The Godfather Trilogy: Coppola Restoration

Discuss North American DVDs and Blu-rays or other DVD and Blu-ray-related topics.
Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
andyli
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 4:46 pm

Re: The Godfather Trilogy: Coppola Restoration

#151 Post by andyli » Fri Oct 16, 2020 5:03 am

The '08 release was already based on Robert Harris's 4K restoration. I'm sure Paramount is eager to better it with their "To Catch a Thief" treatment.

Nasir007
Joined: Sat May 25, 2019 11:58 am

Re: The Godfather Trilogy: Coppola Restoration

#152 Post by Nasir007 » Tue Nov 17, 2020 5:18 pm

Trailer.

I've seen the film only once years ago and did not like it. It felt really unnecessary and I did not find the characters appealing, the story compelling, or the film-making interesting.

A new cut would be a good reason to revisit the movie.

User avatar
aox
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:02 pm
Location: nYc

Re: The Godfather Trilogy: Coppola Restoration

#153 Post by aox » Tue Nov 17, 2020 6:06 pm

I don't mind GF3 as much as others, but that aside, I don't see a single new frame in that trailer. And, from the deleted scenes from every previous release, it isn't like there are 20-40 minutes of footage sitting around that had to be excised waiting to be resurrected. I assume the major change is going to be that Coppola went back and reedited the original opening (he had planned) that mirrored the the openings of the first two films; namely, a person (the Bishop in Rome) asking for something (money/favor) from the Godfather (Michael). Coppola moved this scene from the beginning to the middle of the film in the theatrical cut to "do something different" from the first two films.

I already find the movie's ending fitting, so in the absence of additional scenes and footage, I am not sure what could be tinkered with there.

EDIT: Here was the original opening planned by Coppola. Not much new; as I said, it was moved to the middle of the film. I think despite uniformity, it would have been a stronger opening and maybe changed the tone of the film.

User avatar
hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: The Godfather Trilogy: Coppola Restoration

#154 Post by hearthesilence » Tue Nov 17, 2020 7:59 pm

aox wrote:
Tue Nov 17, 2020 6:06 pm
EDIT: Here was the original opening planned by Coppola. Not much new; as I said, it was moved to the middle of the film. I think despite uniformity, it would have been a stronger opening and maybe changed the tone of the film.
I don't even recall the opening that was ultimately used, but I have to say this does play like the opening for a potentially great sequel (that is, it raises your hopes for a great film to follow). It just plays really well off the progression of corruption from film to film - business, family, political leaders, and now that legacy becomes entwined with the modern day Catholic church. It's not just the accumulation of power and wealth, even absolution will be corrupted as something that's acquired rather than earned.

User avatar
aox
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:02 pm
Location: nYc

Re: The Godfather Trilogy: Coppola Restoration

#155 Post by aox » Wed Nov 18, 2020 2:43 pm

hearthesilence wrote:
Tue Nov 17, 2020 7:59 pm
aox wrote:
Tue Nov 17, 2020 6:06 pm
EDIT: Here was the original opening planned by Coppola. Not much new; as I said, it was moved to the middle of the film. I think despite uniformity, it would have been a stronger opening and maybe changed the tone of the film.
I don't even recall the opening that was ultimately used, but I have to say this does play like the opening for a potentially great sequel (that is, it raises your hopes for a great film to follow). It just plays really well off the progression of corruption from film to film - business, family, political leaders, and now that legacy becomes entwined with the modern day Catholic church. It's not just the accumulation of power and wealth, even absolution will be corrupted as something that's acquired rather than earned.
Exactly. I understand why Coppola might have wanted to do something different, but I think it was a mistake to diverge from the uniformity of the standard opening. It's a fantastic way to show the levels of power were working with in the proceeding film. 1: Streets 2: National Politician 3: (Global) Catholic Church

BTW, the original opening is tacked onto the Youtube link I posted. The theatrical cut opens showing the disrepair of the Corleone Estate in Lake Tahoe with Michael's narration to his children, and then the huge party where Michael received the honor from the Vatican. Again, lock step with the first two films of a private conversation regarding money and power to a large festive gathering.

User avatar
captveg
Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2009 7:28 pm

Re: The Godfather Trilogy: Coppola Restoration

#156 Post by captveg » Wed Nov 18, 2020 3:28 pm

aox wrote:
Tue Nov 17, 2020 6:06 pm
I don't mind GF3 as much as others, but that aside, I don't see a single new frame in that trailer. And, from the deleted scenes from every previous release, it isn't like there are 20-40 minutes of footage sitting around that had to be excised waiting to be resurrected. I assume the major change is going to be that Coppola went back and reedited the original opening (he had planned) that mirrored the the openings of the first two films; namely, a person (the Bishop in Rome) asking for something (money/favor) from the Godfather (Michael). Coppola moved this scene from the beginning to the middle of the film in the theatrical cut to "do something different" from the first two films.
I imagine this is the major change as well. The new cut is reportedly ~5 minutes shorter, so this seems to be a case of tightening the film up, rearranging scenes, and perhaps replacing some scenes with alternate ones, rather than expanding the film to be longer.

User avatar
Roger Ryan
Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2010 12:04 pm
Location: A Midland town spread and darkened into a city

Re: The Godfather Trilogy: Coppola Restoration

#157 Post by Roger Ryan » Wed Nov 18, 2020 5:57 pm

captveg wrote:
Wed Nov 18, 2020 3:28 pm
... The new cut is reportedly ~5 minutes shorter, so this seems to be a case of tightening the film up, rearranging scenes, and perhaps replacing some scenes with alternate ones, rather than expanding the film to be longer.
Hopefully, part of that running time reduction is the removal of that shot...
SpoilerShow
... showing the same two mob bosses being shot to death a second time during the big showpiece massacre!
Perhaps Coppola was drawing from his Corman days for a cheap way to extend an action sequence, but it was not becoming of a film in the Godfather series to stoop so low.

flyonthewall2983
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:31 pm
Location: Indiana
Contact:

Re: The Godfather Trilogy: Coppola Restoration

#158 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Wed Nov 18, 2020 7:58 pm

I'm for more director's cuts being shorter than the original



GoodOldNeon
Joined: Tue Dec 05, 2017 5:58 am

Re: The Godfather Trilogy: Coppola Restoration

#161 Post by GoodOldNeon » Tue Dec 08, 2020 5:09 pm

I couldn't find a dedicated Coppola thread, so I will post this here. Coppola is currently visiting the Finnish National Audiovisual Institute, and as part of his visit the Institute is holding a livestreamed discussion with Coppola on Saturday 12 December at 19:00 Finnish time. The stream will be hosted on Facebook and Vimeo, and there will be an opportunity to ask questions during the event. More info here.

Post Reply