The Godfather Trilogy: 1901-1980

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.

The Godfather- 1972 3 Academy Awards- Including Best Picture

"A flawless piece of cinema"

"This film immediately makes Coppola one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of cinema"

-10/10-

The Godfather Part II- 1974 6 Academy Awards- Including Best Picture and Best Director

"The Godfather Part II is the finest sequel ever to be made, one of the greatest films of all time, and possibly finer than its own superb predecessor. A Cinematic Masterpiece"

"As close to perfection as movies get"

-10/10-

The Godfather Part III- 1990 7 Academy Award Nominee- Including Best Picture and Best Director

"Inferior to the first 2 parts of the trilogy, but still a major cinematic achievement"

"Part III is a great film, a further study of the Corleone family and the Italian mafia, while not lacking the ingredients of the first 2 parts"

-8.0/10-

"A breathtaking trilogy"

This trilogy is one of the greatest creations in the history of film-making.

Everyone knows the "Godfather" movies. If you don't by now, you probably don't belong on this site. (Just kidding...everyone is welcome!) In 1992, Francis Ford Coppola assembled together the entire footage from all three of his "Godfather" movies and spliced them back together again in chronological order...along with about 30 minutes of deleted scenes, making the outcome clock in at about 530 minutes altogether (astounding!).

The movie compilation was released on VHS and played on TV as part of a mini-series type deal, but I never got around to seeing it back then. Watching it now it really adds a new aspect to the familiar story and truly compliments the original films - it doesn't seem like an unnecessary cash-in.

Part of what I enjoy about the first sequel is its non-chronological passage of events...flashbacks to Don Vito's days really contrasted Michael's conflicts in a superb way... but I don't really have any beefs with Coppola changing that for the sake of a new and unique narrative. It makes it more interesting for this particular project.

It starts off with scenes from "The Godfather Part II" - a young Vito Corleone emigrates from Corleone, Sicily (and no, the film wasn't actually shot there...I went to the real town of Corleone and it's nothing like in the film) to Ellis Island at the turn of the century. Once there he eventually opens his own business, gets a wife and births children - including Michael, his beloved son.

Vito becomes a Mafia Don and after many years Robert De Niro transforms into Marlon Brando, whose son Michael (now played not by a baby, but rather a baby-faced Al Pacino) is reluctant to join the "business." He's in the military and all is going well with him and his girlfriend (Diane Keaton) but then an assassination attempt leaves his older brother dead and his father in intensive care.

In order to defend his family he must kill a corrupt cop and Mafia kingpin. He does this and then flees to Sicily (and, if you've read the book "The Sicilian" by Mario Puzo, you'll be aware of what fate awaits him there).

This stuff goes on forever and I could give a detailed plot description but I'd be ruining whatever you might not have seen.

Overall there's nothing I can really say about this other than that it's an interesting spin on the movies. If you want my opinion on the other films you'll have to search my archive here on IMDb, they'll all available if you care so much as to read them (which I highly doubt).

Suffice to say Coppola's remix of his movies is a refreshing twist on the saga...I enjoyed it and although it's something of a monster to sit through (I recommend an hour or two per night, which I don't ever usually like to do with other films), you'll find the time passes by pretty quick at times.

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.