Talia Shire Celebrates The Purest Vision Of Coppola’s ‘The Godfather’ As It Turns 50 In 4K
The Godfather, one of the greatest movies of all time, landed in movie theaters in March 1972, which means that 2022 sees it celebrate its 50th anniversary.
As part of the commemorations of director Francis Ford Coppola’s Academy Award-winning masterpiece, all three films in the trilogy have been remastered, restored, and released on 4K Ultra HD for the first time.
“Why is it that these movies are so great?” mused Talia Shire, the iconic actress who played Connie Corleone Rizzi in all three films. “They have their own presence, and they change you.”
I spoke to her about the enduring nature of the film, the 24th highest-grossing movie of all time, a special event on the Paramount Pictures lot that reunited key cast and crew, and why Coppola’s Godfather restorations are about vision and not vanity.
Talia Shire: It’s something to be cherished on a personal level. I ask myself those very questions because they will define me in my present desires to do something creative. Why is it that these movies are so great? They have their own presence, and they change you. I think that’s what a work of art does, that continues to live. If you dare to engage with that work of art, and in this case, see it, you will be transformed. As artists, that’s what we really want our work to do. We want it to change the people who watch it.
Shire: First of all, I’m just going to say it to you, Francis Ford Coppola is the greatest living director we have. To honor him feels great, having this moment with this great artist where people say, ‘Look what you created.’ It was really important to be on the lot. I’ll tell you that, honestly, it was a strange feeling. When you are there, you go back in your imagination and wonder what it was like in the old days when all those actors were wandering around and having lunch and talking about the incredible movies they were making. What it must have been like with the energy on those lots. I still long for that. It was great to honor Francis there. Do you know what they had ready when we all came out of the movie? 2000 cannolis.
Shire: I recall there were scenes, certainly for The Godfather Part II, shot there. You are correct that The Godfather was filmed in New York and Sicily. I’ll tell you what I do remember, and it’s always a great moment. When a movie has finished shooting, and the composer scores it to picture. That is a stunning moment because you see it all, and then you begin to hear the music under it because that’s its last element. That’s a magical moment, and it happened there on that lot.
Thompson: All of the Godfather movies have been beautifully restored and presented in 4K. The people involved have done fantastic work. I’m guessing this version is the closest to what you would have experienced yourself on the set with your own eyes.
Shire: The filmmaking process is very different from theater, where it’s more immediate you see what you’ve been doing. The process of moviemaking is that the process and the product don’t come together until you actually go to see it, and it can be incredibly chaotic, but still, that film is born, and it’s terrific. To see it restored, and it was an act of love to see how it was handled, felt like the true creative dreaming of Francis. That’s genuinely what I felt like.
