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The Godfather The Coppola Restoration Discount.
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The Godfather The Coppola Restoration
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- Amazon Sales Rank: #342 in Movie
- Released on: 2008-09-23
- Running time: 178 minutes
The New Restoration Collection does not disappoint!
The new transfers for The Godfather Parts I and II are stunning. It really is like seeing them for the first time. All of the murky, faded colors have been restored to their original glory while still retaining the warmth of the film stock. Gordon Willis’ then-controversial cinematography can finally be seen they way it was intended on these new discs. If you have the original box set, it is worth it to double dip if only for the restoration job on these two films.
Carried over from the original set are all of Francis Ford Coppola’s commentary tracks for the three films. On The Godfather one, he appropriately enough, starts off by talking about the film’s famous opening scene and how it was supposed to start with the wedding but a friend suggested he do something else. Coppola talks about how he organized the elaborate wedding sequence and shot it only 2-3 days! He talks about the pressure he was under by the studio and in read danger of being fired because they didn’t like what he was doing. This is pretty solid track that we’ve come to expect from the veteran filmmaker.
Coppola’s contributes another excellent commentary for The Godfather Part II. Initially, he had no interest in doing a sequel and dealing with studio bureaucracy. He suggested Martin Scorsese for the job. The studio balked at this idea and accepted all of Coppola’s terms. The veteran filmmaker talks at length about the development of the Corleone family from Part I. Coppola is engaging and very articulate, delivering a top notch track that is well worth a listen for any fan of this movie.
Finally, there is Coppola’s commentary for The Godfather Part III. One of the heated debates the filmmaker had with the studio was over Pacino’s hair. He wanted Michael to look older and like a man in crisis, while the studio didn’t want to mess with Pacino’s distinctive looks. Coppola defends his casting of Sofia and feels that she delivered a “real” performance because she wasn’t an actor. He also addresses the scathing criticism she received as in fact an attack on him. This is a solid track with good observations and analysis by Coppola — better than the film itself.
The rest of the supplemental material is spread out of two discs. Thankfully for those who did not buy the first box set all of the extras from it have been carried over with a whole other disc of brand new material.
The fourth disc features all the brand new material and starts off with “Godfather World,” which takes a look at how The Godfather films influenced popular culture, including parodies on The Simpsons and South Park, and how it informed the characters on The Sopranos. All kinds of celebrities, from William Friedkin and Alec Baldwin to author Sarah Vowell who sing its praises with clips of shows and films that reference it.
“The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn’t” tells the story of how Hollywood had changed at the end of the 1960s with the demise of the studio moguls and the rise of the film brats, the first generation of film students who became filmmakers. One of them, Coppola, ended up being picked to direct The Godfather. This is an excellent look at how the director almost didn’t get the gig and why.
“…When the Shooting Stopped” examines the post-production phase of the first film. Coppola battled with the studio over the length of it. Executives initially did not like Nino Rota’s score for the film and samples of some of his original and revised cues are played.
“Emulsional Rescue: Revealing The Godfather” takes a look at the newly restored transfers for Part I and II and how they preserve Gordon Willis’ gorgeous cinematography. This featurette takes us through the restoration process, showing before and after examples.
“The Godfather on the Red Carpet” is a forgettable featurette shot during the premiere of Cloverfield with various minor celebrities gush about the films.
“Four Short Films on The Godfather” features celebs citing which one they prefer, Part I or II. Another one has Richard Belzer, and the man who adapted the films for the stage, quote their favourite lines, which turns out to be quite funny. The third one sees Coppola talk about his love of cannoli and how made it into the film. Finally, Coppola answers the question about what happened to Clemenza in Part II and why he died.
The fifth disc starts off with “A Look Inside,” a feature-length documentary about The Godfather trilogy done when Part III was being made. As a result, a lot of the major players were interviewed. We see Coppola at work on this film with on-set footage of the director working with Pacino. We also see Coppola working on the script with author Mario Puzo. The doc then goes back to the first film with Coppola’s battle with the studio over casting Brando, Pacino, et al. with fascinating vintage screen tests and rehearsal footage. This is an excellent extra that goes into great detail.
“On Location” revisits key locations in the lower east side of New York where they shot parts of all three films and how they transformed them into various historical periods.
“Francis Coppola’s Notebook” examines how he adapted Puzo’s book into the first film. Coppola shows us his notebook that he used as his master document that he would constantly refer to. This featurette provides fascinating insight into the man’s creative process.
“Music of The Godfather” features an audio excerpt of a conversation Coppola had with composer Nino Rota about the music for the film. Also included is footage of composer Carmine Coppola (Francis’ father) working on Part III. Francis talks about working with his father.
“Coppola and Puzo on Screenwriting” features the author talking about the origins of his novel while Coppola discusses adapting it with Puzo into the films.
“Gordon Willis on Cinematography” features the man talking his approach to the look of the film and the choices he made and why.
“Storyboards – Godfather Part II and Part III” allows you to see sketches for the look of both films and see how Coppola planned to shoot them.
“The Godfather: Behind the Scenes 1971″ is a vintage promotional featurette done at the time of the production of the first film. This is a fantastic snapshot of the times.
