They say that the movie theater is
dead, that within a few years, the Cineplex will be a dinosaur; its insides
scooped out and turned into a bargain bookstore or a church. In this age of
wide-screen, hi-def TVs, Blu-Ray players, surround sound and bathroom breaks a
mere pause button away, why bother going out and fighting crowds, paying exorbitant
prices for snacks, sitting through twenty minutes of previews and having to
deal with people who don’t understand that “turn off your cell phone” means
TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONE!
They
say that, and I don’t entirely disagree. It costs a lot to go to the movies.
Tickets where I live are $7.50 apiece for a matinee. So, if the wife and I go
to an early show, that’s $15. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but remember, that
same movie is going to be available for purchase in a few months for about $20,
or rent for as little as $1 (less if you’re a regular Netflix user like me).
So, you could see it now for fifteen, or wait a little bit and see it for a
buck.
Not
exactly brain surgery, is it?
Just
before Halloween, Regal Entertainment
Group, in conjunction with Turner Classic Movies did a one-night only double
feature of Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein. I was so
excited. I begged my way into getting the night off of work, then begged my
ex-wife to let me take our son for the night and then paid twenty-five dollars
for the two of us to see a pair of movies that
I already own.
Why?
Because I’m old-fashioned. Because
I remember being a kid and the thrill I’d get when I was taken to the movies,
sitting in the darkened theater, waiting for the show to start, that little
rush of adrenaline I’d get when the lights went all the way down, signaling
that it was time for the feature to begin. Say what you will, but there’s
nothing quite like going to a movie.
So my son and I sat in the theater
and watched a pair of movies that were both over seventy-five years old, we
stayed out until past ten on a school night, and we had a blast. My favorite
bit was my son being approached by various middle-aged men in Frankenstein tee-shirts who told him how
fortunate he was to be there, seeing these movies on the big screen. One man,
who looked close to tears, said, “You are so lucky. I wish I had seen these on
the big screen when I was your age.” And
it’s true, these movies which I had seen countless times, movies that even my
seven year-old was familiar with from repeated viewings, they, like the titular
monster, came alive again. The creation scene was more thrilling than ever, the
monster more unnerving, Dr. Pretorius’ bitchiness was funnier than ever. Same
movie, whole new experience.
But it’s not just for monster
movies.
A few years ago, I attended an outdoor
movie screening of Casablanca. It was
the first time I had ever watched the movie with a crowd and it was like watching
it for the first time. When Rick shoots Major Strasser and the police arrive,
we have that famous scene where Renault says, “Major Strasser has been shot”
(he and Rick exchange a glance) “round up the usual suspects.”
The audience cheered. A thunderous
round of applause. I don’t know how many of those in attendance had seen Casablanca before, I would guess the
majority, but they reacted like fans at a rock concert, when the guitarist plays
the first few chords of their biggest hit.
Perhaps (and this will be my
controversial stance for the evening) the future of movie theaters lies in the
past. Let’s face it, they don’t make ‘em like they used to, and maybe theaters
should seriously consider showing more tried and true fare, as they say, a
classic never dies.
(Hollywood, take note: maybe,
instead of remaking everything, you should simply re-release those popular
titles. And for crying out loud, DO NOT alter them, no CGI “improvements,” no
walkie-talkies instead of guns, don’t fix what ain’t broke. )
Regal theaters uses the slogan “Go
big or go home.” Well, to paraphrase Norma Desmond, “The movies are big, it’s
Hollywood that got small.”
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