However, that news is not real. What is real, however, is that a new DVD set was released today called The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration, which includes the three films remastered and with all-new special effects a la the Star Wars re-releases (it’s pretty crazy seeing Marlon Brando in The Godfather Part III, let me tell you). The collection contains five massive discs of goodness. You can probably guess what the first three discs are used for – the last two are saved for special features, and there are a lot of them.

One of the things I find frustrating by being a movie reviewer, other than constantly receiving free DVDs and invitations to LA press screenings, is that in these renewed box sets that exist solely to make the studio just a little more money by duping die hard fans into buying the latest and greatest version when the DVD they bought five years ago is just as good, the new features and old features are rarely separated. So when I actually take the time to review bonus features – which is not that often because I think most bonus features are a waste of time – I have no clue whether these features have been available for years unless I manage to find the info on Amazon.com or something like that… but the extra ten keystrokes is just more effort than I’m willing to spend.

Thankfully, with The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration, disc four includes special features previously available, whereas disc five is exclusively designed for new bonus featuers. In other words, for review purposes, I skipped disc four and went straight to disc five.

I didn’t make it very far, though. I was building a dresser while watching, and I tried watching the deleted scenes, of which there are many (they are broken out by the chronology of the characters, not the movies). Unfortunately, there’s no “Play All” feature that I could find, and thus it wasn’t worth my time clicking on each thumbnail to watch a deleted scene. So… I moved on to the behind-the-scenes videos, and started watching one of them. I can’t remember what it was called, but it was good. Real good. The video features interviews with practically everyone involved in the movie, and goes into thorough detail about the challenges of making the film – primarily, the fact that Coppola and Pacino were always two seconds away from getting fired. The video is extremely detailed and interesting, and one of the best I’ve seen.

There were many other special features, but that’s as far as I got. Why? Because after watching 45 minutes of behind-the-scenes action, I couldn’t resist but put in the first movie. Having never seen it before, I thought now was as good of time as any. OK, I’ve actually seen The Godfather at least ten times (is that all?), but these movies – yes, even the third one – are so incredible it’s hard to believe they were made so long ago. Absolutely stunning.

The Godfather trilogy consists of three of the best movies ever made. This new DVD set includes a ton of new features that are, I hate to say it, worth owning if you really like your Italian gangsters.

The Office: Season Four starts off where Season Three left off – surprise, surprise – with Pam and Jim bringing their relationship into the public atmosphere of Dundler Mifflin. Engagement is hinted at, but will Jim actually propose? Meanwhile, Dwight is continuing his quest to become head of the office (or at least second-in-charge, now that Jim officially holds that title), while still annoyed by the progressing relationship of Andy and his ex, Angela. And Michael is finding his relationship with Jan strained to the brink. Also, young “Wunderkind” Ryan, who was promoted above Michael last season, is trying to take Dundler Mifflin into the 21st century, further creating tension between him and his former colleagues.

Season Four is a bit weaker than the last two seasons, as NBC introduced several hour-long episodes that didn’t always hit the mark. At half hour increments, the writers are able to shove just the right amount of jokes into each episode; at an hour, while still funny, a few gags seem to overrun their welcome. More importantly, many of the episodes see Michael (Steve Carell) going above and beyond to do stupid, idiotic things; he crosses the line in a few points that stretch the believability factor, even beyond what he normally does. In Season Five, the writers will need to be careful to be funny without making Michael a complete and utter idiotic. I like him better as a dumb, vein and harmless guy, not an absurdly stupid moron.

Nevertheless, The Office: Season Four is still pretty funny and, for the most part, maintains the quality of past seasons. There are some notable highlights of the season, including “Dinner Party” and “Night Out.” It’s been a while since I’ve watched all the episodes, so I can’t remember other highlights.

As far as special features go, the box set is full of deleted scenes. Some are better than others, of course, but you get a nice little extended package with each episode. Beyond that, NBC has included a few random things, including a commercial called “Rabies: The More You Know” and a blooper reel. There are a few other minor featurettes, as well as audio commentaries for each episode. Aside from the deleted scenes, there’s nothing particularly amazing here, but like with most TV box sets, you’ll probably be buying it for the episodes – not the bonus features.

If you’re a fan of The Office, Season Four is a must-buy. Many episodes get funnier the more you watch them, and with only 16 episodes in the season, you can watch the whole thing in a single weekend.