The golden jubilee of this evergreen classic movie was celebrated in Hollywood on February 25. In run-up to the celebration of the 50th anniversary, Paramount Pictures announced that Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece Academy Award winning ‘The Godfather’, will have a limited theatrical release in Dolby Vision starting from February 25 exclusively in Dolby Cinema at AMC Theatres in the U.S., as well as in international territories around the world. All three films in the epic trilogy have been meticulously restored under the direction of Coppola and will be made available on 4K Ultra HD for the first time ever on  February25. Joining with the celebrations, Sri Lanka too released the movie ‘Godfather’ in Lankan film circuits from Friday, February 25.

The film is now being screened at Colombo City Center, Liberty By Scope, PVR – Colombo, Kandy City Centre – Kandy, Majestic Cinema– Colombo, Savoy 3D – Colombo, Maxx Lite – Moratuwa, Vista Lite – JaEla and at Amity Maharagama.

‘I am very proud of The Godfather, which certainly defined the first third of my creative life,’ said Francis Ford Coppola. In preparation for the 50th anniversary of the first film’s original release on March 24, 1972, Paramount and Coppola’s production company American Zoetrope undertook a painstaking restoration of all three films over the course of three years. ‘With this 50th anniversary tribute, I’m especially proud Mario Puzo’s THE GODFATHER, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone is included, as it captures Mario and my original vision in definitively concluding our epic trilogy.

It’s also gratifying to celebrate this milestone with Paramount alongside the wonderful fans who’ve loved it for decades, younger generations who still find it relevant today, and those who will discover it for the first time.’ Coppala added. Coppola’s masterful film adaptation of Mario Puzo’s novel chronicles the rise and fall of the Corleone family and the film trilogy is rightfully viewed as one of the greatest in cinematic history. Every effort was made to create the finest possible presentation for today’s audiences who can watch the films using technology that has advanced dramatically since 2007 when the last restoration was completed by eminent film historian and preservationist Robert Harris.

Using that work as a blueprint, the team spent thousands of hours to ensure that every frame was evaluated to create the most pristine presentation while remaining true to the original look and feel of the films. ‘We felt privileged to restore these films and a little in awe every day we worked on them,’ said Andrea Kalas, senior vice president, Paramount Archives. ‘We were able to witness first-hand how the brilliant cinematography, score, production design, costume design, editing, performances, and, of course, screenwriting and direction became famously more than the sum of their parts.

It was our commitment to honor all of the filmmakers’ exceptional work.’ The restoration work overseen by Coppola included scrutinizing over 300 cartons of film to find the best possible resolution for every frame of all three films and repairing film stains, tears, and other anomalies in the negatives spending over 4000 hours.

Over 1,000 hours had to be spent on rigorous color correction to ensure the high dynamic range tools were respectful of the original vision of Coppola and cinematographer Gordon Will and in addition to the 5.1 audio approved by Walter Murchin 2007, the original mono tracks on The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II have been restored. All The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, and Diane Keaton. It is the first installment in The Godfather trilogy.

The story, spanning from 1945 to 1955, chronicles the Corleone family under patriarch Vito Corleone (Brando), focusing on the transformation of his youngest son, Michael Corleone (Pacino), from reluctant family outsider to ruthless ‘mafia boss’. At the 45th Academy Awards in 1973, the film won Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando), and Best Adapted Screenplay (for Puzo and Coppola). In addition, the seven other Oscar nominations included Pacino, Caan, and Duvall for Best Supporting Actor, and Coppola for Best Director.

Since its release, The Godfather has been widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made, especially in the gangster genre.[6] It was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 1990, being deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and is ranked the second-greatest film in American cinema (behind Citizen Kane) by the American Film Institute. It was followed by sequels The Godfather Part II (1974) and The Godfather
Part III (1990).

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