Technology has saved The Godfather, writes STEPHEN FENECH

THE Godfather can be considered a modern classic.

The director, Francis Ford Coppola, created a work that now sits atop many lists hailing it as the best movie of all time, despite a troubled production and constant battles with the studio.

But its incredible success would almost prove to be its undoing. 

The original negative of The Godfather was copied so many times after its 1972 cinema release it was in alarmingly poor shape. 

Add to that the natural degradation of photochemical material and Paramount Pictures was faced with the prospect of losing its original copy forever.

Kim Aubry, production executive for Coppola’s Zoetrope film company, says it was the intervention of legendary film-maker Steven Spielberg that convinced Paramount to digitally restore the entire Godfather trilogy.

It was an offer they couldn’t refuse. 

“It really did take Paramount a certain leap of faith to invest a substantial amount of money to undertake these restorations,” he told the digital life.

“A lot of times studio managements are in place for their era and are concerned about the next blockbuster film and this summer’s new movies.

“They are less concerned about protecting an important asset of the studio but, thanks to the intercession of Steven Spielberg, the studio did do the right thing.” 

From there, Paramount set about the task of cleaning up the film frame by frame and then creating a 4K digital copy, which meant it would then be indistinguishable from the original negative.

Aubry, who was also the head of production on The Godfather Part III, says recent developments in technology have made such an ambitious restoration possible.

“The Godfather was printed so many times in such a hurry at a time when Hollywood was much less concerned about the legacy of films and more concerned about this quarter’s performance and getting the prints to theatres to make the most money they could,” Aubrey said.

“While we knew the depth of the problems with the original negatives for both Godfather films since the mid-1990s, in reality, the technology did not even exist to address the issues with the level of completeness which is now possible.”

It wouldn’t be until 2007, when the digital tools required to repair the film but not degrade the image would be created.

Paramount this week released The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration, all three digitally enhanced films on DVD along with two discs of bonus features.

Also announced last week by Paramount was the release date, October 30, for the full high-definition version of The Godfather trilogy on Blu-ray Disc.

Fans of the original Godfather film were given an exclusive first look at a print of the film created from the 4K digital copy of the film at the State Theatre.

Two stars of the film, Coppola’s sister, Talia Shire, who played Connie Corleone, and her onscreen husband, Carlo, played by Gianni Russo, were special guests.

The many months that went into the restoration project paid off.

On DVD, the films look pristine with many scenes boasting far sharper images not seen on earlier DVDs or VHS.

The pivotal Louis Restaurant scene, shot over two days, was also rescued by digital restoration as a film lab error meant the colours from one day’s shooting didn’t match the other.

The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration DVD box-set is available from Paramount.

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