The Godfather Collection: Two Masterpieces you can't refuse !

The Godfather Collection is the much anticipated dream package film lovers and DVD owners have been waiting for. Rumors of the production of the package began more than a year ago and after much anticipation, and speculation it has arrived. It is here and priced at under 20 bucks per disc making it an offer no film-buff could ever refuse.

I wish I could tell you The Collection exceeded the high expectations and delivered absolutely everything , everyone was hoping for, but I can't quite do that. Truth be told, while all the films look very good, they don't look or sound as good as they could have. Most of the extra material on disc 5--and there is a lot of it - is not made up of brand new or DVD premiere material. Film buffs and Godfather enthusiasts have probably seen most of it already. It's great that it's been collected and put together on these discs, but I was yearning for something new, something that would make me say.. Wow… For that you have the films and the feature length commentaries from Coppola -- Commentaries full of interesting, informative and fun information.

=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=- THE GODFATHER FILMS -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The original Godfather film is a modern classic which was immediately responsible for inspiring dozens of low budget knock-offs mainly in the U.S. and Italy, a remarkable sequel (Part 2) and then several books, films and television shows such as: 'The Long Goodbye' (England); Scorcese's 'Goodfellas'; TVs Wiseguy; and HBO's Sopranos. It also proved to be very influential to filmmakers in Hong Kong as well. The world was alternately fascinated with and disgusted by gangsters. The Godfather stylized and glamorized not so much the Cosa Nostra, but rather the Corleone family. They were criminals, but they were criminals with their own morals and ethics. They appealed to younger filmgoers because there were several parallels one could draw from The Godfather saga. First one could see how pursuit of the American Dream led to the corruption. Second, one could surmise that a thin line separated the gangster Corleone's from the great American political and business family dynasties. Third, the Corleone's could be viewed as dark revolutionaries, carving out their own fortunes regardless of rules or laws. And fourth, they were criminal's. . . bad guys. Bad guys always seem more interesting than good guys in literature and in the movies do. Scarface, Public Enemy and Little Caesar riveted film audiences in the 1930's. Some criminals became American folk heroes; Bonnie and Clyde, and Al Capone for instance while Jesse James, the Daltons and the gunfighters both good and bad of the old west were idolized. True crime has seemingly always carried a fascination for Americans who internationally have had reputations of being wild, unruly and dangerous. And so Mario Puzo (and others) created the great Italian-American gangster family, The Corleones.

The Godfather was given the kind of epic sweep previously reserved for historical dramas or huge classic literature adaptations. Mario Puzo's book was a far cry from classic literature. Puzo had lengthy sub-plots in the book, which had little to do with the life and times of gangster father and his family. Coppola wisely stripped the book down to its basics and based his screenplay on the family of gangster contained within the overly sensationalistic book.

When one looks at film's that are called masterpieces and lauded as among the finest ever made, one should find that such films had a great impact on the intended audience (even if that impact was limited or one of initial total rejection) and an extraordinary degree of influence. An influence whose scope transcended the intended target audience.

The Godfather, and The Godfather Part 2 are two films that can make that claim. The Godfather offers exquisite details and several memorable characters. There is one of the greatest performances ever captured on film -- Marlon Brando. He transformed himself into a mature and complex character in what amounted to a major supporting role. Yes, he won the Best Actor award. . . but his role was really a major supporting role and not the star. The starring role of the picture is that of the character who changes drastically over the course of the nearly 10 years the nearly three hours movie covers--Michael Corleone. It is Al Pacino at his best. And as impossible as it may seem, his performance is even better than Brando's is. Even more improbable is watching Pacino deliver an even better performance in Godfather Part 2. Perhaps the finest performance that anyone has ever given on film. A performance that failed to win an Oscar and proved indisputably for anyone who had any doubts what little relation an Oscar win has to actual and lasting talent. Pacino's performance should have been awarded a special Oscar all it's own. It was mis-categorized as a supporting role in the first Godfather and then Pacino failed to win for his role in Part 2 (he lost to Art Carney in Harry and Tonto).

