The Godfather (Blu-ray) The Coppola Restoration Official AVSForum Review - Page 2

They also did it with VHS, called "The Godfather-The Complete Epic".
The first two films re-edited to show in chronlogical order.
Three tapes in a very nice presentation case and very nice printed materials.
I still have it, and it's my favorite way to watch the first two films.
I just received my Blu copy, and spent a few minutes with part one.
Looks to me like it's very accurate to the original movie as it would have been seen in a theater when first released (I saw it back then at a drive-in of all places ).
The Blu version is the best I've ever seen it (although just a bit more detail would be nice, but that could be due to limitations with what they have to work with).
As to packaging.......
I'm more interested in the film itself, and rarely watch extras. But, some films really deserve the extras. These are perfect examples.
The first two are masterpieces, and deserve not only extras, but packaging (the case, printed materials, etc.) that stands out. I have some SD's, like Ben-Hur, Lawrence Of Arabia, have packaging that really enhances the experience of owning great classic films. The Godfather films deserve the same.
I also think a future "super deluxe, extra special, you gotta have this collector's edition" version will make it's appearance eventually.

I already have. The BD blows away the old DVD in every way, hands down. It's not even close.

Yes, it is. All you have to do is listen to the filmmakers, as they explained it all in the new docs.

Once again, this was intentional, per Gordon Willis and Robert Harris. I would suggest watching the docs that detail the restoration process (especially Emulsional Rescue: Revealing The Godfather,) as they have some very informative interviews from the original filmmakers.

Your guess would be wrong, per Gordon Willis. The restoration restored the original, intended look. Period.

The BD looks spectacular. Coppola, Willis, etc. all seem to be extremely happy with the final product. If you don't like it, stick with your old SD DVD.

Have SD versions of both Ben-Hur (my most favorite widescreen film epic of all time!) and Lawrence of Arabia; LD to DVD, but was lucky enough to be sent a HD version of Ben-Hur; it was aired by Cinemax sometime back.
It was taken from Warner's most recent "restoration" master and it finally has the proper framing of its MGM Camera65 aspect ration of 2:76:1, which none of any previous video versions had (and never mind the horrid P&S video tape and LD versions!); the most recent boxed DVD set was also taken from the new master, so is also correctly framed for the Ultra-Panavision AR.
Although it has some issues with PQ, for the here and now is the BEST video version extant. Can hardly wait for a Blu Ray version!

Also have a HD version of LoA that I recorded onto the Dish Network's 622 DVR receiver; me thinks Columbia dropped the ball on this one as the version aired by HDNet Movies channel exhibits a rather vast amount of very ugly "edge enhancement" (I utterly loathe such video band aid! ), something which kills the illusion of viewing real film in one's home theater set up (have visually sampled this one on the new 60" Pioneer Elite Pro-151FD KURO display which is as an accurate a video device as they come, stopping somewhat short of being a professional display device). But at least seems to have the correct color temperature, something the first DVD release lacked (and how! ).
Hopefully a Blu Ray version of LoA is put out by Sony soon, sans that odious "EH" (yeah, right )...

-THTS

I don't know much about this area and have a question regarding the blu-ray restoration which I just picked up. It appears on my system, (80gb PS3, 46 inch Samsung LCD) that GF1 is a "full screen" version. Is this correct or do I perhaps have to adjust my settings? I dont recall having this issue on any other blu-ray purchases

It is NOT a full screen movie, but the aspect ratio is 1.85:1 if I remember correctly.

Thank you Dave and Ralph for the info. Perhaps then I can use this to justify that new 60" plasma I have been ogling?

Robert

I just watched this film (GF1) on an well callibrate tv, and the aspect ratio is indeed 1.78:1 and not 1.85:1. There are no black bars visible as with other 1.85:1 movies. Just checked GF2 an this also had aspect ratioo of 1.78:1. Also checked Vertical Limit and with this blu-ray there are small black bars visibable as should be with ratio 1.85:1.

Yup, just as it is common for Paramount to do, they opened up the original 1.85 ratio to 1.78. It's no big deal, but worth noting nonetheless.

I just received the blu-ray disc of the Godfather from Netflix. The label identifies it as the Coppola Restoration - and the opening screen as Paramount High Definition... but it will only play in 480P which of course is like watching an old VHS tape.

I presume the disc is double-layer and that for some reason I can not access the 1080P layer. The disc itself looks pristine without any blemishes.

