Does anyone know which of The Godfather laserdisc versions contain exclusive additional footage?
I know the fan edit the Chronological Epic from modernknife used shots from a laserdisc release but I don’t know which one(s).
That, I cannot answer, but I do know that according to a Paramount insider, the 1980 home video releases of The Godfather and Part II contain footage - albeit brief, that is absent from all subsequent home video releases: due to the studio’s careless treatment of the negatives during the mid 80s whilst they were preparing a new transfer.
Source: http://godfathermuseum.blogspot.com/2015/03/screen-shots-and-technical-errata.html
The first transfers were done in 1980 for VHS, CED, and Laserdisc. The original negatives had been used to strike new prints as Parts 1 and 2 were re-issued several times throughout the 70’s and so by the time that they had already been run through the ringer. So even on those first home video releases the print looked like shit. They made a transfer from the negatives onto U-Matic tape.
Paramount was reissuing most of their catalog and Part I and II needed a new transfer… They couldn’t find the interpositive [a first-gen dupe of the original negative] so they glued the negative back together with chewing gum and scotch tape. Only a slight exaggeration. And they complete fucking ruined the negative in the process.
So that’s why you have more visual information in the first-gen releases, simply put the dissolve doesn’t completely mask the image like it does in the second gen transfer. I would guesstimate that for every scene with a dissolve, you’re missing about three feet of footage [about 2 seconds of runtime]. That footage is gone. For good. And the Restoration edition comes from those same botched negatives. They’re only preserved on those first gen home video releases.