The release of this DVD set is one DVD fans have been waiting for and have requested for years. It finally will go on sale and includes all three Godfather films, along with an extras disc with over three hours of bonus features. Was it worth the wait and is it worth the price?

The packaging is attractive and the entire set comes with a textured cardboard slipcase that contains all the discs. Each separate DVD is enclosed in its own cardboard case, with scene selections on the inside cover. Each case also comes with a portrait picture of the leading character of each film; Marlo Brando for Godfather One, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro on Godfather Two, and an aging Al Pacino again for Godfather Three. The extras disc has a picture of Francis Ford Coppola on the cover. This review will not delve into the storyline of each film or the quality of the acting. Let be said however that the Godfather films are considered some of the finest films of modern cinema ever made. The collaboration between writer Mario Puzo and Coppola on all three films is unique as they capture the lives of a fictional Italian American family who become some of the most powerful figures of their time. The violence in the film is legendary too; Coppola insists he abhors it but since the storylines of the films has to include it, Coppola decided to be "creative" with it, leading to some memorable, if not uncomfortable scenes for the squeamish.

Picture-The photography in the "The Godfather" scenes is the brilliant work of director of photography Gordon Willis, whose low lighted sets and use of color in the films enhances and provides atmosphere for the audience. The yellowish tones in the flashback sequences featuring De Niro as the young Vito Corleone provide the audience with a real sense of the period (1917) and brings even more believability to the beautiful sets constructed on the streets of New York for the film. The dark scenes in the "Godfather" home offices provide a mysterious and somewhat secretive aspect to their family "business", without saying a word. The atmosphere provokes mood and intentions in several key scenes. Amazingly, Willis was able to duplicate the lighting for Godfather Part III, some 16 years after his last work on Godfather Two. The DVD transfer has dust spots that are visible in some scenes. Because the films are so dark in many scenes, the dust is even more noticeable. A bit disappointing for such great films. Sound-The 5.1 Dolby digital soundtrack is acceptable yet unremarkable. Scenes like the wedding party in Godfather One have little information through back channels and are mostly totally upfront information. Stereo separation is discreet and clean, with good dynamic range. A remix of the original soundtrack or the addition of EX on the soundtrack would have boosted the sound levels and made them more remarkable.

Everything you wanted to know about the Godfather series and more. Over three hours of information is included on the separate disc and Coppola gives audio commentary on each film. The amount of information he gives you while watching is mind boggling and will take you days, if not weeks to get through. For example, the spectacular wedding scene in Godfather One took two and a half days to shoot on a limited budget. Coppola only had 6 and a half million for the whole picture. Also, Coppola used his own memories to stage scenes and family to re-create a lot of characters in the Godfather films. His mother is visible dancing in the wedding scene and of course, his daughter plays a large role in Godfather Three. The commentary also points out things nobody else has noticed in the films but Coppola points them out to you in all the films. The commentary is wonderful and thorough for each film, loaded with fascinating facts. The extra disc, packaged with the other three films is broken up into sections: Behind The Scenes The Godfather Family: A Look Inside-A modern feature documentary with cast and crew interviews (no Brando of course) that brings out from the principals much of the memories of the original film and insightful commentary from Coppola on the entire series. Explanations of why they did certain shots a certain way are just one of the highlights of this feature. The reflections from the cast show how much they really respect its director, writer and their fellow performers. Original film screen tests from The Godfather with De Niro (Coppola remembered it and cast him in Godfather Part II because of it), Martin Sheen as Michael, and Al Pacino with Diane Keaton in screen test footage. Coppola always wanted Pacino for the role but it's interesting to see the other actors in the parts. On Location-This featurette deals with the construction of a city street in New York for the set of Godfather Part II, circa 1917. By the time this film was made, Coppola could do no wrong in Hollywood and he wanted to construct the street scene on a real NY street, instead of a back lot. He even took out the modern street lights and replaced them with vintage lamps, while putting new faces on the buildings for the shoot. Francis Ford Coppola's Notebook-This fascinating extra has Francis himself showing parts of his original screenplay notes which he created directly from the Mario Puzo novel. His notes are handwritten in the margins of the book. Coppola used to cart around the notebook on the set for the first film, referencing it during shoots. The Music Of The Godfather Nino Rota-Coppola meets with composer Nino Rota . The first meeting is captured on audio tape while scenes from the film play in this section. Rota plays the piano on the tape. Stills of Rota conducting, playing the piano and shots of the original sheet music are also included. Carmine Coppola-Reflections of father and son on each other and the film. Coppola Senior collaborated on all three films. Shown and explained is Coppola's tribute to his father in Godfather Part II of the gunsmith and the flute playing boy in the shop, named Carmine Coppola. Coppola and Puzo on Screenwriting-Each writer recalls the writing process for the films. They would write separately and then get together to merge their two ideas for the first film. The next two were more of collaborative effort from the start, although they had many disagreements over plot and central characters. In the end, the Puzo hopes for Godfather Part 4, with the central character being Sonny growing up. Gordon Willis on Photography-Willis explains his use of light and shadow for the films. Called the "Prince Of Darkness", Gordon is praised by others as the an artist of underexposure. Willis doesn't take all the praise, stating that elements such as art direction help create the scenes as much as his work. Storyboards for Godfather Part II and Godfather Part III-Charcoal sketches of the sets and scenes from both films, accessible in a clickable slide show using your remote. The Godfather Behind The Scenes 1971-A featurette about the original Godfather film, made to promote the film. The film stock on this feature is well worn with vertical lines and dirt in the mostly behind-the-scenes-footage. Additional Scenes/Chronology The scenes are broken up into different timespans. All these scenes are introduced with an explanation text on screen before it is shown. 1892-1930-Includes 1901-1927 scenes Searching for Vito Fanucci Attacked Clemenza: I'm My Own Boss Playing The Flute Discussing Fanucci Reasoning with Signor Roberto Don Vito Corleone Introducing Hyman Roth Vito's Revenge 1931-1945-Includes 1945 scenes The Death Of Genco A Gift From Woltz Hagen Sees Janie A Family Night Michael and Kay In Bed The Don's Been Shot Sonny Absorbs The News Michael Gets Involved Planning Paulie's Death Clemenza Eats Lunch 1946-1955-Includes scenes from 1947, 1948-1955 Communist Demonstration Seeking Vito's House Yelling In The Shower "Bring Me Fabrizio" Talking In The Garden Hagen: "Why Am I Out?" Kay Lights Candles 1956-1997 Fredo and Deanna No Champagne Cocktails Francesca To Marry Fabrizio Located Anthony and Pentangeli Neri humiliates Klingman Murder Of Fabrizio Godfather III Alternate Opening The Family Tree-An clickable map of the entire Corleone family which branches to the different characters in all three films. Galleries-This extra is broken into different sections including: Trailers Photo Gallery (of main players) Rogues' Gallery-Thugs in the films Acclaim and Response-Contains short video segments from the Academy Awards of 1972 and 1974 and acceptance speeches Awards and Nominations-A screen roundup of all the awards for all three films 1974 Network TV Intro-This introduction by Coppola explains his re-edit of the film to make it possible to view on network broadcast and also his characterizations for the film besides giving credit to author Puzo and cautioning the audience about the film's violence. DVD Credits-Keep watching; there's a surprise at the end!

A lot of work went into this set by the film's creator and he should be commended for the amount of effort put into this set. While a better film print mars it from an excellent rating, most viewers will be delighted by the results of the films, the commentary and the extras.