Retro Cinema Fest opens with greatest film ever made

After about a hundred viewings on TV and video, I finally saw The Godfather on the big screen in the early ‘90s when a crisp new print came to the Capitol 6. And really—if you’ll pardon a useful cliché—it was like seeing it for the first time, with every subtle flicker of menace registering huge across Al Pacino’s towering face (this was back before Captain Hoo-Hah! became a grandstanding buffoon, kids.)

The Vancouver Retro Cinema Fest opens tonight with Coppola’s 1972 masterpiece in a double header with the 1974 sequel. Cue lots of debate about which film is more magnificent than the other, a dispute that’s been going on for almost 40 years now. What can’t be argued is that being in a theatre with a pumped up crowd of movie lovers and a stiff drink or two is easily the best way to catch either of these classics.

There are other good reasons to drop in on the festival, running until next Sunday. It’s the last hurrah for the Denman Cinemas, which closes forever on September 30, thanks very much. Organizer Ronald Tucker—who transplanted the Retro Fest from his former home in Sydney, Australia—also promises costume competitions, trivia contests, prizes, and themed drink specials.

No prize for guessing what the cocktail of choice will be when Tucker folds the inaugural Vancouver Lebowski Bash into the proceedings, next Saturday (September 29). Before that we have a schedule of firm favourites including Tarantino and Star Trek double bills ("Khaaaaaan!"), and The Dark Crystal paired with David Bowie's hair and magic balls in Labyrinth, plus a Back to the Future blow-out on the final night.

Full schedule and more details here.

You can follow Adrian Mack's contribution to the lobotomizing techno-nightmare known as Twitter at @AdrianMacked.