“The Filmmakers” are text biographies of key crew members.
Also included are 30 additional scenes from the four eras, spanning the entire trilogy. Much of this footage was inserted into the first two films when they were shown on television.
“The Family” gives you a handy organization chart for the Corleone family. You can see who everyone is and how they are related.
Finally, there are “Galleries” with trailers for all three films, stills, a collection of portraits of enemies of the Corleone family, and footage of the Academy Awards wins for the first two Godfather films.
THE GODFATHER, The Coppola Video Game Giftset
This Review is based on The Standard DVD format Restoration, not The Blu-ray Version.
I’m on the fence about this New Restoration Box Set(The Restored GODFATHER III is a cleaner version), but I’m leaning towards an all-out PAN of this New Restoration. Unfortunately, I listened to some of the reviewers here and purchased this Set. (A couple of you owe me a few bucks.) It doesn’t look like any of the reviewers here did a side-by-side comparison test of The New Restoration and The Original Versions of these films on DVD. I did mine on a 50″ Panasonic plasma.
Yes, the New prints have fewer scratches, dirt, and grain than The Original Set, (which is not as bad as some reviewers suggest). But, the COLOR ENHANCEMENT of The New Restoration Set is OVERLY saturated in many parts. Especially, in the Red Scale. Yellows and orange flesh tones are extremely pronounced, overly brilliant, and unnatural looking in this Set. And it still contains scratches, dirt, and grain. Not as much as The Original Set, but it’s still there. A lot of the grain in certain frames has been removed, while other frames remain untouched and appear to be just as grainy as The Original Version. A very uneven transfer in my opinion.
In the opening shot of THE GODFATHER, the Undertaker is so overly saturated with yellow that as the camera pulls back to reveal Don Corleone’s desk, it renders The Undertaker almost out of focus. Trust me, this shot looks far better in The Original Set. Compare the shot in THE GODFATHER of Luca Brasi in his apartment, donning his bulletproof vest, in preparation for his meeting with Sollozzo. The colors in The Original Version look natural, while The Restoration renders Luca’s apartment in a blazing wash of bright sunshine yellow. These frames are entirely over-saturated with color. I assure you, certain frames of this Restoration DO NOT look anything like the Original film stock print. The warm and natural looking sepia tone of The Original film has been blasted away with digital color in many frames, almost making them look unreal.
THE GODFATHER II has been compressed onto one disc, while The Original Version was compressed onto 2 discs.
(By the way, I could care less about The TV Saga Version. It’s not the way these films were shot, and it’s not the way they were intended to be seen.)
Some frames of The New Restoration look very grainy, some look incredible, while other frames make these films appear as if Ted Turner Colorized them. At times, I wasn’t sure if I was watching THE GODFATHER, or SPEED RACER.
Is this version worth a Double Dip? I’m still on the fence about that. But, I think I prefer The Original Box Set over this half-baked attempt at improving this Classic with an over-saturation of color.
I get the feeling that The Blu-ray Version must look really odd. Blu-ray is great technology for newer films. Older films tend to suffer from over-saturation with this technology. The public is so enamoured with Blu-ray, they don’t realize some of the classic older films don’t resemble their original celluloid color exposures anymore. And that’s a shame. It’s going to take some more time before remastering technicians understand the remastering treatment that some of these classic older films deserve. Sometimes less is more.
If you must have The Restoration, turn the brightness and color way down on your TV.
I’m calling this THE GODFATHER: THE COPPOLA VIDEO GAME GIFTSET.
Act accordingly.
UPDATE:
There is no question that this Standard DVD Remastered Version is overly saturated with color. Here is a pretty SIMPLE ADJUSTMENT SOLUTION that seems to work quite well, reproduces truer color, and makes these Remastered films much more enjoyable. At least it did on my 50″ Panasonic Viera plasma. (I also use this for The Anniversary Remaster of SCARFACE which is also overly saturated with color.) Stay away from the VIVID and CINEMA Picture Settings. Use the STANDARD Picture Setting which will give you the following numbers: Picture 50, Brightness 50, Color 50, Tint 0, and Sharpness 75. Simply tune the COLOR setting down from 50 to 35. I found that changes to the other settings were not necessary. This should take care of the overly saturated playback color issue. I do not know whether this adjustment will work as well with an LCD, Projection, Tube TV, or Blu-Ray Disc.
Too bad I didn’t refuse the offer for the original release !
I don’t really care that much about the new extras, the real need to double-dip for this release is the improvement of the video for the three films. If you own the original release you’ll have noticed just how un-watchable the three movies were, specially because of the incredible amount of specs and marks which I’ve found distracting and downright intolerable; there’s not a +/-5 second period in which a spec does not appear on I & II while the video in III is affected by terrible color and brightness.
While watching the new release of the Bond fims a few months ago I concluded I couldn’t be long before the GODFATHER series received a similar treatment and sooner rather than later, here we are. I really hope the price for this edition is brought down by Amazon from the 62.99 it currently stands but, even if it doesn’t, two of the greatest films of all time are worthy of just swallowing and making such expense. I like III very much too but obviously it isn’t in the same league with the first two, just about no other film ever made is.
