The Godfather

Summary

“It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business.”

Paramount Pictures has recently released The Godfather Trilogy on the 4K UHD format. This release coincides with the fifty year anniversary for the first film. These films are considered some of the greatest films ever made with good reason. Francis Ford Coppola’s work with Mario Puzo on the first two films remains one of the pinnacle collaborative efforts between a novelist and a filmmaker. In anticipation of rewatching these films, I also read the novel by Puzo upon which the first two films drew material. Having read the novel, I found myself even more impressed with the way in which Coppola brought the words of Puzo to life. My wife Stephanie decided to watch the films with me, and revisiting them in beautifully rendered 4K with Dolby Vision and HDR has been an incredible experience to share together. Fans of the films will be thrilled when they see the staggering amount of effort that Paramount has put into the release.

The plot of the film revolves around the Italian-American Corleone family living in New York City. The film begins in 1945 at a wedding for Vito Corleone’s only daughter Connie (Talia Shire.) While the festivities begin, the oldest son Santino “Sonny” Corleone (James Caan) seduces a bridesmaid. The youngest son, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) has come back from World War II as a decorated hero, and has returned from Princeton with his serious girlfriend Kay (Dianne Keaton.) Kay has never met his family and they are in love. Middle child Fredo (John Cazale) is also present, along with Tom Higgins (Robert Duvall.) Tom was essentially adopted into the family by Vito and his wife when he was a young orphaned child. He has grown into a respectable lawyer and adviser to the family. During the gathering, Michael explains to Kay the numerous unique aspects of the gathering. His father Vito (Marlon Brando) is a very important man. He is also a gangster whom people honor with the title of Godfather. During weddings, a Sicilian custom requires that the patriarch of the family grants favors asked of him during the wedding. Amerigo Bonasera, an undertaker, asks his Godfather for justice regarding a violent act attempted against his daughter. Johnny Fontane (Al Martino,) a famous singer, asks that his Godfather help him deal with a studio executive named Jack Waltz (John Marley) who is withholding an important part in a film from him. Meanwhile, powerful men like Luca Brazi have come to pay their respects to The Godfather on the day of his daughter’s wedding. As the wedding plays out, the power dynamic is shown. Vito Corleone is a man with strong political connections. He has thriving businesses from his control over olive oil importation, gambling, and prostitution in the decades prior. Vito’s family is considered to be one of the most powerful families in the New York City underworld. Vito never refuses a favor from a friend, but will call on them when necessary to collect a debt. Vito has worked hard in order to build a life in America for himself and his family. Michael does not plan to join the family business, hoping instead to be a legitimate business man and to marry Kay. Kay is an outsider from the other women and men in the family due to lack of Italian heritage. After the wedding has ended, but while all the family is in town, a business proposition is brought to Vito by Sollozzo (Al Letteri.) Tom Higgins, serving as consigliere, has recommended that Vito consider the proposal from Solozzo for fear of what a denial of the request may mean. Solozzo is an upstart businessman with strong ties to the Barzini and Tattaglia families. Solozzo also has a tough nosed police captain on his payroll named McCluskey (Sterling Hayden.) Solozzo’s goal is to begin distribution of narcotics with the permission of Vito to operate. He asks for a small investment in the business, and for Vito to use his political connections to insulate Solozzo and his associates from legalities. Vito refuses the offer. This leads to an assault on Vito which jeopardizes his life. Hot tempered Sonny is put in charge of the family on a temporary basis while the Don heals. Michael finds himself in a position of stepping into the business to help protect his family.

The Godfather received universal acclaim when it was released in 1972. Fifty years later, the emotional power of the film has not diminished in the slightest. The Godfather is a fairly long novel, but Puzo and Coppola managed to fit almost all of the best material from the novel into the film in their screenplay. The only exceptions left out from the novel are the more detailed story of the singer Johnny Fontane, and the excellent origin story of the rise of Vito Corleone. Luckily, Puzo and Coppola collaborated on the screenplay for the second film in the series which allowed them to revisit and tell Vito’s story with Robert De Niro in the role. The story of Johnny Fontane – while interesting- was wise to drop. Coppola found the real essence of the novel by focusing on the Shakespearean family dynamic. The script streamlines the sexual aspects of the novel to elevate the proceedings and focus squarely on the family and their decisions they make in order to protect what they have built. The dialogue in the film largely comes from the novel with only occasional tweaks made. For a film that runs nearly three hours, there is no fat whatsoever to be trimmed. The writing is extremely efficient. People who want to be screenwriters study the script for good reason.  Nearly every sequence in the film can be quoted. My wife had not seen the film since she was a child, and I was happy to see that the emotional response to the film was just as I remembered. The characters are so vivid and their travails are so interesting that it envelops the viewer completely.

