Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5432 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-10-08
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 5
• Formats: Box set, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English, German, Italian, Latin, Spanish
• Number of discs: 5
• Running time: 521 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Despite making many other distinguished films in his long, wandering career, Francis Ford Coppola will always be known as the man who directed The Godfather trilogy, a series that has dominated and defined their creator in a way perhaps no other director can understand. Coppola has never been able to leave them alone, whether returning after 15 years to make a trilogy of the diptych, or re-editing the first two films into chronological order for a separate video release as The Godfather Saga. The films are an Italian-American Shakespearian cycle: they tell a tale of a vicious mobster and his extended personal and professional families (once the stuff of righteous moral comeuppance), and they dared to present themselves with an epic sweep and an unapologetically tragic tone. Murder, it turned out, was a serious business.

The first film remains a towering achievement, brilliantly cast and conceived. The entry of Michael Corleone into the family business, the transition of power from his father, the ruthless dispatch of his enemies--all this is told with an assurance that is breathtaking to behold. And it turned out to be merely prologue; two years later The Godfather, Part II balanced Michael's ever-greater acquisition of power and influence during the fall of Cuba with the story of his father's own youthful rise from immigrant slums. The stakes were higher, the story's construction more elaborate and the isolated despair at the end wholly earned. (Has there ever been a cinematic performance greater than Al Pacino's Michael, so smart and ambitious, marching through the years into what he knows is his own doom with eyes open and hungry?) The Godfather, Part III was mostly written off as an attempted cash-in but it is a wholly worthy conclusion, less slow than autumnally patient and almost merciless in the way it brings Michael's past sins crashing down around him even as he tries to redeem himself. --Bruce Reid, Amazon.com

On the DVD: Contained in a tasteful slipcase, the three movies come individually packaged, with the second instalment spread across two discs. The anamorphic transfers are acceptable without being spectacular, with Part 3 looking best of all. Francis Ford Coppola--obviously a DVD fan--provides an exhaustive and enthusiastic commentary for all three movies, although awkwardly these have to be accessed from the Set Up menu. The fifth bonus disc is a real goldmine: the major feature is a 70-minute documentary covering all three productions, which includes fascinating early screen-test footage. There's also a 1971 making-of featurette about the first instalment, plus several shorter pieces with Coppola, Mario Puzo and others talking about specific aspects of the series, including a treasurable recording of composer Nino Rota performing the famous theme. Another section contains all the Oscar-acceptance speeches and Coppola's introduction to the TV edit, plus a whole raft of additional scenes that were inserted in the 1977 re-edited version. Text pieces include a chronology, a Corleone family tree and biographies of cast and crew. Overall, this is a handsome and valuable package that does justice to these wonderful movies. --Mark Walker

DVD Description
DVD Special Features:

• Five-disc Box Set
  
• Commentary by director Francis Ford Coppola
  
• Theatrical trailer(s)
  
• "The Godfather Family: A Look Inside" Making Of (73 min.) plus original 1971 featurette
  
• Deleted Footage, including the additional scenes originally contained in the re-edited 1977 "The Godfather Saga"
  
• "Francis Coppola's Notebook"
  
• Production Stills and storyboards
  
• Segments on Gordon Willis' cinematography, Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola's music, Francis Ford Coppola, Locations and Mario Puzo's screenplays
  
• Rehearsal footage
  
• Corleone family tree
  
• "Godfather" timeline
  
• Academy Award acceptance speeches

DVD Technical Information:

• Widescreen anamorphic format
  
• Dolby
  
• Languages: English only
  
• Sub-titles: English, English for the hearing impaired, Danish, Dutch, = Finnish,  Norwegian, Swedish

Video Description
DVD Special Features:

Five-disc Box Set
Commentary by director Francis Ford Coppola
Theatrical trailer(s)
"The Godfather Family: A Look Inside" Making Of (73 min.) plus original 1971 featurette
Deleted Footage, including the additional scenes originally contained in the re-edited 1977 "The Godfather Saga"
"Francis Coppola's Notebook"
Production Stills and storyboards
Segments on Gordon Willis' cinematography, Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola's music, Francis Ford Coppola, Locations and Mario Puzo's screenplays
Rehearsal footage
Corleone family tree
"Godfather" timeline
Academy Award acceptance speeches
Widescreen anamorphic format
Dolby

Customer Reviews

Pure brilliance from beginning to end
In making these movies Francis Ford Coppolla not only made one the most important art works of the twentieth century but also made two of the greatest movies in history, and one fairly good movie. If you have seen them you will know which one of the three I'm talking about.
The Godfather,as you probably already know is about a powerful Mafia Family struggling to keep it's power and place in America. It is a truly brilliant film and set the standard for all other films to follow through the seventies. Marlon Brando gives the greatest performance og his career as the ageing Don Vito Corleone. He is so good in this role that he could make you believe he wasn't acting at all it is done so effortlessly. Al Pacino is also magnificent and the change in his character from the beginning of the movie to the end is shocking. The movie has a brilliant storyline and everything falls in to place nicely.
The Godfather Part II is in my probably the greatest movie of the seventies. The storyline revolves around Michael Corleone played superbly by Pacino. The film weaves around flashbacks to the old days,early 1900's and then forward to 50's or 60's. The flashbacks show the rise of a young Vito played played with amazing ability by Robert De Niro who won an Oscar for his role. The majestic cinematographey and the way in which the film weaves between the rise of father and son in different periods in history is pure genius. It won a desreved Best Picture Oscar as did The Godfather. It remains the only sequel ever to win such an award.
The Godfather Part III is not as good as the first two but is not a bad movie by any means.
Michael wants to keep his family name clean and tries to go legitimate. The film is fairly slow throughout but has one of the most tragic endings ever put to film.
This is a truly magnificent trilogy and I would recommend it to anyone.

Finally the Godfather Trilogy has come out on DVD!
Possibly the greatest mafia movies of all time have finally been released on DVD. They come in a stunning 5-disc box set packed full of special features that just make it even better.
For those of you haven't heard, The Godfather Trilogy is set around three generations of the Corleone family. The first film shows us the fall of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) and the rise of his son Michael (Al Pacino) into mafia power. This continues into the second film with Michael's power growing and it shows that he has fully established himself as the respected and feared head of the family. The third film is mainly Michael trying to amend his wrongs so that his children can live safe and lawful lives.
All three films are very good and are already written in cinema history. Francis Ford Coppola went all out with these and they will always be the films that he is most remembered for. They were based on the novel by Mario Puzo, who was also joint scriptwriter with Coppola. Surprisingly the sequel was better then the first one, especially with the flash backs to Vito Corleone's early years with the part of Vito being played by De Niro. The weakest one out of the three was The Godfather 3 but it is still a good film and its perfect as a conclusion to the other two.
I can't think of any complaints about these films. They are well shot and even though they are all long they keep you so gripped that the time just flies by. The soundtrack is amazing and it fits in perfectly with the film. All in all it is one of the best box sets to ever be released on DVD. I own these on video and yet I'm still going to buy this...
For [the] price you get three movies and over three hours of special features including deleted scenes, commentary by Francis Ford Coppola and the music of The Godfather.

Conclusion: Buy it now! This is a must have for any DVD collection and you would be mad not to buy it.

Quite simply the greatest three films ever made.
There is no choosing between The Godfather and The Godfather part II as they are the two greatest films ever made. Geniuse direction from coppola who never again showed the same quality, outstanding performances by de Niro, Pacino and Brando among many others great cinematography by Willis and they(of course) both won hatsful of oscars including both best pictures. The Godfather part III was a big disappointment for some and I agree it is not in the same class as the first two but it is a quality film grossly let down by the laughable performance by the Director's daughter Sofia Coppola. Two thumbs up to by far the best trilogy of all time.