10/13 UPDATE TO THIS REVIEW: Having finally seen this DVDs: fantastic picture, much improved sound. There are plenty of images and sounds there to find which simply couldn’t be appreciated in past editions. But you’d think that for $62.99 they’d get the labels on disc 4 & 5 right ! $62.99 !!!! You can find this collection on e-bay for half the amount. Very sorry to say that for the last several months, Amazon has been pricing themselves out of being considered the best option in DVDs.
Stream The Hustler Movie Online
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Stream The Hustler Movie Online.
Movie Title: The Hustler The Hustler is available for streaming or downloading. |
Many people who saw the slick and stylish Scorcese creation Color of Money didn’t even realize that Eddie Felson already existed on the silver hide in The Hustler. What many people yell me when they score out and behold The Hustler is that either they hated it or loved it. That’s because while Color of Money is detached, slick, collected, and polished, The Hustler is raw, biting, and grand and so by definition it is not for everyone. Color of Money is more about visual effects and music, which is classic Scorcese, though there’s no actual substance. Scorcese himself has said in interviews that movies like Goodfellas were finish to his heart, but Color of Money was unbiased a commercialized creation.
The Hustler, on the other hand, really grabs you. First off, as a pool player myself, let me announce you Tom Flit can’t play pool worth a damn, and that lack of authenticity is a glaring weakness to commence with. But unbiased the fact that Newman and Gleason can play pool does not perform The Hustler a better movie – it’s a masterpiece because it is a inviting account of human redepmption, of Eddie’s battle to separate his pool game from his self-esteem. It’s also about one man’s passion for the game. How can any pool player forget that soliloquoy by Snappily Eddie when he and Sarah go for that picnic, how he talks about how he loves even honest the sound of the click of the balls, how the cue has nerves in it and is share of his arm!
Remember that last scene in Color of Money, where young cocky Vincent plays the older, cagier Mercurial Eddie and Eddie declares “I’m abet” before he breaks the balls? Even though the movie ends there, everyone knows Eddie wiped up the floor with Vincent. Vincent’s character had talent, but Eddie had character, and that’s what beat Hasty Eddie time he played Fats.
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Bert Gordon: You got talent.
Fast Eddie: I got talent? So what beat me?
Bert: Character.
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And that’s the plot the two movies are too. Color of Money has talent, but The Hustler has character.
The Hustler spotlights one of Paul Newman’s finest performances in his portrayal of Fleet Eddie Felson, an arrogant, amoral pool hustler who’s distinct to be the greatest pool player in the country by beating the legendary Minnesota Fats (played flawlessly by Jackie Gleason) .
The film is a gritty, uncompromising character eye and tragic worship epic that is residence in the world of pool hustlers. Piper Laurie; as an alcoholic floozy who falls hard for Speedy Eddie; and George C. Scott as the frigid hearted manipulative gambler, Bert Gordon,– contribute two additional flawless supporting performances. It was directed by the controversial Robert (All the King’s Men) Rossen (he resisted but eventually named names during the unfriendly blacklist of the 50′s) .
The film focuses on the arrogant, unsympathetic exploits of a con man as he uses his charm, looks and pool playing skills to hustle enough money to challenge Minnesota Fats, only to be humiliated in defeat. As ‘Fast Eddie’ attempts to raise money for a re-match, he meets and almost falls in care for with Sarah a fellow alcoholic. At first Speedy Eddie refuses to be managed by Bert Gordon, but after a pool hall hustle ends up with Posthaste Eddie having his thumbs broken, he reconsiders. Before the re-match with Minnesota Fats, a warm up high stakes game in Louisville has tragic consequences.
The film dares to focus on a-typical anti-hero characters who live by amoral codes. Very miniature Hollywood style gloss is to be found anywhere in this stylistic gritty masterpiece which afflict up being nominated for 10 Academy Awards (West Side Legend won most of them that year) . Cinematographer Eugene Shufftan deservedly won an Oscar for his moodily lit, splendid sunless and white images. Harry Horner’s and Gene Callahan’s intricately art direction, production effect and spot decoration were also awarded with Oscars. Pool record Willie Mosconi taught Newman how to glance and act the section of a pool hustler and also made Newman’s trick shots in the film. Jackie Gleason was already an capable pool player. There really was an Aames pool hall in Unusual York City and it is faded for the film’s most riveting scenes. Boxer Jake LaMotta (of ‘Raging Bull’ fame) plays a bartender in the film.
Director Rossen who began his career as a screenwriter made only one other film (1964′s Lilith) after ‘The Hustler’. Rossen died in 1966. Martin Scorcese directed the 1986 sequel Color of Money, with Newman reprising his Quickly Eddie role (and this time Newman won a best Actor Oscar for his efforts) as he teaches an up and coming hustler (Tom Coast) the ropes. The sequel doesn’t advance finish to being as capable as the recent (despite its stylistic flourishes, cast and director) .
Interesting to mark that the characters in The Hustler were fictitious and an above average pool player legally changed his name to Minnesota Fats AFTER the film was released. The sincere life ‘Minnesota Fats’ eventually played a nationally televised (hosted by Howard Cosell) pool exhibition with William Mosconi in the 1970′s more than 10 years after this 1961 film.
