Restored Godfather

email this story
read comments (26)
post a comment

I'm late acknowledging that Peter Bart ran a 6.23 story about the restoring of the Godfather negatives, and particularly two docs by Kim Aubry about (a) the making of the 1972 film and (b) the restoration project. Curiously, Bart didn't mention that the guy who handled the delicate work was none other restoration guru Robert Harris, the sharpest eye and most exacting perfectionist in the business, and known for having restored Lawrence of Arabia, Spartacus, Rear Window, My Fair Lady, Vertigo, etc.

Harris has been forbidden from discussing the project for many, many moons. I saw a digital projection of Harris's restored Godfather on the WB lot last November and was told I couldn't mention it. An official press release about the Godfather restoration is going out on Monday morning, at which point he'll be free to discuss it with whomever. The DVDs and Blu-ray discs of the restored films will be available sometime in late September. The project involved the labor of some 12 to 15 people, Harris says.

I told Harris today that most people probably won't appreciate the differences between the currently available DVDs of the first two Godfather films and the versions he's worked on. I think the first two films look pretty good, I told him. People don't know what they're looking at, he said. He also allowed that most people probably won't be able to appreciate the improvements unless they see them in Blu-ray on a very large screen, or if the restored films are projected in a movie theatre of some size. Will the films be given a limited theatrical release? Uhhm...no comment.

Whoops<< previous | next >>Cheers for Mr. Beaks

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 27, 2008 at 7:24 PM

comment #1

joncro says ...

I bought this DVD set here in London last week.

Emulsional Rescue - the doc about the restoration, is very interesting. Shows before and afters which are hard to believe....

Posted by joncro at June 27, 2008 8:19 PM

comment #2

erniesouchak says ...

You're wrong. Harris did quite a detailed interview with American Cinematographer about the restoration in the May issue. Gordon Willis was interviewed as well.

Posted by erniesouchak at June 27, 2008 9:22 PM

comment #3

erniesouchak says ...

i think this is the link:

http://www.ascmag.com/magazine_dynamic/May2008/PostFocus/page1.php

Posted by erniesouchak at June 27, 2008 9:29 PM

comment #4

lazespud says ...

So who did the restoration for the limited theatrical run around 96 or 97? Was that Harris? My recollection is that it was cleaned up quite a bit and I remember seeing it in the theater and being blown away by the deep shades of brown in that opening scene of brando receiving visitors in his study during his kid's wedding.

Is this a new restoration?

Posted by lazespud at June 27, 2008 10:28 PM

comment #5

MilkMan says ...

Speaking of important Italian-Americans (take a bow Pacino, De Niro, and Caan [he was named an honorary Italian at the San Genarro festival in 1992]), let's see what some of the other paisanos are up to:

Geno Rotella is about to be a father. Again. Sure, things didn't work out so well with his first family (that wife was a maniac), and he hasn't seen his kids in over a decade, but that's no reason to be negative. The noodles are cooking. Geno likes it al dente.

Peter Facianelli stopped by the Atlantic Theatre in New York City during a recent press junket for Finding Amadna, gifting the theatre company with a heavy deavy endowment. "Everything I know about acting I learned from these people," he said. "They gave me the tools." Facianelli, who attended acting classes at the theatre for several weeks back in the winter of 1992, was given a lifetime free pass to attend any and all shows.

Vito Antifuermo still wants to kick my ass for what I said about his friend. I forgot who his friend was, and what it was that I said, but the anger is still there, so it must have been a real doozy.

Posted by MilkMan at June 28, 2008 2:29 AM

comment #6

Roman says ...

I would like to take this moment to thanks Steven Spielberg for preserving this.

Posted by Roman at June 28, 2008 7:53 PM

comment #7

Valerie Cherish says ...

Why has AUNT SASSY been BANNED???

I miss her insightful comments on film, and her bitchy commentary. She added a refreshing viewpoint to this site.

FREE AUNT SASSY!!!

Posted by Valerie Cherish at July 2, 2008 4:59 PM

comment #8

milan says ...

