I saw The Godfather in the theater last night and was, once again, blown away (no pun intended). The restored version is playing at the Piper’s Alley, and any Godfather fan in Chicago should make an effort to see it while it’s still there. It was in the biggest theater but I fear they might move it to one of the smaller theaters if not enough people are interested. There were only about 20 people on a Saturday night which was a damned shame.
I’d seen it when it was first released and of course own various incarnations of the video/DVD release, but to see it again on the big screen, on film, it was like watching it for the first time, only better, because I could appreciate it more now. There’s nothing about it that isn’t quite simply amazing. It holds up in every way: script, acting, tension, the look of it, the feel of it, the entirety of it. I was enthralled from beginning to end and in no way did it feel like an almost 3 hour film.
The general manager told me that he’s also bringing The Godfather Part 2 back soon. YAY!