The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980

This is my all time favourite suite of movies. The Godfather trilogy has bedazzled me time after time. The best thing is to see them all in a row with at the most one day between.

In part one Marlon Brando totally owns the screen and takes all the attention. And this isn't an easy task if you look at the casting! Al Pacino himself makes it worth while, as well as James Caan, Diane Keaton and Robert Duvall. Together they blend a perfect mix.

If you see the movies first and then read the original book by Mario Puzo, you will probably find that the characters in the movies perfectly suits the ones in the book. It's such a perfect match. Maybe this if because of the fact that Francis Ford Coppola worked together with Puzo on the movies.

I first saw the movies and then read the book, and even if I knew the movies very well I sat glued to the book from the first page to the last! And after I finished the book I felt a strong urge to see the movies again. This is because you get so much more information on all the characters in the book, so when you watch the movies again you will understand so much more! It's almost like seeing the trilogy for the first time again!

Enjoy!

The final image in PART 2 said it all! After that, it was just 'more of the same'.

And it's still missing about 20 more minutes (deleted from the theatrical versions) of great footage from the broadcast of "A Novel for Television" (or the retitled "Godfather Saga") that combined 1 & 2. Most notable is James Caan's 'Sonny' that was more prominent following the Don's assassination attempt. Plus...why take out scenes that were in the theatrical release. No matter what version is shown, it's either censored (for TV) with added scenes that further fleshes out the story and characters, or the theatrical release seems edited.

Coppola has said that he doesn't mind taking out scenes (according to his whim) because he can always put them back. What a way to keep the cash cow forever flowing. And...at the expense of depriving movie lovers the definitive version of 'The Godfather Saga'.

Just look at how many versions of 'The Godfather' there is...

1)'Godfather', 'Godfather PART II', 'Godfather Part III' (546 minutes)

2)'The Godfather: A Novel for Television' (1977) (434 min. not including the 171 min. of Part III) [434 + 171 = 605 min.]

3)'The Godfather Epic: 1902-1959' (3 tapes on VHS) (402 min. not including Part III) [402 + 171 = 573 min.]

4)'The Godfather Trilogy' (laser disc) (583 min)

Every version has some scenes that the others don't have. I think I'll wait till all the footage that the viewing public has been exposed to is all included in the film from beginning to end because all that footage is great cinema. For once, it'd be nice to sit back and enjoy the entire story without your concentration being interrupted by missing scenes (you know exists) that causes gaps in the narrative.

This movie was one of the best movie I have ever seen! Featuring

great plots, great acting performances by Marlon Brando, Robert

Duval, and Al Pacino! The story of Michael Corleone as a Mafia

boss is one of the best series ever created! If you haven't seen

it, you most definitely should.

Title : The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980 (1992).

Plot (Storyline) : Thoroughly Exciting (from Start to Finish).

Costumes : Highly Appropriate for the Respective Eras.

Set Design : Very Satisfactory and Down To Earth.

Acting Skills of the Main Characters : Absolutely Faultless.

Total Viewing Time : Just About Right.

Boring Bits : None which are Worth Remembering.

Suspense : Abundantly Plentiful.

Overall Rating : 10 out of 10.

Suggestions for a Sequel : Nil.

In 1972 and 1974 Francis Ford Coppola in association with novel-writer Mario Puzo created two of the most critically acclaimed films in motion picture history, and either of them being strong contenders for the best picture ever made. Sixteen years later, Coppola and Puzo teamed up again to create an intriguing third installment, continuing the incredible saga set around 20 years after the events portrayed in the first two films. Now we can see all three superb films combined, carefully and effectively edited and containing scenes previously cut from original theatre versions. "The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980" is one of the finest pieces of cinema art.

The truly epic and grandness of the saga can now be appreciated in its full when the whole 9hrs and 32mins can be seen at once, what's more, it is in perfect chronological order.

The trilogy begins with The Young Vito Corleone (Robert DeNiro) and his rise to power in New York, this originally being a prologue to "The Godfather, Part II" is now placed right at the start of the saga, making the later flashbacks of DeNiro much more effective and it sets the scene beautifully for the following wedding scene at the beginning of the original "Godfather" film. Instead of being plunged into exposition far too quickly, as in the original cut of the first film, the exposition here is much more effective. The scene takes place at the wedding of the ageing Vito's (Marlon Brando) daughter Connie (Talia Shire) and it introduces his three sons, Sonny (James Caan), Fredo (John Cazale) and Michael (Al Pacino) along with Vito's adopted son and lawyer Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), soon we are presented with the familiar though very interesting plot, including severed horse's heads, a lot of gunfire and various questions of morality. The final scene of the first film is immediately followed by the continuation of the same plot in "The Godfather, Part II," this being another masterful act of editing. The consequences at the end of the second film (particularly the death of Fredo) are therefore a lot more harrowing and effective.

Soon, we are elegantly taken to the events surrounding the ageing Michael Corleone, including the surviving members of the original films and also introducing a whole new generation of people including Sonny's illegitimate son Vincent (Andy Garcia) and Michael's own daughter (Sofia Coppola), and there is another opposition character in the form of Joey Zasa (Joe Mantegna) and so the story continues, this with an even more grim and equally powerful finale.

On a whole, this is simply a masterpiece, the story exceedingly effective (being based from Mario Puzo's successful novels) and the acting (particularly in the first two films) impeccable. To see it is more of an experience than anything else.