The Godfather Trilogy (4K UHD) Review

[David Vaughn]

Studio: Paramount
Release Date: March 22, 2022
Rating: R
Film: 5 /5
 
Plot
Based on the novel by Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather is one of the greatest films of all time. Widely considered the best sequel of all time, Part II went on to win 6 six Oscars, including best Best picturePicture. Nearly 16 years later, Coppola completed the saga with The Godfather, Part III, a very good film in its own right, but it had big shoes to fill and didn't quite meet expectations. Chronicling the lives of the Corleone family spanning over nearly 80 years—from the rise of Vito's (Marlon Brando & and Robert DeNiro) rise as a young criminal to Michael's the struggles of Michael (Al Pacino) struggles to legitimize the family business after taking over for his father.
 
My Thoughts
I’ve watched the first two parts of The Godfather countless times over the years, but I’ve never been a fan of the third film and felt it to be an unnecessary addition to the franchise. Thankfully, Coppola released a new cut of the film in 2022 and dubbed it The Godfather Coda – The Death of Michael Corleone and it is a much better story. While no major changes were made, the slight changes were significant in the story telling and you can see and feel the torment that Michael is going though. Furthermore, Coppola states that this is the vision and tenor of the film he always wanted from the beginning and fortunately, Paramount allowed him to go back and rework it.
 
The mark of a truly great film is that they are timeless and enjoyable despite knowing what’s going to happen and all three of these films fit that bill. Granted, the first two are a class above the reworked third film, but at least the new edit has closed the gap a bit. Regardless, this trilogy is one of the greatest ever made and I’m sure people will be watching them a hundred years from now and still enjoy their greatness.
 
Back in the early part of this century, the first two films went under extensive restoration by Robert A. Harris of the Film Preserve under the direction of Coppola and cinematographer Gordon Willis. As great as that restoration was, it pales in comparison to this 4K release. Amazing doesn’t begin to describe how great these films look. Granted, there are a few rough patches in the first film that aren’t perfect, but these are few and far between. The second is an improvement, although there is the occasional shot that can be a bit crushed on the black levels but looks loads better than the Blu-ray. The third film has never looked quite so dated as the first two and shines in 4K. Overall, the color timing has been improved with skin tones looking natural and the sepia look of the Blu-rays has all but disappeared.
 
The work that went into this restoration can’t be understated. First, it took over three years to completed and over 300 cartons of film were scrutinized to find the best possible resolution of every frame. From there, over 4,000 hours were spent repairing the film stains, tears, and other anomalies in the negatives. Then over 1,000 hours were spent on color correction to ensure the high dynamic range tools were respectful to the original vision of Coppola and cinematographer Gordon Willis. Finally, all this work was overseen by Coppola to ensure the best presentation was made for his masterpiece.
 
All three films have Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtracks with the first two films offering their original monaural tracks. I chose the 5.1 tracks and found them to be quite good given their ages. Dialog is relatively clean and concise, and the dynamics are befitting a 50-year-old film. As with the look of the films, the audio track on the third film is the best of the bunch.
 
Barry’s Thoughts:
 
In the past couple of years, I have seen the “new” Godfather Saga, The Godfather Trilogy and Godfather Coda. I thought Coda was the end of it. And now the 4K
  
 Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.
  
 Francis Ford Coppola directed and created two of the greatest films I have seen. I tend to think as these two films as one and he Godfather Saga, where they combine these movies and add scenes that were deleted remains my favorite way of seeing them.  I first saw it that was on Laser Disc. Unfortunately, the three movies have never been released on DVD or Blu Ray that way. I did notice that as individual films the pacing is different, it’s a bit faster.
    
