Rating: 
Summary: Coppola's magnam opus
Review: The Godfather never looked so good. This is a very impressive set with director's cuts of all the versions and plenty of extra material to keep you going once you've watched the three masterful films in their entirety. This is Coppola's magnam opus, beautifully restored on DVD. There have been many mafia movies and TV shows but this is unquestionably still the best. All the themes are here, as the Corleone family extends its control beyond the Bronx and into the country at large. Al Pacino gives a classic performance as the good seed gone bad, as he digs himself ever deeper into the dark underworld. The metamorphosis is staggering. What makes these films so amazing are the first rate performances and the intimacy of the storytelling, which has never been matched.
Rating:
Summary: The two greatest films ever made and a decent one
Review: For me, the greatest film ever made is The Godfather, Part II. This is a sequel that accomplishes everything that the first movie accomplished twice over, thanks to the intersecting storylines which show the parallels between the rise to power of young Don Vito and Michael's attempts to invest in Cuba and eliminate his enemies. Although Michael wins all his battles in the film he loses most of his family, and the surprise party scene and subsequent final view of Michael sitting on a bench show a defeated man who is nothing but a wasteland of sadness. To call him a shell of a man would be overstatement. Where The Godfather (and the Vito storyline in Part II) were ultimately comic in that the situation worked out for the protagonist in the end, the Michael storyline is perhaps the most profoundly tragic ever on film. It is the stuff of Greek tragedy, Oedipus Rex, or Medea. Even though Michael deserves his fate because he has done some wretched things, it is impossible not to feel sympathy for him. This is human tragedy at its most poignant and powerful, and that it works so famously is no small testament to Al Pacino and Dianne Keaton as Mike and Kay Corleone, as well as John Cazale as Fredo, Lee Strasberg as Roth, Robert De Niro as young Vito, and Michael V. Gauzzo as the unforgettable Frank Pantangelli. All are wonderful here, and the storytelling is at its peak.Its predecessor, however, is generally revered as the greatest movie ever made. I put it at number two. The Godfather is the ultimate gangster film, but it is ultimately a film about the human experience. Destiny, family, passion, betrayal and redemption are only part of what's explored here. Also magnificent are the standout performances. Brando as Don Vito, Pacino as Michael, Caan as Sonny, and Duvall as Tom Hagen are all fantastic, and all were nominated for Oscars. Coppola brings all the elements together in such a powerful way that The Godfather is a film that commands praise and attention. Its combination of sensitivity and raw power are mesmerizing. Perhaps the greatest problem with the film is, ironically, its own success. It is an iconoclastic film, and so many of its words and scenes are so deeply engrained into the cultural lexicon that it is not possible to fully enjoy the film the way it was meant to be enjoyed. That said, even overexposure doesn't rob much of it from being a hauntingly poignant yet satisfying movie. The horse's head scene is still very potent. Ultimately, this is a movie which would be the best movie ever had the sequel not been made. Although the third installment has been much maligned, it is not a bad film. It is just not as good as the first two, and it really can't be helped. This movie's central theme is redemption, and Al Pacino gives perhaps his most touching performance as Michael Corleone, who really hates what he's become and tries to make amends through charity and faith, but can't fully escape his past. While flawed, it's certainly worth watching, especially for the other wonderful performances from Joe Mantegna, Dianne Keaton and Andy Garcia. Now this DVD set is impressive. The films look great and sound even better. There are plenty of extras about the making of the films. But the best part of it for me was the deleted scenes. Sure, many movies promise deleted scenes, and there are usually a few that were probably scrubbed for technical malfunction or are competely worthless to the story. This set, though, contains dozens of scenes, many of which are absolutely wonderful and added to the story. For once, I actually would have liked to have seen an edition of the film with the deleted scenes inserted. There is only one from Part III, though, and it's just an extension of another scene in the film. I guess they didn't cut much from the movie. If you haven't seen these treasures of American culture, make them the next movies you see. I guarantee it, you won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Mercy! Part III is absolutely EXCELLENT too!!!
