For its 50th anniversary, The Godfather is unveiled in an unpublished restored edition, and through an exciting podcast. The opportunity to discover the little-known secrets of one of the greatest cinema sagas. An offer you can’t refuse.
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“A man who doesn’t spend time with his family isn’t really a man.” This March 23, one of the monuments of the seventh art blows out its 50th candle. In 1972, The Godfather was released, the first part of a trilogy that entered the history of cinema and which ended in 1990.
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, this masterful adaptation of Mario Puzo’s novels transports us between 1901 and the 80s, to meet the Corleones, one of the greatest families of the American mafia.
Masterpieces carried by the performances of Marlon Brando, James Caan, Robert de Niro, Robert Duvall, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Richard S. Castellano, Sofia Coppola or Andy Garcia, but above all by Al Pacino under the costume of Michael Corleone, anti-hero whose birth, advent, decline and desire for redemption we follow through the three films.
“The famous Godfather music almost never existed.”
In addition to its cast, its cult scenes and lines, the saga is punctuated by music that instantly immerses us in the films as soon as we listen to the first notes. A cult theme signed Nino Rota, and which could never have rocked the adventures of the Corleones, as revealed by Francis Ford Coppola in an unpublished interview given on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the trilogy.
Aged 29 at the time of the filming of The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola was far from unanimous, whether because of his artistic or casting choices: “I was under a lot of pressure. Rumors about my dismissal or my replacement circulated regularly. I was often afraid of being ousted”, recalls the director, before revealing that the famous Godfather music was almost deleted at the last minute. Fortunately, Coppola made the studio an offer he couldn’t refuse!
“Even until the end, during the editing, there were major disagreements about my choice of composer. The famous Godfather music almost never existed. I bluffed on that. I said removing the music was out of the question, that they would have to fire me and hire a new director who would remove the music, but I was bluffing. They could have done as they pleased, I had no power.”
Collector’s editions and a podcast for the 50th anniversary of the Godfather
A little-known anecdote, which can now be found in the anniversary reissues of The Godfather. Recently restored and remastered in Dolby Vision, the historic trilogy is released for the very first time on 4K Ultra HD Digital and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray™ this March 23rd. The latter includes the first two films as well as Francis Ford Coppola’s recently re-edited version of the final film in the trilogy, Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Epilogue: The Death of Michael Corleone, with bonus audio commentary by Coppola.
And that’s not all, since a limited collector’s edition 4K Ultra HD + Blu-Ray is also available and includes a collector’s book containing exceptional photos, as well as collector portraits. Both sets include new bonus features including an anthology of trivia, an introduction to Coppola’s Godfather, a report on the preservation process, photos by famed photographer Steve Schapiro, home movie footage and a comparison of the new restoration with earlier versions of the films.
First-time fans will also have the chance to reminisce about the best moments of the films and learn more behind the scenes of its production through an exciting podcast to discover without further delay.
Rediscover the Godfather trilogy through the collector’s edition of the saga.