Video 9.5/10 (AVC)
 
 Audio 9/10 (Dolby TrueHD 5.1)
 
Special Features:
 
New Bonus Content:
 

• Introduction to The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola
• Full Circle: Preserving The Godfather (a must watch)
• Capturing the Corleones: Through the Lens of Photographer Steve Schapiro
• The Godfather: Home Movies
• Restoration Comparison (another must watch)

 
Legacy Bonus Content:
 

• The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn’t
• Godfather World
• Emulsional Rescue—Revealing The Godfather
• …when the shooting stopped
• The Godfather on the Red Carpet
• Four Short Films on The Godfather
  
  • The Godfather vs. The Godfather: Part II
  • Cannoli
  • Riffing on the Riffing
  • Clemenza
• The Family Tree
• Crime Organization Chart
• Connie and Carlo’s Wedding Album
• 2008 Credits
• Behind the Scenes
  
  • A Look Inside
  • On Location
  • Francis Ford Coppola’s Notebook
  • Music of The Godfather
• Nino Rota
• Carmine Coppola            
  
  • Coppola & Puzo on Screenwriting
  • Gordon Willis on Cinematography
  • Storyboards – The Godfather: Part II
  • Storyboards – The Godfather: Part III
  • The Godfather Behind the Scenes 1971
• Additional Scenes
• Galleries
• Trailers
• Acclaim & Response
• Additional Material
• The Filmmakers
• The Godfather: Part III—newly remastered and restored versions of the original theatrical cut and Coppola’s 1991 cut (note: these are exclusive to the 4K Ultra HD Collections)
• Digital Copy

 
 

 
 
Conclusion
Fifty years has passed since the first film hit theaters back in 1972 but like I said earlier, this is a timeless tale of crime and drama. As good as the Robert Harris restoration was 14 years ago, the technological advances in recent years has allowed these films to be restored to levels previously thought impossible. When I reviewed the Blu-ray of the third film a couple years back, I begged for the studio to release the reworked version with the eventual 4K release and thankfully they did. In fact, they’ve included three versions of the third film, which just adds icing on the cake. If you have a 4K-capable display, be sure to add this to your collection. It’s worth every penny. Highly recommended.
 
 
 
Reference Review System:
JVC DLA-RS2000 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
(Calibrated with Portrait Displays CalMAN color calibration software & C6-HDR Meter from Portrait Displays)
Stewart Filmscreen - Firehawk 88” 16x9 Fixed Screen
Trinnov Altitude 16 Audio/Video Processor
ATI AT527NC Powering Bed Channels
ATI AT524NC Powering Atmos Speakers
Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
System Controller: URC MX-990
M&K S-150 THX Ultra (R-C-L Speakers)
M&K SS-150 x4 (Surround Speakers)
Atlantic Technology IC6-OBA x 4 Overhead Speakers
SVS PC-Ultra Cylinder Subwoofer
HSU VTF-15H MK2 Subwoofer
SVS SB-3000 Subwoofer
JL Audio Dominion F110 Subwoofer x 2
Mini DSP HD controlling all subwoofers
Audioquest and Monoprice - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
PureAV PF60 Power Conditioner

[bmoney]

best movies of all time imho (well ive actually never seen III in its entirety but I and II are the nuts)

[AVSCraig]

For some reason I could never get into these films. Saw the first one once. That's going to save me some money for some other titles. And there seem to be a lot this year - new and remastered older films like this.

[AVSJeff]

I had forgotten how good these movies were. That said, I had to pull out my old Bluray versions of these and rewatch I & II. Based on these reviews, I now have to purchase the 4K versions and compare them to the originals which I'm sure will be much better.

[bmoney]

For some reason I could never get into these films. Saw the first one once. That's going to save me some money for some other titles. And there seem to be a lot this year - new and remastered older films like this.

You might be the first person I’ve ever heard not be able to get into these. 

def will save you cash tho haha so there’s that 

these are probably my favorite movies of all
time. 

[AVSCraig]

You might be the first person I’ve ever heard not be able to get into these.

def will save you cash tho haha so there’s that

these are probably my favorite movies of all
time.

I've spent enough recently. Waiting on the Eastern Promises 4K Blu-ray, which I will watch again.