Godfather: Michael's Opus, The

Read the book for the first time this month, I was struck that this was the story of two Godfathers, not one. I so love this project by Wraith. He is taken a story of three movies and made it the story of two Godfathers. We get to see two (anti)hero's journeys with more focus and clarity than the original movies. I love the original movies and this project only helps me appreciate these movies in a different way: one man's rise and fall...followed by a sequel of one man's fall and redemption.

After watching "The Godfather: Don Vito's Opus", I didn't dare hope Wraith could top himself with his sequel to his first edit. But then I followed up this experience by sitting down to watch it's sequel "The Godfather: Michael's Opus". How foolish I was to think that the sequel would be anything other than awesome.

I stated in my review of the "The Godfather: Don Vito's Opus" that this fan editor is arguably one the finest editor's this website has ever seen and I'll say it again.

Again, the amount of thought, planning, searching, reviewing, effort, time, and work that has gone towards creating this chronological sequel fan edit is unbelievable! This master fan edit is a true labor of love.

This is the best The Godfather Sequel has ever looked and ever will look. Wraith belongs in Hollywood editing movies. He's a master at his craft and we are all lucky to have him here doing what he does best - masterfully editing fan edits of movies.

This is the seminal version. It should be enjoyed as much as possible. Tell your friends about it and show it off to them.

This movie belong in every Godfather fan's collection. Do yourself a favor and get it as soon as you can.

To be continued

These comments will be posted in both the Opus 1 and 2 IFDB pages.

I laughed, i cried i was wrapped up in the world of the Corleone family again for a while and it was a marvel. I have personally never seen a chronological edit before and shoot me down in flames i think i actually preferred it. To concentrate on the ascendance of Vito Corleone without being pulled into Michael's story in part 2 was so much more engaging. Robert De Niro is a master. The inserted scene when Fannuci is trying to marry off his daughters to Vito while helping himself to the dresses was a masterclass in acting and thank god you reinserted this scene into your Opus...just beautiful.

As i am not up to date with the scenes that were reinserted in the various cuts over the years - i can't comment fully but i did look at the supplement disc of my bluray boxset after i watched these edits to jog my memory on what scenes had been omitted from the theatrical versions, and i am thrilled that they now have full pride of place in Opus 1 & 2 . More Clemenza - what is there not to love - but far less (none) Tom Hagen in part 3 was a mistake and i wonder if Copolla regrets the decision not to pay Robert Duvall the wage he wanted.. after all i think he is integral to the story and could have been a real focal point in the culmination ..maybe even taking a bullet for the boss.

I only found a couple of things that pulled me out of the edits and that was your inserted Vegas footage, the first scene of the three looked like the cars were from the 60's or 70's . I could have sworn i see a Dodge hatchback...i maybe wrong and will take another look. I noticed a lot of loud popping and crackling during GF 3 - especially when the helicopter is massacring the Don's , underbosses and soldiers at the hotel meeting. I watched the MP4 versions - i am not sure if this is the case with blurays.

Anyway - thanks for all the hard work you put into making these - they are definitely my new go to versions and bluray's will be burned and placed on the shelf next to my Copolla restoration boxset....i imagine a new 4K set will be released for next years 50th Anniversary.

I love the chronological structure -and dare i say it - as an alternative -someone could probably turn this epic into 10 one hour episodes in a series format or am i taking it too far by saying that. It might appease a less patient audience.

Now "Drop the Gun, grab the Canolli" and contact Wraith for a copy of this masterpiece.

So, I watched both Don Vito's Opus and Michael's Opus over the course of a long weekend. These are perfect - This is the way these films should be watched. Incredible and highly recommended. Great job on both!