The End of the Drive-In

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Vidiot, Jan 30, 2015.

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  1. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Here's a very heartfelt short documentary about the death of film at drive-ins at a small-town upstate New York theater:



    It's sobering to reflect that some of these theaters are being forced to close because they can't afford the expense of upgrading to digital projectors. And quite a few digital projects are still not bright enough to work on outside screens, particularly under the conditions that drive-ins have to function. Sad to see another nostalgic part of life kind of fade away...

    We love the drive-in, we love the drive-in...
     
  2. SonicZone

    SonicZone Senior Member

    Location:
    Upland, CA
    A very interesting (and emotionally moving) watch; thanks for posting.
     
  3. PaulKTF

    PaulKTF Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Drive-Ins are still very much alive- there just aren't as many of them as there used to be. It's not as if they've gone extinct.
     
    junk likes this.
  4. m5comp

    m5comp Classic Rock Lover

    Location:
    Hamilton, AL
    Ironically, the nearest movie theater to me is a drive-in; I have to go to Tupelo, MS, to see a movie in a "real" theater.
     
  5. Allen Michael

    Allen Michael Fuh you blue

    Thank you for that! We have one opening about 20 minutes from us and I am so excited for that!
     
    Synthfreek and Glenpwood like this.
  6. SonOfAlerik

    SonOfAlerik Forum Resident

    Location:
    Westland, MI USA
    I want to take my kids to one this summer. Lots of good memories from when I was young. Havent watched this doc yet. Plan to later. Wasn't property taxes what killed many of them back in the late 80s?
     
  7. Mark Nelson

    Mark Nelson Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    Looking forward to watching this. I've been attending the "Dead 'Til Dawn" events that the Hi-Way has been hosting the last three years,
    and love the place. Great staff who decorate the lobby with Halloweeny fare and all dress up in costume for that weekend of retro 35mm
    horror goodness.
     
  8. Mark Nelson

    Mark Nelson Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    I think it was the one-two punch of home video and urban sprawl that sunk many DI's in the 80s. Many were originally built on the outskirts of towns, but over time
    the towns and cities built up to the edge of the Drive-Ins, and the lots became more profitable for owners to sell off than continue operating.
     
    Vidiot and rockclassics like this.
  9. redmetalmoose

    redmetalmoose Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    As one of seven kids,the drive-in was only way we got to see a big screen movie when I was a kid.All of us in my Dads station wagon.Thanks for the posting Vidiot.Brought back lots of happy memories.
    Oh yeah,that drive-in in my hometown is now an office park.:(
     
  10. tommy-thewho

    tommy-thewho Senior Member

    Location:
    detroit, mi
    I'm with you Red.

    We had 6 kids and we'd all pile in to the drive in.
     
  11. gotityet0

    gotityet0 vinyl nut

    Location:
    earth
    had about 8 of them when I was a kid. Down to only 1 now. and the dang city is trying to shut it down.:disgust:
     
  12. Spaghettiows

    Spaghettiows Forum Resident

    Location:
    Silver Creek, NY
    We've lost a bunch of them in Western New York state in the last 10 years, but one of them has been doing quite well and has even been expanding the number of screens on the premises over the last 20 years or so.

    https://www.transitdrivein.com/history.htm

    The numbers are low but I think that most of the survivors of the digital transition will be able to stay afloat if they choose to.
     
  13. Vinyl Addict

    Vinyl Addict Forum Resident

    Location:
    MA
    Theres still 2 within an hour of me. Though ive never been to either. I used to go to the local one all the time when I was a kid.
     
  14. Dan C

    Dan C Forum Fotographer

    Location:
    The West
    Wonderful little movie, thanks for posting. The end title did say that they were undergoing a digital conversion for something in the $250,000 range.

    Two summers ago I shot a story on Wyoming's only surviving drive-in theater in Powell. They had done a digital conversion after the previous season. I wish I had gotten on it while the film was still running. There were still ghosts of equipment past in that booth, with old reels and clips and retired RCA sound equipment. The old film projector was sitting in pieces just outside. They didn't have any room for it and no one wanted to bother hauling it off, so it sits dying a slow death. That was sad to see.

    http://trib.com/lifestyles/gallery-...n_d31b280e-1031-11e3-9208-0019bb2963f4.html#0

    dan c
     
    Vidiot likes this.
  15. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    There was a Web contest a year or two back where patrons were invited to vote for their nearest drive-in, the prize being a full digital projection setup that few of these businesses are in a position to afford. My closest drive in didn't win, but converted last year anyway to a Barco 32B, which it's not easy to find prices on but B-stock (imperfect) ones are about $65 grand uninstalled. There was a nearby mini-chain of two small theaters showing art films, and they flat-out closed one of them because they could only scrape together the dough for one digital projector, and they were on tiny screens.
     
  16. cathandler

    cathandler Senior Member

    Location:
    maine
    Our local twin DI took the plunge on going digital and building a new snack bar from the ground up but it's been brutal financially for them. They say they will open for another season in the spring but if things don't improve I don't hold out much hope for them beyond that.
     
  17. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    In Hickory it was a supreme court case that allowed the state to close all adult theaters on "community standards" basis. Even as a socially liberal teen, I never could understand why it was ok to have porn on a giant outdoor screen, in plain view of a trailer park and less than a mile from the high school!
     
  18. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Drive ins are still out there a little bit. In McMinn County, Tennessee the Swingin' Midway Drive-In has even installed Digital Cinema and still does good business in season.
     
    The Panda likes this.
  19. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    The old 41 Twin was the last closest one (25 miles away) to me that that I used to frequent as a kid closed down about 12 years ago. The land was just too valuable and was bought to build a huge insurance company building. Sad. There's not one anywhere near where I live now. I think the closest one is more than 60 miles away.

    The small local 3 screen does put up a big screen in summer in the parking lot across the street from them occasionally to run old movies on a Saturday night. That's the closest I'll get to a drive-in I guess.

    The old now gone 41 Twin, had 2 huge main screens and and 2 smaller ones:



    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]

    ariel view, a lot of land there:
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
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  20. TommyTunes

    TommyTunes Senior Member

    As a NYC kid, I never got the whole concept of the drive-in. My dad took me a couple of times while on vacation. Watching a movie thru a windshield with a speaker hung on your door. They make even less sense today with high resolution video and multichannel high def sound.
     
  21. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    I'm 56, and maybe only went twice ? I agree with your statement, and add that unless a person has personal memories attached to the experience, it makes no sense with the technology we have now.

    Typed as I'm about to return to The Bourne Identity in widescreen, 1080p , 5.1 DTS HD, in my robe, in a heated home.
    .
     
  22. Trashman

    Trashman Forum Resident

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    The last drive-in (Vali Hi) in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul) area does very good business. The other remaining drive-in closed a couple years ago, bought out so the land could be developed into yet another Walmart. :disgust:

    Cars are lined up outside of Vali Hi for hours before opening and most Friday and Saturday nights are either sell-outs or near sell-outs. One nice thing is that they allow tailgating, so people can bring in coolers and grills to make an evening of it. The formula seems to work for them.
     
  23. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I believe all the drive-ins in my area are gone. Great times.
     
  24. Mark Nelson

    Mark Nelson Forum Resident

    Location:
    United States
    Modern Drive-Ins transmit surround sound via FM radio, so the sound kicks a$$ compared to the days of the metal speaker on your window, or weak AM signals that had other stations bleeding through during
    the movie.

    For a recently-produced snapshot of the current state of Drive-Ins and their history, check out GOING ATTRACTIONS:



     
  25. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    They transmit Stereo. No surround as a rule as most car radios don't do surround unless faked.
     
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