In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Francis Ford Coppola’s Academy Award-winning, cinematic masterpiece The Godfather, Paramount Pictures will have a limited theatrical release of the film in Dolby Vision beginning February 25, 2022.
All three films in the epic trilogy have been meticulously restored under the direction of Coppola himself and will be made available on 4K Ultra HD for the first time ever on March 23, 2022.
The film, which is an adaptation of Mario Puzo’s novel of the same name, tells the story of the rise and fall of the Corleone famil. The film trilogy is, rightfully, viewed as one of the greatest in cinematic history.
Starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, and Diane Keaton, the story spans 1945 to 1955 and focuses on the transformation of the youngest son, Michael Corleone (Pacino), from reluctant family outsider to ruthless mafia boss.
It was the highest-grossing film of 1972 and was for a time the highest-grossing film ever made, earning between USD$246 and $287 million at the box office, against a budget of USD $6 million.
At the 45th Academy Awards, the film won Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando), and Best Adapted Screenplay (for Puzo and Coppola) and was nominated for seven others including for Pacino, Caan, and Duvall for Best Supporting Actor, and Coppola for Best Director.
In preparation for the 50th anniversary of the first film’s original release on March 24, 1972, Paramount and Coppola’s production company American Zoetrope undertook a painstaking restoration of all three films over the course of three years.
“We felt privileged to restore these films and a little in awe every day we worked on them,” said Andrea Kalas, senior vice president, Paramount Archives. “We were able to witness first-hand how the brilliant cinematography, score, production design, costume design, editing, performances, and, of course, screenwriting and direction became famously more than the sum of their parts. It was our commitment to honour all of the filmmakers’ exceptional work.”
Some impressive stats on the restoration of this iconic film:
- Over 300 cartons of film were scrutinised to find the best possible resolution for every frame of all three films.
- Over 4,000 hours were spent repairing film stains, tears, and other anomalies in the negatives.
- Over 1,000 hours were spent on rigorous colour correction to ensure the high dynamic range tools were respectful of the original vision of Coppola and cinematographer Gordon Willis.
- All work was overseen by Coppola.
“I am very proud of The Godfather, which certainly defined the first third of my creative life,” said Coppola.
“With this 50th-anniversary tribute, I’m especially proud Mario Puzo’s The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone is included, as it captures Mario and my original vision in definitively concluding our epic trilogy.
“It’s also gratifying to celebrate this milestone with Paramount alongside the wonderful fans who’ve loved it for decades, younger generations who still find it relevant today, and those who will discover it for the first time.”
The three newly restored and remastered films will be released together with HDR-10 on 4K Ultra HD Digital and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray™ for the first time ever from March 23, along with a 4K Ultra HD Limited Collector’s Edition that includes a hardcover coffee table book featuring stunning photographs, as well as portrait art prints on archival paper.
If catching this legendary film on the big screen is more to your liking, it will be showing in select HOYTS Cinemas from February 25, 2022. For more details and to purchase tickets, head to the official HOYTS website.
Read more stories from The Latch and subscribe to our email newsletter.