DVD IMAGE AND SOUND
The film has been digitally re-mastered in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The films looks to be in well-behaved shape with very diminutive print hurt observed. The scrutinize of the film is smoky and gritty and the shadow details are rich indicating strong dark levels prove. This is a very provocative looking dim and white film. The sound will not effect but the dialogue, sound effects and occasional music is crisp and usually centered..
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DVD EXTRA’S
In addition to two trailers for the film, there are a few entertaining featurettes some production stills and the friendly commentary track.
Richard Schickel hosts the too short documentary The Hustler: The Inside Legend which gives us some details on how the film came to be made, and delivers some we were there stories from some of the film-makers and a few surprise guests.
“How to Originate the Shot,” and “Trick Shot Analysis by World Artistic Champion, Mike Massey”
are two shorts demonstrating and showing viewers how to get some trick shots on the pool table.
There is a well-behaved commentary track which features the reminisces, and perspectives from actors: Paul Newman, and Stefan Gierash (Preacher), Dede Allen (film editor), Ulu Grosbard (assistant director), Carol Rossen (the director’s daughter), Richard Schickel (film critic, Time), and Jeff Young (film historian) . The comments veil all aspects of the making of the film. Newman’s comments as one might interrogate are few.
The film looks and sounds spacious, the extras compliment the classic film very well. Along with Hud, and Nobody’s Fool, The Hustler has, what for me, is one of the three best Newman performances on film. Considering the supporting cast are ample, there’s slight for anyone to fault with this film.
Christopher J. Jarmick, is the author of The Glass Cocoon with Serena F. Holder a critically acclaimed, steamy suspense thriller…
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Stream My Fair Lady Online
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Movie Title: My Fair Lady My Fair Lady is available for streaming or downloading. |
MFL is a marvellous film about a professor who turns a favorite flower girl into a lady. It is fleshy of sing-a-long songs and comical moments. It is basically a classic for all the legal reasons! Plenty of re-watch factor makes it a film to bear.
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In 1994, the film was restored and thank the lord they did! The film’s negative was almost lost forever. In fact, the film had become yellow-tinged and corpulent of scratches, blotches and all the rest! It would have been a very gloomy day for the movie industry if a flim like this had been lost.
The fresh DVD that featured this modern restoration was released in the slack 90′s. This DVD included a 9 exiguous featurette, actor profiles, audio commentary, and Audrey Hepburn singing in 2 scenes.
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This new 1-disc DVD has since been updated to a special 2-Disc Edition. Which one to obtain? I have both so I feel valid to acknowledge this. The current DVD includes all the features found on the unique DVD, except the actor profiles. The current DVD once again includes the restored print but is apparently a recent transfer from the restored print. However, according to a narrate that I have read, the current transfer is not perfect and has aliasing problems throughout. The average watcher probably won’t choose up on this detail. If this is an snarl to you, seize the recent edition DVD where the transfer has been given two thumbs up!
The advantage of the special 2-Disc Edition DVD is that it includes a 58 dinky 1994 documentary hosted by Jeremy Brett (Audrey’s admire interest in the film) . Jeremy is no longer with us, so it’s nice to have this as a section of nostalgia. On top of this, there are many more features on this disc that aren’t included on the novel DVD such as footage from the film’s premiere, production dinner, as well as discussions with Rex and Audrey.
The choice is easy. If you’re a fan of the film and don’t care for all the extras, grasp the unique DVD. You at least gain the best transfer. If you do care about having all the extras, assume both!
This is a extremely delicate and stylish movie – the kind of spectacle that you impartial don’t stare any more, in a definite type of Technicolour that honest isn’t duplicated these days. Extremely witty and classic songs, a swish script, and glorious costumes. Admittedly, it is survey candy, but what glance candy! George Cukor directs it with upright aplomb, turning “Titanic-era” London into a stylised and colourful melée, bringing out the humour and joyfulness of the screenplay, and Cecil Beaton’s extravagant and yet, somehow, chic costumes and sets originate a perfect setting for the actors – and the actors themselves are safe. Rex Harrison is totally believable as Henry Higgins, mixing crustiness with a very dry humour, whereas Audrey Hepburn looks unprejudiced factual as Eliza Doolittle. One is forced to ponder what Julie Andrews would have done in the role, following her playing the section on stage, but I honest can’t search for Eliza played by anyone other than Audrey Hepburn, who is, quite simply, palatable. From the mawkish, ramshackle flower-girl, to the rebellious pupil, to the chilly and aloof “lady” of the title, she is perfectly credible, whether throwing a Cockney temperament, or floating through the conservatory, calmly sending Professor Higgins about his business. I am told her Cockney accent is unpleasant, but being deaf, I cannot comment; no more than I can comment upon the fact that apparently her recording of “Oh Wouldn’t It Be Luverly” has been reinstated upon the soundtrack. The appeal for this film lies in its spectacle – I saw it at the cinema once, in an arthouse revival, and it was utterly fantastic – and in the speech therapy storyline, which has a lot of relevance to me. “My Stunning Lady” is simply… a cinematic glory of a particular type that would be impossible to duplicate ever again. The Ascot scene is worth the money alone, a refreshing, gliding harmony of unlit and white, choreographed and stylised escapism, totally summing up the essence of a musical.
