Your Most Memorable Movie Experience--In a Theater

...and I'm not talking about getting to 3rd base!

The thread on the Superbit release of LOA got me thinking. I saw the restored version in Boston on the big screen when it first came out. It was, indeed, spectacular. Some of my other most memorable movies (in no particular order).

2001, on a Cinerama curved screen in Springfield, MA, during its initial release. I went with my cousin and his father in their '67 Corvette hardtop, with the fastback. I got to ride behind the seats on the package shelf. I will never forget the opening scene when the sun rises over the earth. It was so 3-D I felt I was in space experiencing it.

Blade Runner , again on a Cinerama screen, in Seattle during its initial release. The flyover at the opening had me looking left, right, up, down, to take in the overwhelming sensory experience.

Bonnie and Clyde , seen on a double-bill with Cool Hand Luke as the opener. I was 9, and these were the first two films I saw--my choice--with the then-new paradigm of explicit violence. I went with my father, who was recently separated from my mother, and he was not very "up" on films, so I'm sure he had no idea what they were about. I made it through Luke , but had to leave B&C after the first bank robbery (when the teller gets shot in the face). I can't remember the excuse I made. The funny thing was, at the time I was a classmate and very good friend of Arthur Penn's son, and spent much time at their house. I also remember spending a lot of time on the set of Alice's Restaurant , though I've never actually watched the finished film!

Star Wars , seen on a huge screen in Bergen County, NJ. When we arrived at the theater, which stood alone in the middle of a huge parking lot, the line literally went all aound the building. I think the theater seated something over 1,000. By the time we got in there were only seats in the front row; we sat about one-third of the way to the right. The picture was very well projected--even in the front row it was crisp and detailed--and the it was one "wow" moment after another. I think I probably ducked at the opening when the star destroyer swoops into view.

An unnamed film, by the same uncle I went to 2001 with, about autopies. He was a physician and an amateur filmmaker. He produced a number of films that were shown at a small cinema in the local museum. This one simply showed--explicitly--a full autopsy. Needless to say, unforgettable.

Jaws , and not my first viewing--which was memorable itself in that it was really one of the first "blockbuster" movies where you had to contend with big crowds--but the second viewing, just as crowded as the first, but I could sit there and watch the crowd's reaction to the shock moments I knew were coming. A wonderful lesson in how a theater experience differs from a home-theater experience: there's a palpable energy and transmitted joy with a bunch of strangers in a darkened room.

Which reminds me of another: The Four Musketeers , the second of Richard Lester's, movies, seen in the Cinema 57 in Boston with a full house. It has never seemed so funny since.

Any number of double bills seen at the local cinemas in the '60s, in the balcony; with short subjects to start--Warner's cartoons. Pink Panther, etc. An experience I know my children will never have.

I could go on, but that's enough for now.

John K.

 

!!!!!A HARD DAYS NIGHT!!!!!....No Movie going experience will ever top the feeling I got that day! My Mom took me and my best friend to see it. She loved John and was as excited as we were...Well, that's what I want to believe!

 

Faces of Death. It was like Mystery Science Theater in there. Everyone was yelling out their lines. Must admit, there were some funny things said. Favorite line by my friend Jim, "Wouldn't you hate to be the guy that wipes off that chin strap?" You can imagine what scene that was for.

 

I watched FULL METAL JACKET with my grandfather, in a sold-out D.C. movie theatre where we were probably the only non-African-Americans in attendance. Anyone who's seen this movie knows that the screaming drill sergeant quickly drops the "N" bomb, including jokes about watermelon and fried chicken, in a black recruit's face. My P.C. nerves went on high alert -- how am I supposed to react to this? -- but the crowd immediately laughed and cheered on the drill sergeant through the rest of the film.

I had another memorable night watching another war movie, PLATOON. You'll remember the village massacre scene, in which the enraged Sergeant Barnes, frustrated with the elderly Vietnamese woman being questioned, turns and shoots her through the head. It's a startling moment that left the theatre in silence both times I saw it.

The second time, unfortunately, my brother and I were seated in front of two Beavis and Butthead teenagers who kept making snide jokes through the movie, probably to the embarrassment of their dates. When the village woman was shot, the silence in the theatre was broken by one of them saying, "That'll teach that bitch."

