John Ford's 3 Godfathers (1948) (Warner Archive Collection)

[MifuneFan]

Warner Archive will be releasing John Ford's 3 Godfathers (1948), which stars John Wayne, on March 26th. The BD will be sourced from a new 4K Scan of the Original Nitrate Technicolor Camera Negatives. It will also the 1936 film Three Godfathers, which comes from a 4K scan of best preservation elements.

3 Godfathers Blu-ray Review

Coming from the Warner Archive Collection on Blu-ray this March 26th!
New 2024 HD master from a new 4K Scan of the Original Nitrate Technicolor Camera Negatives
3 GODFATHERS (1948)
BD 50
Running Time 106 Minutes
Aspect Ratio 16x9 1.37:1 with side mattes
Audio Format: DTS HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH

SPECIAL FEATURES: Fully remastered and restored 1080p HD presentation of M-G-M’s 1936 feature THREE GODFATHERS with Chester Morris and Lewis Stone, from a 4K scan of best preservation elements (TRT: 81 Minutes), Original Theatrical Trailers for “3 GODFATHERS” (1948) and “THREE GODFATHERS” (1936)

Cast: John Wayne, Pedro Armendariz, Harry Carey Jr., Ward Bond, Mae Marsh, Jane Darwell, Ben Johnson
Heralded as ‘John Ford’s Legend of the Southwest!’ by M-G-M upon release, “3 GODFATHERS” is one of the most impressive collaborations between legends John Wayne and John Ford. The story tells of fugitive bank robbers Robert (John Wayne), William (Harry Carey, Jr.), and Pedro (Pedro Armendariz) stand at a desert grave. Caring for the newborn infant of a woman they just buried will ruin any chance of escape. But they won’t go back on their promise to her. They won’t abandon little Robert William Pedro. Director John Ford’s retelling of the Biblical Three Wise Men tale remains a scenic and thematic masterpiece. Ford adds Technicolor® to his feature-film palette, capturing stunning vistas via cinematographer Winton Hoch, who would win two of his three Academy Awards® for Ford films. Again, populist-minded Ford asserts that even men of dissolute character can follow that inner star of Bethlehem to their own redemption. Based on the oft-filmed 1913 novel by Peter B. Kyne, this Blu-ray™ presentation not only contains the 1948 M-G-M Technicolor triumph, but also as a “special feature” the rarely seen, earlier 1936 M-G-M production entitled “THREE GODFATHERS” starring Chester Morris and Lewis Stone, with both the 1936 and 1948 films each meticulously remastered in 1080p HD for unprecedented quality.

[Duke_45]

Absolutely wonderful news!!

[AFILMDUDE]

So awesome! Thank you, Warner Archive!

[Rzzzz]

This is going to look beautiful since its coming from the Archive!

[glennstl]

Day 1 ! Amazing movie. More Wayne is always a good thing!

[Michael24]

Excellent news! Saw this for the first time I think just a couple years ago and really loved it. Great cast and location work.

[edmonddantes]

its one of those movies where you can see the poet in Ford even with him pretending not to be. Really want to rewatch it, I have a good memory and impression of it

[Rzzzz]

Originally Posted by edmonddantes

its one of those movies where you can see the poet in Ford even with him pretending not to be. Really want to rewatch it, I have a good memory and impression of it

From what I have read, he was a very sentimental guy who felt he had to hide it by being mean and tough. But supposedly, if you got him alone, he was a real softy...

[Duke_45]

If you read Harry Carey Jr’s autobiography after viewing the film, you’ll appreciate it twice as much. What went on behind the scenes are just as interesting as what is on the screen

[Rich Pure Doom]

Hopefully this is a sign that all of the unreleased Fords are coming from the Archive sooner than later...

[InLikeFlynn]

Originally Posted by Rzzzz

From what I have read, he was a very sentimental guy who felt he had to hide it by being mean and tough. But supposedly, if you got him alone, he was a real softy...

You can tell that by the way he changed the ending. I don’t care for the happy ending personally, but you can tell in it that Ford really believed in redemption and of the inherent good in people.

[edmonddantes]

Originally Posted by Rzzzz

From what I have read, he was a very sentimental guy who felt he had to hide it by being mean and tough. But supposedly, if you got him alone, he was a real softy...

its the Irish way, tough poets its their specialty, but someone who made the fugitive or the searchers, or really almost in every ford movie you've got a highly sentimental moment that you'd never know came from such a gruff character.

The beginning of liberty valance when vera miles sees john wayne's abandoned house and the movie goes on a flashback is as melancholic and bathed in nostalgia and poetry as anything Ive ever seen on movies, perhaps only letter from an unknown woman matching that kind of emotion and some parts of marcel proust in search of lost time.

Bogdanovich knew Ford was a cinematic poet and he tries throughout his entire book to elicit some kind of acknowledgment from Ford that he felt and behaved like an artist and he tried artistic things, but ford always responds with "peter, its just a job", but Ford knew what he was doing, he just thought being artistic was like being soft, and he didn't want to admit he had a softer side to his persona. Its an undercurrent in much of the anglosaxon culture, in English football until just a few decades to say that a player had flair was basically to say he was soft, like the french or the italians.

wow, sometimes I surprise myself as to how much BS and digression I can make from a single comment, but since I'm using such a shitty keyboard an had to retype several words Im not going to edit my message.

anyway, glad to see this movie on BD and from WAC, which are the best in the business IMO

[Jonestown1]

Screenshots

[Areyakiddin]

Originally Posted by Jonestown1

Screenshots

I assume you got these from the German release? It seems to be using the same 20 year old HD master that was used for the DVD which is expressly not what WA is using for this release.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by InLikeFlynn

You can tell that by the way he changed the ending. I don’t care for the happy ending personally, but you can tell in it that Ford really believed in redemption and of the inherent good in people.

Many years ago I saw the ‘36 version after only knowing the Ford version since I was a kid. I only knew of the earlier version from reading about it and really looked forward to seeing it. I was shocked at the difference between the two. Honestly, I didn’t like it that first time. On subsequent viewings it, and the first sound version-Hell’s Heros, have become my favorites. For first time viewers of the ‘36 version: Be prepared for a different shift in tone

[Show spoiler]especially the lead character’s personality and, as InLikeFlynn alludes to, a somewhat different ending.

[Mikemovies]

I was really surprised by how much I liked the 1936 version when I saw it. I admit I am a Walter Brennan fan, so maybe a bit biased, but I thought all three of the main characters were outstanding.

[charlieray1]

Originally Posted by Mikemovies

I was really surprised by how much I liked the 1936 version when I saw it. I admit I am a Walter Brennan fan, so maybe a bit biased, but I thought all three of the main characters were outstanding.

Agreed. And the 1929 version, Hell's Heroes, may be the best of the three. It's certainly the grittiest verion, and definitely pre-code! For example, when they first find the woman in the covered wagon, there's some dialogue about which guy gets to go first! It doesn't have the happy ending that's tacked onto the John Wayne version, either. Just a tough, gritty film.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by charlieray1

Agreed. And the 1929 version, Hell's Heroes, may be the best of the three. It's certainly the grittiest verion, and definitely pre-code! For example, when they first find the woman in the covered wagon, there's some dialogue about which guy gets to go first! It doesn't have the happy ending that's tacked onto the John Wayne version, either. Just a tough, gritty film.

It’s my favorite of the three. It’s definitely the leanest at 68 minutes and Bickford’s Bob is

[Show spoiler]one of the meanest leading characters you’ll ever see.

[Duke_45]

Of course the 1948 version is my favorite, but having just watched the 1929 version recently, I was floored by how excellent it was!

[Dr. Trog]