mix,then I would buy them instantly! And Paramount must be pathetic to think allowing a famous classic/important film like this rot away is no big deal! Wow,I guess the money people really are clueless cheapskates looking to save a buck no matter what. Last edited by Julie Walker; 08-22-07 at 11:36 AM.

08-22-07, 11:55 AM	#13
Johnny Zhivago DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Korova Milkbar Posts: 5,413	Wowsers, that's cool news. __________________ Blu-ray \| DVD Dilauded is pure sunshine wrapped in bacon and delivered straight to your pleasure center by a naked goddess. If I could get my hands on a gallon of it, I would start a new religion. - Cosmosguy

08-22-07, 12:50 PM	#14
ctyankee DVD Talk Platinum Edition Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Connecticut Posts: 3,121	So the news is that someone posted information on HTF and someone on some website I've never heard of quoted it? Doesn't mean it not true but what it does mean is this is an unconfirmed rumor. __________________ DVDProfiler

08-22-07, 01:33 PM	#15
The Bus DVD Talk Godfather Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: New York Posts: 51,620	We've heard rumblings from someone associated with Paramount about a "major" trilogy being restored. So I would take this as a rumor, but a very likely one. __________________ Movies: 2002 / 03 / 04 / 05 / 06 / 07 / 08 / 09 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 2013 "Too much disclaiming in this post." – Dr. Mabuse

08-22-07, 02:36 PM	#17
PopcornTreeCt DVD Talk Hero Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Central Florida Posts: 25,826	I hope that was a joke.

08-22-07, 02:39 PM	#18
mzupeman2 DVD Talk Reviewer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: NY Posts: 3,242	I'm sure it was. It is the internet, don't take anybody seriously. And yeah, I agree about the comment of a 3 hour movie in relevance to a 30 gb disc. King Kong is arguably still the perfect-ish image on both formats, and that's one heck of a long movie as well. __________________ Oppo BDP-83 - Pioneer 1019AH-K - Samsung 46A550

08-22-07, 03:43 PM	#20
jmj713 DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 1,786	And what was wrong with the original trilogy set?

08-22-07, 11:52 PM	#25
Premise DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 1,279	From the AFI website: Screenings of THE GODFATHER and THE GODFATHER PART II are cancelled. The films have been pulled from circulation in anticipation of their restoration and re-release in 2008. We apologize for the inconvenience.