As Perfect as Godfather is: No Definitive Version!

Rating: 10/10 (5 June 2002)

Godfather and PART II are examples of elite filmmaking. Anyone seeing them for the first time should introduce themselves to the theatrical versions (Part III is good - the Vatican sequences are brilliant - but it's just not in the same league; many scenes were just recaps of what we saw [better] in I & II) ( PART II also recaps some scenes from the original, but they were presented on the "flipside" - and it worked).
Now a very positive gripe: "The Godfather: A Novel for Television" was first broadcast in 1977, it has recently resurfaced on some cable channels (covers I & II in chronological order and retitled The Godfather Saga). What's frustrating is that now, no matter what version I see, I can't help feeling I'm watching an abridged film. For 99.9% of all films, who would care; but this is storytelling at its finest. PART II was innovative for its prequel/sequel presentation that shows (SUBTLE SPOILERS) the irony of the rise and fall of a powerful crime dynasty. But now (I know I'm not alone) after seeing the outakes inserted where they should be, this has made the viewing so much more enriching, especially if you've read Mario Puzo's novel. The problem is that not only is the saga censored (reasonable enough for TV fare), but they've trimmed some lines of dialogue from the theatrical version (I'm not talking about lines containing profanity) apparently for time constraint. What makes the theatrical version more difficult to enjoy now is that the outakes are better pieces of filmaking than 90% of the movies out there (I knew this gripe would turn into a compliment). And in putting it in chronological order, the irony is lessened, but in no way is it lost. The viewer is allowed to see an American tragedy unfold.
I did tape a local broadcast of the "saga" in 1988 and again on AMC recently and both versions of THOSE have little scenes that the other doesn't have. EXAMPLE: At the end of Godfather, the scene fades to black (1955), then fades up to show Michael Corleone (now in 1958) walking along his Nevada lakeside estate in the wee hours of the morning of his son's communion/celebration. It's a well done transition scene that's in the 88' telecast, but not in the recent ones (from a fade to black, it almost jump cuts to the party and Fredo's entrance with wife Deanna). Even the bonus disc of the DVD that contains deleted scenes (separate from the films) don't contain all of them. Just one example is (from Godfather I), the first scene that introduces Don Corleone, after the undertaker Bonasera exits the Don's study, Sonny is sternly chastised by the Don for not paying attention (that was worth seeing just to hear Marlon Brando whistle). It's duration is only about 10 seconds long, but it cements the fact that Sonny is the intended Don in training who still needs tweaking by his father.
This is damn fine filmmaking that captures the texture and atmosphere of the time told in the story; be it early 1900's, mid 40's thru the late 50's and Coppola successfully borrowed from the styles of moviemaking, styles lifted from the 20's, 40's and 50's. Movies over 50 years ago didn't have fancy subjective camera moves and Coppola's decision to film using old fashion techniques makes you feel you're watching a film from that time era (I realize this was early 70's, but new wave style and zip zooms had been around for 10 years[?] ).
I'm confident that hundreds of thousands (millions ?) of movie lovers would immerse themselves in a longer UNCUT version that is no longer constrained by theatrical time factors. 7 hours and 15 minutes (not including end credits and no Part III) would be impossible in a theater, but this is the age of home entertainment (still can't beat watching a movie in the theater) that allows freedom AND a stop button (2 or 3 well placed intermissions would be better). That means you're saddled with more footage of Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro, Robert Duvall, James Caan, John Cazale, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire...ect giving us some of the finest performances in their careers. Any complaints about that?? Special mention to all but especially James Caan who lost so much footage to the cutting room floor. During the 2nd act of the Godfather, James Caan and Al Pacino are the stars of the movie as the story flips back and forth between the two; after all Sonny is the heir apparent. To show how instrumental he was to the family by exposing his leadership ability and softer side made what follows that much more shocking.
No, I didn't buy the DVD (I did rent the bonus disc) for these reasons. I'll wait till they reconstruct the saga on a new DVD edition(if rumors are true) but please...no Part III.
(Subtle Spoiler) Note: Never was comfortable when Godfather PART II changed Vito's birthday from April 28,1887 (The Godfather -cemetery monument) to 1892 (from the opening "In 1901 the godfather was born Vito...he was nine years old!) Marlon Brando's closing scenes led you to believe the 1887 birthdate.
Francis Coppola is an artistic genius, he's never made up his mind to stop tinkering with editing the saga. Even the Godfather Epic 1902-1959 contained only some deleted scene and excised 2 or 3 scenes from the theatrical version. I'm looking forward to THE version where all the scenes are left intact.
The Godfather 10 out of 10 The Godfather PART II 10 out of 10 The Godfather Saga (uncensored) a 10+