“The Godfather Trilogy” box-set first came out in 2001, but only on region 1 NTSC DVD’s, and never on blu-ray. Now, after seven years region 2 users get to lead he pack: the new and restored “Godfather Trilogy” was released first in Europe on PAL DVD and only later in the year it will be released in the States. This version is also titled “The Coppola Restoration”, due to the massive involvement of Francis Ford Coppola in the re-scanning of original negative in 4k resolution.

Two bonus discs are added: the first is identical to the one added to the American box-set in 2001, the second holds brand new 2008 documentaries. One of them is particularly exceptional.

The doc “Emulsional Rescue”, produced by Kim Aubry, is only 18 minutes long but in its bright and succinct way it tells not only of the process used to save The Godfather deteriorating negatives but of what made this movie cinematographically exceptional.

Gordon Willis, one of the best DP’s in the history of American movies, was called out of retirement to help restorators achieve his original vision, distorted through years of reprinting and duping. The 77 year old Master hasn’t lensed a movie in over a decade (since 1997’s “The Devil’s Own”), he is considered too slow and too dark and too opinionated for the current Hollywood mentality.


Amazingly, Gordon Willis, now 77, has never won an Oscar

Ace restoration maverick, Robert A. Harris, who was in charge of restoring The Godfather, gives Mr. Willis his due credit. The darkness of the movie, Harris explained, resulted in a print that’s low on emulsion, therefore thinner and more susceptible to wear and tear. Throughout the years there were prints that tried to brighten up the picture.
DP Allan Daviau (”E.T”) is called up to the stand to explain: Willis’s negative had nothing in the black. And Harris adds: “usually when when you want a darker picture you print it down” (meaning: you shoot it in normal exposure but darken the shot in the printing and post-production process). With The Godfather, Willis shot and lit the interior scenes in such a way that you only have one way to print it - DARK!


Robert A. Harris gave The Godfather its original tones back: black and gold

Coppola’s longtime friends, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas (and also William Friedkin) are interviewed in the 2008 docs. Spielberg reveals that his involvment helped pave the way to the trilogy being restored. It all started in December 2006 when Dreamworks was bought by Paramount, and Coppola wrote to congratulate Spielberg and ask him whether - now that he’s a part of the Paramount family - he can help him save the deteriorating state of the original Godfather negatives. Spielberg called up Brad Gray, head of Paramount, who put up the money for the project. Wise move: Gray was the executive producer of “The Sopranos”, a series that holds The Godfather as latter-day gospels.

godfather-restored3
Steven Spielberg made Brad Gray an offer he didn’t refuse

And so the image was cleaned from scratches and unwanted hues eliminated.


Before and after, a work-in-progress

The following frames show the difference in quality from the worst Godfather edition, on VHS tape, and two seconds later on that same shot, from the current restoration.

(Sorry for the grab: Sonny Corleone in hiding behind The Man With The Hat).