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in chronological order instead of bouncing between 1900 Sicily and 1950s Lake Tahoe.

If you saw Godfather I first, Godfather II works extremely well. They are juxtaposing Don Vito Corleone's struggles and success with Michael's attempts to recreate it in Las Vegas and Cuba, and failing miserably. If you stick Godfather I in the middle, you would have forgotten about Hyman Roth by the time he is central in the 1950s.

I think the original editing was masterful. When I first saw Godfather II, I was afraid that it was starting out like Star Wars VII, another day, another Death Star destroyed. But scenes like the First Communion Party were not simply reprises of the wedding in Godfather I. It was the wedding gone sideways. By the wedding in Godfather I, the Corleone's had universal prestige and a form of respect. In Vegas, the ethnic struggles started all over again (though not in utter crushing poverty) and all the good will that Vito built up in corners of the city were inaccessible.

I have the saga, where everything is in chronological order and has lots of stuff not in the originals. I have it on VHS, not available on DVD for some reason.