The Godfather Saga
| The Godfather Saga | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Francis Ford Coppola |
| Produced by |
Albert S. Ruddy Francis Ford Coppola |
| Written by |
Mario Puzo Francis Ford Coppola |
| Starring |
Marlon Brando Al Pacino Robert Duvall James Caan Diane Keaton Robert De Niro John Cazale Talia Shire |
| Music by |
Nino Rota Carmine Coppola |
| Cinematography | Gordon Willis |
| Edited by | Barry Malkin |
| Distributed by | NBC |
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Release date
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Running time
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434 min. |
| Language | English |
| The Godfather Trilogy: 1901–1980 | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Francis Ford Coppola |
| Produced by |
Albert S. Ruddy Francis Ford Coppola |
| Written by |
Mario Puzo Francis Ford Coppola |
| Starring |
Marlon Brando Al Pacino Robert Duvall James Caan Diane Keaton Robert De Niro John Cazale Talia Shire |
| Music by |
Nino Rota Carmine Coppola |
| Cinematography | Gordon Willis |
| Edited by |
Barry Malkin Walter Murch |
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Release date
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Running time
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583 minutes |
| Language | English |
The Godfather Saga is a TV miniseries that combines The Godfather and The Godfather Part II into one film. It originally aired on NBC over four consecutive nights (one three-hour segment and three two-hour segments) in November 1977. The Godfather Saga is also known as The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television, The Godfather: A Novel for Television, The Godfather Novella, and The Godfather Epic (on HBO). The television version was the basis for a shorter, 1981 video release known as The Godfather 1902–1959: The Complete Epic. Following the release of The Godfather Part III in 1990, a third unified version was released to video in 1992 entitled The Godfather Trilogy: 1901–1980.
Francis Ford Coppola asked his editor Barry Malkin to make a seven-hour version for television; Coppola reportedly did this project to raise money for Apocalypse Now, which was severely over-budget at the time. The resulting film was in chronological order. The Godfather Part II had cut back and forth between scenes in the early 1900s and contemporary scenes, and was therefore both a prequel and a sequel to The Godfather. Malkin also toned down the violence, sex, and language for a television audience.
The television film incorporated additional footage not included in the original films, including Don Fanucci being attacked by street thugs, Vito Corleone's first encounter with Hyman Roth, Vito killing two of the mafiosi who worked for Don Ciccio and were instrumental in his family's death, Michael Corleone's reunion with his father after his return from Sicily, and Sonny Corleone's taking charge of the family after his father is severely wounded. The previously deleted scenes totaled almost 75 minutes.
Hal Erickson summarized the results as follows, "While this rearrangement was reasonably coherent, the rhythm and pacing of the original theatrical versions of the two films was severely damaged. The inclusion of scenes previously removed from the theatrical prints also stretched out what was already an overlong project. Even allowing for the achievement of pulling off this gargantuan editing assignment, The Godfather Saga is a lumpy affair which seems to stop and start at irregular intervals and never truly picks up momentum."
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