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The Last Samurai Streaming
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The Last Samurai Streaming.
Movie Title: The Last Samurai The Last Samurai is available for streaming or downloading. |
As a Japanese living in the United Staes, I can say totally, that this film is improbable. There’re some critics says Tom Cruise’s acting and so on, however, this film sucessfully depicts the history of Japan, and people’s worn lives and the raze of samurai era.
This is a spectacular movie with sweeping sword actions and it is based on the suitable history events in japan, I’ve seen a lot of samurai movies(made in japan for japanese) but i can say this one is Gigantic as the other movies, plus this is not usual hollywood movies that awfully depicts samurais and even Yakuzas and brush off the truth.
I can say, however, without Tom Flee, this movie could have also been tremendous as well. But i would guess that it is because of him, this movie gained more attention among people and so typical americans can accept the conception of what samurai really is and what they really deem.
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so overall i gave this movie 5 stars. I thought to go gaze it again.
This film has been compared (a lot) to Dances with Wolves due to the fact that they both piece similar themes. A Civil War era soldier who finds himself thrown in the middle of a different culture and ends up embracing it and becoming section of it.
However, Edward Zwick’s film differs from the Kevin Costner Oscar winner in that the well-known character, Lt. Nathan Algren (Hover) is down on his luck, having become a drunken caricature of his conventional self, deeply regretful of his actions, who accepts a job as an instructor for an incipient Japanese army that needs to be prepared to fight against the Samurai.
As he arrives to Tokyo he starts training a useless bunch of would-be soldiers who are sent to fight even if they’re not ready for it. As a result, the newly formed army gets butchered by the battle experienced Samurai. During that battle, Algren fights bravely and kills one of the highest ranking warriors, getting the interest of the well-known Katsumoto, the last gargantuan Samurai leader, who orders him captured and brought to his son’s village as a prisoner.
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Once there, Algren’s life is changed forever as he gets to know the true lifestyle of the Samurai and their people. They turn out not to be the savages that the Japanese government makes them out to be. After spending winter with them, Algren “changes sides” and joins the Samurai in fighting the Emperor’s army.
The title of the movie tells the final outcome. The Samurai lose the battle. Progress triumphs over tradition. Current over traditional. But Algren’s past demons are redeemed by his doughty actions helping the Samurai.
The right worth of this movie is its spy. You can definetely behold where the budget went (other than Cruise’s salary) . A whole village was built and the attention to detail is improbable. The costumes are simply extraordinary, especially the battle armors. The costume designer is Ngila Dickson, who also worked in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Also of gaze are the battle scenes, which are breathtaking. Very violent, but not gratuitous, they aid the legend very well.
As for the acting, Hover does a pretty job, and is slowly but consistently becoming a better actor (even if this particular performance was not nominated for an Academy Award), but the movie belongs to Ken Watanabe (who was indeed nominated) as Katsumoto. His presence demands attention. He is the center of every scene he’s in. Koyuki’s performance as Taka, Katsumoto’s sister and Algren’s care for interest, should also be noticed.
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The Red Badge of Courage-Retail —-! Sale Only $2.99!
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The Red Badge of Courage-Retail —-! Sale Only $2.99!
Compare & Purchase The Red Badge of Courage at Amazon by clicking here! List Price: —- Amazon Price: $2.99 |
The Red Badge of Courage Description:
- Amazon Sales Rank: #11547 in Movie
- Released on: 2008-10-10
- Rating: NR (Not Rated)
- Running time: 70 minutes
Customer Reviews:
This movie is a Matthew Brady photo come to life
This movie is a Matthew Brady photo come to life. While it is true that the leads, Audie Murphy and Bill Mauldin, were not professional actors, they were cast for their wonderful faces and the fact that they had actually been through a recent war. Considering what Murphy had been through, his innocence and boyishness is a joy to behold. And they are surrounded by pros such as Andy Devine, Bill Easton and Royal Dano – as well as the usual Huston cronies. It has many moving vignettes – the captured Rebs being questioned by their Yankee peers, Andy Devine, as the jolly soldier, leading Murphy back to his unit, the General falling to prayer before battle, Murphy confessing his cowardice to Mauldin, the General promising to have supper with the men, etc…
The narration was added later because the studio had no confidence in Murphy being able to convey the story. This was years before Hollywood understood how effective non-professionals could be if directed properly. The studio also hated the General’s high-pitched voice and so dubbed in a different actor and, of course, the complete butchering of whole scenes which reduced the movie to about 55 minutes.
With all its faults, this is one of Huston’s true beauties.
Fine film about war and courage and human nature
John Huston directed this film adaptation of the famous Steven Crane
novel. As soon as it was finished, he left to work on The African
Queen, leaving the editing in the hands of the studio. But it was
1951, the height of the McCarthy era. There was a movement in this
country against anti-war films. And so the film was cut to a mere 69
minutes, which put it into the category of a “B” movie to be
shown only as a second feature. That was a full fifty years ago, and
in spite of the supposed butchering job on the cutting room floor, the
film definitely has stood the test of time. Of course I will never
know what the original was supposed to be. And I haven’t even read the
novel. But I sure am glad I saw this video.
