In commemoration of The Godfather’s 50th anniversary, Paramount recently announced that the Francis Ford Coppola classic will be re-released digitally restored in 4K Ulta HD. The highly regarded film will be re-released in international markets as well.
Over the course of three years, Paramount and Coppola’s production firm, American Zoetrope, restored all three Godfather films in advance of the 50th anniversary of the first film’s original release on March 24, 1972. On March 22, 2022, the full trilogy will be available in 4K Ultra HD Blu Ray box set for the first time.
More than 4,000 hours were spent repairing film stains, tears and other anomalies in the negatives, while over 1,000 hours were spent on color correction to restore the films to Coppola and cinematographer Gordon Willis’ original vision. In addition to the 5.1 audio that was approved by the film’s sound designer, Walter Murch, during a 2007 restoration project, the original mono tracks of The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II have also been restored.
“I am very proud of The Godfather, which certainly defined the first third of my creative life,” said Francis Ford Coppola in a statement. “With this 50th anniversary tribute, I’m especially proud Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone is included, as it captures Mario and my original vision in definitively concluding our epic trilogy. It’s also gratifying to celebrate this milestone with Paramount alongside the wonderful fans who’ve loved it for decades, younger generations who still find it relevant today, and those who will discover it for the first time.”
“We felt privileged to restore these films and a little in awe every day we worked on them,” said Andrea Kalas, senior vice president, Paramount Archives. “We were able to witness first-hand how the brilliant cinematography, score, production design, costume design, editing, performances, and, of course, screenwriting and direction became famously more than the sum of their parts. It was our commitment to honor all of the filmmakers’ exceptional work.”