'Godfather' On DVD: An Offer You Can't Refuse

Admirers of the "Godfather" trilogy sooner or later must accept the fact that a fourth chapter of the saga is pretty unlikely: Be that as it may, "The Godfather Collection" on DVD is a highly adequate consolation prize.

Brilliantly packaged, the five-disc set collection should rank as one of the top releases of the year. Apart from Francis Ford Coppola's classic films about a powerful underworld family, the next biggest highlight of the set is "A Look Inside," one of several fascinating documentaries on the three-hour bonus disc which is filled with recollections by nearly all of the living cast and major crewmembers (including older footage of novel author Mario Puzo, who died in 1999).

The struggles of casting for the first film have been well chronicled in books like Peter Biskind's "Godfather Companion," and it's great to actually see the relatively -unknown, fresh-faced Al Pacino screen testing for the role of Michael with future co-stars Diane Keaton, James Caan and Robert Duvall. Transversely, it's even more interesting to see actors like Caan and Martin Sheen also read for Michael's role, and Robert De Niro screen testing for Sonny (the role that, of course, went to Caan).

Of course, knowing how history treated each of these actors, it's a wonderful time capsule to open to see each of them at the most pivotal moments of their careers.

And while refreshing to see the normally interview-shy Pacino and De Niro recall their participation in the film, it's a relief to know that Duvall opted to join in as well. Disagreements in salary precluded Duvall's participation in 1990's "Godfather: Part III," but presumably he didn't hold any long-lasting grudges. Noticeably absent from the documentary is Keaton (Marlon Brando isn't anywhere to be found either, but anyone even vaguely familiar with the enigma's career shouldn't be surprised).

Apart from the actors, the true star of the set is Coppola, whose presence is dominant through the documentaries and on the commentary tracks of all three films. His honesty and compassion for the films in the commentaries and the documentaries make the package so utterly engaging, and you can't help but respect the fact that he takes it a step further by even tackling the controversy of casting family members in, as he states, "the biggest home movie in history" (sister Talia Shire fits comfortably in all three, but Coppola took a bashing for daughter Sofia's turn as Michael's daughter in "Part III." Father Carmine also scored "The Godfather," for which he earned an Oscar).

But after all this time, who's going to disagree with his decisions? It is, after all, a saga about a family, and time has hardly diminished its lasting impact. Even the third film, which is no doubt inferior to the first two, seems to have adapted the sensibilities of a classic film since I last screened it, during its initial theatrical run 11 years ago. Coppola also discusses the idea for a fourth film, which juxtaposes the rise of the family in the 1920s with the fall of the family in modern day.

Perhaps the only thing that could have made this package better would have been an alternative version of the film packaged and presented chronologically, as was done for the 1977 television version dubbed "The Godfather Saga," a re-editing of the of the first two films.

That version was noteworthy mainly because it included footage excised from the original theatrical versions, and was also released in a special VHS boxed set. Sure, one of the DVD features literally draws out the Corleone family tree, but could a "Godfather Saga" special edition DVD edition be far behind? That would be another offer, for the lack of better words, that we simply couldn't refuse.

Also New:

Since the world accepted DVDs as the next wave in the home movie market, "Star Wars" fans all over the world have been left drooling in anticipation for the release of the cherished original "Trilogy."

Rumors continue to fly as to when this may actually happen (I have my money on the year 2027), but we now have a taste of what may be coming as we celebrate the release of the prequel to the Trilogy, "Episode I --The Phantom Menace" on DVD.

First of all, we have all seen the movie and could discuss how much of a letdown it was from the originals and how we hope Jar Jar Binks is tragically killed in the first two minutes of the upcoming "Episode II" (due out on May 22, 2002), but one thing was lost in all the negative feedback: George Lucas yet again captures our imaginations and hearts with action and characters that leave most sci-fi movies floating lifelessly in space.

Many have told me they only watched the new "Star Wars" installment once in the theater and were too disappointed to see it again. To those people, I recommend you give it another chance and let it be the first part in the new trilogy, instead of constantly comparing it to the old.

The main draw to this new two-disc set is disc two, packed full of features, exclusive interviews with cast and crew, and the highly anticipated seven deleted scenes that were digitally finished specifically for this DVD release.

The deleted scenes documentary does a great job of explaining the reasons for leaving them out, and after seeing them I humbly agree with most of the decisions. The highlight for me was the behind-the-scenes featurette on the fight scenes, with footage of Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan), Liam Neeson (Qui-Gon) and Ray Park (Darth Maul) training for what, in my opinion, is the best on-screen swordplay since Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin in "The Princess Bride."

--Patrick Morgan