UHD Review The Godfather Trilogy – UHD Blu ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

I finally watched the first film last night in 4k. While I can see the changes in color, I have to say this presentation was excellent. I've been watching this movie for more than 35 years and it never looked as clear or crisp to me. The scene outside the hospital - long one that suffered from being too dark, with many images lost to the inky black - was easily discernible. The Christmas lights were like beacons. I felt like I could finally see that scene. (As opposed to, say, the end of The Deer Hunter, which I watched recently in 4k, when much of the return to Vietnam was lost to the disc being way too dark.)

I did have a problem - which was likely my player - at 2:01:00 in the movie, when it skipped the very end of Vito's conversation with Tom and went right into the undertaker scene. Less than a minute was skipped. I tried going back a few times but it didn't work. (I had updated the player's firmware just prior to playing the disc. Indeed, the disc would not play until I did.)

I'm still glad to have the blu-ray of these films ("The Coppola Restoration") and I will keep both side-by-side. I kind of think of it like the remastered episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series with the new special effects. The original versions of the episodes are there too, also in HD, but the new ones are also there for me to choose when I want them.

What player are you using?

 

[Sam Favate]

What player are you using?

Sony UBP-X700. It’s been temperamental since I got it several years ago. Solid player, but definitely temperamental.

 

[Will Krupp]

Sony UBP-X700. It’s been temperamental since I got it several years ago. Solid player, but definitely temperamental.

That's mine, too (albeit a modified, region free one) and I've always found it to be quite solid as well, other than I don't think it does a particularly good job of upscaling from 480 (which is why I keep my older 2013-ish era Sony for playing DVDs.) I have to admit, though, I haven't run up against too many signs of temperament.

 

[Sam Favate]

Godfather II for me last night, and again, I don't think I've ever seen it this clear. I'm a bit biased here, because this one is my favorite and I think it's Coppola's masterpiece in a career filled with masterpieces. The first film is a pretty straightforward tale of competing gangs, but Part II is something else entirely. It's a complex look at the the nature of people succumbing to the darkness after they started out trying to avoid it. Coppola has called these movies "the story of America." I can see that. Also, this might be Robert DeNiro's best performance in what might be the most celebrated career ever. He is absolutely mesmerizing whenever he is on screen, even speaking Italian for most of his scenes. I'd go so far to say that history's exalted opinion of the Godfather films would not exist but for Part II. Part I would be well regarded, because it's pretty much flawless, but our deeper attachment to the characters and the films comes from Part II, IMO.

Again, I'll never part with the blu-ray, but I am also glad to have the 4k.

 

[Sam Favate]

I was talking to my wife after we watched Part II, and she said something that never occurred to me. We were talking about Michael and Kay, and how distant he was from her from the time his father was hurt until the end of their marriage. And she said, “Michael already had his true love (Appolonia). He only married Kay because he thought he should, and he wanted a family and a legacy.”

I hadn’t considered that before, but it’s true. Michael shows no warmth to Kay once Vito is injured and Michael gives himself back to his family. I always thought of his marriage to Appolonia as something he did almost to pass the time while he was in exile, but I can see that’s not the case. Kay is almost a means to an end for him. He certainly loved her before, but they’re never the same when he come back.

You learn something new every time, even the tenth or 12th.

 

[Sam Favate]

I watched III last night and discovered a problem with it that I don’t think I ever considered before: It’s relentlessly sad. From the beginning, it has a pervasive sadness that never lets up and only gets worse. Unlike the other films, there is no levity and the moments of danger and suspense are fleeting. There isn’t much focus on characters other than Michael, and how the others relate to him. All due respect to Coppola and Puzo, the script isn’t up to the standards of the other films. By the time Harry Connick’s “Promise Me You’ll Remember” plays over the credits, I certainly had enough of the dreariness.