Other blu-ray discs play perfectly in 1080P on my setup (Samsung BD-P1500 > HDMI to HDMI > Westinghouse VK-42F240S) so I am totally stumped.

UPDATE:

The problem was that the Samsung Blu-ray player had somehow reset itself to 480P instead of 1080P. Don't know how that happened - but after I reset it I was able to watch the Godfather in all it's Coppola restored glory!



Any suggestions?

Is there an update in firmware for your Samsung? I didn't have this issue when I watched it using a Panasonic BD30.

are you sure the disc you received is not the SD DVD? if you added the title on your netflix queue too early it is possible they shipped you the SD DVD. in the audio menu do you see TrueHD as an option?

Per my update above, the problem (incorrect player setting) has been solved.

The extra disc, the books "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls" and "The Kid Stays in the Picture" - terrific insight into the drama behind the scenes and the difficulty that new wave of Hollywood had breaking down the old ways. I'm watching Godfather 2 as I type - just a sensational restoration!

I just got the bluray set and watched part 1 last night and was blown away by the restoration. having grown up with the VHS and DVD versions this was like watching the film for the first time, however - the black levels on all the interior/night scenes seemed almost too dark.

I actually had to adjust my display to see the characters' tuxedo suits in Don Corleone's study. I know this is a dark film but is this actually how the film is intended to be or is it just a product of my display?

I have a 40" samsung LCD (LN40B650) that was properly calibrated w/ DVE disc.

Thanks

im confused, i see a 4 disc set and a 3 disc set of the godfather, one is 30 bucks cheaper for the 3 disc set, is it realy worth it?

What 3 disc set?

The four disc set is the complete collection Godfather I,II, III.

Which can be had at the time of this writing for $49.00 at Amazon.

you failed to mention thats the US pricing, this movie costs $89.99 CANADIAN.

whats the difference between this:

which is a box containing 3 single blue ray cases, and this:


which is one blue ray case with possibly 3 discs inside?

I agree 100%






Disagree 200%.

If the intent was to give the movie the appearance of an old crude, crappy movie, they succeeded. ONevertheless, still a disappointment. Complete.
Great movie whose enjoyment is distracted by the this crude attempts at artifically creating an atmosphere, if that is what was intended.
thumbs down

Once again, a HD version I saw on the cable before this came out, beat this dog, very easy.

^^^

obviously, you would be more happy with an "animation" look...

many many of us would have puked at the thought of that though...

reactions such as yours (and a few others) were predicted before the br's were even released...

this is one movie you must own... i bought it, paid $60 cdn with all the rebates and credits i had on my account.

great disc set.. i am so glad i bought it, it looks primo on my hdtv.

I'm ashamed to say I just finished watching parts I and II this week. I'm 29 but I slept on these films waaaay too long. Great, great films. I still need to watch the third but I'm sure that one will live up to the other two just fine. Pacino is outstanding in everything he does. I can't believe he didn't win any oscars for these, especially the second. DeNiro deservedly won one for the second but was shocked that Pacino didn't after watching. Sorry to bump this thread but I felt these films justified the action!

Thanks Ralph. And thank you for the review as always

IMO part 3 was pretty bad compared to the first two.

It's a fine film, it's just that the first two set the bar so high that it was going to be nearly impossible to revisit the story so many years later and do it justice.

I agree. I really liked the third as well, but yea wasn't quite able to reproduce the same magic as the first two. Still a great film though in my opinion

For those interested, the trilogy box of this just posted on Amazon for a one-day sale. Comparing prices, and having long ago decided that III wasn't worth buying, I instead bought the Coppola restoration single disks of I and II in blu-ray [a couple bucks cheaper than the 3 film box]. I'm looking forward to watching/hearing these updates. Magnificent movie-making. Freddo, you break my heart ......

Not 100% rlrvant, but the most relevant place I could find to post this.

Did anyone else see this (one night only). I have seen this on television, Laser Disc, DVD and HD (1080i) and this was the restoration on a VERY large screen. I don't know if it was 2 or 4k but I saw something (not good) that i have never seen before:

Whenever there was a bright object in one of the darker scenes, there was a vertical "lens flare" type ghosting. In the first scenes in the Don's study there is a piece of paper on the desk that created a column of light that actually wiped out the undertaker's image!

The subtitles has a duplicated fuzzy image about three feet above the originals as well.

I do not know if this had to do with the projector lens or or possibly the screen was polarized (for 3D projections) that caused this, but it really did disappoint my expectations of what I was looking forward to.

Any one with more technical saavy than me that might have an idea of what would cause this?