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The Godfather DVD Collection

The Godfather DVD Collection

List Price: $69.99
Your Price: $52.49
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Two of the greatest films ever - Pity about the packaging
Review: Okay, like everyone else here I am a HUGE Godfather fan and have been waiting for these to come out on DVD forever, so when these arrived in the mail I was thrilled. But they have completely wasted the DVD format -- menus don't come up till the end, all suplemental material is on the extra disk, and the packaging is flimsy at best (I have had this three days and already the plastic DVD protectors are peeling off from the cardboard. And why no reading materials?? Incomprehensible. And how crafty of them to sell these only as a set so we all have to buy Godfather III......

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Thank you, Paramount.
Review: So...after all the waiting and industry rumours, it's finally here. We get all 3 classics (well, at least parts I & II are classics; part III is flawed but still worth a look), a commentary on each one, and a whole slew of features including deleted scenes, trailers galore, award acceptance speeches, and documentaries. Some people are complaining that part II is on two discs; that's because a 3-hour-movie plus a commentary cannot fit on one DVD. It's a minor inconvenience, but I'm willing to accept it to accomodate Coppola's commentary. Although I haven't seen the Godfather movies until a few weeks prior to the DVD release, I'm nonetheless very glad that I purchased this set. These films have influenced everything from later gangster epics (like "Goodfellas") to hip hop culture. And even though Marlon Brando was brilliant as the patriarch Vito, the heart of these movies belongs to Al Pacino, who should have received an Academy Award for his portrayal of Michael. However, the picture quality on all three of these films leaves a lot to be desired. Sharpness is a big concern, and many of the scenes that take place in dark rooms look rather grainy ("Part 3" is especially bad). I also spotted a few scratches and spots throughout the film. All of the above aren't terribly distracting, but they show that Paramount didn't put a whole lot of love into the trasfers of these films. After all, these are the most-acclaimed films in Paramount's roster, so we naturally expect a near-flawless picture. Moreover, the sound isn't too bad, but it won't necessarily rock your system. Although, the helicopter attack in "Part 3" displayed good use of all five speakers; otherwise, it's a pretty bland soundtrack. Despite these gripes, it's hard to say "no" to these films. Although Paramount could have done a better job with the picture and sound, it's still a great package of what may be the greatest trilogy of all time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great
Review: i just bought this on dvd and watched all the way through and must say that i am impressed with the quality of both sound and picture. thankyou for putting this out on dvd, paramount. now if you could only get to indiana jones on dvd....

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The greatest DVD of all time.
Review: My title says it all. This is it, folks. This is what a DVD should be: extras, commentaries, deleted scenes, on location specials, "making-of" specials... the only thing this set does not give you is a whacking.

I picked up my copy yesterday and played with the "extras" disc for about 2 hours. It has everything you've ever wanted to know about "The Godfather" and then some! The extras are splendid, but the movie is what we all want, right? You get all three of them in DVD quality picture and sound in their original theatrical ratio. You just can't lose!

The only, tiny, minuscule little thing I don't care for is the packaging of the set. I was hoping for something a little less flimsy as the cardboard cases. I would have preferred the plastic cases, but that really is the only complaint I have about this set.

"The Godfather" set the standards for drama motion pictures. Now this DVD set will set the standards for all future releases. You will be spoiled with this set, but it is soooo worth it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Still not Complete Movie
Review: First off, the 2 stars rating is not for the quality of the movie. I doubt if any of you are reading reviews to see if the Godfather is a great movie. Its my favorite and its the favorite of a lot of you out there. The good thing is the sound and picture are better, but the bad thing is and I have seen this among the comments already,the extra scenes that you see when Godfather is on TV are not cut in within the movies. Instead they are on a bonus disk where you have to watch them individually. I have seen these scenes and they add a lot to the movie, they do not make the movie too long and they explain a lot. For example, there is a scene after Connie's wedding where they visit a dying Genco Abbondando (Vito Corleone's concilliere before Tom Hagen)in the hospital. Its the Godfather, Johnny fontane, Hagen, and the three sons. There is a scene at the water fountain in the hospital where Vito tells Michael that he has plans for him and that he doesn't come to him like a son should, and Michael turns away and says "we'll see". This scene really demonstrated the whole theme of the movie, as Michael goes from not wanting anything to do with the family business to becoming a lot like his father. This and other scenes should be included, and I though for the close to 80 bucks I spent I would get that. I was a little dissapointed. Still, if you are a Godfather fan like me you should own this set, and some of the extras on teh Bonus DVD are interesting, especially for someone like me who has watched the movie themselves hundreds of times.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Godfather DVD Collection
Review: I received the Godfather DVD Collection on Wednesday and am currently in the process of viewing each of the movies again and watching the bonus material. I highly recommend this set for fans of classic film. It fits right into my DVD collection alongside The Wild Bunch and Pulp Fiction.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Good Thing Paramount put G2 on 2 Disks
Review: I sat through Coppola's commentary tracks over three nights, but on night two I only played the first disk of G2. Coppola, arguably, is our greatest living filmmaker, and the fact that the director of such a classic film is still alive to comment on his own masterpiece is a feat in and of itself. and I LIKE G3, much, much better than G2. I need Cliff Notes to follow that movie. Or something. But if the disks had been sold separately would I have bought only G1 and G3. Nope. The packaging and extras are superb (but where's Sachene Littlefeather?), ranking only behind Fight Club and Seven for sheer film nirvana.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: excellent!
Review: The dvd collection of the Godfather was worth every penny. Parts 1 and 2 are excellent. 3 was ok, but it brought closure to the whole Godfather saga. I also enjoyed the bonus material. It added more depth to the movies. I would recommend this collection to everyone.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Movies 5 DVD's 1
Review: This is a joke.THE classic movie series was handled the same way that Paramount deals with all of their releases...RUSH JOB!! This has not been remastered so the transfer is grainy,dark,dirty...well you get the picture.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The collected wisdom of Don Francesco
Review: There are many reasons to buy this collection. It should go without saying that anyone serious about film should make the investment. Buy it; set aside some quality time, and then watch the films through in sequence - twice. The first time, just enjoy them. The second time, listen to the commentary tracks by director Francis Ford Coppola. Yes, even Godfather III.

