– Amazon Commissions Earned-

The 1990 film “The Godfather: Part III” has been re-edited by director Francis Ford Coppola as “Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, CODA: The Death of Michael Corleone“ which is officially coming to Blu-ray Disc on December 8th via Paramount. The film, based on Mario Puzo‘s novel and screenplay co-written by Coppola, starred Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Andy Garcia, Talia Shire, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, George Hamilton, Bridget Fonda, and Sofia Coppola. The tech specs for the Blu-ray have not yet been fully detailed but it is known that the film has received a new 4K scan and was remastered. Below you can find details about this release’s video and audio presentations, taken from the press release.

“‘Mario Puzo’s THE GODFATHER, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone’ is an acknowledgment of Mario’s and my preferred title and our original intentions for what became ‘The Godfather: Part III,’” said Coppola. “For this version of the finale, I created a new beginning and ending, and rearranged some scenes, shots, and music cues. With these changes and the restored footage and sound, to me, it is a more appropriate conclusion to ‘The Godfather’ and ‘The Godfather: Part II’ and I’m thankful to Jim Gianopulos and Paramount for allowing me to revisit it.”

“Coppola and his production company American Zoetrope worked from a 4K scan of the original negative to undertake a painstaking, frame-by-frame restoration of both the new Mario Puzo’s THE GODFATHER, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone and the original The Godfather: Part III. In order to create the best presentation possible, Zoetrope and Paramount’s restoration team began by searching for over 50 original takes to replace lower resolution opticals in the original negative.  This process took more than six months and involved sifting through 300 cartons of negative.  American Zoetrope worked diligently to repair scratches, stains, and other anomalies that could not be addressed previously due to technology constraints, while enhancements were made to the original 5.1 audio mix.”

“The Blu-ray presentation will include the newly restored and re-edited film, an exclusive introduction by Coppola, and access to a Digital copy of the film.”

The is no indication if this will receive a physical 4K release anytime soon, but you’d think that it would be later and include the first time films to form the entire trilogy. Stat tuned for full details regarding the tech specs, as I’m expecting it to come in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a lossless 5.1 surround mix (in either Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio). The release will come with a digital code (copy) of the film. Lastly, no info regarding bonus materials has been made aside from this including a new introduction by the director (Francis Ford Coppola).

UPDATE: This upcoming Blu-ray Disc release is now able to preorder over at Amazon.

Further below, after the break, you can find the complete announcement regarding this newly re-edited version of the third film in “The Godfather” trilogy.

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