Godfather 4k (1 Viewer)

[Kris Z.]

This sounds absolutely amazing. All I really hope for now is that Lowry/DTS Digital Images doesn't get its hands on the film before it reaches the home video formats.

 

[Richard--W]

I was not happy with the new prints struck for the 1997 re-release or with the DVD's. There were color and exposure issues. So this is good news. I'm reassured by the participation of Gordon Willis, the finest dp who ever shot film, and by the supervision of RAH. Sounds like a proper restoration has been done and I can't wait to see it.

 

[Vincent_P]

I checked the first 10 minutes or so of the DVD of THE GODFATHER tonight on my projector (Panasonic AX200 fed by my Toshiba HD-A2 via HDMI at 1080I) and can tell you this restoration blows it away, to put it mildly. The color on the DVD looks artificially pumped and manipulated during daylight scenes, and the image has that distinct noise-reduced-then-EE-enhanced look to it. Whereas the DVD looks soft and indistinct, the 35mm print of the restoration was brimming with true detail. Close-ups in particular almost leap off the screen in their sharpness and inner detail.
I think the current DVDs probably look the best they can given the state of the original film elements at the time of their transfer (the soft and filtered look was propably due to DVNR to clean up some of the damage, and color manipulation to cover fading), and I think they probably come as close as they could to replicating the intended look of the film given the same, but this 4K restoration finally does the film justice and makes THE GODFATHER look as it should, PERIOD, with absolutely NO conditions attached.
Vincent

 

[Seppo]

Thanks for the comments, Vincent. Can you comment on the sound? Did they do anything to the sound compared to the soundtrack on the DVD? The sound mix on the DVD is very problematic in my opinion. Some parts sound good, but the quality of the sound is weak most of the time, and generally it suffers from a thin, artificial, echoed sound.

 

[Lord Dalek]

^Its the same mix done for the 1997 theatrical reissue right? I assume technology has improved to the point that a lot of the issues with the old remix should be alleviated quite easy.

 

[Douglas Monce]

Thanks for the comments, Vincent. Can you comment on the sound? Did they do anything to the sound compared to the soundtrack on the DVD? The sound mix on the DVD is very problematic in my opinion. Some parts sound good, but the quality of the sound is weak most of the time, and generally it suffers from a thin, artificial, echoed sound.

I think most of the sound issues you describe have more to do with the improvisational nature of the acting in the film than any technical problems. The actors were encouraged to to improvise making the recording of their voices complicated, and many times actors are talking over the top of each other.
To me the sound is actually quite natural and doesn't sound like a typical film where 90% of the lines have been done in ADR. Of course there is ADR in The Godfather, but not to the extent of most modern movies. They seem to have been more interested in performance than perfect audio.
Doug

 

[Peter Neski]

my dream is all three film plus the Novel for tv(with no tv edits) in Blue Ray,Plus the scenes cut from

the Saga

+ a nice and big

still file in HD,But finding a real still file on a dvd today seems imposible

I wonder if that nice (even if its edited) Close encounters one would be

on the Blue Ray if they didn't already do one for Laser

 

[Vincent_P]

The print sounded great to me, far better than the DVD. I'm guessing this is an all-new sound mix. Hopefully Robert will be able to confirm whenever he's able to talk about the restoration.

Vincent

 

[TravisR]

Thanks for the report, Vincent. I wish I had know about the screening since I'm a little over two hours from Pleasantville. That's kind of a hike but it sounds like it would have been worth the drive.

 

[Dave H]

Good info, Vincent. I just wondering how long it will before a BD release.

 

[ScottR]

So, some shots have been replaced with alternate takes? Do you know which ones?

 

[dannyboy104]

I can't put a direct link up-but if one was to type Godfather.com into a tool bar ,look what comes up

Is this a sign of things to come!

 

[ZacharyTait]

The Godfather :: Official Site
Intresting, indeed.
Vincent,
I realize I should have asked this sooner, but here goes:
Was this still present in the restored version?
:: rogerebert.com :: Answer Man :: Movie Answer Man (xhtml)

 

[oscar_merkx]

great news

 

[Jim_K]

So is there any indication of a BD release here? or did Paramount do all this work to down res it to standard def and only release another DVD version?

Wouldn't be the first time they passed over HD with a re-release (Braveheart, Chinatown, the upcomming Indy set, etc)

 

[Member 323668]

and thankfully always will from here on out thanks to this heroic restoration.

Thanks a lot, Vincent, for your interesting notes!
I really hope that Paramount will not give us again such fraudulent HD transfers like they gave us with "The Untouchables" or "Top Gun", which were a totally degrained, noise-reduced, high-frequency-filtered, edge-enhanced mess. And you know what? The majority of those so-called "reviewers" praised them as "great HD transfers". It is a pity that most review sites are run by fools just greedy for the free review discs. Most of them have no knowledge of film whatsoever.
I would appreciate it very much, if Mr. Harris could use his influence with Paramount to convince them, that the new 4k scan of "The Godfather" has to be encoded on Blu-ray disc WITH NO DVNR, NO GRAIN-REDUCING and NO EE!!
We want to see the full beauty of this restoration INCLUDING the native grain of the film elements without any tempering of their incapable technical stuff. (the one that butchered "The Untouchables")

 

[Kris Z.]

Absolutely agree with above poster. I have not jumped on the Blu-ray train yet, mostly due to a lack of really good classics, but such a "perfect", restored, untampered edition of the Godfather movies would certainly make me take the plunge.
Conversely, an inferior release would have the opposite effect on me, it would only confirm that it's hardly worth investing in Blu-ray for the classics because studios will just muck it up every other time (and use age-old transfers for the rest.)

 

[oscar_merkx]

Like Kris, I have not made the jump to Blu Ray either.
Releasing a great Godfather would change my mind

 

[Douglas Monce]

So is there any indication of a BD release here? or did Paramount do all this work to down res it to standard def and only release another DVD version?

Well they MIGHT have done all this work to re-release it into Theaters. Not to mention if they didn't do it now, it would probably be too late.
Doug

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Judging from the big splash page up @ thegodfather.com I wouldn't rule out a limited theatrical rerelease.