The cast of the film is easily one of the best ever assembled for any film. James Caan, Al Pacino, John Cazale, Marlon Brando, Dianne Keaton, and Robert Duval are all perfectly cast in the film, (even if James Caan as an Italian is not going to pass muster if you give it too much thought. Luckily, his performance is so wonderful that this issue is an afterthought immediately.) Al Pacino lights up the screen with one of the era’s definitive performances. This is a great example of why Pacino is considered to be one of the finest actors to ever grace the screen. His ability to deliver his performance with a mixture of calm and icy cool while performing hard nosed acts is amazing to watch. Marlon Brandi’s performance in the film is absolutely brilliant. It is such a unique and indelible performance that it has been imitated in comedies for years. Brando himself essentially revisited the character to great comedic effect in the wonderful comedy The Freshman nearly two decades later. Brando was a one-of-a-kind talent and this role was one of his greatest. Robert Duvall is perfect as Tom Higgins. His desire to be accepted as part of the family comes across in subtle ways and he effortlessly gives the character depth. Dianne Keaton is also great as Kay, but she is even better in the sequel. Sterling Hayden is absolutely terrific in the small but crucial role of Captain McCluskey, Al Letterri is similarly great as Solozzo. John Cazale, Talia Shire, and the other members of the cast are all enjoyable in their smaller roles.

Working with the incredible cinematographer Gordon Willis, Coppola allowed the actors to be framed consistently in strong shadows and naturalistic lighting. There is a reason that the cinematographer for years was called the “prince of darkness.” I remember that early VHS copies of the film could occasionally be inscrutable as to what was taking place onscreen. The Blu-ray release supervised by Coppola was a tremendous leap forward over the DVDs, but the 4K release of The Godfather is a sight to behold. In order to restore the film hundreds of elements were scanned to find the best possible footage for the remaster. Here is what Paramount has said – 

“Over 300 cartons of film were scrutinized to find the best possible resolution for every frame of all three films. Over 4,000 hours were spent repairing film stains, tears, and other anomalies in the negatives. Over 1,000 hours were spent on rigorous color correction to ensure the high dynamic range tools were respectful of the original vision of Coppola and cinematographer Gordon Willis”

Essentially, this film is so important that the already impressive work from the Blu-ray release had to be scrapped so that the film could be presented in UHD with HDR. To say that the work done here is impressive would be an embarrassing understatement. This is easily one of the best looking UHD releases ever put onto the format and one of the best arguments for how big of an improvement an older film can achieve over its Blu-ray counterpart. I was absolutely blown away by how stunning the new remaster is. The film’s brilliant score by Nino Rita has also never sounded better than it does here.

This is one of the best movies ever in one the best UHD presentations ever created. If you have any doubts about purchasing The Godfather Trilogy on 4K, cast those doubts aside and enjoy the films.

Video

The new 4K HEVC/H.265 transfer from Paramount Pictures is an absolutely unbelievably rich accomplishment. The amount of love an attention that went into this restoration is something to behold. This is a vast improvement over the prior Blu-ray release, and also one of the best shining examples of just how amazing a 4K UHD release can be. The 4K UHD does so much to help reveal subtle details of the production design that would never have been possible to take in without the higher resolution. The HDR is used so brilliantly to bring out the best of the lighting and the natural colors used int he film. Fine detail is significantly improved from prior releases. This is the best the film has ever looked by far. I can not praise this new transfer highly enough. It is a contender for the best UHD transfer that we will see this year, and is one of the best to ever grace the format. 

Audio

Paramount Pictures have included a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track and a newly restored lossless Mono track. While the film is definitely dialogue heavy, the moments where action takes place really come to life.  Clarity is excellent and the track is immersive with well designed usage of the surround and LFE channels. It’s a perfect representation of the sound design for the film. Nino Rota’s score has never sounded better!

Supplements:

The supplements aside from the introduction and commentary are only found on the bonus Blu-Ray disc included in the Trilogy box set. The special features on the bonus disc are the same special features that were included in the original Blu-ray set. The score used for this review only reflects the amount of supplements included on the actual UHD disc.

• Introduction – Coppola briefly reflect on the film’s legacy and his work with Mario Puzo in this new introduction.
• Audio Commentary: Director Francis Ford Coppola

Overall Scores: 

Video – 5/5

Audio – 5/5

Supplements – 1/5

Overall – 5/5

The Godfather is one of the greatest crime dramas ever filmed and is also one of the best films ever made. The Godfather received universal acclaim upon its release with good reason. Simply hearing the iconic score of the film fills the viewer with emotion. It remains an absolutely stunning cinematic achievement. Coppola in the Seventies could do no wrong and this film proved what a uniquely talented director he was. Everything about the film is as impressive as the day it was released. Pacino and Brando’s performances are some of the most beloved screen performances of all time, and they are surrounded by an incredible cast that includes James Caan, Robert Duvall, John Cazale, Dianne Keaton, Sterling Hayden, and Talia Shire. The Godfather is a perfectly realized adaptation of a fantastic novel. This is one of the rare times where the film is arguably better than the novel because of how vividly the actors and director brought the world of that novel to life. The 4K UHD Blu-ray is a huge leap in quality from the already impressive Blu-ray release. The 4K UHD transfer is an absolutely astounding piece of work. I can not praise this release highly enough. While the UHD does not feature many supplements, the included bonus disc in the Trilogy box set carries over all of the supplements from the prior Blu-ray release. This release earns our very highest recommendation.