You simply will not find a better performance in any motion picture in the last 30 years than the performance that Al Pacino delivers in The Godfather Part 2. But brilliant performances don't occur in a vacuum and part of the strength of Pacino's performance is due to the performances of those around him. Both the Godfather and Godfather Part 2 have some of the best and most memorable supporting performers and represent the strongest ensemble acting in American film.

=-=-=-=-=-=- THE GODFATHER (1972) =-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1972's The Godfather is set at the end of World War 2 beginning in New York of 1945. We meet the Corleone Family. Father and Don Vito (Marlon Brando) rules one of the largest and most powerful crime syndicate organizations in the city. He is feared and hated, and respected. He has three sons, Sonny (James Caan), Fredo (John Cazale) and Michael (Al Pacino) and one daughter, Connie (Talia Shire). There is also the young man they raised from a child who is like a son to the family, Tom (Robert Duvall), who has taught himself to become a skilled lawyer. Michael is the youngest and most spoiled of the sons. He has a college education and he has just returned home as a war hero. His father wants for Michael a life that is apart from the family's life of crime. Destiny however has other ideas. Sonny, perhaps can learn to be less volatile and hot headed and step into Vito's shoes while Fredo is well-meaning but slow , thick headed and prone to making mistakes. He needs to be managed with patience and proper guidance which Vito doesn't have the time to do and Sonny is incapable of.

We meet the family during the wedding of Vito's only daughter Connie (Talia Shire). Eventually we learn how there is a great deal of controversy among the various families about whether or not there should be more involvement with the growing drug business. Vito doesn't like the drug business and believes despite the potential profits the risks involved are far too great. This leads to rivals believing Vito has become soft and there is an attempt to kill Vito. He survives, but just barely. Michael must get involved in order to manage the chaos the family is thrown into. He is a born leader and the family needs him. As the Corleone Family struggles to maintain its power and control it must overcome great sacrifices and tragedies. And Michael finds himself becoming the family's new leader. The film covers the time period of 1945 to 1951.

The Godfather is seamlessly made. The stylized brownish/yellow look of much of the film was the work of Gordon Willis. Until Michael takes over the family, the film has a muted, antique look to it. As Michael takes over the family the film becomes less brown/yellow and a little sharper. Perhaps like so many 70's films the focus is a bit too soft and some scenes are a bit too dark, but I think it all works beautifully for the film. The editing insures the film flows from scene to another without a mis-step. It's hard to believe watching the perfectly paced, acted, shot and edited film that the production schedule was rushed, the film was modestly budgeted and Coppola was almost fired from the production.

And then there is that music. The memorable now classic score from Godfather which sounds similar to Nino Rota's own Satyricon (Fellini) score was nearly nixed by studio chief Robert Evans in favor of a more contemporary score like Love Story or Butch Cassidy, Coppola insisted and rightly so.

Interesting to note; Pacino could not speak of a word of Italian (or drive or dance), Robert Towne contributed to the screenplay (uncredited), Abe Vigoda and Joe Spinell (who was a cab driver) were Coppola discoveries, Sofia Coppola is the baby in the baptism scene. Many of Coppola's family appear in the film, his father can be seen playing the piano, his mother and other family members are at the wedding and in other scenes as well.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- THE GODFATHER PART 2 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

1974's The Godfather Part 2 follows two separate story lines. We continue to follow the development of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) as he becomes the head of the entire crime syndicate. His story picks up in 1958 as he deals with closing a huge business deal involving casinos in Las Vegas. He has not made good on his promise to wife Kay about making the family legitimate within 5 years--it's already been 7. Making matters much worse there is a traitor or two in the organization who tries to boldly assassinate Michael. He must carefully make his moves to not endanger his business deals with Hyman Roth (Lee Strassberg) of Miami. The balance of the New York families is unstable and he's about to make a huge gamble regarding Cuban investments.

