The Godfather is acknowledged by pretty much everyone as one of the greatest films of all time. And Part II is even better. One of the most memorable aspects of the sequel is that it is both a follow-up and a prequel, continuing the story of Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone, whilst intercutting it with the early days of his father Vito Corleone (now played by Robert DeNiro).
But there’s a rare version you probably have never seen: 1977’s The Godfather Saga. Director Francis Ford Coppola recut both movies into chronological order, and added in never before seen out-takes, in order to make a seven hour version that ran over several nights on NBC. Coppola did it to raise money for Apocalypse Now, which was running way over budget. It’s never been released on DVD or Blu-ray, only on a long out-of-print VHS, and has been very difficult to find. Until last night, when HBO showed it on American TV, and it’s now on their on-demand service HBO Go until January 28. There’s no way to access it in the UK at the moment, but hopefully this means there could be a Blu-ray on the way.
Is seven hours not long enough for you though? In 1990 there was also The Godfather Trilogy: 1901–1980 released on VHS and laser-disc, which added in The Godfather Part III, and took the running time up to an incredible 9 hours, 43 minutes. HBO didn’t show that version, but since Part III ain’t all that, it’s probably not the end of the world.
[via Uproxx]
