The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration Blu-ray Collection - 9/23/08

[Mr. Cinema]

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- More than three decades after they won the Academy Award® for Best Picture, director Francis Ford Coppola's classic films The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II will once again be enjoyed by audiences as they originally were meant to be seen, thanks to a meticulous restoration by Paramount Pictures, overseen by Coppola himself. On September 23, 2008, both fully restored films will debut on DVD and Blu-ray, along with a newly remastered version of The Godfather Part III, to be included as part of The Godfather, The Coppola Restoration Collection. All three films will be available individually or in a five-DVD collection or four-disc Blu-ray collection, which are loaded with a host of all-new special features.

The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II underwent extensive frame-by-frame examination and restoration utilizing state-of-the-art digital technology in this historic preservation effort, which required more than a year to complete. Robert A. Harris of the Film Preserve supervised the restoration under the direction of Coppola and cinematographer, Gordon Willis. Harris' restoration credits include Lawrence of Arabia, Spartacus, Vertigo and Rear Window among others.

The new special features created by Kim Aubry, founder of Zoetrope Aubry Productions, explores the complexities of the restoration process and provides new insights and perspectives about how the film almost didn't come to pass as we know it. "The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't" relates the unlikely events, intrigue, allegiances and luck that put together the unknown director with the "unwanted" cast and contains interviews with most of the living players and many of the films' admirers. Other featurettes include " ... when the shooting stopped," and "Godfather World," which take a look at The Godfather's influence on popular culture today. Each film includes a commentary by Coppola.


THE GODFATHER: The Coppola Restoration Blu-ray Collection

THE GODFATHER: The Coppola Restoration Blu-ray four-disc set is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Mono (except The Godfather: Part III) and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles. The following special features are presented in high definition as noted:


Disc 1:
-- The Godfather feature film
-- Commentary by director Francis Ford Coppola

Disc 2:
-- The Godfather, Part II feature film
-- Commentary by director Francis Ford Coppola

Disc 3:
-- The Godfather, Part III feature film
-- Commentary by director Francis Ford Coppola

Disc 4:
-- Godfather World (HD)
-- The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't (HD)
-- ... when the shooting stopped (HD)
-- Emulsional Rescue-Revealing The Godfather (HD)
-- The Godfather on the Red Carpet (HD)
-- Four Short Films on The Godfather
o The Godfather vs. The Godfather, Part II (HD)
o Cannoli (HD)
o Riffing on the Riffing (HD)
o Clemenza (HD)
-- The Family Tree
-- Crime Organization Chart
-- Connie and Carlo's Wedding Album

Disc 4 (cont'd):
2001 DVD Archive:
-- Behind the Scenes
o The Godfather Family: A Look Inside
o On Location
o Francis Coppola's Notebook
o The Music of the Godfather
o Coppola & Puzo on Screenwriting
o Gordon Willis on Cinematography
o Storyboards from The Godfather, Part II
o Storyboards from The Godfather, Part III
o The Godfather Behind the Scenes 1971
-- The Filmmakers
o Francis Ford Coppola
o Mario Puzo
o Gordon Willis
o Dean Tavoularis
o Nino Rota
o Carmine Coppola
-- Additional Scenes
-- Acclaim & Response
-- Trailers (HD)
-- Photo Gallery
-- Rogues' Gallery

THE GODFATHER: The Coppola Restoration
Street Date: September 23, 2008
Pricing: $19.99 U.S. (Each Individual DVD)
$72.99 U.S. (Five-DVD Collection)
$119.99 U.S. (Four-disc Blu-ray Collection)
Runtime: 177 minutes (The Godfather)
202 minutes (The Godfather, Part II)
170 minutes (The Godfather, Part III)
Ratings: R (U.S.)/18A (Canada)-The Godfather
R (U.S.)/14A (Canada)-The Godfather, Part II
R (U.S.)/14A (Canada)-The Godfather, Part III

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080630/lam510.html?.v=14

Images from blu-ray.com thread. Case looks a little too thin for 4 discs. I would say they'll use the case used for the Die Hard set.

[dizzlle01]

They should have single releases. All I want is part 1 and 2.

