Francis Ford Coppola's Acclaimed Masterpieces

The Godfather,
The Godfather Part II
and
The Godfather Part III

Make Their Debut on DVD in One Five-Disc Collector's Gift Set

HOLLYWOOD -- June 11, 2001 -- "THE GODFATHER DVD COLLECTION," Available October 9, 2001; Featuring New Full-Length Director's Commentaries on All Three Films and a Spectacular Three-Hour Bonus Disc of Special Features Francis Ford Coppola and Paramount Home Entertainment are proud to present the most highly-anticipated DVD release of the year, THE GODFATHER DVD COLLECTION, which debuts on October 9 as a five-disc collector's set. Featuring new director commentaries on all three films, THE GODFATHER DVD COLLECTION also includes a spectacular, three-hour bonus disc of special features, produced exclusively for this collection. The movies are not available individually. International release dates immediately follow the U.S. and Canadian release.

Disc 1 THE GODFATHER (with Coppola commentary)
Disc 2/3 THE GODFATHER, PART II (with Coppola commentary)
Disc 4 THE GODFATHER, PART III (with Coppola commentary)
Disc 5 THE GODFATHER BONUS MATERIALS

Disc 5 contains the following: -- "Francis Coppola's Notebook": an inside look at Coppola and the creative process, taking the "The Godfather" from book to screen; -- "On Location" with Academy Award(R)-winning production designer Dean Tavoularis, who goes back to New York's Lower East Side for a look at some of the original locations where "The Godfather" films were shot; -- "The Godfather Family: A Look Inside": a 73-minute documentary on the films' origins, including original screen tests and rehearsals; -- "The Godfather Behind the Scenes 1971" - a featurette from the original theatrical release; -- Additional scenes: scenes that were added to later versions of the original films, presented within a timeline of events from 1898 forward that chronicles the Corleones' rise and real-life events; -- "The Cinematography of The Godfather," featuring Gordon Willis; -- "The Music of the Godfather": two featurettes looking at the unforgettable musical contributions of Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola; -- "Coppola and Puzo on Screenwriting": the collaboration of the novelist and filmmaker adapting the book to the screen; -- Storyboards from THE GODFATHER PART II and animatic storyboards from THE GODFATHER PART III; -- "The Corleone Family Tree": character and cast biographies; -- Academy Award(R) acceptance speeches; -- Photo galleries with captions; -- Theatrical trailers; -- Filmmaker biographies.

"Paramount is honored to announce the worldwide release of THE GODFATHER DVD COLLECTION," said Eric Doctorow, President of Paramount Home Entertainment Worldwide. "These three films are among the greatest achievements in cinematic history. Their legacy spans nearly 30 years and now with their release on DVD, we look forward to providing movie lovers everywhere the opportunity to rediscover -- or discover for the first time -- the power of these extraordinary films."

"We were delighted to collaborate with Paramount in the creation of this extraordinary DVD collection," added Kim Aubry, Zoetrope's VP of Technology and Executive Producer of the DVDs. "To have the opportunity to take films that we truly love and spend six months looking through the vaults for interesting 'lost' objects was something too good to pass up. We contacted many of the original filmmakers in our quest for great DVD extras; and we were led to photographs, tapes, student films and forgotten promotional materials that when viewed today add insight to the films and the filmmakers. Francis Coppola's new commentaries are unique and we believe will become 'required' viewing for 'Godfather' buffs and film lovers everywhere."

THE GODFATHER DVD COLLECTION will be supported with Paramount Home Entertainment's largest DVD marketing effort to date. To capitalize on the films' wide-ranging appeal, advertising support is designed to reach 95% of all U.S. households 10 times. This includes substantial TV advertising on network, cable and syndication in the U.S. and Canada; spot TV and outdoor in key markets; as well as print ads in People, Entertainment Weekly, Premiere, Playboy, TV Guide, Sports Illustrated and other magazines.

The film that inaugurated the era of the modern blockbuster, THE GODFATHER received three Academy Awards(R) in 1972 for Best Picture, Actor (Marlon Brando) and Adapted Screenplay (Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola), from a total of 11 nominations including supporting actor nods for Al Pacino, James Caan and Robert Duvall. Also a Best Picture Oscar(R)-winner, THE GODFATHER PART II (1974) features repeat performances from Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton and Talia Shire and also stars Robert DeNiro as the young Vito Corleone. The film won six Oscars in all, including Director, Supporting Actor (DeNiro), Music and Adapted Screenplay. Adding Andy Garcia, Eli Wallach, Joe Mantegna and Sofia Coppola to the franchise, THE GODFATHER PART III (1990) was also nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, in addition to receiving Oscar nods for Supporting Actor, Director and Cinematography, among others.

The DVDs of THE GODFATHER, THE GODFATHER PART II and THE GODFATHER PART III are presented in widescreen format enhanced for 16:9 televisions. The audio tracks feature Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround and French Mono. All three films are closed-captioned and subtitled in English.

THE GODFATHER DVD COLLECTION is priced to own at a MAP (minimum advertised price) of $74.95 in the U.S. THE GODFATHER, THE GODFATHER PART II and THE GODFATHER PART III are all rated R in the U.S. by the Motion Picture Association of America and are rated 18A, 14A and 14A respectively in Canada. THE GODFATHER has a running time of approximately 175 minutes, THE GODFATHER PART II is 200 minutes, THE GODFATHER PART III is 170 minutes, and "The Godfather Bonus Materials Disc" has approximately three hours and 20 minutes of bonus video features and nearly 300 informative menu pages and still images. All discs are encoded with the Macrovision(TM) AntiCopy process.

End Of Release