My brother, who's paid to see maybe ten movies in his life, turned around, glared at them, and said very quietly but clearly, "Do you want me to kick your ass here in front of your girlfriends, or out in the parking lot?" I should mention that he's 6'4" and looked like someone who would follow up on this threat. They practically melted back into their chairs, obviously intimidated, and I didn't hear a peep out of them for the rest of the movie. When we exited the theatre, they were still seated staring straight ahead, afraid to make any eye contact.

 

One of my favorite screenings was Imagine: John Lennon in 1988. I had scored two free passes to an advance showing and the whole theater was singing along with the songs. I still have the badge they gave out at the theater.

 

THE GODFATHER

Even though I've seen this movie more times than I can count, I had never seen it on the 'Big Screen'. So I took my wife to see it during a 25th anniversary revival at the Mann’s Chinese.
I was more excited for her, since it was her first time seeing this movie and I just knew she was going to be totally blown away by it!
You haven’t experienced this film until you have seen it on a 'Big Screen' in a packed vintage theatre house. The audience reaction to scenes, lines, even face gestures that most of us knew by memory, was just priceless!

 

I can think of several memorable experiences as well, but for me it's usually the delight of a new discovery rather than the classics that leave the fondest impressions. I *knew* before I ever saw it that Citizen Kane was going to be a great movie-going experience, for example.

* Being a sci-fi buff as a kid, I remember hearing all the hype before "Star Wars" opened in 1977. It also opened on only a few screens that first day. So it was a week or two later that it finally opened in Rochester, New York. I saw it on opening night, and I remember liking it so much that I hid in the restroom after the first screening and snuck back into the theater to see it again the very next show!

* The only thing that could possibly trump Star Wars at the time was seeing "Close Encounters." It was my single greatest movie experience at that time. My jaw actually hurt at the end of the movie from hanging open as long as it did. I thought the final half hour utterly mesmerizing.

* Seeing a sneak preview of "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid." The greatest thing about this was that no one knew ahead of time about the gimmick of cutting in old WB films. The first couple of times it happened, everyone sort of scratched their heads until they realized what the filmmakers were doing. It helped that the audience was so responsive to the comedy.

* Catching a double-feature sneak of "My Favorite Year" and "The Tempest" with some college buddies. Both good films, but it was one of those you-had-to-be-there moments that elevated the evening to greatness.

* Back in the early 80s, Universal regained the rights to a bunch of Hitchcock films (Rope, Rear Window, etc.) and they screened them up in L.A. before releasing them in the rest of the country. My girlfriend at the time (now my wife) would drive up to L.A. to see each film, then (because we had absolutely no money) we'd pull over onto a quiet street in Westwood and sleep in the car. If my daughters ever pull a stunt like that twenty years from now - I'll kill 'em!

* Being invited to a screening of "It's a Wonderful Life" with Frank Capra giving a Q&A and receiving some award afterwards.

* It's a bit unfair to add this one, but back in film school i was part of a select group (maybe 8-10 students) that participated in a special meet-the-directors series. After seeing a select film of theirs, we had breakfast with such people as Richard Donner, Michael Apted, Terry Gilliam, and Buck Henry (though with Buck we met for a very late lunch as he liked to "sleep late").

 

Thanks for sharing that with us Ray! You are fortunate to have such great memories!

 

2 for me.

Seeing Apocalypse Now at NY's Ziegfeld Theater with a sold-out show during its first week run.

The audience was stunned by this masterpeice. Total silence as the crowd left the theater usually not a good sign normally but very appropriat that day.

Seeing Star Wars at NY's Astor Plaza Theater on opening day back when this theater was the only Dolby theater in NY.

Again the crowd which included many of Times Square's most colorful people shut the hell up quickly when those 2 spacecraft's came rumbling over the screen. The ground shook and we were all amazed. Then that great tale began. Marvelous!

 

'Faces of Death' in a theater?!?

I'd have got sick in CINERAMA

 

1. Seeing a midnight showing of the silent version of "The Phantom of the Opera" with live music provided by Lyn Lundy on the Mighty Wurlitzer at the Byrd Theatre in Richmond, VA. A lot of fun.

