ADDITION: Paramount 4K UHD (March 2022): Paramount's are releasing Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather Trilogy" to 4K UHD. It offers an HDR-10 and DolbyVision transfer. Once again I'm a little dissatisfied with another restoration of this digitally problematic title. Like many, I thought that the 1.78:1 Blu-ray 'Coppola Restoration' of "The Godfather" was too bright throughout. I feel this is only an issue with the beginning outdoor scenes of the film via 3840 X 2160 resolution, but it is prominent enough to almost appear blown-out. Contrast is so layered that the rest of the presentation has impressively dark tones (which definitely suit the film, imo) with more pure black levels but occasionally very warm flesh tones. Yellow/magenta/orange seem to have odd fluctuations before settling in to be more stable through the majority of the 3-hour film. We've come to accept that the softness is inherent in The Godfather. This is always less consistent - so, I don't know - does it look superior to any digital editions? - absolutely with better detail/definition, flourishing grain textures and pleasingly richer colors (look at the comparisons of the tall grass and rear lights of the black sedan.) Not every film put to 4K UHD is going to be - or meant to be - tight, crystal sharp and glossy. We've resigned ourselves about "The Godfather" image -  as it is continually scrutinized as one of the greatest films of all time. Bottom line: the beginning appearance of the wedding outdoors was troubling for me but the overall 4K UHD presentation was ultimately very highly pleasing. As always, different systems may produce different results. I watched it on two separate systems and there were notable differences. In fact, a friend watching - who had no knowledge - commented on the skin tones in one scene. Go figure. The comments are my impressions from a calibrated home theater.         

REMEMBER: It is likely that the monitor you are seeing this review is not an HDR-compatible display (High Dynamic Range) or Dolby Vision, where each pixel can be assigned with a wider and notably granular range of color and light. Our capture software if simulating the HDR (in a uniform manner) for standard monitors. This should make it easier for us to review more 4K UHD titles in the future and give you a decent idea of its attributes on your system. So our captures may not support the exact same colors (coolness of skin tones, brighter or darker hues etc.) as the 4K system at your home. But the framing, detail, grain texture support etc. are, generally, not effected by this simulation representation.

NOTE: 86 more more full resolution (3840 X 2160) 4K UHD captures, in lossless PNG format, for Patrons are available HERE

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages to date: Le Crecle Rouge (software uniformly simulated HDR), An American Werewolf in London (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Hard Day's Night (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Piano (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Great Escape (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Red Shoes (software uniformly simulated HDR), Citizen Kane (software uniformly simulated HDR), Unbreakable (software uniformly simulated HDR), Mulholland Dr. (software uniformly simulated HDR), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Hills Have Eyes (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Servant (software uniformly simulated HDR), Anatomy of a Murder (software uniformly simulated HDR), Taxi Driver  (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Wolf Man (1941) (software uniformly simulated HDR), Frankenstein (1931) (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Deep Red (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Misery (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Silence of the Lambs (software uniformly simulated HDR), John Carpenter's "The Thing" (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Cat' o'Nine Tails (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (software uniformly simulated HDR), Perdita Durango (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Django (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Fanny Lye Deliver'd (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, (NO HDR applied to disc),  Rollerball (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Chernobyl  (software uniformly simulated HDR), Daughters of Darkness (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vigilante (software uniformly simulated HDR), Tremors (software uniformly simulated HDR), Cinema Paradiso (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bourne Legacy (software uniformly simulated HDR), Full Metal Jacket (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Psycho (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Birds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Rear Window (software uniformly simulated HDR), Vertigo (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Spartacus (software uniformly simulated HDR), Jaws (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Invisible Man, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucio Fulci's 1979 Zombie  (software uniformly simulated HDR),, 2004's Van Helsing (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Shallows (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Bridge on the River Kwai (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Deer Hunter (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Elephant Man (software uniformly simulated HDR), A Quiet Place (software uniformly simulated HDR), Easy Rider (software uniformly simulated HDR), Suspiria (software uniformly simulated HDR), Pan's Labyrinth (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Wizard of Oz, (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Shining, (software uniformly simulated HDR), Batman Returns (software uniformly simulated HDR), Don't Look Now (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Killed Killed and then The Bigfoot  (software uniformly simulated HDR),,  Bram Stoker's Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucy (software uniformly simulated HDR), They Live (software uniformly simulated HDR), Shutter Island (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Matrix (software uniformly simulated HDR), Alien (software uniformly simulated HDR), Toy Story (software uniformly simulated HDR),  A Few Good Men (software uniformly simulated HDR),  2001: A Space Odyssey (HDR caps udated), Schindler's List (simulated HDR), The Neon Demon (No HDR), Dawn of the Dead (No HDR), Saving Private Ryan (simulated HDR and 'raw' captures), Suspiria (No HDR), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (No HDR), The Big Lebowski, and I Am Legend (simulated and 'raw' HDR captures).

The 4K UHD disc's audio gives the English language options of a robust TrueHD 5.1 surround track with the mono sadly relegated to lossly Dolby. The surround does have impactful depth with the car explosion, extensive gunfire and a plain old beat down (Sonny on Connie husband Carlo.) Separations exist but are sparse and not always crisply defined, as a bump - it's more about the bass response. The unforgettable score by Nino Rota (Nights of Cabiria, Juliet of the Spirits, Rocco and His Brothers, Il Bidone, 8 1/2, I Clowns, Death on the Nile, Purple Noon, The Leopard etc.) plus celebratory wedding / Christmas tunes abound - Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 and Verdi's Brindisi (Libiamo ne' lieti calici) are impressively rendered sounding exquisite, beautifully capturing moods. Dialogue is abundantly clear. Paramount offer multiple DUBs and subtitle options. All 4K UHD discs are Region 'Free' as is Paramount's included Bonus Blu-ray of extras in this package (the Bd has multiple subtitle options.)

There is a Blu-ray disc of extras included as well as the four 4K UHD discs. It offers many featurettes including the 1/4 hour Full Circle: Preserving The Godfather a swell as Capturing the Corleones: Through the Lens with photographer Steve Schapiro, The Godfather Home Movies which is 10-minutes of 8mm home movie footage was filmed in 1971 that offers a unique and candid glimpse into the production of THE GODFATHER, shot on location at the Norton family estate on Staten Island's Emerson Hill, this is the first time it's been made available to the public. We get restoration comparisons for both Godfather and Godfather II, and Legacy Features (found on the last Trilogy Blu-ray reviewed HERE.) that share the 1/2 hour "The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't", Godfather World, 20-minutes on Emulsion Rescue - Revealing the Godfather. The artists who toiled in dark editing rooms and sound mixing studios for months during post-production have stories to tell about what happened in "...When the Shooting Stopped" for 1/4 hour - plus there are  'Four Short Films on The Godfather ', a 'Corleone Family Tree' and 'Crime Organization Chart', plus galleries with 'Connie and Carlo's Wedding Album', 'Behind the Scenes', 'Additional Scenes' and more tidbits.

In 2007, the American Film Institute named The Godfather the second greatest American movie of all time after Citizen Kane. And I often appreciate The Godfather II even more! The Godfather changed the course of American cinema, influencing the filmmakers and the films that came after. Paramount's 4K UHD package of the Trilogy films and extensive bonus material is certainly a must-own. I wouldn't bother trying to talk yourself our of getting it - just do it. You may have some initial suspicions about the colors/brightness - it is what it is - but overall you will be very pleased at seeing this masterpiece in it's most film-like rendering. Strongly recommended!

Gary Tooze