Review: This is a special note for people who have NOT YET seen either of the Godfather installments, or at least who haven't yet viewed Part III: I am utterly appalled by the widely irrational amount of negative comments on THE GODFATHER PART III. Yes, one has to admit that Part III is different in style and narrative approach than Parts I & II, AND one also has to admit that it is also an EXCELLENT movie that does deserve all the praise that Parts I & II attracted. I am currently writing my Master's in Philosophy and I have to say that I really enjoyed the "GREEK TRAGEDY" aspects of the Part III -you will see in the BONUS DISC F.F. Coppola explain why he chose to give this Part an additional level of moral questioning, another layer of PHILOSOPHICAL depth (that perhaps Parts I & II lack a little -just a thought). DIRECTOR Coppola has worked extensively with AUTHOR Mario Puzo (by the way, do read the book, it adds another very distinctive flavor to your experience of the movie -the end is quite different, enough said!) and that is perhaps why Parts II and III are so excellent too (Part I is more or less already in the book, but II and III had to be invented). Thus, Part III has extraordinarily moving quality that makes the whole series complete. THANK GOD I had never read the other Amazon reviews that say Part III is less good before watching all three movies - I would have then expected to be disappointed. Instead of that, I was warned that each Part was quite different from each other but that all were INDISPENSABLE to create the full range of nuances that make our UNIQUE experience of THE GODFATHER. As I work in a movie theatre, I am acutely aware that more than quality as such, it is beforehand 'expectations' about the movie ("it's a nice and cute little movie", "it's the greatest masterpiece of all time"...) that create satisfaction or disappointment after the viewing. So, please, 'expect to see' three very good and very different movies. Forget about comparing one with the others, just enjoy the cathartic* experience and let yourself be transformed. (I couldn't resist the fact of adding the meaning of 'cathartic' because it depicts SO WELL what happens to the GODFATHER fan watching the series: "producing a feeling of being purified emotionally, spiritually, or psychologically as a result of an intense emotional experience..." --Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.)
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable!
Review: I have been a fan of the Godfather trilogy for many years, so when this DVD collection was released, I had to have it. The first two films are easily in my (and many others) top ten of all time list. Brilliant cast, amazing stories, and characters and dialogue that have become fixtures of pop culture and movie making history. I, like many, was disappointed with the third installment as it compared to the previous two films. But it is still a well done drama relative to most. As for the DVD extras disc, there is no end to the amazing special features accompanying this set. A making of documentary spanning 73 minutes, deleted scenes, a Corleone family tree, a Godfather Timeline, and on and on. The special features alone make this set a must for any fan of the films. This is one of the greatest box sets that should be on the shelf of any collector. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Movies,Poor extras
Review: The DVD quality of the trilogy is excellent to say the least and granted parts 1 and 2 are definitely in anyones top ten all time best,and contrary to most critics part 3 is in my opinion a very well crafted movie and deserving of a place in the top ten best of the 90,s. My arguement is that the deleted scenes should have been inserted into the movies proper as unlike other movies these scenes are important to the story and should not be left as an extra. I dont agree with those so called purists that the chronological edition is inferior,as a matter of fact I think it is superior and hopefully in the future Coppola can find the time and sources to release this option on DVD. I would welcome it rather than the horrible rumour of a Godfather part 4.......Thats an offer I would refuse!
Rating:
Summary: A review on the second offer you can't refuse...