I understand that Steven
Crane wrote the book in 1894, which was a full thirty years after the
Civil War. He was 22 years old at the time and had never actually been
in a battle himself. He was trying to say something about war and
courage and human nature rather than about the specific war. And so
his work is unique among the vast body of writings about that awful
period of history that tore at the heart and soul of our
country.
Audie Murphy stars as The Youth and, with the exception of
Andy Devine who has a small role lasting no more than a minute, the
rest of the cast are unknowns. They all portray Union soldiers and we
first see them bored and anxious to fight a battle. They brag about
their courage and how they all intend to stand firm in the heat of
battle. The Youth has his doubts and the tension mounts as the
inevitable battle tests them all. Frightened, The Youth flees. Later
though, he returns and proves his manhood. The story is as simple as
that.
There is also a narrator in the story, reading excerpts from the
pen of Steven Crane. The language is beautiful and adds depth to the
simple conversations of the soldiers. The black and white photography
is grainy and much of it is shot in shadow, adding to the intimacy and
the authenticity of the film. There was a literary rhythm to it all
and it added intensity.
The role called for excellent acting and Audie
Murphy was perfect. I understand that in real life he won national
fame as the most decorated GI in WW2, winning 45 medals. He led a
turbulent life, plagued by what is now known as post traumatic stress
syndrome. A compulsive gambler, he won and lost fortunes, was addicted
to prescription sleeping pills and was once acquitted of attempted
murder charges stemming from a fistfight. But all that came later. In
1951, he was perfect for the role of The Youth. Recommended
A Remarkable Film
Red Badge is an example of a great film that the Hollywood studio system almost destroyed, and did chop to pieces. Huston’s masterpiece was originally longer. Studio bosses opposed his casting and script; they rearranged scenes and, yet, could not ruin the overall quality that Audie Murphy and John Huston created. Two books tell the story of Audie’s best movies: PICTURE by Lillian Ross, and A THINKER’S DAMN by William Russo. Each recounts in extraordinary detail how great movies are made–and then unmade. Read them to understand Audie’s movies better.
Buy The Godfather Part III The Coppola Restoration At Amazon!
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Buy The Godfather Part III The Coppola Restoration At Amazon!
Compare & Purchase The Godfather Part III The Coppola Restoration at Amazon by clicking here! List Price: —- Amazon Price: $5.99 |
The Godfather Part III The Coppola Restoration Description:
- Amazon Sales Rank: #949 in Movie
- Released on: 2008-09-23
- Rating: R (Restricted)
- Running time: 171 minutes
Customer Reviews:
The New Restoration Collection does not disappoint!
The new transfers for The Godfather Parts I and II are stunning. It really is like seeing them for the first time. All of the murky, faded colors have been restored to their original glory while still retaining the warmth of the film stock. Gordon Willis’ then-controversial cinematography can finally be seen they way it was intended on these new discs. If you have the original box set, it is worth it to double dip if only for the restoration job on these two films.
Carried over from the original set are all of Francis Ford Coppola’s commentary tracks for the three films. On The Godfather one, he appropriately enough, starts off by talking about the film’s famous opening scene and how it was supposed to start with the wedding but a friend suggested he do something else. Coppola talks about how he organized the elaborate wedding sequence and shot it only 2-3 days! He talks about the pressure he was under by the studio and in read danger of being fired because they didn’t like what he was doing. This is pretty solid track that we’ve come to expect from the veteran filmmaker.
Coppola’s contributes another excellent commentary for The Godfather Part II. Initially, he had no interest in doing a sequel and dealing with studio bureaucracy. He suggested Martin Scorsese for the job. The studio balked at this idea and accepted all of Coppola’s terms. The veteran filmmaker talks at length about the development of the Corleone family from Part I. Coppola is engaging and very articulate, delivering a top notch track that is well worth a listen for any fan of this movie.
Finally, there is Coppola’s commentary for The Godfather Part III. One of the heated debates the filmmaker had with the studio was over Pacino’s hair. He wanted Michael to look older and like a man in crisis, while the studio didn’t want to mess with Pacino’s distinctive looks. Coppola defends his casting of Sofia and feels that she delivered a “real” performance because she wasn’t an actor. He also addresses the scathing criticism she received as in fact an attack on him. This is a solid track with good observations and analysis by Coppola — better than the film itself.
The rest of the supplemental material is spread out of two discs. Thankfully for those who did not buy the first box set all of the extras from it have been carried over with a whole other disc of brand new material.
The fourth disc features all the brand new material and starts off with “Godfather World,” which takes a look at how The Godfather films influenced popular culture, including parodies on The Simpsons and South Park, and how it informed the characters on The Sopranos. All kinds of celebrities, from William Friedkin and Alec Baldwin to author Sarah Vowell who sing its praises with clips of shows and films that reference it.