Running concurrently and almost seamlessly is the story of how Vito Corleone (Michael's father Vito) arrived in the United States after his family was killed by a Sicilian Mafia Don.. Oreste Baldini briefly plays Vito as a young boy and then Robert DeNiro takes over in the role of Vito as a young man. Vito is at first an honest hard-worker who witnesses the neighborhood Don Fanucci (Gastone Moshin) abusing the hardworking Italians relentlessly. Vito begins watching Fanucci closely to learn more about this Black Hand organization and how he can possibly change things. When Vito loses his job because Fanucci insists his nephew be hired at the neighborhood deli where he had been working, it is time for Vito to make some moves, and change his life.

The two story lines are woven together in a fascinating manner that adds an incredible amount of depth to the first film and both the past and present story lines we watch in the second film. It serves to make each story line all the more compelling. The contrast, the history, the machinations all lead to new manipulations being plotted and dealt with by Michael Corleone who becomes less and less human and grows increasingly colder as the film moves forward. It's a chilling portrait of the price power demands, particularly power obtained through criminal means. Michael realizes that his destiny is a curse that he can not escape no matter how cool or smart he remains. He has chosen a very lonely path to take.

Part 2 is a much more complicated and a denser film than the first. It has a few colorful characters, but mostly it deals with business, power, and backroom politics. It's a colder, darker film than the first. Part 2 moves the Godfather story into a whole new level. It plays down (somewhat) the visceral thrills of the crime melodrama and places the characters into a different scenario, which eventually forces Michael to make one of the most difficult and tragic decisions imaginable. It's a tragic and chilling tale but the film requires your attention to many details and your patience. It is a masterpiece and one of the very best films ever made. It contains one of the most incredibly powerful scenes I've ever witnessed (between Michael and his brother Fredo).

And I'll remind you that Al Pacino delivers perhaps the finest performance of any modern actor you'll ever experience. A performance which captures the highest level is acting technique and charismatic performing that you'll ever see.

The look of the film is again stylized. A lot of the film is shot in dark interiors. At times the film perhaps is a bit too dark, but it contrasts well with the brownish/yellowish tones of the young Vito scenes that are so seamlessly integrated as a part of the film.

It is the great modern American Masterpiece to be savored and enjoyed over and over again.

Interesting to note: Troy Donahue plays a character named Merle Johnson which is Troy's real name. Richard Castellano who played Clemenza in the first film demanded not just a higher salary but to be able to write his own lines which the film producers, nor Coppola would agree to. As a young man Clemenza is played by Bruno Kirby billed as B. Kirby Jr. Marlon Brando at the last minute decided not to be in Godfather Part 2. That meant DeNiro and Michael Gazzo both got their award winning roles because of cast defections. Sofia Coppola plays a child on the boat of immigrants coming to America.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- THE GODFATHER PART 3 1990 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

16 years passed between the time Godfather 2 and Godfather 3 was released. Coppola went a little crazy on his Apocalypse Now film, and nearly went Bankrupt with American Zoetrope, which produced box office bombs like One from the Heart, Hammett and Rumblefish. He made The Cotton Club in 1984 and for the money directed Peggy Sue Got Married in 1986. Gardens of Stone and Tucker: The Man and his Dreams had some worthwhile moments but it seemed as if Coppola was running on fumes.

1990's Godfather 3 could have been a good movie, but the absence of Duvall, the casting of Coppola's daughter Sofia (who is not a very good actresses and is given way too much screen time) and the drastic changes made to the character of Michael Corleone pretty much doomed the project from the beginning. There are some unfortunate and quite frankly unforgivably sloppy mistakes in the film like a scene that is supposed to take place in 1979 which features Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul I, who both died in 1978. It' remains a film worth seeing, but is a film that never touches upon the greatness of the first two films. The film offers an extremely entertaining performance from Al Pacino. It's a charismatic movie star type of performance however and not one that represents brilliant acting. Andy Garcia who is so good gives one of the best performances in the film, he almost over-comes the fact that he's been completely miscast in the film. Unfortunately for every good performance like a Garcia, there's an
ineffective (Sofia's) or over-ripe one (Joe Mantegna and especially Eli Wallach).