Review: When Francis Ford Coppola returned to direct "The Godfather Part II," his mission was to create a sequel as compelling, involving, interesting, and downright exhilarating as the original. Everyone told him it was impossible. He made the impossible possible. This sequel is just as terrific as the first film, if not more so. I hesitate to call it a sequel, as "sequel" is quite simply the wrong word I am looking for. A film like "The Matrix Reloaded" is a sequel - a blockbuster blast that returns the characters from the original in a new storyline. "The Godfather Part II" is something more. It is more of a chapter than a sequel. A continuation, if you will. The same characters are all here - at least those who survived the original, that is - but when I call it a "sequel," it strikes the wrong cord. It is as if both films are one, divided into two separate chapters. When you read a novel, and someone asks you if you liked it, you don't say, "Yeah, but I liked the first chapter better than the second and so on." You either like or dislike the novel. Think of "The Godfather Part II" as a chapter in a novel; it is a true continuation, nothing more. This film won six Oscars in 1974, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor (Robert De Niro). It deserved every one. It involves the viewer from the start and never lets up. Particular aspects I enjoy in this film are the flashbacks to Don Vito Corleone as a child immigrating to New York City after social problems in his homeland, Sicily. I like the intertwining of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), his son, in present day, dealing with his crime inheritance, and Vito (Robert De Niro), his father, years ago. I like how, as Michael comes to terms with his family legacy, the film shows us Vito coming to terms with his future. The day he shoots that man in a gritty apartment complex is a turning point in his life. As I write this review, "The Godfather Part II" holds the no. 3 spot on the IMDb's list of the top 250 films of all time. "The Godfather" is currently taking the no. 1 spot. I guess people still do have good taste in film - but the fact that "The Lord of the Rings" made it to the no. 1 spot for close to a month startles me just a bit. Are filmgoers so cinematically naive nowadays to vote every blockbuster they see a "10"? Every actor is in top form here. Al Pacino has gradually made the move from a man who denies his future to a man who is accepting it. His character is the spotlight of this film, much more so than in the first film (though both center around his decisions). Robert De Niro is particularly wonderful and convincing as a young Vito Corleone, who was of course played by the constantly-spoofed Marlon Brando in the original. De Niro takes an iron grip on his character and completely engulfs himself; this was, in 1974, the sign of an actor who would go places. Indeed, he did. Among his other film contributions was Martin Scorsese's classic tale of loneliness, "Taxi Driver"; Michael Simino's tale of friendship, "The Deer Hunter"; Martin Scorsese's fact-based drama "Raging Bull," based on the life of boxer Jake LaMotta; Sergio Leone's true epic "Once Upon a Time in America"; as Al Capone in "The Untouchables"; and Martin Scorsese's true story of gangsters in "Goodfellas." Coppola's magical sense of direction is at work here, as is the terrific script by Coppola and Mario Puzo (whose novels the series is based upon). The original was a wonderful film, with wonderful direction, but the sequel presents more of a challenge. Flashbacks are often intercut in the middle of a film at the wrong time; Coppola inserts his flashbacks here like clockwork, ticking back and forth and coming into play right when the audience either (a) wants them or (b) does not want them, which is always the best thing. Sometimes an audience wants a flashback if they're getting tired of a scene - sometimes they don't want a flashback because they are involved in a current story and are hooked on the screen. Coppola inserts his flashbacks at just the right moments. If he feels a scene is too long, he gets a flashback going. If he feels the current story could benefit from a flashback that is reminiscent of the current matters, he inserts one. And if the audience is at the height of tension, awaiting the end of a scene, he will insert a flashback and the audience will soon forget about the scene they were involved in minutes ago - until the flashback is over and the "present time" scene starts up again. Then they are really at attention. It takes a great kind of skill to master something like this, much less a sequel to one of the most beloved films of all time. "The Godfather" was an instant classic upon its release in 1972. Coppola had two years to plan for his continuation of the film. People told him it wouldn't work, he would never beat the original, and he would never pull it off. But he showed them all. "The Godfather Part II" may well be the best sequel I have ever seen in my entire lifetime. Oh boy, there I go again with that word, "sequel." I really hate that word. Continuation: That's a word I really have to keep in mind next time I'm coughing up a review on a sequel. Argh, there I go again. D'oh!
Rating:
Summary: The Great Hollywood Tragedy
Review: The Godfather has ensnared generations of moviegoers with its indefinable and spellbinding mystique. Every decade a new generation wonders what all the hullabaloo is about, as it hears tales from its preceding one told with the awe reserved for having witnessed a real-life experience, and seeks to explore, simply out of curiosity. And emerges from that 3-hour experience with the same wistful look in its eye. Of having felt - "This is a different world I've entered, cut-off from the one I left outside the theatre. It works according to its own laws. I'm not sure I want to leave, but I'll always carry it with me." And thus, we go back, again, and again, and again, to see this film supposedly about mafias and gangs and their rulers and their mighty tiffs. We are ready to see men being strangulated in the back seat of cars, bullets battering a body on a lone highway, a girl being blown up, a blood-stained bath-tub, and the beheaded horse, if only we could get to see one more torturous time, Michael sitting alone on a bench, when all is over in Part 2, staring into the distance. And then to see the credits roll, and hear Nino Rota's mournful score, one more time. Yes this is a world of sordid crime, but to us it is a haven of respite. Yes its protagonist is the warlord of the underworld, but we find his story more bewitching than that of many heroes. Yes do speak softly love, for this is a timeless romance.
