The Godfather trilogy, a film epic about three generations of the Corleone crime family, has been remastered and is being offered for home-video collectors, marking the 25th anniversary of the first movie.
Paramount home video is releasing the three movies separately at $24.95 each and also in four separate boxed sets:1. The three films in widescreen version (9 hrs., 1 min.); $64.95.
2. The three films in widescreen version and a 25th-anniversary book, "The Godfather Legacy" (Simon & Schuster), by film buff Harlan Lebo, with 288 pages of text and many previously unpublished photos about the making of the movies; $79.95.
3. A Limited Edition of 5,000 that includes all of the above plus a certificate autographed by director Francis Ford Coppola and a numbered gold plaque on the black-and-gold display case; $149.95.
4. A Commemorative Edition that includes the entire Corleone saga with additional scenes, edited chronologically by Coppola into a 9-hour, 43-minute movie (not available in widescreen). The set includes a bonus video of behind-the-scenes footage, "The Godfather Family: A Look Inside," and a booklet of commentary by Coppola; $149.95.
As a bonus, each of the three films contains retrospective interviews, exclusive to this release, with key contributors such as Coppola, writer Mario Puzo and actors Al Pacino and Talia Shire offering their perspectives on the making of these classics.
"The Godfather" in 1972 and "The Godfather Part II" in 1974 both received Academy Awards for Best Picture, the only time a picture and its sequel have been so honored.
The movies also propelled the careers of some of today's top performers, including Pacino, Shire, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton and Andy Garcia.
"The Godfather" also won Oscars for Marlon Brando as best actor and Coppola and Puzo for best adapted screenplay. The same year, it became the top moneymaking film to that time, surpassing "Gone With the Wind," which was revenue champion for 33 years.
In 1974 "Part II" won six Oscars, including Best Picture. De Niro won for best supporting actor; Coppola for best director and, again paired with Puzo, the screenplay award; the film for best dramatic score (Nino Rota and Car-mine Coppola) and for art and set decoration.
In 1990 "The Godfather Part III" garnered seven Oscar nominations but was shut out on awards night.
All of this comes just in time for next week's three-part CBS miniseries "The Last Don," also written by Puzo.
- `BEAUTY' AND THE SEQUEL: Walt Disney Co. plans to release a made-for-video sequel to "Beauty and the Beast" during the holiday season as the first project from its Canadian animation operation, reflecting the surge in movies aimed at the home video market.
Disney will debut "Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas" on Nov. 11 at a suggested price of $26.99 with four new songs and all the voices from the original 1991 hit. The Burbank-based entertainment giant will also introduce new character merchandise and a record for the sequel as part of what it is calling a "major entertainment event."
"Beauty and the Beast" has become an impressive revenue generator for Disney with a strong performance in theatrical release, 22 million copies sold in video and live-theater grosses of $310 million.
The release will be the third direct-to-video movie from Disney this year, following "Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves" and "Pooh's Grand Adventure," which is due in August. Analyst Mike Yocco of Paul Kagan Associates of Carmel, Calif., said such films make sense because they have a built-in audience and costs that are far lower than a wide-release movie.
"With direct-to-video, you save on prints and advertising and go after the really creamy portion of potential video revenues," Yocco said. "The long-term strategy for the studios is to further develop the collector mentality among consumers."
Sales of home video increased 14 percent last year to $7.3 billion domestically and are expected to surpass revenues from rentals, which were at $9.2 billion in 1996, by the end of the decade. With tapes costing from $4 to $7 each to produce, home video is one of the most profitable parts of studio operations.
For example, "Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves," which had a reported $7 million production cost, has sold an estimated 2.5 million copies in about five weeks of release.
Disney, the king of the home video market, entered the made-for-video sector in 1994 with an "Aladdin" sequel, "The Return of Jafar," which sold more than 10 million copies. It released a second sequel last year, "Aladdin and the King of Thieves," with sales ranging from 5 to 10 million copies reportedly.
Disney also began operating animation studios a year ago in Toronto and Vancouver with the specific goal of making movies for video release, never to be shown in theaters. Besides the "Beauty" sequel, it has also begun production on video-only sequels to five of its franchise properties - "The Lion King," "Toy Story," "Pocahontas," "The Jungle Book" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" - and a sequel to "Hercules," its next animated feature due out in theaters June 27.
Many of the genres in direct-to-video movies were hurt in recent years by retailers' decisions to focus on selling high-profile hits from major studios, but the market for children's home video product remains solid. Universal has been selling sequels to its animated "Land Before Time" and 20th Century Fox is planning a video-only release of a Casper the Friendly Ghost project this fall, combining animation and live action.
Additionally, Scholastic Inc. has seen its "Baby-Sitters" releases perform well as video-only product and Dualstar Entertainment has sold more than 2 million videos from twins Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen.
- Dave McNary
(Los Angeles Daily News)