For a long time theater screens were getting smaller but recently I have noticed the theaters by me going back to really big screens. I think theater owners realized they have to offer something more than what many people can get at home on their 60" TV.
I 100% agree with Star Wars (1977). I’ll also add in “The Matrix”. That opening sequence is just better in a theater.
Grindhouse, in particular, was really designed to be seen in a shitty movie theater, between its missing reels and fake trailers and ads in between the two features. I saw it at a run-down drive-in in the sticks, which felt just about right.
With all this talk of Star Wars, I’ll clear my throat and pause and say “Holdo Maneuver.”
If I recall, there was a sound effect that went with the Star Destroyer as well- sort of a bass rumble as it passed overhead, that just heightened the menace.
When my daughter was 5 or 6, we were going to take her to a drive-in showing Twister. Then I read that it was PG-13. My daughter argued that it was about weather, and it couldn’t be that scary.
Well, the drive-in had a hokey preamble thing where they played an air-raid siren, had a strobe light going, then announced that the National Weather Service observed a tornado heading toward (name of drive-in). It was cute/funny, but it scared the absolute crap out of my daughter.
Or when the shark pops up right after Roy Scheider complains about scooping chum overboard (IIRC, it’s the first time it appears without being cued by the score). I commented later that the theater staff should probably sanitize the seats between screenings.
One that occurs to me is the “lighting of the beacons” sequence in RotK. It’s impressive enough on a television, but for me the combination of cinematography and music in the theater was … damn near overwhelming.
I remember that scene from the LOTR movie; it was awesome.
How did it look?
T-Rex in the rain in Jurassic Park.
I do not care what kind of high end home theater system you have, if the T Rex isn’t the size of a building on the screen your shit is weak and Steven Spielberg is disappointed in you.
The jump scare (literally) in Wait Until Dark (1967) when Alan Arkin lunges at Audrey Hepburn. In a dark theater it scared the crap out of everybody.
Maybe not “only effective in the theater” but a memorable experience…
I was working nights as a projectionist at a local 9-plex cinema when the 1989 Batman movie came out. That film had been preceded by such a marketing campaign that everyone at work was excited about it and couldn’t wait to watch it.
On Thursday night, I usually would break down the outgoing films from the platter into their original 20min reels and set those in the corridor for the distributor to pick up–he would swap the old film cans for the new film cans with Friday’s releases. I usually just went home and it was up to the day projectionist to assemble the new films onto the platters.
But that night we all decided to have a private showing, so at around 1am when the new film was delivered I set about quickly assembling it on the platter of our largest theater, with the best sound system. A half hour later or so it was ready, so the whole crew took seats in the center of the theater, I cranked the volume a notch, and we watched Batman the night before the rest of America would see it.
It was a painful 7am wakeup for my day job.
What a fond memory. And that viewing experience could only have happened at the theater.
Nitpick, it’s actually Omar Sharif appearing out of the mirage from the POV of Lawrence waiting for him at the well. It’s how Sharif is introduced in the film. A magnificent scene even on a TV, but it’s my great loss that I’ve never had the opportunity to see LoA on the big screen.
Mixed reviews. A lot of viewers (like myself) have had corrective eye surgery leaving one eye weaker as a hedge against deteriorating reading vision. That kinda messes up the effect with the old fashioned red/blue glasses.
I bet you folks were far from the only projection crew to pull that maneuver.
Were you able to transfer the platter to the correct theater afterwards or did you have to break down the film to move it?
The scene at the end of Avengers Endgame where Cap first wielded Mjolnir.
I saw that on opening night in a packed house, and it was epic. The whole theater went up in cheers.
I agree about the T-Rex in Jurassic Park. Even after 30 years the CGI in that movie stands up favorably against all but the top-end modern films. That thing was terrifying.
Speaking of Star Wars, the ubiquitous opening sequence with the first bars of the fanfare and “STAR WARS” appearing in giant text on the starfield is definitely an experience made for the cinema. I’ve managed to see all nine in the theater and every single time the audience burst into cheers at that moment.
Maybe we’re thinking of different parts of the movie. Isn’t there a part where Lawrence has lead his men across a particularly nasty stretch of desert, and after they’re safe they discovered someone is missing? Lawrence goes back alone to find him. The remaining men (and the camera) wait in safety watching the desert to see if Lawrence will come back.
Maybe if you’ve only seen it on TV you thought those were shots of an empty desert. Or maybe it was empty desert and I just imagined there was a tiny Peter O’Toole on the screen.
All this talk about Lawrence of Arabia. Doesn’t anyone remember Dr. Zhivago?
Yes, sorry, we’re thinking of different scenes. I remember the one you mention, there was one member of the party missing in a sandstorm or something like that, and Lawrence against all advices from everyone, decides to go back and rescue him against all odds. Of course he succeeds and becomes a hero. The scene that I meant that impressed me most and exemplifies the vastness of the desert best is when in the first fifth of the film, Lawrence is guided by an aid to a far-out well where he awaits Omar Sharif’s character to meet and go with him to his tribe lead by his father. It’s a bit ironic to post a youtube link in a thread about effective shots for the big screen, but here it is:
You can recycle this line in “Reviews of Bad Porno Movies”