I recently watched the first two Godfather movies, and after a quick search I found out about the Godfather Saga (the 7-hour chronological cut). In your opinion, which way is the best to watch the first two Godfather movies? Do you prefer the 7-hour version with the additional scenes, or would you rather watch both movies separately? I found the Godfather Saga online, but unfortunately the quality is not that good… I’m still planning on watching it because who doesn’t like deleted scenes?
I think the best version is to watch Godfather 1 and 2 followed by The Godfather Coda. Coppola re-edited the Godfather 3 and released it in 2020 as the Godfather Coda. The new version is much better and also fits better with the previous two films.
Coda was really good. A much more fitting end to the trilogy. It made much more sense as a movie compared to the original edit. It’s too bad he didn’t have the time to do this originally
Is his daughter still in it? 🤮
I haven’t seen Saga, but I feel the chronological cut would lead to a loss of punch in the scenes with young Vito. Part of it is knowing where he ends up and what happens, and comparing that to his beginnings.
It’s almost like storytelling is a craft involving real care and skill, and when experienced directors and writers choose to tell a story in a particular way its usually for a good reason.
I agree with you, I really do -but to play devil’s advocate, where does casting Sophia Coppola fall into this logic?
Jesus. This trope is so tired. Are you gonna start with Yoko breaking up the Beatles too?
Sofia stepped into the role because her father asked her to after originally-cast Winona Ryder dropped out for mental health reasons.[1]
Feel better now?
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I honestly don’t give a shit about your hot take. It’s nepotism at its finest, she ruined the third movie single handedly and I brought it up specifically in reference to “wise artistic choices” ya Muppet.
I don’t give a fuck that you think her performance was stellar and there was nobody else to play the role. I don’t.
I did say “usually”.
The chronological cut was a much-hyped “special television event” spread over two nights, and that’s what I first saw from a friend who taped it on VHS.
Some years later, when I saw the original theatrical releases, I preferred them much more, as the De Niro/young Vito sequences work better in smaller segments, going back and forth to Michael in the 1950s and back, to put it all consecutively drags the pace from the very get-go.
Also, the trip to Corleone, Sicily to exact revenge on don Ciccio works best as a parallel coda to the whole Fredo, Frankie “Five Angels” and Hyman Roth outcomes. The pacing just works that way.
I agree with all. I’ve only ever watched the originals in succession not this Chronicles of Godfather stuff. I think the theatrical release is the only way to watch.
Chronological cuts are fun curiosities, but they rarely succeed. The intercutting between time periods reveals meaning in the juxtaposition of disparate settings.
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Yes, but the story is much more focused on Michael than in Godfather 3. I think the cuts that were chosen also served her better. Overall I did not really notice her performance, which was a big improvement over the earlier version.
I love them both but, if I’m being super-critical, then I’d say that Part II has better pacing and therefore “wins” on a standalone basis. If the new cut addresses this, then I might be open to a re-evaluation.