The Godfather 1901–1959: The Complete Epic 1981 Synopsis - The Godfather 1901–1959: The Complete Epic is a reduced, 386-minute version of the 1977 television miniseries, "Mario Puzo's The Godfather: The Complete Novel for Television," released to video in 1981. Unlike the miniseries, which was presented in four segments (each with opening and closing credits), the Epic is presented as a single segment. In January 2016, HBO aired the Epic in its uncut and uncensored format, later making it available on its streaming platforms. The HBO showing contained most of the known deleted scenes, thereby lengthening the runtime of the Epic from its video release to 423 minutes.