It's hard to overstate the painstaking work that has gone into this restoration, complicated by the fact that the original negative has been damaged over time thanks to the many prints that have been struck from it. Combine that with the style of cinematographer Gordon Willis -- who created an astonishing range of black levels contrasted with blown out whites -- and you have a pretty challenging restoration project on your hands. As one film historian puts it in the special features, "There is only one way to print The Godfather, and it is dark." But somehow, the technical wizards have worked their magic here and recreated a beautiful, clear picture. Even Coppola himself admits that he's forgotten how the films looked when they first came out. This is as close as they have ever been. And while there is still some color degradation and the occasional scratch or speck in the print, that's to be expected of a film of this age. The third film, being much more recent, looks as if it could have been made yesterday. In short, seeing these films on Blu-ray is a revelation and should be required viewing for anyone with even a passing interest in film scholarship.