Both The Godfather and The Godfather Part 2 were monumental films when they were each released in 1972 and 1974. No one thought cinema could get any better. Fast forward a few years and Francis Ford Coppola is financially struggling to create his newest masterpiece, Apocalypse Now. A deal is struck where he is funded for his current project, but he has to re-edit the two Godfather films. It was a risky move that made Coppola into the Hollywood legend he is today.
There are several different versions of the edited films, most notably the one broadcast for television in 1977, which added a few deleted scenes, but also edited out any grotesque violence or language. It was a compromise that Coppola made, probably hoping for a theatrical re-release at some point in the future. The 1977 edit of the two films in chronological timeline order was a huge success, and the audience loved the films. I believe this is why Coppola decided to make The Godfather Part 3.
Well, part 3 came out, and it was panned by critics and the audience just wasn't there like they were nearly twenty years before. The films were again edited, but the audience still enjoyed the first two films far more than they did the third. Finally, the uncensored and reconstructed version of the first two films was released on cable in 2016 as the complete epic. That edit is the best one there is, with a running time of 7 hours and 3 minutes, including everything from the two movies and deleted scenes. However, these days, this version is hard to come by, which is a shame because Paramount should release to DVD and Blu-ray. This version is the best and rarely seen. Seek it out and watch, you will not be disappointed.