In Godfather Part 3 we meet up with Michael Corleone in the late 1970's. He has taken the family and crime syndicate into legitimate and legal businesses. His estranged grown children return. The Catholic Church is giving him a special honor for his 'generous support of the church's charity. However, they need a favor from Michael and that's when we discover that at least some in the church are as corrupt as any crime syndicate family ever was. Michael finds himself once again forced to make difficult and ultimately tragic choices. The absence of Robert Duvall and the changes in Michael's character doom the film to not be in the same league as its predecessors. There are still some fine performances and memorable scenes among the ruins of what might have been an excellent film if more time and care was invested into the script and casting.

Interesting to note: The presence of oranges continued to indicate imminent death in all 3 Godfather films. Martin Scorcese's mother makes an interesting appearance in both 3 and Goodfellas. Winnona Ryder dropped out at the last moment (due to exhaustion) leading to the casting of Sofia in her role.

THE GODFATHER COLLECTION is a DVD I feel fortunate to be able to own-- Two masterpieces, excellent commentaries, and hours of extras make this a must have.

=-=-===- DVD STUFF =-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

All three films are presented in their original aspect ratios of approximately 1.85:1 and have been anamorphically enhanced for 16 x 9 televisions.

Visually, The Godfather films are very stylized and were given a brownish/ yellow hue to many scenes. The first two films were also shot in the 1970's, and contain many softer focused and darker scenes than more modern films utilize. Advances in film stocks, lenses and increasingly sophisticated computer assisted devices have improved film technically dramatically over the last 30 years. (Actually an early version of a computer-assisted zoom lens was utilized on the first Godfather).

Dealing with older film stock presents particular problems when transferred to the digital medium. Particularly when various tints and techniques were used to create a particular visual effect. To preserve the original effect which might have deteriorated and then digitally transfer it is a complicated process. Over all they have done a very good job on making the films look as sharp as possible. Black levels seem to have been adjusted several times during the film and usually details can be observed adequately in low light situations. In Part 2 some darker scenes are extremely problematic, but cinematographer Willis admits that he may have shot several scenes too dark to begin with.

However there is sometimes too much grain and dropout (white speckles) visible, particularly on the original Godfather film. I had been hoping that literally no expense would be spared in cleaning up the prints used for the transfer. Obviously that is not the case. The prints used are in very good condition, particularly when you consider the age of the films, but they have not been meticulously and painstakingly cleaned and restored prior to their transfer. And I'm not sure what excuse can be made for a few instances of heavy grain appearing on the print used for Part 3.

The remix of the first two films' original monaural audio into the DVD's Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is also not flawless. I pretty much expected that there would be some problems in this area and there are. At times the sound sounds overly processed and flattened out, but artificially manipulated to create a fuller sound. Most of the time, the voices and sound effects were blended very nicely. However on occasion certain sound effects were intentionally over-emphasized and having them even more over-emphasized by the 5.1 re-mix is very noticeable. In a few scenes the dialogue and voices sound somewhat metallic, but usually you don't notice. Some of the added depth and dimension added to the sound effects work very nicely but there is not much evidence of creativity in terms of using the various , but it also let me down nonetheless. Some of what I am sure are original flaws with the older films are over-emphasized or 'masked' in a way that creates the aforementioned muddled and metallic audio.

The biggest winner in the re-mix is the music. The music comes across in a much more powerful and crisper fashion than in any previous video editions of the film I have seen.

=-=-=-=- THE EXTRAS: =-=-=-=-=-

The Bonus Disc contains several sections including: Behind the Scenes; Additional Scenes/Chronology ; The Family Tree; Photo Galleries; Theatrical Trailers; Acclaim and Response; and Filmmaker Biographies.

