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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Want to see ‘The Irishman’? Try Seattle’s Cinerama

Dan Webster

OK, so as I've already announced, Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" is scheduled to open on Friday at the Magic Lantern. Same for the notice that the film will be available for streaming's on Neflix beginning Nov. 27.

I, however, could not wait. So while spending the weekend in Seattle to visit a friend recovering from a surgical procedure, my wife and I went to the Cinerama on Sunday morning to see the near-three-and-a-half-hour movie.

And we weren't disappointed.

First of all, the movie is everything you would expect from a Scorsese film. Professionally made in every respect, augmented by the cinematography of Rodrigo Pietro and the editing of Sorsese's longtime collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker, "The Irishman" is the counterpoint to Scorsese's 1990 mobster flick "Goodfellas."

Where "Goodfellas" is energetic, "The Irishman" is elegiac. Where "Goodfellas" could be seen as exploiting crime, "The Irishman" clearly shows how crime corrupts everyone in the end — perpetrators and victims alike (though it's often hard to separate the two).

And the computer graphics that have famously made the movie's principals — which include Scorsese regulars Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, along with Al Pacino — don't interfere at all with Scorsese's storytelling (screenplay by Steven Zaillian).

Second, the Cinerama is a perfect place to see the film, with its raked seats giving most everyone a good view of the film on that theater's massive screen.

So, if you aren't interested in driving over the mountains, wait and see the film at the Lantern. Or wait a little longer an stream it through Netflix.

But if you can't wait, head west for the Cinerama. It's the way the best movies are meant to be seen.