So I asked Mr. Google what was playing and I found the motherlode:
Digitally remastered.
I love The Godfather. It's a masterpiece, in my opinion, especially
the Baptism scene. I haven't seen it on the big screen in over 30 years
so this choice was a no-brainer.
Alas. One couple and older man (not an umbrella thief, I hoped, even though I had no umbrella) sat on either side of me. At least they were several seats away. The couple, unfortunately, tended to chat whenever something important happened (Oh my God! Is that the horse? Yes, it's the horse. Why did they kill the horse? Because he loves the horse!) and I came This Close to shushing. However, just as I was getting up the nerve to shush, they shushed on their own.
I resolved, however, that if I heard one comment during the Baptism montage that I would clonk them both. They must have read my mind -- whew. I really prefer not to have to clonk.
Anyway, the remastering was great. It emphasized all the background sounds that add so much to the movie -- a ticking clock, footfalls on the steps, the train speeding by as Michael gets up the nerve to kill McCluskey and Sollozzo.
Brilliant.
Whenever I watch The Godfather, I think of my parents. My Pop never went to the movies at home (that I remember, anyway), but he occasionally went when he was away on business. My Mom, on the other hand, loved to go the movies.
When the Godfather came out in 1972, it was insanely popular. My Mom stood in a long line to buy her ticket and see the movie (probably at the Silver, come to think of it) and was giddy about it. At dinner that night, she started talking about how she had to stand in line for so long, but it was great, blah blah blah.
And my Pop perked right up and said, "How did you like the scene with the horse's head?"
Mom was incredulous. "You saw The Godfather?"
"I saw it when I was in Philadelphia last week. I walked right in. No line at all."
Mom almost threw a plate at him as the rest of us cracked up.
