Any chance of the godfather on HD - DVD?

[jimbop14]

As the title says, anyone know off hand if there are any plans for an HD - DVD boxset? Is paramount pics HDDVD or BR? Couldn't find out on their site. Would love to see this on HD. Anyone know anything?

Thanks guys

[Rom]

Paramount is exclusive to HD DVD worldwide so it would be an HD DVD exclusive. However, nothing has been officially announced about release dates for that title as of yet.

[booth1976]

I read somewhere that Francis Ford Coppola has been personally overseeing the HD extras that are accompanying the HD release of Dracula at his own company Zoetrope. His plans (apparently) are to also create all of the content for the rest of his movies there. So it's on the cards.

I'm sure I read that the Godfather films are next in line after Dracula.

[paulst10]

moving to hd movies

[bosque]

Originally Posted by booth1976

I'm sure I read that the Godfather films are next in line after Dracula.

They're getting their priorities right, then

[domtheone]

Been quite a bit of talk over on AVS about a HD release of the Godfather movies.

Bit of info from another site below that may/may be of relevance.


Blue-chip restoration guru Robert Harris has been working on a photo-chemical restoration of all three Godfather films for the last few months, and the results may be digitally viewable as soon as December (a Danish DVD site is stating that restored DVDs of the first two Godfather pics are due for release on 12.6.07). Harris declined comment, but Francis Coppola said after an 8.6 Godfather III screening at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn theatre that Steven Spielberg is the restoration project's financial savior.

Coppola said that Paramount was initially not interested in funding the restoration (deemed necessary due to the original negative having been "purposefuly damaged by idiots...misued, cut up") but all that changed when Spielberg stepped into the breach and said, "This is going to happen."

According to an 8.18 posting by "Adam S." on a Godfather restoration discussion at Home Theatre Forum, "Coppola showed up on Monday August 6th, after a screening of Godfather III at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn theater. He didn't arrive until about an hour into a six person q & a with a variety of people in or attached to the film. He said it was a bit surreal to be there after we've been watching Godfather III because he had just come from the first viewing of the new restoration of the original Godfather, which he said 'it looks 'incredible.'

"Coppola also mentioned that the negative was basically going to dissolve, or very close to complete loss and it would have cost millions of dollars to restore. Paramount was not going to foot the bill for it, he said, but that after Paramount became Dreamamount Spielberg himself made sure they knew they had to restore The Godfather, and the restoration went forward. [But] there was absolutely no mention of a DVD release."

I called Paramount Home Video's Brenda Ciccone on Friday afternoon to learn what I could learn, but the whole lot is taking Friday afternoons off during the summer -- a Brad Grey idea.

Paramount management was probably taking the view that the film was fine as long as it existed in good digital form, but any responsible archivist will tell you that photo-chemical film elements have to be restored and preserved because they comprise the core elements in their original state -- the actual "film" in its pure and most pristine form -- and that these elements will enable home-video technicians to deliver top-grade transfers in the decades to come as well as ensure the film's general future survival.

I for one would love to one day see a mint-condition chronological Godfather Saga with all those deleted scenes that were shown on broadcast TV in the late '70s. But with the remastering of both films, this seems like a perfect opportunity to also remaster all the deleted scenes and put the big saga on DVD as a stand-alone separate release

[Pecker]

I was in Morroisons the other day and they had Part 1 on DVD for £2.99.

How much did we all pay for the boxed-set when it was first released?

This would be a must-buy release.

Steve W

[domtheone]

Originally Posted by Pecker

I was in Morroisons the other day and they had Part 1 on DVD for £2.99.

How much did we all pay for the boxed-set when it was first released?

Steve W

About £20. And that was a bargain at the time since I left it a year or so before purchasing

[the_pauley]

Although I already had the Paramount black box set I couldn't resist this Australian release at just under £15 for all three movies. Box is velvet lined too.

Note colour of box. Perhaps an indicator of where Paramount saw their HD future?

[jimbop14]

Ah thanks to the mod who moved this thread, i had never ventured down here to the murky depths of avforums...... like discovering a whole new world! the_Pauley where did you get that boxset? Locally or import from aus? I see play.com are doing the cutdown trilogy for £10. http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/33848...t/Product.html
& free delivery. I am very tempted, lets see what the HD-E1 can make of it!

[KevD]

RE: Godafther Timber Boxset
EzyDVD (From OZ, Exclusive to them) still stock it for £24 delivered

http://www.ezydvd.com.au/item_tt.zml?pid=781852

Still tempted by it, even though I should hold on for the HD release