By Utpal Borpujari
It is one of the all-time classics of cinema, but it almost did not get made. The Godfather is what engrossing cinema is all about, and after 37 years after the first part of the trilogy was released, it remains compulsive viewing.
This five-DVD boxset is what is called a collector’s edition, and that is not because of the three parts of the movie, which have been available in the market for several years now, but because of the two DVDs that provide “supplements” about the film. And what supplements!
The first supplement DVD contains the special features that had come with the DVD of the film when it was first released – a documentary on the making of the three films, additional films, a featurette on the locations, the music, the Corleone family tree, storyboards and photo galleries. The second supplement DVD contains what is previously unseen – features on “The Masterpiece that Almost Wasn’t”, “When the Shooting Stopped”, “Emulsional Rescue”, “The Godfather on the Red Carpet” and four short films on the film.
The films themselves remain as terrific cinema as they were, and with their restored version in 5.1 Dolby stereo sound, the viewing experience is now ever than better.
The boxset is a visual lesson on how great cinema get made – more often than not by accident – as a viewing of the three films never tell you the story that the two supplement DVDs tell, of how it was a sheer providence that the film got made despite all kinds of setbacks, including a massive lack of faith on the part of the Paramount Pictures’ executives in the directorial vision of Coppola, who got the job of directing The Godfather after Sergio Leone and Peter Bogdanovich declined it. The studio also had major disagreements with Coppola on casting, including that of Marlon Brando in the iconic role of Don Corleone, and of the then relatively-unknown Al Pacino as Michael Corleone.
The film, particularly the first two parts, are anyway there for you – as masterpieces – but it is the story behind the story that makes this DVD set a treasure to add to your collection.
(Published in Deccan Herald, www.deccanherald.com, www.deccanheraldepaper.com, 25-10-2009)
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/32202/a-true-collectors-edition.html
Utpal Borpujari 