The Godfather - which version to buy?

Thumpermawer

Established Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2007
Messages
305
Reaction score
333
Points
164
I was gifted one of those posters with scratch off windows for 100 "best ever" movies recently. A lot I'd seen once or twice before, but some are first watch for me. I've been working my way through them, taking turns with my wife to pick which one to watch next. One of the movies was The Godfather. Obviously I've seen this before, but when my wife asked for a quick synopsis, my memory couldn't recall a lot of the detail so we decided to make this our next movie night.

So I dusted off a rather sorry looking DVD box-set of the Godfather Trilogy (it might be this version) that I've probably owned for around 15 years, and settled in.

Wow. I've slept on this movie for too long. It was fantastic, we had a rare time chatting through all the details, betrayals etc. It's just gorgeous and that soundtrack!

The only thing that irked was the version we were watching was very soft, some of the voices get lost in the audio and the subtitles look like they photocopied from a fax. I suspect the DVD version we have can be bettered.

So. Our interest in the rest of the trilogy is revitalised, but before we dive into the even more forgotten second and third instalments I want to make sure we have the best versions we can get our hands on. I've heard there's potentially a 4k release in the future, but looking to source something for next weekend ideally.

Online stores seem to have contradictory or missing info about the versions they have for sale, so I need the collective minds help with sourcing. I don't mind buying individual discs, but what is the current definitive version? Is there a boxset of Blu Rays? How does the Coda version fit into all of this?
 
So it looks like the "Coppola Restoration" versions that were released in 2008 is the most up to date version of the first two movies. These were re-released in 2019, but the only differences are the additional features - the movie is the same version.

There is also 40th and 45th anniversary versions of movies that are again, the same movie with different extras an packaging.

The Coda version is a remastered version of the third film, and likely better than the Coppola Restorations.

So the most recent version, at time of writing, is the Coppola Restoration of I & II with the Coda version of III.

There's a release that contains these versions in one package - the Omertà box set. This was a limited and numbered edition in DVD and Blu Ray and quite pricey if you can find a version (and region locked in some versions), at around £100.

So, I've ordered these three movies on Blu Ray (I & II Coppola restoration and III Coda) separately, for £24 delivered.

Hopefully someone will chip in if I'm mistaken with any of the above. Leaving an update to hopefully save anyone else some Googling. Thanks.
 
Yep that looks like the best you can do until the much awaited 4K release appears - it wont be this year anyway.

Im sure the 4K releases are 2022
 
Im sure the 4K releases are 2022
Most probably yeah. Hope so! I reckon they're gonna charge a pretty penny for a complete 4K set but unlike some 4K deluxe sets I could mention, it will certainly be worth paying for.
 

The latest video from AVForums

Is 4K Blu-ray Worth It?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom