“The Godfather, Part II”

Feb. 24

Toby Theatre, Indianapolis Museum of Art

There is a danger to screening “The Godfather, Part II” on the weekend before the Oscars. That risk? Making just about every film today seem like unambitious hackwork. It’s difficult to decide where to begin with praise of this one—the first-class cinematography, the solid storytelling that never insults its audience, the nuanced direction (try to resist lamenting the decline of Francis Ford Coppola, who hasn’t made a decent commercial film since 1988), and the world-class performances by Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, Lee Strasberg and the gone-too-soon John Cazale. This epic deserves to be seen big. Details here.