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So you remember that Godfather restoration post we made in The Rumor Mill a couple weeks ago? Well... this morning brings interesting news on that front. It seems that Paramount's European arm has released official details of the DVD release of the restored trilogy there, and the title is now available for preorder at a number of retailers. The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration will contain all three films in the trilogy along with both new and old bonus material. It will arrive on 6/2 in the U.K. (priced at £29.99). The good news is that U.S. fans can almost certainly count on a DVD release as well, though of course Paramount Home Entertainment here in the U.S. hasn't yet officially announced the title, or even acknowledged that a restoration was undertaken. As for the possibility of a high-definition version, obviously the studio hasn't yet announced any new Blu-ray Disc releases either, though given this news from Europe, we would expect that the studio is going to have to break its silence on one or both subjects shortly.

In the meantime, the U.K. release will feature material recycled from the previous box set, along with new material as well. Recycled extras will include audio commentary by director Francis Ford Coppola on all three films, additional scenes, The Godfather: A Look Inside documentary, 5 featurettes (On Location with Dean Tavolarous, Gordon Willis on Cinematography, Music of The Godfather, The Godfather: Behind-the-Scenes 1971 and Puzo and Coppola on Screenwriting), storyboards and animatics, the Rogue's Gallery and The Family Tree features, the Acclaim & Response Gallery (including the Academy Award acceptance speeches), photo galleries, theatrical trailers and filmmaker bios. It's too early to say if it's everything from the original set, until we get more details from the studio. The new material includes 5 featurettes totaling nearly 75 minutes in all (Godfather World, The Masterpiece That Almost Wasn't, When the Shooting Stopped, Emulsional Rescue: Revealing The Godfather and The Godfather on the Red Carpet), 4 short films (Godfather vs. Godfather Part II, Cannoli, Riffing on the Riffing and Clemenza) and a hidden Easter egg. And while we're at it, here's a look at the cover art for the box set...