The longest piece found on 'the Bonus' or Extras disc is in the Behind the Scenes section. It is there you will find: The Godfather Family: A Look Inside," it is a documentary originally created to be part of the video and pay-t.v. release of The Godfather Part 3 in 1991. Almost half of the nearly 73 and a half minute documentary deals with the making of Part 3. A few minutes of newer interview material are sprinkled throughout the program however nearly all of this was created in 1991. The first half of the documentary, which deals with the first two Godfathers, is the most interesting. We find some fascinating footage of Brando's make-up tests, and Pacino's auditions. Coppola screen tested hundreds of actors for roles in the movie. Some snippets survive and we are treated to Martin Sheen and James Caan doing Michael and DeNiro auditioning for Sonny. The documentary emphasizes Part 3 and delivers some interesting behind the scenes footage (Like Garcia actually chomping on Joe Mantegna's ear), yet is too fluffy to be a true warts and all documentary. The documentary therefore is ultimately a bit disappointing.

"On Location" last just under 7 minutes. Production designer Dean Tavoularis revisits some of the places where the original films were shot. It's an interesting little featurette. We also see some of the documentary footage that was shot for Part 2. This material is extremely interesting and yet we don't get to see or hear too much about it. Perhaps not much of this material survives. Pity.

"Francis Coppola's Notebook" offers a great deal of insight and discussion from Coppola about some of the preparation and research he did for the first Godfather. It concentrates on the scene where Michael kills Sollozzo and the police captain but also has some additional information about the murders of Apollonia and Vito. Its framing device is his annotated comments on Puzo's novel.

"The Music of The Godfather" is a five and half-minute featurette focusing on the Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola, the two composers who contributed to the Godfather films. We hear Rota because of an audiotape Coppola made of a meeting they had in January of1972. We hear pieces of the demo versions of the Godfather themes and we also hear the un-used Going to Los Angeles music that in a heated compromise Coppola allowed Paramount chief Bob Evans to choose the music for this one small section of the film. If he had not it is very possible Evans would have jettisoned Rota's entire (and now classic) score.

We also see a three minute and 15 second piece that talks about Francis' father Carmine Coppola and shows him at a November 1990 scoring session for Part 3.

"Coppola and Puzo On Screenwriting" is an eight minute plus featurette of vintage interviews with Coppola and Mario Puzo talking about decisions made about characters and ideas for all three films. We also hear Puzo's ideas for a Godfather 4 !!!

"Gordon Willis On Cinematography", is actually a segment taken from the excellent documentary entitled Visions of Light (1992 about the work and art of film cinematographers). The piece is only three minutes and 45 seconds long but offers quite a lot of insight into the cinematographers work on the Godfather films. It is here that Willis admits he might have made some of Part 2 a little too dark. We also hear briefly from cinematographers Michael Chapman, Conrad Hall and William A. Fraker.

In both "Storyboards from The Godfather Part 2 " and "Storyboards from The Godfather Part 3" a couple of scenes are the primary focus of a series of stills (mostly) detailing the culmination of a couple of important scenes from the films from paper to film. The segments are narrated and run under 5 minutes each.

"The Godfather Behind the Scenes 1971 is an eight minute and 55 second pre-cable t.v. or Entertainment Tonight type of puff piece on the Godfather. It's interesting because of it's historical value and we do see some short interview snippets with a variety of actors from the film

If you let the main menu area of Behind the Scenes run, you'll hear in the background audio out-takes from Godfather rehearsals. They seem to be mainly from rehearsals for the scene from the first Godfather involving Michael killing Sollozo and the police captain in the restaurant. Perhaps Coppola recorded them during the original pre-film rehearsals of the scene. There are at least four or five separate audio snippets to hear. When you return to the menu listen a little longer than you normally would and enjoy.

Next is the Additional Scenes/ Chronology section of the Bonus Material DVD.

