It’s 2022, but we’re already starting off with another Francis Ford Coppola re-release. This time, the director is tackling “The Godfather.” No, he’s not recutting and drastically altering the film as he did with “The Godfather Part III” (now known as “Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone”). For the original ‘Godfather,’ the filmmaker is just making sure it’s nicely restored in all its 4K glory, just in time for a 50th-anniversary tribute.
And in honor of “The Godfather” creeping up to retirement age, the film is getting a proper re-release in theaters, as well as a new box set that includes the entire set of films. This means, we also get a new trailer! Because you know you need a reminder as to why this is one of the greatest crime films to ever exist.
“I am very proud of ‘The Godfather,’ which certainly defined the first third of my creative life,” said Coppola. “With this 50th-anniversary tribute, I’m especially proud ‘Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone’ is included, as it captures Mario and my original vision in definitively concluding our epic trilogy. It’s also gratifying to celebrate this milestone with Paramount alongside the wonderful fans who’ve loved it for decades, younger generations who still find it relevant today, and those who will discover it for the first time.”
Andrea Kalas, senior vice president, Paramount Archives, added, “We felt privileged to restore these films and a little in awe every day we worked on them. We were able to witness first-hand how the brilliant cinematography, score, production design, costume design, editing, performances, and, of course, screenwriting and direction became famously more than the sum of their parts. It was our commitment to honor all of the filmmakers’ exceptional work.”
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So what went into the new restoration? Well, according to Paramount, there were 4000 hours spent repairing the film. Another 1000 hours were spent on color correction. And then, to top it all off, they’re using the 2007 5.1 audio that was already labored over in addition to restoring the mono tracks for the first two ‘Godfather’ films. Yes, all of this was overseen by Coppola.
You can see the new ‘Godfather’ restoration in theaters on February 25, with the new 4K UHD releases hitting on March 22.