By John Corrado

Following the release of The Godfather Trilogy in 4K Ultra HD earlier this year, Paramount is now releasing standalone editions of Francis Ford Coppola’s three films in 4K, with both regular and SteelBook packaging.

The version of The Godfather Part III being released on its own isn’t the theatrical cut of Coppola’s 1990 third instalment, but rather the director’s very good re-edit dubbed The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, which first received a regular Blu-ray release in 2020 and now seems to have been branded as the definitive version (my full thoughts on the new cut can be found here).

Matching the other two SteelBook editions, the shiny black case features a digital oil painting-style portrait of Al Pacino’s aging Michael Corleone on the front, and the very fitting quote “just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in” on the back. Like the first two, we get overlaid images of characters from the film on the inside panels, this time tinted in red.

As with the standalone editions of The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, this is the same 4K remaster overseen by Coppola that was included in the trilogy box set (you can read more about the restoration here), and the visual presentation is exceptional. While the theatrical cut not being included with this standalone release will be a deterrent for some (it was included in 4K in the trilogy box set as a bonus disc), I quite enjoyed this version of the film. The main draw of this edition really is the SteelBook packaging, and it’s a fitting companion to the first two.

Bonus Features (4K Ultra HD):

The 4K disc includes the same introduction as the previous Blu-ray release. A code for a digital copy is also included in the package.

• Introduction from Francis Ford Coppola (1 minute, 32 seconds): This brief intro finds the director talking about what he hoped to achieve with this new cut, as well as the new title which is actually what he originally wanted to call the film, noting how the musical origins of the word “coda” relate to the story. Accessible under the “Play” button.

The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone is a Paramount Home Entertainment release. It’s 157 minutes and rated 14A.

Street Date: October 11th, 2022