It is here you will find 34 un-used scenes or pieces of scenes from the Godfather films. You'll fine only one scene here from Godfather Part 3, since the director's cut available on video and on this DVD collection has already included footage that was once cut from theatrical version of the film. It all adds up to a little over 55 and half minutes of extra scenes. Some of the clips last less then 30 seconds, while the longest is six minutes and forty seconds. Except for the scene from Part 3 they are all presented in full frame format. Almost all of the clips from the first two films were used in the special Godfather television film created for network t.v. by Coppola in 1981 called The Godfather 1902-1959 The Complete Epic and subsequently released onto video in 1983. (Interesting that you'll find a subtitle reading 1901 in the Godfather Part 2 film don't you think?). It was also re-issued on video with the addition of Godfather Part 3 as The Godfather Saga (1901-1980) in 1992.

Each of the scenes begin with an introduction that tells you about the segment and where it might have been in the finished film. The text lasts a few seconds (you can pause if you need to) and can not be skipped over to start the scene except by using the fast forward button. Most of the scenes could have been included in the films and the sequence involving Michael's pursuit of the killer of his first wife in Sicily is a must-see.

"The Family Tree " offers text material on all of the sons, daughters, spouses and relatives of the Corleone family. There are a couple of trivial goofs involving some dates located here. You can click on the characters and get brief biographies of the actors and actresses who portrayed the characters in the film.

In the Photo Galleries you will find 106 stills, which offer a combination of publicity, and behind the scene shots. In addition there is a Rogues' Gallery which features 10 publicity shots of the films' sleaziest bad guys.

In the Theatrical Trailers section you will find one theatrical trailer for each of the films. The original Godfather trailer was little more than a series of stills and gave away too much of the film. The trailer for Part 2 is the one run for the film's wider theatrical release after it had won several Oscars.

The "Acclaim and Response" section includes an extensive list of the Awards and Nominations the films have received. If you click on some of the text listings you will jump to excerpts from awards ceremonies showing snippets from Oscar shows. Unfortunately you will not find the acceptance of Brando's award by 'Sacheen Littlefeather" (an actress who pretended to be a Native American) on the disc. Why not?

You'll also be treated to the 95 second "1974 Network TV Introduction" Francis Ford Coppola is shown working on Godfather Part 2 and explains some of the modifications that were made to The Godfather so that it would be allowed to be shown on network television.

The "DVD Credits" lists and gives some information about the people who helped create this exemplary DVD package. I won't tell you where, but it's very much worth your time and effort to find the special (Easter Egg) hidden feature located in this section of the disc.

=-=-=-=-=-=- COMMENTARY TRACKS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Francis Ford Coppola's commentary tracks for all three films make for consistently compelling, and highly informative listening. He does not pat himself on the back or spend an inordinate amount of time over-praising co-workers or actors. He talks about production problems, decisions that were made regarding casting, (and how the film was shot), behind the scene problems, the incredible story of how he was almost fired from the first Godfather, stories about working with some of our greatest actors, some highly entertaining behind the scenes stories and much more. There are a few pauses during his commentaries, but they last less than two minutes and usually highlight a point he was making with a scene from the film anyway.

Listening to one of America's greatest living (and still working) filmmakers deliver what amounts to an insider's seminar about his Godfather trilogy (which includes two genuine Masterpieces) for nearly 9 hours total is a pretty remarkable occurrence.

The commentary on Godfather Part 3 has Coppola very much on the defensive regarding how critics tore apart the film and Sofia Coppola's acting in particular. It's clear the film was made more from a sense of what was good for Francis' career and a bit of obligation than because of passion. How many times indeed can he re-make the same picture?

AND I'M OUT OF ROOM. This DVD collection may not be perfect but it's a collection of 5 DVDs that includes what amounts to over 21 hours worth of material which includes two genuine masterpieces of film. You'll be able to become the proud owner of this for less than 100 bucks. If you own a DVD player (or are getting one this Christmas) this is a must have DVD.

DVD Quality 4 stars. Godfather 5 stars Godfather Part 2 5+ Stars Godfather Part 3 - 31/2 stars. Bonus Materials: 41/2 stars Overal value : 5 stars.

Original portions of this review Copyright© Christopher J. Jarmick 2001. The above work is protected by international copyright law.