Memorable movie hall experiences .....
Mar 26, 2017 17:10:00 GMT
pimpinainteasy, spiderwort, and 1 more like this
Post by jeffersoncody on Mar 26, 2017 17:10:00 GMT
but i was fascinated when i first watched PREDATOR on the big screen. the scene where arnold and his team of mercenaries shoot at the alien in the jungle is unforgettable.
i guess some of you are veterans and might have had some memorable movie hall experiences. do list some of them. the 50s, 60s and 70s must have been great times for a movie buff. you could lieterally spend your life at the movies. those decades produced so many great movies. i feel bad for kids today. they have to watch crap like IRONMAN, LOGAN and THE AVENGERS. in fact screw them, they enjoy and propagate this filth.
(Just) some of the thousands of films I have seen on the big screen during their first run.
THE PARTY (1968) - My mother nearly wet herself she was laughing so much. She told me the tears were running down her legs
WHERE EAGLES DARE (1968)
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
LOVE STORY (1970)
M*A*S*H (1970)
THEY CALL ME TRINITY (1970)
DIRTY HARRY (1971) - I was 11-year's-old, what a rush.
VANISHING POINT (1971)
SOUNDER (1972) - It remains one of the most emotionally affecting films I have ever seen.
DELIVERANCE (1972) - Can you even imagine seeing the "squeal piggy squeal" butt rape scene at 12 dude?
WHAT'S UP DOC (1972)
THE GODFATHER (1972)
THE COWBOYS (1972)
THE GETAWAY (1972)
AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID (1973)
PAPILLON (1973)
BLUME IN LOVE (1973)
DON'T LOOK NOW (1973) - My dad took my two brothers and I to see it when my mom was away. I don't think he realized how much sex there would be in it - but he couldn't tear his eyes from the screen (while covering my 7-year-old brother's eyes during some parts) and telling us we mustn't tell mom we watched it.
THE OUTFIT (1973)
A BRIEF VACATION (1973)
THE GOFATHER: PART 11 (1974)
CONRACK (1974)
THE TOWERING INFERNO (1974) - The first film I went to with a girl. Her name was Jennifer Quinn, she had blue-green eyes, creamy, olive-colored skin, long brown curly hair that cascaded all over face, she wore a pink dress with white polka dots on it and open toed sandals on her tanned feet, her toe naiils were painted red, and she was gorgeous. It was a hot summer's day outside, but it was cool in the cinema, we held hands right through the movie. She kissed me twice, and I thought I was in heaven.
CHINATOWN (1974)
THE GODFATHER: PART 11 (1974)
ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE (1974)
THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT (1974)
NASHVILLE (1975)
PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (1975)
DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975)
BARRY LYNDON (1975)
THE DAY OF THE LOCUST (1975)
JAWS (1975)
ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (1976)
TAXI DRIVER (1976)
CARRIE (1976)
1900 (1976) - The FULL VERSION - Shown in two parts with a 15-minute interval inbetween (at one of only 6 screenings allowed in my country - right place, right time).
STAR WARS (1977)
ANNIE HALL (1977)
THE DUELLISTS (1977) - The last film I saw with my late grandmother on my mother's side (shortly before her death) - she loved it so and I'm really glad the last film she saw was a wonderful one.
THE GETTING OF WISDOM (1977)
THE DEER HUNTER (1978)
HALLOWEEN (1978)
APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
MY BRILLIANT CAREER (1979)
THE BLACK STALLION (1979)
MAD MAX (1979)
THE STUNT MAN (1980)
THE ROAD WARRIOR (1981) - First film I ever saw while tripping on acid. It was quite a blast.
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) - Another film I saw on acid. Did I freak out; thought it was far too violent for that particular batch of blotting paper.
THE FOX AND THE HOUND (Disney - 1981). A beautiful film, and hands down one of the very best experiences I have had in a cinema while tripping on acid.
THE LONG RIDERS (1980)
THE SHINING (1980)
PLATOON (1986)
FULL METAL JACKET (1987)
THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING (1988)
PS. many of the sevntiesd films films mentioned above had age restrictions, but almost none of the cinemas enforced them, and my parents were open minded - if a cinema did get shirty about me being young, I simply asked my dad to buy the tickets for my brother and I.
But perhaps best of all was that because the ruling National Party did not allow television in SA until 1976, the cinemas showed re-releases of older films all the time. Thus I saw the likes of GONE WITH THE WIND, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, THE GREAT ESCAPE, LILLIES OF THE FIELD, WATERLOO BRIDGE (1940), STRAW DOGS, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, DR ZHIVAGO, WOODSTOCK (at the 3 Arts in Cape Town - billed as the biggest screen in the Southern Hemisphere), PEYTON PLACE, Truffaut's THE 400 BLOWS, BREATHLESS ("À bout de souffle") FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, MY FAIR LADY, COOL HAND LUKE, THE BLUE MAX, FROM THE TERRACE, EAST OF EDEN, GIANT, BEN HUR, RAINTREE COUNTY, A FISTFULL OF DOLLARS, FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE ,THE GOOD, The BAD and The UGLY, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (and a whole slew of inferior but lurid and thrilling spaghetti westerns) , BULLITT, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, tons of black and white westerns, the Johnny Weissmuller-starring TARZAN flicks and many, many more on the big screen (at a time when screens really were big) .
Each of these big screen experiences remains etched in my mind as vividly as if if they were yesterday.
PS. Something died in me when the movies went digital. But I still love movies madly and see as many as I can, and I will always have the glorious memories of seeing films shot on film the way they were meant to be seen in some very beautiful old cinemas with names like The Grand, The Astra, The Metro, The Embassy, The 20th Century and The Savoy.