Also, like his friend George Lucas, who has said that "Star Wars rhymes" when asked about motifs, situations and even dialogue that repeats, Coppola repeats a lot of what we have seen before. It's one thing to say we are reflecting human nature, but movie goers need a new experience.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Godfather II for me last night, and again, I don't think I've ever seen it this clear. I'm a bit biased here, because this one is my favorite and I think it's Coppola's masterpiece in a career filled with masterpieces. The first film is a pretty straightforward tale of competing gangs, but Part II is something else entirely. It's a complex look at the the nature of people succumbing to the darkness after they started out trying to avoid it. Coppola has called these movies "the story of America." I can see that. Also, this might be Robert DeNiro's best performance in what might be the most celebrated career ever. He is absolutely mesmerizing whenever he is on screen, even speaking Italian for most of his scenes. I'd go so far to say that history's exalted opinion of the Godfather films would not exist but for Part II. Part I would be well regarded, because it's pretty much flawless, but our deeper attachment to the characters and the films comes from Part II, IMO.

Again, I'll never part with the blu-ray, but I am also glad to have the 4k.

The problem I have with #2 is I think the relationship between Michael, Pantangeli and Roth is a bit too complex. Maybe I am just overthinking it. Another reason I prefer the first film to the second one is the first film has more memorable scenes and bits of dialog. I think my favorite scene in 2 is when Roth goes into the story of Moe Green.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I have been on the fence about getting this set on 4K blu-ray and wonder how far off this transfer is off the original intended look of the films?

I purchased the 4K blu-ray of terminator 2 and I can not say I am crazy about the DNR used to remove the film grain. So this is carrying over into trying to decide on getting the 4K set or not.

To Robert Harris: What are your thoughts on this 4K transfer? Do you feel it is worth the purchase or would it be better to wait for a new transfer or would it be better to pick up the older blu-ray?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I watched III last night and discovered a problem with it that I don’t think I ever considered before: It’s relentlessly sad.

Going off of this, I think it’s a really important change that Coppola has retitled the film as “The Death of Michael Corleone,” which is the title he originally wanted but wasn’t allowed to use. “The Godfather, Part III” as a title suggests that it’s going to be a continuation or more of the same, and it’s really not. It really is a coda, checking in with Michael much later in his life to see how the actions of his youth in the previous two films have determined his place in life now. He’s a sad man who lost his way, and failed to do the one thing that he always claimed was most important to him - keeping his family together. He’s lost his wife, his son wants nothing to do with him, his daughter glamorizes the one thing he wanted her to avoid, etc., etc. Sure, Michael has his money, but in the end, it’s meaningless in the context of the direction his life took. I love the way the film acknowledges the passage of time and doesn’t pretend that its characters have stayed the same.

But I feel it’s also something you need to be prepared for to be ready to receive the story Coppola is trying to tell, and I don’t think calling it “Part III” does that. The new title does.

The problem I have with #2 is I think the relationship between Michael, Pantangeli and Roth is a bit too complex.

My takeaway from that wasn’t so much that it was overly complex, but that we as an audience are being asked to accept two new characters we’ve never even heard about before, and to welcome them as if they were as familiar to us as everyone returning from the first film. It really would have worked so much better with Clemenza instead of Pantangeli, as originally scripted. We see young Clemenza earning young Vito’s trust in the flashback sequences, and it would have been so much more meaningful to have that paralleled with an older Clemenza breaking Michael’s trust in the present day sequences. I think that would have also made the plotting a little easier to follow.

To Robert Harris: What are your thoughts on this 4K transfer? Do you feel it is worth the purchase or would it be better to wait for a new transfer or would it be better to pick up the older blu-ray?

I would highly recommend reading his “few words about” post about the 4K release, where he offered his thoughts in extensive detail. I don’t necessarily think it’s fair to ask him to answer this question again in another thread when the information you’re asking about has always been covered.

