The Godfather Saga
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The Godfather Saga | |
---|---|
Directed by | Francis Ford Coppola |
Produced by | Albert S. Ruddy Francis Ford Coppola |
Written by | Mario Puzo Francis Ford Coppola |
Starring | Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, John Cazale, Talia Shire |
Release date(s) | 1977 |
Running time | 434 min. |
Language | English |
Budget | $20,000,000 |
The Godfather Saga is a 1977 TV movie that combines The Godfather and The Godfather Part II into one movie playing in chronological order. It aired on NBC.
Francis Ford Coppola re-edited the two films together adding some previously unseen footage (but also toning down the violence for television). In particular this version shows how Tom Hagen came to be "adopted" by Vito Corleone, which was explained but not shown in the original films.
The Godfather Saga is also known as The Godfather: The Complete Novel For Television and The Godfather 1902-1959: The Complete Epic. Coppola reportedly did this project to raise money for Apocalypse Now, which was severely over-budget at the time.
Coppola would again re-edit all three "Godfather" movies (The Godfather, The Godfather Part II and The Godfather Part III) in chronological order for The Godfather Trilogy 1901-1980. This version incorporated deleted scenes not included in the first re-edit.