“The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn’t” tells the story of how Hollywood had changed at the end of the 1960s with the demise of the studio moguls and the rise of the film brats, the first generation of film students who became filmmakers. One of them, Coppola, ended up being picked to direct The Godfather. This is an excellent look at how the director almost didn’t get the gig and why.
“…When the Shooting Stopped” examines the post-production phase of the first film. Coppola battled with the studio over the length of it. Executives initially did not like Nino Rota’s score for the film and samples of some of his original and revised cues are played.
“Emulsional Rescue: Revealing The Godfather” takes a look at the newly restored transfers for Part I and II and how they preserve Gordon Willis’ gorgeous cinematography. This featurette takes us through the restoration process, showing before and after examples.
“The Godfather on the Red Carpet” is a forgettable featurette shot during the premiere of Cloverfield with various minor celebrities gush about the films.
“Four Short Films on The Godfather” features celebs citing which one they prefer, Part I or II. Another one has Richard Belzer, and the man who adapted the films for the stage, quote their favourite lines, which turns out to be quite funny. The third one sees Coppola talk about his love of cannoli and how made it into the film. Finally, Coppola answers the question about what happened to Clemenza in Part II and why he died.
The fifth disc starts off with “A Look Inside,” a feature-length documentary about The Godfather trilogy done when Part III was being made. As a result, a lot of the major players were interviewed. We see Coppola at work on this film with on-set footage of the director working with Pacino. We also see Coppola working on the script with author Mario Puzo. The doc then goes back to the first film with Coppola’s battle with the studio over casting Brando, Pacino, et al. with fascinating vintage screen tests and rehearsal footage. This is an excellent extra that goes into great detail.
“On Location” revisits key locations in the lower east side of New York where they shot parts of all three films and how they transformed them into various historical periods.
“Francis Coppola’s Notebook” examines how he adapted Puzo’s book into the first film. Coppola shows us his notebook that he used as his master document that he would constantly refer to. This featurette provides fascinating insight into the man’s creative process.
“Music of The Godfather” features an audio excerpt of a conversation Coppola had with composer Nino Rota about the music for the film. Also included is footage of composer Carmine Coppola (Francis’ father) working on Part III. Francis talks about working with his father.
“Coppola and Puzo on Screenwriting” features the author talking about the origins of his novel while Coppola discusses adapting it with Puzo into the films.
“Gordon Willis on Cinematography” features the man talking his approach to the look of the film and the choices he made and why.
“Storyboards – Godfather Part II and Part III” allows you to see sketches for the look of both films and see how Coppola planned to shoot them.
“The Godfather: Behind the Scenes 1971″ is a vintage promotional featurette done at the time of the production of the first film. This is a fantastic snapshot of the times.
“The Filmmakers” are text biographies of key crew members.
Also included are 30 additional scenes from the four eras, spanning the entire trilogy. Much of this footage was inserted into the first two films when they were shown on television.
“The Family” gives you a handy organization chart for the Corleone family. You can see who everyone is and how they are related.
Finally, there are “Galleries” with trailers for all three films, stills, a collection of portraits of enemies of the Corleone family, and footage of the Academy Awards wins for the first two Godfather films.
THE GODFATHER, The Coppola Video Game Giftset
This Review is based on The Standard DVD format Restoration, not The Blu-ray Version.
I’m on the fence about this New Restoration Box Set(The Restored GODFATHER III is a cleaner version), but I’m leaning towards an all-out PAN of this New Restoration. Unfortunately, I listened to some of the reviewers here and purchased this Set. (A couple of you owe me a few bucks.) It doesn’t look like any of the reviewers here did a side-by-side comparison test of The New Restoration and The Original Versions of these films on DVD. I did mine on a 50″ Panasonic plasma.
Yes, the New prints have fewer scratches, dirt, and grain than The Original Set, (which is not as bad as some reviewers suggest). But, the COLOR ENHANCEMENT of The New Restoration Set is OVERLY saturated in many parts. Especially, in the Red Scale. Yellows and orange flesh tones are extremely pronounced, overly brilliant, and unnatural looking in this Set. And it still contains scratches, dirt, and grain. Not as much as The Original Set, but it’s still there. A lot of the grain in certain frames has been removed, while other frames remain untouched and appear to be just as grainy as The Original Version. A very uneven transfer in my opinion.
In the opening shot of THE GODFATHER, the Undertaker is so overly saturated with yellow that as the camera pulls back to reveal Don Corleone’s desk, it renders The Undertaker almost out of focus. Trust me, this shot looks far better in The Original Set. Compare the shot in THE GODFATHER of Luca Brasi in his apartment, donning his bulletproof vest, in preparation for his meeting with Sollozzo. The colors in The Original Version look natural, while The Restoration renders Luca’s apartment in a blazing wash of bright sunshine yellow. These frames are entirely over-saturated with color. I assure you, certain frames of this Restoration DO NOT look anything like the Original film stock print. The warm and natural looking sepia tone of The Original film has been blasted away with digital color in many frames, almost making them look unreal.
THE GODFATHER II has been compressed onto one disc, while The Original Version was compressed onto 2 discs.
