Why Coppola Combined & Recut The First Two Godfather Movies In Chronological Order In 1977
The Godfather trilogy has gone through a couple of edits and recuts, making way for different versions and cuts of the film series, including one where Francis Ford Coppola put together the first two movies in chronological order. Although Francis Ford Coppola has explored different genres in his career as a filmmaker, he continues to be best known for his work in the gangster genre with The Godfather trilogy. Based on Mario Puzo’s 1969 novel of the same name, The Godfather introduced the audience to the Corleone family, led by Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando).
Set in 1945, The Godfather followed the transformation of Vito’s youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), from family outsider to ruthless mafia boss, but the road to the throne of the Corleone family was full of tragedies and betrayals. Two years after the release of The Godfather, Coppola delivered The Godfather Part II, a prequel and sequel to the first movie as it picks up the story of Michael Corleone while also going back to cover the rise to power of a young Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro). Three years later, Coppola combined and recut both movies into The Godfather Saga, a miniseries with changes to both movies and an interesting story behind its making.
Coppola Turned The Godfather Into A Miniseries To Pay For Apocalypse Now
The Godfather movies were a major boost for Coppola’s career, and following Part II, he started working on his next big project: the war movie Apocalypse Now. Although Apocalypse Now is widely considered one of the greatest films ever made, the production process wasn’t smooth or easy. Coppola went way over budget, and in order to raise the money needed to complete the film, he came up with a new cut of The Godfather combining the two films in chronological order (via The New York Times).