Godfather, The - DVD Collection Remastered (Boxset) (DVD)

Disc 1 The Godfather
Disc 2 & 3 The Godfather Part II
Disc 4 The Godfather Part III
Disc 5 Bonus Materials

For those perhaps too young, and for those who just haven't had the pleasure yet, this is the film box set above all others you should own. The first two films are two of greatest films ever made. Indeed The Godfather is ranked No.1 and The Godfather II is ranked No.3 in the IMDB.com rankings as of today. Bare in mind that these films were made over 30 years ago and that is some achievement.

Part 3 is not a bad film, and by normal film standards is pretty good. However in comparison with the first two its not in the same class, and doesn't merit repeated viewings in the same way as 1 & 2.

The bonus disc contains a lot of interesting stuff:
Behind the Scenes (on location, music, screenwriting, auditions, storyboards, cinematography etc),
Additional Scenes
Family Trees
Trailers
Academy Award speeches!
Biographies.

If that doesn't convince you that you're getting good value for money, then perhaps when I tell you the total running time of all 5 discs is 710mins will (thats almost 12hours). Unlike some boxed sets the box itself is not made of thin card, and is quite sturdy - looks good on the shelf as well.

Think I'll start from the beginning again now...

There is no choosing between The Godfather and The Godfather part II as they are the two greatest films ever made. Geniuse direction from coppola who never again showed the same quality, outstanding performances by de Niro, Pacino and Brando among many others great cinematography by Willis and they(of course) both won hatsful of oscars including both best pictures. The Godfather part III was a big disappointment for some and I agree it is not in the same class as the first two but it is a quality film grossly let down by the laughable performance by the Director's daughter Sofia Coppola. Two thumbs up to by far the best trilogy of all time.

Opinion seems divided on the merits of this Blu-ray set. The picture isn't reference quality but before viewing, I would suggest looking at the informative featurette entitled Emulsional Rescue on disc four. In it, the team behind the trilogy's restoration tell you exactly why the films now look the way they do.

The popularity of the first two movies led to so many prints being struck that the original negatives had deteriorated dramatically. The material was rescuable; nevertheless there were many choices made regarding exposure levels and colour timing. For these, the films' cinematographer, Gordon Willis, was consulted. Therefore any changes that look like errors, such as the near darkness of the opening scene or the over-exposed appearance of the wedding sequence, are entirely deliberate. They reflect the desire to return the films to their makers' original intent.

I was critical of the excessive grain in An American Werewolf in London but here there's enough to remind you that this is essentially a cinematic presentation without it getting distracting. In addition to the (already comprehensive) extras ported over from the 2001 DVD release, this set includes a new documentary and featurettes in HD.

There are those who would argue that this masterpiece has never looked better and I'm inclined to agree.

The Godfather Trilogy is, as a whole, the best achievement in filmmaking that's ever happened.

Brilliant stories, brilliant performances (Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall and Robert De Niro stand out as excellent leads) and top class cinematography coupled with great scripts make Part I and Part II so compelling to watch.

The same should be said for Part III. I don't know why people criticise it so much. Granted it's not as good as the other two, and the casting of Coppola's daughter as Mary Corleone was a stupid mistake, but as a whole I think the film is excellent, especially the climactic finale. So why people hate it so much is a mystery to me too.

As for the DVD, well the picture is vastly improved. Having seen most variations of the VHS versions, I can say that they've worked hard to improve the picture and sound for the films.

The extras are amazing. With many lengthy featurettes, well over an hour's worth of deleted scenes for the first two films (and an alternate beginning for Part III) plus more, it'll take ages to watch fully.

So, let's see - 9 hours of the best film saga ever, with a whole host of extras - this is a DVD you can't refuse.

Ignore the 1 star review saying there is no subtitles o nthe italian parts, you have to enable subtitle number 8 of 8 to get this if you want italian to english subtitles (without the english dialoge subtitled), The best trilogy ever, wtahced 100 times now, a must for any movie lover