Coppola is one of that handful of directors who always have interesting things to say about their movies. This track provides a wealth of detail on all aspects of the film and is consistently interesting for the film's entire duration.

What makes Coppola's commentaries doubly remarkable is their honesty. He's not afraid to point out flaws, or to rail against the studio system, or to speak of his personal situations. Listening to this track is almost like reading a chapter of his autobiography.

Another track containing recollections from cast and crew would've been welcome ; but no true GODFATHER fan will be disappointed by this commentary - and the tracks on the two sequels are just as good.

I decided to listen to this commentary after reading Bllunts review on it and i wasnt disapointed. Apart from a few seconds of silence here and there (and who can say anything against Francis for that, its a near 3hrs flick after all) I learned so much from this commentary. It has my idea of a perfect mixture of 'behind the scenes, cut footage, studio interfering and general annicdotes' that make for a great commentary. Its made me head for Godfather II to hear the continuing story.

Coppola, appropriately enough, starts off by talking about the film’s famous opening scene and how it was supposed to start with the wedding but a friend suggested he do something else. Coppola talks about how he organized the elaborate wedding sequence and shot it only 2-3 days! He talks about the pressure he was under by the studio and in real danger of being fired because they didn’t like what he was doing. Coppola points out where certain scenes were shot and points out things like the horse’s head being real. This is pretty solid track that we’ve come to expect from the veteran filmmaker.

One of the best commentaries I've heard on disc. Coppola keeps perfect pace with the film & gives great insight into making it. When you consider that he's done countless interviews & answered countless questions regarding this & all the films he's done, hearing him sound this fresh is quite a surprise. And be sure to listen to the tracks he did for the other two Godfather films, they're also great.