Tag Archives: Eli Wallach

The Godfather films individually on 4K in October

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“The Godfather” films, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, are getting individual 4K UHD Blu-ray releases in both standard (pictured above) and SteelBook forms on October 11th via Paramount Home Entertainment, according to retailers.  This includes “The Godfather“ (1972) and its sequels “The Godfather: Part II“ and “The Godfather: Coda – The Death of Michael Corleone“ (1990/2020).

The first film starred Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard S. Castellano, Robert Duvall, John Cazale, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Diane Keaton, Abe Vigoda, Talia Shire, and Al Martino.  The second film starred Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Bruno Kirby, Gastone Moschin, Michael V. Gazzo, Lee Strasberg, Gianni Russo, Joe Spinell, and Abe Vigoda.  The third film, recut in 2020 from the original version of “The Godfather: Part III” (1990), starred Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Andy Garcia, Talia Shire, Sofia Coppola, Briget Fonda, George Hamilton, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna, and Raf Vallone.

You can find the standard and SteelBook versions of the films all available for preorder now over at Amazon.  For the standard versions, just click their titles further above.  You can find the SteelBooks below with their Amazon preorder links for each.

The releases will each come in the form of just the 4K UHD Blu-ray disc and a digital code (copy) of the film.  No Blu-ray Disc counterparts will be included.  I repeat, no Blu-rays will be included with these releases.  The bonus materials will be only those included on the 4K discs.  I’ll be updating this post later with a full rundown of those contents for each film [disc].

Finally, there will NOT be an individual 4K UHD Blu-ray release of “The Godfather: Part III” but you can find that, as a bonus disc, in the previously released trilogy sets on the format.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly finally comes to 4K in April

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The 1966 Sergio Leone directed spaghetti [Italian] western “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” is coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray on April 27th via KL Studio Classics. The film starred Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach. The 4K release has been something that KL Studio Classics officially rumored (polled on) since 2017 and it’s now finally becoming a reality. The tech specs for the release include a video presentation in 2.35:1 aspect ratio without HDR (it seems) as well as DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround and newly restored DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono sound on a BD-100 (100 gigabytes) UHD Blu-ray Disc. The theatrical cut of the movie has received a 4K scan and color grading, as mentioned below.

“162-Minute Theatrical Cut – Over 30 hours of extensive shot-by-shot color grading and a 4K scan of a 1967 IB tech print as the secondary source to restore the theatrical cut to its original glory.
A) The optical flip ending in Tuco’s neck back around the noose (14 frames)
B) Tuco Shoving the “open/closed” sign into the storekeeper’s mouth (5 seconds, 10 frames)
C) An extreme closeup of Blondie’s eyes shortly before Tuco’s gang comes barging in through the door (1 second, 14 frames)
D) The fade up to Tuco and Blondie riding up to the mission after Tuco forced Blondie to walk through the desert (1 second, 3 frames)
E) The tail end of the shot of the train station (2 seconds, 1 frame)”

You can now find the 4K UHD Blu-ray available to preorder over at Amazon. The full details regarding the bonus materials and contents for this upcoming 4K release of the film can be found below.

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The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone Blu-ray

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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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