The Godfather was supposed to be terrible. Based on the book by Mario Puzo (who only wrote the book as a quick money-maker after his other novels flopped) and directed by Francis Ford Coppola (who only took the job after several more noted directors — Elia Kazan, Arthur Penn, and Costa-Gavras — dropped out), The Godfather was perceived by Paramount Pictures to be a quickie, low-budget gangster film.

But the film that opened on March 15, 1972 was deemed a phenomenon, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Almost 40 years after it first premiered, the new digitally cleaned and re-mastered The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration, the new DVD edition of the Godfather trilogy, was released last Tuesday, along with some never-before-seen documentary material.

As the documentary shows, the road to The Godfather was far from an easy one:

Coppola and Paramount started battling immediately. The director wanted to cast Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone, but Brando, in 1970-71 (when production started) was box office poison.

Coppola also wanted to cast Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, yet Pacino only had one film under his belt, The Panic in Needle Park. Moreover, in the book, Michael is tall and blond; the studio wanted someone in that mold, perhaps Robert Redford.

There were other actors who also came to The Godfather with little breakout experience. James Caan and Robert Duvall were veterans — both had been in Coppola’s The Rain People (1969), but both only had supporting roles.

Besides casting, Coppola and studio executives also battled over music (the studio didn‘t like Nino Rota’s score), cinematography (Gordon Willis’s compositions were considered too dark), locations (Coppola wanted New York; the studio suggested cheaper St. Louis), and even era (Coppola wanted a period piece; the studio wanted the present day).

The bickering continued until the release date, with Coppola overshooting the two-hour ten-minute running time the studio desired.

What finally emerged was an event unlike anything the world had seen before. The Godfather opened wider than any film ever, changing Hollywood economics, and became the most successful film in history up to its time.

It has since gone on to be copied and referenced in countless films and TV shows, including a little TV show called The Sopranos.

“When we started The Sopranos, The Godfather was one of the original conceits,” says Sopranos creator David Chase in the DVD set. As any fan of the show knows, characters from The Sopranos were always quoting and referencing at least one of the Godfather films.

If you’re a fan of one of the truly greatest films of all time, go out and get yourself a copy of The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration. It’s an offer you can’t refuse.