[Rainet]

Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema

THE GODFATHER: The Coppola Restoration
Street Date: September 23, 2008
Pricing: $19.99 U.S. (Each Individual DVD)
$72.99 U.S. (Five-DVD Collection)
$119.99 U.S. (Four-disc Blu-ray Collection)
Runtime: 177 minutes (The Godfather)
202 minutes (The Godfather, Part II)
170 minutes (The Godfather, Part III)
Ratings: R (U.S.)/18A (Canada)-The Godfather
R (U.S.)/14A (Canada)-The Godfather, Part II
R (U.S.)/14A (Canada)-The Godfather, Part III

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080630/lam510.html?.v=14

Isn't the Die Hard Collection retailed at either $109.99 or $119.99? And i can easily frind them around $50 on ebay. So i'm sure i will be able to find The Godfather set for a similer price.

[darkside]

More affordable than half a season of Sopranos. I will definitely have this on my wish list.

[Oliver Clothesoff]

Very excited for this. Glad I sold off my DVD set a couple months ago. September is getting pricier by the minute.

[Mr. Cinema]

With Amazon's normal 30% off discount, this set will be $83.99. I'll have this on day 1.

[rexinnih]

This is what I've been waiting for.

[kefrank]

i know this comment is obligatory by now, but they'd better not DNR away all of the glorious film grain of the Godfather for the BD.

assuming the image quality is solid, i'll have this on release day.

[Dugout Doug]

Originally Posted by dizzlle01

They should have single releases. All I want is part 1 and 2.

hater



3 wasn't THAT bad.

[BuckNaked2k]

Originally Posted by dizzlle01

They should have single releases. All I want is part 1 and 2.

+1

[Doughboy]

Originally Posted by Dugout Doug

hater



3 wasn't THAT bad.

You're right. It was worse.


I'm not digging the Blu-ray set being over 1 1/2 times the cost of the DVDs. But we are talking about 2 of the finest motion pictures ever made, so I know I'll pick it up regardless.

Best of all is the inclusion of the mono tracks. I'm actually more excited about that than the Dolby TrueHD.

[kefrank]

Originally Posted by Doughboy

Best of all is the inclusion of the mono tracks. I'm actually more excited about that than the Dolby TrueHD.

me too! props to paramount on that one.

[True_Story1011]

and why does 'tHe Omen' cost so much again?

[The Bus]

Excellent. My disc 2 of Part II had rot and I was never able to finish it.

[DVD Polizei]

Originally Posted by True_Story1011

and why does 'tHe Omen' cost so much again?

Because it's evil.

[kefrank]

thedigitalbits has artwork up for the dvd version:
http://thedigitalbits.com/articles/m...ereddvdbox.jpg

looks pretty awesome, except i could do without the "includes all three amazing films" text at the bottom. i would imagine the BD artwork will be pretty much identical in some kind of Blu-ray case.

[shelland]

I must be the only male alive that's never seen any of the Godfather movies. And worse yet, I own them on DVD! (bought the set at Costco when it was relatively cheap)

[Drexl]

Originally Posted by kefrank

i know this comment is obligatory by now, but they'd better not DNR away all of the glorious film grain of the Godfather for the BD.

assuming the image quality is solid, i'll have this on release day.

Given that Robert Harris was involved in this, I hope he was able to help oversee the final versions on the discs. He has been very critical of DNR recently.

[jomalley2001]

Originally Posted by dizzlle01

They should have single releases. All I want is part 1 and 2.

"All three films will be available individually or in a five-DVD collection or four-disc Blu-ray collection, which are loaded with a host of all-new special features. "

[Doughboy]

Originally Posted by jomalley2001

"All three films will be available individually or in a five-DVD collection or four-disc Blu-ray collection, which are loaded with a host of all-new special features. "

If that press release is accurate, it sounds like they'll only be available separately on DVD. If you want them in high def, you have to buy the entire collection.

[BuckNaked2k]

Originally Posted by Doughboy

If that press release is accurate, it sounds like they'll only be available separately on DVD. If you want them in high def, you have to buy the entire collection.

At first.

[tonymontana313]

Best Blu-ray announcement of the year.

[kefrank]

Originally Posted by Drexl

Given that Robert Harris was involved in this, I hope he was able to help oversee the final versions on the discs. He has been very critical of DNR recently.

yeah, since he was involved in the restoration, i do have confidence that nothing horrific was done at that stage. my only concern is the transfer for BD. hopefully he and/or Coppola were able to at least give a stamp of approval at that stage as well.

[coli]

This is big news, this is one of those 'A' titles BluRay really needs to delve into the mass market. Very excited.

[JackBurton]

This great news. I was able to dump my SD set a while back and got about what I paid for it in return. These specs look promising.