And if I were to choose, I'd choose video games. Online GED | HomeSchooling - Distance Learning

Posted by milan at September 24, 2009 2:34 AM

comment #9

milan says ...

Are you wapaneese????? High School Diploma Online -
Online highschool

Posted by milan at September 24, 2009 2:34 AM

comment #10

air nike shoes says ...

Why has AUNT SASSY been BANNED???

I miss her insightful comments on film, and her bitchy commentary. She added a refreshing viewpoint to this site.

Posted by air nike shoes at October 10, 2009 5:52 AM

comment #11

free games says ...

Great post!!

Posted by free games at October 28, 2009 2:04 AM

comment #12

sam says ...

I really enjoyed exploring your site. good resource ... thanks for sharing the info, keep up the good work going....
gucci handbags

Posted by sam at February 21, 2010 9:37 PM

comment #13

wenwen says ...

ed hardyed hardy

Gucci HandbagsGucci Handbags

Louis VuittonLouis Vuitton

Columbia SportswearColumbia Sportswear

Links Of LondonLinks Of London

Posted by wenwen at February 26, 2010 11:32 PM

comment #14

!!cams says ...

Live Sex
Live Sex

Posted by !!cams at March 4, 2010 6:41 AM

comment #15

dd says ...

I miss her insightful comments on film, and her bitchy commentary. She added a refreshing viewpoint to this site.

Designer Handbags

Posted by dd at May 11, 2010 12:04 AM

comment #16

penchenk87 says ...

Awesome concept. I know a buddy of mine makes use of templates. This stuff is great for if you append rows to a grid or list.

Also, it would probably be great for having some sort of "viewer". You could have a list of documents, and use jQuery to get JSON data, then put the data into the template. Something like viewing invoices or other formatted docs.

Just to be picky too, according to w3schools.com, the "value" tag is deprecated? But I guess it is still technically valid. I like to be "valid" when I can :)

please visit my blog Ingat Solo Ingat Soloaja.com and Penchenk Dot Com

Posted by penchenk87 at June 17, 2010 8:32 AM

comment #17

penchenk87 says ...

Awesome concept. I know a buddy of mine makes use of templates. This stuff is great for if you append rows to a grid or list.

Just to be picky too, according to w3schools.com, the "value" tag is deprecated? But I guess it is still technically valid. I like to be "valid" when I can :)

please visit my blog Blogger Indonesia dukung internet aman, sehat & manfaat

Posted by penchenk87 at June 28, 2010 7:37 AM

comment #18

liberus says ...

I like it !
Love the content, but the lead in sounds like one of those shady ads touting the world.

regards
liberar iphone 3GS

Posted by liberus at October 2, 2010 2:50 AM

comment #19

ewet says ...

sex
porn
free porn
porn
free sex
free sex
porno
escort bayan

Posted by ewet at June 25, 2011 4:16 PM

comment #20

nike shox r4 says ...

Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money ; it lies in the joy of achievement , in the thrill of creative effort.nike shox r4

Posted by nike shox r4 at July 19, 2011 1:42 AM

comment #21

josephcush39 says ...

life is changing an so are everything in it. Embrace it. Also, is there someone who could help me find this online, along with advice on how to check my credit rating and look to buy silver or affiliate marketing today

Posted by josephcush39 at August 24, 2011 5:42 PM

comment #22

ClaraTalarico says ...

Godfather has to be one of my favorite movies. Thanks for post. Interesting.

roku reviews | roku deals | hulu roku

Posted by ClaraTalarico at September 8, 2011 6:00 PM

comment #23

frankyp says ...

What a great movie. I watched it over several times after I got done reading a cable modem review and then I went to begin selling domain names to earn extra money so that I could buy the whole set.

Posted by frankyp at November 15, 2011 3:05 PM

comment #24

sahibinden says ...

Nice information, valuable and excellent, as share good stuff with good ideas and concepts, lots of great information and inspiration, both of which we all need, thanks for all the enthusiasm to offer such helpful information here.

Posted by sahibinden at November 29, 2011 11:33 PM

comment #25