(aka "Der Pate Teil III" or "El padrino parte III" or "Il Padrino parte III" or "Le Parrain 3è partie")

directed by Francis Ford Coppola
USA 1990

"The Godfather, Part III" continues the Corleone family history in 1979, as the sins of the parents are visited upon the children. Despite every attempt to go legit, to become respectable, the past cannot be silenced. The family has amassed unimaginable wealth, and as the film opens Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) is being invested with a great honor by the church. Later that day, at a reception, his daughter announces a Corleone family gift to the church and the charities of Sicily, "a check in the amount of $100 million." But the Corleones are about to find, as others have throughout history, that you cannot buy forgiveness. Sure, you can do business with evil men inside the church, for all men are fallible and capable of sin. But God does not take payoffs.


[...]


And so here we are back again, in the rich, deep brown rooms inhabited by the Corleone family, the rooms filled with shadows and memories, and regretful decisions that people may have to die. We have been taught this world so well by Francis Ford Coppola that we enter it effortlessly has there ever before been a film saga so seductive and compelling, so familiar to us that even after years we remember all of the names of the players? Here, for example, is a new character, introduced as "Sonny's illegitimate son," and, yes, we nod like cousins at a family reunion, yes, he does seem a lot like Sonny.

He's the same kind of hotheaded, trigger-happy lunatic.

Excerpt from Roger Ebert at the Chicago Sun Times located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: December 25th, 1990 - USA

Reviews    More Reviews  DVD Reviews

DVD Comparison:

Paramount (Coppola Restoration) - Region A Blu-ray - NTSC vs. Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC vs.  Paramount (UK) - Region 2 - PAL

Big thanks to Ole Kofoed and Gregory Meshman for the SD-DVD Screen Caps!

1) Paramount (The Coppola Restoration) - Region A - Blu-ray - LEFT

2) Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC - MIDDLE

3) Paramount - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT

 

DVD Box Covers

DVD Box Covers

Distribution

Paramount - 1080P

Region A  - Blu-ray

Paramount

Region 1  - NTSC

Paramount (UK)
Region 2 - PAL

Individual review and separate comparisons to SD-DVD:

 

Runtime 2:50:15 2:50:10 2:43:05 (PAL Speedup)
Video

1.78:1 Aspect Ratio

1080P - Dual-layered Blu-ray
Average Bitrate: 29.0 mb/s

1.78:1 Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 6.11 mb/s
NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s

1.78:1 Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 6.13 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

Blu-ray

NO BITRATE GRAPH FOR BLU-RAY YET

Bitrate:

Region 1

 

Bitrate:

 

Region 2

 

Audio English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English Dolby Digital 5.1, French DD 2.0 mono.

English Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles English SDH, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, none English or none. English, English for the Hearing Impaired, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian Finnish or none.
Features Release Information:
Studio: Paramount

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

1080P - Dual-layered Blu-ray

Edition Details:
• Commentary by Francis Ford Coppola

DVD Release Date: September 23rd, 2008

Thick Blu-ray Case inside cardboard box
Chapters 23

Release Information:
Studio: Paramount

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1

Edition Details:
• Commentary by Francis Ford Coppola.

DVD Release Date: October 9, 2001
Chapters 25

Release Information:
Studio: Paramount (UK)

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1

Edition Details:
• Commentary by Francis Ford Coppola.

DVD Release Date: October 8, 2001

Chapters 25

Comments: NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc.

 

Our complete coverage of the entire Blu-ray 'Coppola Restoration' package will be forthcoming but as interest is so high on these titles - we have also decided to compare them to the original SD releases first - and we have added some SD-DVD Coppola Restoration captures to compare as well.

 

This final entry in the saga is on a dual-layered third (of 4) Blu-ray, taking up 46.5 GB for the almost 3 hour feature film and it appears to have much greater differences than the first two entries versus their original SD-DVD counterparts. It has some significantly darker moments looking predominantly more red/maroon - especially on the Blu-ray where those hues are even more pronounced. Colors are wildly different from the original editions and the detail is significantly improved in 1080P, over all three SD-DVD releases.  Leonard Norwitz has covered the entire collection with more screen captures HERE. I don't believe that this third film was part of the official 'Coppola restoration' but there are significant alterations in the appearance - as the screen captures below will indicate. I very much appreciate all the past emails (many posted in the first two comparisons) and I tend to like this 'new' look although the representation of skin tones can occasionally, but not always, look fairly intense and darker at times. I can only assume this look is very intentional. As typical with Blu-ray over SD - everything seems more pronounced.

 

NOTE: I've done my best to match the captures below at the exact same frame.

 

Audio: This time I categorically did notice a difference in the buoyant TrueHD track (to the older 5.1). It had some very aggressive moments (the helicopter ambush as one demonstrative example). We will be examining this in greater detail during the week and in reviewer Leonard Norwitz full coverage of the entire Blu-ray package.

 

Aside from the commentary there are no additional extras on this third Blu-ray disc.

 

****

 

 

 - Gary Tooze

 



DVD Menus

(
Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs.  - Paramount - Region 2 - PAL - RIGHT)


 

 


 

Screen Captures

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

1) Paramount (The Coppola Restoration) - Region A - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Paramount (The Coppola Restoration) - Region 1 - SD-DVD - SECOND

3) Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC - THIRD

3) Paramount - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM


 

 

 


1) Paramount (The Coppola Restoration) - Region A - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Paramount (The Coppola Restoration) - Region 1 - SD-DVD - SECOND

3) Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC - THIRD

3) Paramount - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM

 

 

 


1) Paramount (The Coppola Restoration) - Region A - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Paramount (The Coppola Restoration) - Region 1 - SD-DVD - SECOND

3) Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC - THIRD

3) Paramount - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM

 

 


 

1) Paramount (The Coppola Restoration) - Region A - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Paramount (The Coppola Restoration) - Region 1 - SD-DVD - SECOND

3) Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC - THIRD

3) Paramount - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM

 

 

 


 

1) Paramount (The Coppola Restoration) - Region A - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Paramount (The Coppola Restoration) - Region 1 - SD-DVD - SECOND

3) Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC - THIRD

3) Paramount - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM

 

 

 


 

1) Paramount (The Coppola Restoration) - Region A - Blu-ray - TOP

2) Paramount (The Coppola Restoration) - Region 1 - SD-DVD - SECOND

3) Paramount - Region 1 - NTSC - THIRD

3) Paramount - Region 2 - PAL - BOTTOM

 

 

 


 

MORE FROM THE Blu-ray

 

 


Hit Counter


 

DVD Box Covers

DVD Box Covers

Distribution

Paramount - 1080P

Region A  - Blu-ray

Paramount

Region 1  - NTSC

Paramount (UK)
Region 2 - PAL

Individual review and separate comparisons to SD-DVD:

 



 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DONATIONS Keep DVDBeaver alive:

Mail cheques, money orders, cash to:    or CLICK PayPal logo to donate!

Gary Tooze

Mississauga, Ontario,

   CANADA

Many Thanks...