Looking for an excuse to go hi-def? I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse: "The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration" (four discs, Paramount Home Entertainment).

After watching this four-disc set, you too will declare: "I believe in Blu-ray."

The three films that comprise Francis Ford Coppola's epic saga of crime, family and the American dream have never looked or sounded better -- even in a movie theater.

Wiping away years of dirt, damage and abuse, this multiyear project is the cinematic equivalent of the heroic restoration completed at the Sistine Chapel, which finally allowed us to see Michelangelo's magnificent frescoes in all their pristine glory.

Even those who have seen these films dozens of times -- who can repeat all of Al Pacino's lines and mimic every one of Marlon Brando's weary gestures -- will feel they are seeing "The Godfather" (1972), "The Godfather Part II" (1974) and "The Godfather Part III" (1990) for the first time.

No movies were more deserving of this restoration or in greater need. As one of the many featurettes on the set's four-hour bonus disc explains, the first film, in particular, was a victim of its own success. Demand for the Oscar-winning picture was so great that the studio had to strike far too many prints from the negative.

This was problematic, because the film's cinematography is nuanced. The interior scenes are dominated by blackness, reflecting how the characters operated in the dark side. In later prints -- including those used for earlier home videos and DVDs -- these shots were muddy and blurred. Now they shimmer with life.

Cinematographer Gordon Willis gave many of the exterior scenes a subtle yellowish hue -- like old home movies -- lending a vintage feel that re-enforced the idea that we were seeing a world that was no more. Once wan and pale, these scenes have recovered their original warmth.

To achieve these stunning results, the restoration team found the best available negatives and prints and pieced them together. Then frame by frame, they removed every blemish.

"The Coppola Restoration" is available in regular DVD -- which looks great -- and Blu-ray, which is stunning and offers a far crisper picture.

For nearly four decades, the Godfather films have been among the beloved achievements in American movie history. Thanks to the Coppola restoration, they aren't getting older -- they're getting better.

Mario Super Sluggers

Platform: Wii

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Namco Bandai

ESRB Rating: Everyone

$49.99

You know a game is well-designed when two 30-something video-game veterans, two typically apathetic wives and two 5-year-olds can all find something to love.

Such is the case with Super Mario Sluggers, the latest incarnation of Nintendo's loony, 'toony baseball franchise for the Wii console. When some family friends came into town recently, I introduced them to the Wii via this game. The adults were suitably impressed, and the children thought it was, naturally, the Coolest Thing Ever in the History of Creation.

Unlike the carefully rendered sports simulation games popular on other platforms, Nintendo's approach is to combine semi-realistic baseball action with the hyperkinetic, animated goofiness of Mario and company. Plenty of games promise fun for the whole family, but Sluggers actually delivers. This is a testament to both the game and the Wii aesthetic. The well-designed Wii games are simple enough for littler children to enjoy and sufficiently multivalent to keep adult gamers engaged as well.

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