(By the way, I could care less about The TV Saga Version. It’s not the way these films were shot, and it’s not the way they were intended to be seen.)
Some frames of The New Restoration look very grainy, some look incredible, while other frames make these films appear as if Ted Turner Colorized them. At times, I wasn’t sure if I was watching THE GODFATHER, or SPEED RACER.
Is this version worth a Double Dip? I’m still on the fence about that. But, I think I prefer The Original Box Set over this half-baked attempt at improving this Classic with an over-saturation of color.
I get the feeling that The Blu-ray Version must look really odd. Blu-ray is great technology for newer films. Older films tend to suffer from over-saturation with this technology. The public is so enamoured with Blu-ray, they don’t realize some of the classic older films don’t resemble their original celluloid color exposures anymore. And that’s a shame. It’s going to take some more time before remastering technicians understand the remastering treatment that some of these classic older films deserve. Sometimes less is more.
If you must have The Restoration, turn the brightness and color way down on your TV.
I’m calling this THE GODFATHER: THE COPPOLA VIDEO GAME GIFTSET.
Act accordingly.
UPDATE:
There is no question that this Standard DVD Remastered Version is overly saturated with color. Here is a pretty SIMPLE ADJUSTMENT SOLUTION that seems to work quite well, reproduces truer color, and makes these Remastered films much more enjoyable. At least it did on my 50″ Panasonic Viera plasma. (I also use this for The Anniversary Remaster of SCARFACE which is also overly saturated with color.) Stay away from the VIVID and CINEMA Picture Settings. Use the STANDARD Picture Setting which will give you the following numbers: Picture 50, Brightness 50, Color 50, Tint 0, and Sharpness 75. Simply tune the COLOR setting down from 50 to 35. I found that changes to the other settings were not necessary. This should take care of the overly saturated playback color issue. I do not know whether this adjustment will work as well with an LCD, Projection, Tube TV, or Blu-Ray Disc.
Too bad I didn’t refuse the offer for the original release !
I don’t really care that much about the new extras, the real need to double-dip for this release is the improvement of the video for the three films. If you own the original release you’ll have noticed just how un-watchable the three movies were, specially because of the incredible amount of specs and marks which I’ve found distracting and downright intolerable; there’s not a +/-5 second period in which a spec does not appear on I & II while the video in III is affected by terrible color and brightness.
While watching the new release of the Bond fims a few months ago I concluded I couldn’t be long before the GODFATHER series received a similar treatment and sooner rather than later, here we are. I really hope the price for this edition is brought down by Amazon from the 62.99 it currently stands but, even if it doesn’t, two of the greatest films of all time are worthy of just swallowing and making such expense. I like III very much too but obviously it isn’t in the same league with the first two, just about no other film ever made is.
10/13 UPDATE TO THIS REVIEW: Having finally seen this DVDs: fantastic picture, much improved sound. There are plenty of images and sounds there to find which simply couldn’t be appreciated in past editions. But you’d think that for $62.99 they’d get the labels on disc 4 & 5 right ! $62.99 !!!! You can find this collection on e-bay for half the amount. Very sorry to say that for the last several months, Amazon has been pricing themselves out of being considered the best option in DVDs.
Cary Grant’s Biography at a Glance
Cary Grant’s name has forever left a mark in the movie history. People would never forget how he made the big screen more exciting with his manly appeal. Cary Grant’s characteristics seem to be the ideal leading man. Cary has starred in a total of 73 movies; an amazing large number of movies that is proof of his bankability as an actor. Cary Grant died at 82, ending a lifetime of a successful career in the movie world. He was even hailed as the second Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute. Indeed, this shows that Cary Grantcareer had been a successful one.
What Cary Grant did to sustain a place in the movie world
Starring in a total of 73 movies is almost unbelievable. How then did Mister Grant achieve all these? The answer to Grant’s success is his flair for surprises in all his movies. Grant’s looks can be the depiction of a Prince Charming taken straight off a children’s book. Despite all the other dashing lads during his time, Grant was exceptional. In Cary Grant Movies, his surprises for his audience comes from his impressive movie roles. Hence, moviegoers always look forward to another Cary Grant movie because they know that there will be something different in his next show.
Cary Grant was also a very versatile actor. Cary Grant may be a sought after leading man but he was not contented in being just that. Cary Grant used his sense of humor by enganging in comedy roles.
In addition to all that, Cary Grant was also known for his independent stance in decision making. He simply did not agree to being bossed around by people when his career decisions are on the line. He did it during a time when actors were not given enough control over the management of their careers. He had a stand on which movies he would participate in, his co-stars and other important facets of his career. Grant did not settle in being an ordinary actor but ventured into money making opportunities in the cinema world too. Gratley Productions is a product of the entrepreneur in Cary Grant. This made him stand out amongst all the other stars during his time.
Issues on Cary Grant
Like all popular stars, Cary Grant also had his share of controversies and issues. Grant’s romantic relationships were always under public scrutiny. He had a colourful and eventful relationship life and had five marriages in his lifetime. Despite the huge number of marriages, there were also reports expressing doubts on Grant’s sexual orientation. Some people, even former relationship partners were allegedly saying that Grant was bisexual.