Well, I think part of it was that I just watched the movies on DVD maybe a month before, so they were fresh in my memory. I remembered exactly what was said in certain scenes only to find that a lot of the subtitles were dubbed over in English and some scenes were trimmed or removed all together.

I also wasn't crazy about dropping the Don's birthday scene in-between the Young Vito scenes and part I. Also, keep in mind I was watching this on TV, not in widescreen, edited for TV and fast-forwarding through commercials. It didn't exactly feel cinematic.

Then there are the deleted scenes, most of which I've never seen before, and most of them felt a little weak. So I'm still coming to a conclusion about whether or not I like the deleted scenes.

If they release this on DVD with all the usual specs (widescreen, DD 5.1), I am sure I will love it. But from what I saw, which was most of it, I wasn't exactly throwing my hands up saying "this is brilliant."

I also believe that the young Vito scenes are best viewed in comparison with Mike's downfall. By themselves, they both lacked something that I can't put my finger on.

Also, keep in mind, this is the first time I've seen it like this, with the deleted scenes, after having watched the original films dozens of times and committing them to memory. I think the more I watch the epic, I think I will come to appreciate it even more.

But right now, I'm kind of mixed.