For scope, power and sheer beauty, these are close to the greatest movies ever made. The first may be 30 years old now but, like a Shakespeare play, just gets stronger with age, while the second is even better. And even if Part III (made 16 years later) is a lesser effort, it's still an above-average companion piece.

DVD Extras:

Commentaries on all three films by Francis Coppola, Francis Coppola's Notebook featurette, On Location featurette, The Godfather Family documentary, The Godfather Behind The Scenes 1971 featurette, additional scenes, cinematography featurette, two music featurettes, Coppola and Puzo on screenwriting, Godfather II and III storyboards, character and cast biogs, Academy Award acceptance speeches, trailers, film-maker biographies.Made up of five discs, this is a spectacular package. Coppola's avuncular, intelligent commentaries are essential listening, mixing on-set anecdotes with a biting insight into studio politics (even if, by Part III, he starts becoming a tad defensive). Of the huge number of docs and featurettes, the 73-minute The Godfather Family is the standout, boasting a selection of incredible screentest footage. Want to see James Caan's audition for Michael? Or Martin Sheen's? Or De Niro's spell-binding stab at playing Sonny? They're all here. Go and buy it, or at least put it at the top of your Christmas list.