*Especially* Godfather III. Why? Allow me a brief word about each film:

The Godfather: Arguably the Great American Film of the seventies. If there were a competition for the honor, it would be against two other films by Coppola - The Conversation and Apocalypse Now (among others - perhaps Chinatown and Taxi Driver, too). To listen to Coppola's commentary is a revelation. He does not tell many stories that film buffs don't already know, but his tone of voice speaks volumes on its own. He allows his emotions to come through, and we can tell when he is proud of a scene (like the Salazzo murder in the restaurant), frustrated, or disappointed (he points out some problems in some of the "cheap second-unit footage" that I had never noticed). As has been revealed elsewhere, Coppola worked in constant fear of being fired. The studio was breathing down his neck, second-guessing him, and did not give him the money and moral support he needed. It almost seems as though they WANTED him to fail. The outcome of this brutalizing experience is history. But this is just a prelude to...

The Godfather, Part 2: Lightening struck twice. It is perhaps the only truly great sequel in film history (though fans of Lucas' Star Wars saga might disagree). By now, Coppola's clout allowed him a kind of control and freedom he did not enjoy on the first film. His commentary picks up in pace and tone. Despite reservations (he was not initially certain that a sequel could really work or was appropriate), he had a good time and was able to do some remarkable work. Its recreation of turn-of-the-century New York (in the pre-CGI age) is astonishing. See the documentary material on disc 5 for great behind-the-scenes material on how they did it. The Godfather, Part 2 broke a lot of new ground, and belied the notion that suffering is a requirement in producing great art. But the most poignant revelations are in...

The Godfather, Part 3: Like many others, I used to think of this film as something of an orphan - not really in league with the prior installments of the series; more a typical Hollywood attempt to squeeze the old cash-cow. In some ways, this is exactly what it was. But I promise you, listening to Coppola narrate his experiences in the making of this film will give you a whole new appreciation of it. His reflections are sometimes quite moving. He is an artist fully aware of the achievements of the first two films, and at once exhilarated and anguished by the almost certainly futile quest to recapture the old magic. Especially moving is his frank discussion of the controversy over his casting daughter Sofia as Mary Corleone, Michael's ill-fated daughter in the film. There is no denying he is a loving father, and that critical attacks on her performance wounded him deeply. While (as he acknowledges) she lacked the polish of her more experienced co-stars, there are, in fact, moments of emotional truth in her performance. Knowing these dynamics makes the ending of the film all the more resonant. For him, it must be almost unbearable.

Disc 5 of the collection contains a generous selection of documentary material - a must for aspiring filmmakers. Of special importance to me is a short piece on Coppola's notebook created by him in the making of the first film. If you would aspire to create great cinema, watch this one closely, and take notes.

Of course, the performances by people like Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, James Caan, the late John Cazale, and Robert Duvall are amazing. So is Gordon Willis' eloquently dark cinematography, Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola's music, etc. One could go on and on, literally. But for me, this DVD collection has provided a new perspective on the director of these three films:

At one point in his commentaries, Coppola points out that the correct way to address a Don (not used in the films) is by title followed by first name - i.e., Don Vito rather than Don Corleone...or in Coppola's case, Don Francis or Don Francesco, rather than Don Coppola.

For this reason, I think of the Godfather DVD Collection as The Collected Wisdom of Don Francesco. It is a fitting legacy.


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