By John Corrado

Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 drama The Godfather, charting the rise to power of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) within the ranks of an Italian-American mafia family under the tutelage of patriarch Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), and its 1974 followup The Godfather Part II, which served as both sequel and prequel to the saga, are widely considered to be among the best movies ever made.

Both of them carry the distinction of winning the Oscar for Best Picture in their respective years, with Part II still being the only sequel to win the award. Coppola followed up these films with The Godfather Part III in 1990, and while that one is not as highly regarded as the first two, it still rounds out one of the most celebrated film trilogies of all time.

Paramount is reissuing the three films on Blu-ray this week, in a new set dubbed The Godfather Trilogy: Corleone Legacy Edition. In terms of actual content, this seems to be the same as the Omertà Edition that came out in 2017, minus the limited edition boxed set packaging of that release. This set combines the three bare bones discs with the films, which were also put out individually back in 2017, along with a fourth disc devoted entirely to special features and a few physical collectibles that are included in the box as well and are exclusive to this edition.

The bonus features on the fourth disc include additional scenes, photo galleries and storyboards, an interactive Corleone family tree, profiles on the filmmakers, and a selection of featurettes. They are Making of The Godfather; Filming Locations; The Music of the Godfather; Godfather World; The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn’t; When the Shooting Stopped; Emulsional Rescue – Revealing The Godfather; The Godfather on the Red Carpet; and Four Short Films on The Godfather. There are also commentary tracks with Coppola to accompany the films on each of the three discs.

The four discs are housed in a plastic snapcase that slips inside a cardboard box that also holds the set’s physical bonus materials, including a foldout Corleone legacy family tree, and recreations of the original theatrical art cards for each of the three films, which are printed on glossy cardstock and have character portraits on the back that are displayable in an included cardboard frame. There are no digital copies, which would have been a nice addition, but overall this is an attractive set. It doesn’t really warrant a double dip for those who already own the films on Blu-ray, but it is a good option for those looking to add this classic trilogy to their collection.

The Godfather Trilogy: Corleone Legacy Edition is a Paramount Home Media Distribution release.

Street Date: June 11th, 2019