What is it about the Godfather that reduces, critics and viewers alike, to mawkish rhapsodies? I think we owe this experience to the staggering technical achievements of this film. We see the Godfather as visual, sonic, dramatic, and musical poetry; it is poetry that is painstakingly crafted.
Every time one sees the movie one discovers new things, a hallmark of a great work. One of the most interesting things is the sound. Not the music; the sound of feet, the screeching wheels and car engines, children playing in the background, the clap of thunder, the jazz playing on the streets, the dialing of a phone, an eagle cawing, the slow measured voices, and also the silences; the sound editing is perfectly executed and significantly heightens the tension of the movie. This is a movie that one could hear, not see, and yet be enthralled.
Coppola makes great use of contrasting sounds and images at the same time. For instance, ominous dialogues are set against backdrop of chatter of children playing and playful jazz music. After Hagen is kidnapped by Solozzo there is a cynical shot of a Santa Claus in a shop window.
There are many subtle symbolisms. There is the scene where when Michael learns that his father has been shot he is agitated and calling home from a public booth. In the background Kay is standing outside the booth, with the glass separating them looking anxiously at him. It is a sign of the rift that will now develop between them.
A notable feature is the transition of one scene to another. After the shot showing the cut off head of Woltz's horse the picture dissolves into a shot of the Godfather, his face impassive, his chin determined. After the bridal scene of Michael and Apollonia, the shot changes to Kay entering the Corleone house. Such transitions speak volumes.
Coppola takes time with his scenes. The scene with Michael and Solozzo in the restaurant is an example. It's builds up very slowly. At one point the camera waits for the waiter to cork open a bottle of wine while Solozzo and Michael eye each other, one with suspicion, and the other with suppressed hostility. Coppola very painstakingly builds the ambience of each scene with his measured progression, so that we are completely drawn into this haunting world. Whether it's the Don holding court, the Woltz mansion, a street, a hospital, a restaurant, Sicily, a graveyard or a church, all the time we are there, in the scene, living it all the way. Though this is a thoroughly romanticized depiction of the gangster world, it all seems real. The director slowly engrosses the viewer into the scene and builds it up to a climax. This approach is carried scene by scene. Each scene ends with a mini-climax and the movie progresses climax by climax to its thundering and numbing end.
The last segment of Part 1 - the baptism, the end of Carlo Rizzi, and the confrontation between Kay and Michael - is nothing short of a cinematic masterpiece.
There is nothing superfluous in the film, each little detail builds the picture into a whole, heightening the drama, increasing our understanding of characters and adding additional strokes to the large and sprawling canvas on which it is depicted.
Today, three generations on, the Godfather films remain, in addition to being shattering celluloid masterpieces, an educating experience in the art of film-making to movie artisans and a lesson to audiences in the discerning skill of film appreciation.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining for an entire week (or more) of viewing
Review: I pull this DVD collection out every 6 months or so, cook some pasta, and watch the entire set again. The entire process takes several days. Here's why: each film has a running commentary by Francis Coppola that runs the length of each film. The three films runs about 9 hours, but the commentaries double even that long running time. On top of that there are even more extras. Coppola talks a lot about all three films, and it's a very engaging listen. (Yes, he talks about Sofia's performance in III). So, putting aside the fact that I and II are among the greatest American films of the 20th Century, it's actually pretty cost efficient entertainment investment, too. For trivia buffs, I offer the following: In III, there is a montage of newspapers covering the death of the Pope, the Immobiliare, etc. Freeze the picture, and look at the newspaper text under the headlines. You'll see news copy referring to the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, and even some text from a word processing manual! Time must have run out in the editing room. Coppola's great, his attention to small details....he's not Stanley Kubrick. Recommended (before any other DVD I can think of).
Rating:
Summary: family business
Review: I think godfather I and II are the best american movies ever. But the third part is totally ruined by Sofia Coppola's awful acting. Talia Shire was also awful on the first one, fortunately not bad enough to ruin it. (She did improve for the other 2 movies). Why doesn't director Coppola leave his family out of the business?
Rating: 
Summary: Great film(s), but..............
Review: This is one of my favorite film series of all time. I & II were great films, as everyone else has stated. My only complaint, and this is a BIG one- Why weren't the DVD's digitally remastered? The quality is horrible on these DVD's. You can see the film scratches on the DVD. It looks like I'm actually watching the original VHS tape from 1972. Hopefully, another version is the works, to give these films the quality they deserve.
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