A ‘Godfather’ Guide: How Francis Ford Coppola’s Trilogy Has Evolved
#masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best MoviesBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest TheaterBest AlbumsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyA ‘Godfather’ Guide: How Francis Ford Coppola’s Trilogy Has EvolvedThe newly re-edited version of “Part III” is the latest in a string of editions of the sprawling Corleone tale. Here’s a primer.Michael (Al Pacino), right, and Fredo (John Cazale) in “The Godfather Part II.”Credit…CBS, via Getty ImagesDec. 9, 2020, 4:41 p.m. ETThe director Francis Ford Coppola is releasing his reimagined version of “Part III” of the “Godfather” saga this month, now called “Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone.” It’s hardly the first time he’s returned to the iconic series. From the 1972 drama that started it all to sequels and restorations, Coppola and audiences alike couldn’t help but revisit the trials and tribulations of the Corleones as the years unfolded. Here’s a guide to the films and their different cuts:1972‘The Godfather’Based on the runaway best seller written by Mario Puzo (it was the first paperback to ever sell six million copies), the movie that changed both filmmaking and perceptions of gangster culture was an instant hit. “Francis Ford Coppola has made one of the most brutal and moving chronicles of American life ever designed within the limits of popular entertainment,” Vincent Canby, the New York Times chief film critic, raved when the film was released in 1972. The drama became the highest-grossing film of the year and, at that point, ever. Largely considered among the best movies of all time (the American Film Institute ranked it No. 2 behind “Citizen Kane”), it garnered 11 Academy Award nominations, taking home three: adapted screenplay, picture, and actor for Marlon Brando’s performance as Don Vito Corleone.1974‘The Godfather Part II’No movie ever had “Part II” in the title before, a renegade concept added at the behest of Coppola. And its sprawling story, ranging across the 20th century from Italy to New York, California and elsewhere, transcended the mere gangster film and lives as a uniquely American epic, complete with a re-creation of an immigrant’s journey through Ellis Island. A box-office hit that successfully turned Robert De Niro into a Hollywood star, the sequel collected 11 Academy Award nominations and won six, including supporting actor for De Niro, along with director and picture. It was the first film follow-up to win the top prize, effectively cementing the allure of the movie sequel.1977‘The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television’As the first two films reverberated throughout popular culture, their impact was bolstered by the power of television. NBC originally shelled out a reported $10 million in 1974 just for “Part I,” resulting in the biggest TV audience for a theatrical release at the time. Coppola, in need of money to help bankroll what would become his next masterpiece, “Apocalypse Now,” brainstormed an entirely new “Godfather” experience in 1977, recutting the first two films with the editor Barry Malkin. They toned down the violence, added scenes originally left on the cutting-room floor, and presented the story in sequential order in lieu of the epic’s time-shifting narrative. Later released on VHS, licensed by HBO, AMC and Amazon Prime throughout the years and marketed under numerous titles (“The Godfather Epic,” “The Godfather Saga”), this version, too, was acclaimed. “The chronological rejiggering works extremely well,” The Times’s television critic, John J. Connor, wrote in his 1977 review, adding that the reimagining, “in some ways, constitutes a pronounced improvement.”1990‘The Godfather Part III’Coppola has readily admitted that he was strapped for cash when Paramount Pictures coerced him into orchestrating another installment of the Corleone chronicles. While its story is just as grand as the others, including an art-imitating-life subplot about a Vatican in debt, the production was rushed, its over-the-top action scenes were reminiscent of the recent hit “Die Hard,” and when Winona Ryder dropped out at the 11th hour, the infamously inexperienced Sofia Coppola (Francis Ford Coppola’s 18-year-old daughter) stepped in to play the ill-fated Mary. The movie received mixed reviews from critics and posted lackluster box-office results. And while the film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, it walked away empty-handed.2008‘The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration’With Coppola’s gold signature on the box, Paramount released this strictly technical restoration of the theatrical versions of the series for home video. Spearheaded by the film historian and preservationist Robert A. Harris, this refresh further showcased the work of the cinematographer Gordon Willis and his distinctive, stunning visuals, whether in dim interiors or the shimmering Miami sun. It’s this version that Paramount subsequently released in various special home-video box sets, like a 2017 limited “Omérta” edition and a 2019 “Corleone Legacy” edition for Blu-ray.2020‘Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone’Coppola took the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the third installment to vent his frustration in the editing suite. He shuffled and snipped the derided original cut and even retitled the picture, which became available Tuesday in digital and Blu-ray formats. “It was really our intention to make it a summing-up and an interpretation of the first two movies, rather than a third movie,” he explained in a recent Times interview with Dave Itzkoff. The result? A less-convoluted film tweaked to pack a bigger emotional punch. Then again, fans of “The Godfather” don’t need much prodding to spend more time with the Corleones.AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More