2. Seeing restored versions of both "Lawrence of Arabia" and "8 1/2" at the Paris Theater in NYC.

 

I'd also have to say "A Hard Days Night". My Aunt took me and my brother to the Luxor Theater off the Grand Concourse in The Bronx. I was 9 years old, and already a Beatle nut. I'll never forget that opening chord and that first image of the guys running down the street.

Also, seeing "Apocalypse Now" at that huge wraparound theater on Sunset Blvd. in 1979 (can't remember the name of the theater). I was living in LA for a few months and some friends called me up saying they had tickets to this new war movie. I went and was just blown away. This was super widescreen (70MM), wraparound screen, incredible sound. The opening scene with the helicoptors and "The End" was overwhelming. We all walked out of the theater after the film in stunned silence, didn't speak the whole drive home. Still one of my all time favorite movies.

Jeff

 

I'm a 10 year old Marx Brothers freak in 1974, watching the reissued Animal Crackers in the old, somewhat dilapidated, but still wonderful Refowich Theater. To date, my only big screen Marx experience. It was gone only a couple of years later, but I still have dreams about that place from time to time.

 

Going to see Help! when it first came out. A friend and I rode our bikes for the first showing and stayed all day watching it over and over. I got home late and caught hell.

 

It was a midnight showing at a new Regal Theater in Cleveland.

 

No contest:

Seeing "Fantasia" as a kid downtown with my Grandfather.
Best-
Norm

 

Seeing E.T. at the Regency Theater in SF(alas gone) in the summer of '82. A very exhiliaring and emotional experience. The first time I'd been practically moved to tears when viewing a movie. The film print(70mm) and sound were just incredible. Hopefully the next time this movie is reissued they'll show the original version and not that crap version that was reissued last year.

 

The experience I tend to remember most is going solo to see, "Rocky," at the end of its run in 1977. I was so moved and inspired by the story I leaped out of my seat and ran all the way home (about 4 miles)!

My earliest memory would be going to see, "Mary Poppins," with my mom and three siblings. Oh, those songs!

 

Even though I was only 13 or so, seeing 2001 in the Cinerama Theater did it for me. Has to see it again. Wow, that was way before CGI and there really had been nothing like it at the time.

I still remember the PanAm ship.....who would have thought PanAm would be history by 2001?? I have not watched it in a while, I wonder how many other "brands" used in the movie are goners.

(Side note: Was that all product placement?) Probably was, but no one thought of it as that back then. To me it's not the same as Rene Russo chugging a Pepsi in front of a Pepsi machine in The Thomas Crowne Affair!

 

We had the good fortune of having the American Film Institute theater located in Washington, DC and I was a member for many years. Many high quality archival prints were shown there. I learned about the joys of technicolor there and they often showed nitrate originals. Some highlights:

Desert Fury- thin on plot with Burt Lancaster and Lizbeth Scott- but Arizona locations and interesting color balance was memorable- I can still remember specific scenes.

Adventures of Robin Hood- So perfect I still get teary eyed at the end when I see it on TV.

Becky Sharp- restored version

Help- '80's print struck for the video release- shown with the "I'll Cry Instead" version of Hard Days Night as a double feature- not a spare seat in the house.

Forbidden Planet- Never knew this was a cinemascope film- a stunning print was shown.

I know Where I'm Going- Powell and Pressburger with some fantasy elements.

On and on...

 

This is an easy one! I took my wife to see "Titanic". She was pregnant with our first child at the time. We ordered an Extra, Extra LARGE Sprite (caffeine free, of course!). The seats have the cup holders on the ends of the armrests. I went to pick it up, during a "slow, quiet, part", and it went "thump!", the top flew off, and all the Sprite went all over her lap, and my side. It was sooo embarrassing. Of course, we were sitting next to several teenage girls. I overheard them whispering: "I can't believe he did that to her!".

Hey, we're still married, so at least she forgave me, but it's definately the most memorable movie experience, without actually considering the movie!

 

I took a girl out (for our first date) to see Pink Flamingos. Now THAT was a memorable movie going experience. Surprisingly enough, we dated for a long time after that. I guess she forgave me.