 

[Sam Favate]

Going off of this, I think it’s a really important change that Coppola has retitled the film as “The Death of Michael Corleone,” which is the title he originally wanted but wasn’t allowed to use. “The Godfather, Part III” as a title suggests that it’s going to be a continuation or more of the same, and it’s really not.

This is very true, and I was thinking of that while I watched it. Having seen III multiple times over the years, I don’t think Coda was any more sad than the previous cut.

It’s a no brainer why he wasn’t allowed to use that title. Paramount wanted more movies, and Coda had a finality about it. As late as 1999, there was going to be a fourth movie, until Puzo died. It would have focused on Andy Garcia and taken place in the 80s, and simultaneously in the 30s with Vito and Sonny as a young boy.

 

[Robert Harris]

I have been on the fence about getting this set on 4K blu-ray and wonder how far off this transfer is off the original intended look of the films?

I purchased the 4K blu-ray of terminator 2 and I can not say I am crazy about the DNR used to remove the film grain. So this is carrying over into trying to decide on getting the 4K set or not.

To Robert Harris: What are your thoughts on this 4K transfer? Do you feel it is worth the purchase or would it be better to wait for a new transfer or would it be better to pick up the older blu-ray?

I hate the new 4k, as well as the new Blu.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I hate the new 4k, as well as the new Blu.

Shocking!

 

[Robert Harris]

Shocking!

Same extraordinary film.

Very different, and incorrect:

Color palette;
Densities;
Black levels;
White levels;
Shadow detail;
Grain structure;

and a bit of incorrect content.

 

[plektret]

I watched the UHD disc and the old Bluray a week apart on a 83'' OLED. The UHD is 100% crap! The old bluray looks beautiful, save for some compression issues. Especially appreciated the gorgeous chroma grain. I wish the old Coppola restoration could be released on UHD disc, SDR or HDR. Also would like the original mono mix with all tape hiss untouched.

 

[WillG]

Watched some of this last night. Noticed that it was actually a true 1.85 transfer which is unusual for Paramount. Is this the first time it’s been like that?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

$43 on Amazon for Prime Day. WOW!

 

[mskaye]

Same extraordinary film.

Very different, and incorrect:

Color palette;
Densities;
Black levels;
White levels;
Shadow detail;
Grain structure;

and a bit of incorrect content.

It really is an extraordinary film. Practically a miracle that everything came together the way it did to produce such an astonishing masterpiece on almost every level. It is a shame that the 4k is a bit of a missed opportunity. I will treasure my older blu rays just in case someone at Paramount pulls a Lucas and insists that the world only sees this new version for the rest of time. Truly loved seeing it in the theater a few months ago. Faces/performances like that were meant to be seen BIG.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Finally got to watch THE GODFATHER in 4k today, briefly popping in RAH's BD to do some comparisons.

Though I noticed colors are different than the BD release, the 4K transfer certainly looks beautiful with its apparent incorrectness.

The biggest problem I noticed was that grain has been substantially scrubbed, particularly noticeable during Connie's wedding and later in the tollbooth killing scene.

I can't say that I am unhappy with the way it looks -- it's just different.

I would say that those who aren't knowledgeable about how the film should look are going to think the film looks better than it ever has. Those that do know better will grumble at the tinkering that has been done, but it does look nice and pretty.

 

[Robert Harris]

Finally got to watch THE GODFATHER in 4k today, briefly popping in RAH's BD to do some comparisons.

Though I noticed colors are different than the BD release, the 4K transfer certainly looks beautiful with its apparent incorrectness.

The biggest problem I noticed was that grain has been substantially scrubbed, particularly noticeable during Connie's wedding and later in the tollbooth killing scene.

I can't say that I am unhappy with the way it looks -- it's just different.

I would say that those who aren't knowledgeable about how the film should look are going to think the film looks better than it ever has. Those that do know better will grumble at the tinkering that has been done, but it does look nice and pretty.

How do you feel about the alternate shot?

 

[Richard Kaufman]

RH, can you elaborate? I missed that post.