DVD Reviews

The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II “Sapphire Edition” – Blu-ray Review

By Patrick Luce Feb 8, 2010, 14:23 GMT

Francis Ford Coppola\'s epic masterpiece features Marlon Brando in his Oscar©-winning role as the patriarch of the Corleone family. Director Coppola paints a chilling portrait of the Sicilian clan\'s rise and near fall from power in America, masterfully balancing the story between the Corleone\'s family life and the ugly crime business in which they are engaged. Based on Mario Puxo\'s best-selling novel and featuring career-making performances by Al Pacino, James ...more

"For justice, we must go to Don Corleone." – The Godfather

Although the “Sapphire Edition” of Godfather and Godfather, Part II look and sound incredible, fans of the famous gangster trilogy may want to seek out Don Corleone to get their money back from this double dip – which delivers the same video and audio presentation as 2008’s The Godfather - The Coppola Restoration.

Basically, the only real reason to buy these versions is if you are not a fan of the third film in the series and don’t want the complete set. 

Sadly, the new editions of the film lack the special features that made the Coppola Restoration such a great buy. They do include the commentary from Francis Ford Coppola that was part of the Coppola Restoration, but I would still recommend buying the complete set over these two films – unless you simply want one of the movies instead of all three.

Arguably the best movies ever made (I am a bit prejudice since The Godfather was the first film I ever saw), The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II are based on Mario Puzo’s equally great novel and benefit from Puzo’s talent in the screenplay he wrote with Coppola. 

The first film featured a brilliant cast of leading actors that includes Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone; Al Pacino as Michael Corleone; James Caan as Santino 'Sonny' Corleone; Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen; Diane Keaton as Kay Adams; Talia Shire as Connie Corleone Rizzi; and John Cazale as Fredo Corleone. It is also filled with great supporting performances from character actors such as Abe Vigoda as Sal Tessio and Richard S. Castellano as Peter Clemenza. 

The films have become so iconic in today’s culture that it is hard to imagine how gutsy some of the casting was at the time and how hard Coppola had to fight with the studio to get some of the actors in the roles he wanted – such as Al Pacino as Michael. 

The Godfather, Part II continued the brilliant casting with Robert De Niro stepping in as young Vito Corleone for the flashback story; Bruno Kirby as a young Peter Clemenza; and a short scene with Troy Donahue.

The Godfather follows the Corleone family (a tight family who believes in honor and truth even if they operate outside the law) as they are led by the head of the family (and criminal organization) Don Vito Corleone. 

Vito Corleone is an old man who clings to the old ways of doing business, and living his life. He doesn’t look down at how a man provides for his family, but believes there are certain enterprises (such as drug dealing) that would put his family in greater jeopardy and cost them the protection he has earned through a lifetime of favors.

His sons Sonny and Tom Hagen (who Vito adopted) see the potential of the drug trade when a rival gangster offers to make them partners if they will share their protection, but listen to their father when he declines. 

This leads to a hit on the old man – which puts Sonny in charge and brings Michael into the family business despite his efforts to stay away from the criminal side of the Corleone business. As the heat between gangster families continues to build, Michael is forced to take drastic measures to protect his father, and then assume the role of head of the family after a hit on Sonny. 

Although he promises his wife Kay that he intends to take the Corleone family legit, he also makes sure that his family will no longer be threatened by other gangsters, and gets his revenge on the person responsible for the hit on Sonny. Vito may have had three sons, but Michael is the one who most resembles his father’s quiet violence and willingness to do whatever needs to be done to maintain the family’s power.

The first film set a tone for mobster films that had been lacking (even by some of the great films of the genre), and had an epic scope despite its simple crime story elements. Along with "Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes," the film featured a quiet love story between Michael and Kay, and a subtle corruption of power as the innocent Michael is forced to become more like his father to save the ones he loves.

It is a movie filled with great performances and one that only continues to get better with age no matter how many times you watch it.

As great as The Godfather is, it could be argued (and often is) that The Godfather, Part II is better. The film takes all of the elements that worked in the first movie (betrayal, violence, love), and blends them into a tensed filled crime movie that tells both the story of Michael’s continued downfall into the world of violence and a flashback tale of his father’s rise from homeless immigrant to head of one of New York’s largest crime families.

While I have always enjoyed the flashback story more than Michael’s journey, both plots work great together and give the film a feeling of familiarity and newness at the same time. As the viewer grows to like Vito Corleone more (De Niro gives one of his best performances), you can’t help but start not liking Michael too much. The innocence is gone from his character, and replaced by a deadly violence.

Pacino continues to play the character quietly (something his later film characters would lack), but he seems cold and ruthless. The few scenes where he loses the quietness (such as when Kay explains what happened to their unborn child) are borderline scary and cause you to wonder what happened to the kid you met in the opening minutes of the first film.

Like the first film, Godfather, Part II is filled with great performances from its supporting cast – including Duvall’s work as Tom Hagen and Shire’s Connie Corleone Rizzi – who has become somewhat of a thorn in Michael’s side following the death of her husband. There is also an outstanding performance from Cazale as Fredo seems to continue to be tormented by his inability to stop the hit on his father and the weakness he has compared to his younger brother Michael. The Godfather, Part II does seem to move a bit slower than the first film (the plot with Michael making a move into Cuba takes a while to get going), but is well worth the time spent.

Both films are worth picking up and look great, but without the third movie the story feels incomplete. I know many argue that Godfather, Part III wasn’t as good as the first two films, but it does complete Michael’s journey. Without that film, the story remains incomplete and not as satisfying – or at least not as satisfying to me.

While these films look great under the “Sapphire Edition” banner, I would still recommend picking up 2008’s Blu-ray release of The Godfather - The Coppola Restoration – which included all three films and is the exact same video and audio presentations of the movies. In addition to having the complete story, the set also has a bonus disc of special features that make it worth the extra money. 

Visit the DVD database for more information. Click HERE to read M&C’s review of 2008’s The Godfather - The Coppola Restoration on Blu-ray and HERE for M&C's review of The Godfather - The Coppola Restoration on DVD.

Editor’s Note: Images in review are NOT from the Blu-ray release and do not reflect the quality of the picture.