The Godfather, Part II.

I just walked in the door, having had a powerful, inspiring experience: I watched an original print of "The Godfather, Part II" at the Arclight.

AFI and the Arclight collaborate to show prints from the Classics—the full blown theatrical experience. This was my first of what will undoubtedly be many viewings, and it was possibly the best possible film choice. I had never seen Part II, and it absolutely added to the effect it had on me. That film at that scale, for the first time ever = exceptional.

I wouldn't call myself a reviewer. I know where my cinematic strengths lie, and they're not in criticism. But I will say that it was revelatory. Francis Ford's direction in crafting such a masterpiece can't be overstated, and Al Pacino's performance was just stellar. You know someone can act when even (or especially) their silence knocks your socks. Vocal negative space, we'll call it, and as Michael Corleone, he is the spitting image of his father in that way.

All the exposition with DeNiro as the young Vito was just perfectly done. Not having seen the 3rd film, I immediately wanted to jump straight into it when the house lights were struck.

And I have to comment on the cinematography, as Gordon is so revered. I will say that his boldness in lighting The Godfather is undoubtedly one of the hallmarks of cinematographic history. It's noir without being film noir, and it was certainly the polar opposite of any lighting you'd find in the studio system days. There are some scenes that are literally 95% black—for minutes at a time—and I was just thinking: 'That was seriously ballsy.' You'd NEVER get away with some of those scenes today. And there were certainly moments when it was over done and a mistake to let it slide so far down the exposure curve. But you look past it in the broader context of the film.

You know when you have an experience that you didn't know that you always needed, and then once it's happened you wonder how you ever lived so long without it? That was me tonight, in that theater. I was fully inspired.

There was even an intermission. Very old-school. Very wonderful. The Arclight reveres Cinema and the movie-going experience. That's why I love that place. It's like nothing else.

And to end, I want to comment on that—on the theatrical experience. You don't have to be a filmmaker to know that films are meant to be viewed in that context. There's just nothing to compare with it: from the scale of the images and sound, to the community we feel with hundreds of people who are sharing that simultaneous moment. We're all suspending our disbelief together for a couple of hours on an experience which, in my opinion, is the most powerful and wonderful medium ever created.

I love Film.

wes.