# Movies you wish you had seen at the theater, but didn't **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 15, 2003, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384 "2003-05-15T05:54:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/1 "2003-05-15T05:54:28Z")
The institution we all know and love as the movie theater is still alive and well in this day and age of big-screen high-defintion TVs and home entertainment systems with Dolby surround sound. Still, in some cases there is no substitute for seeing a movie in the theater (along with the ambience of the crowd and the popcorn, however overpriced it may be). That said, what are some movies you wish you could have experienced seeing on the big screen but never had the opportunity? Here’s my list: **Star Wars** (and its next two sequels): I wish I could have been a part of the big blitz when the movie made its debut in 1977 when I was seven years old. It would have been among my first movies seen in a theater and I know I would remember and cherish the experience to this day. I also missed the chance to see it when it was re-released for theaters on its 20th anniversary :smack: **The Matrix:** As I am wanting to see **The Matrix: Reloaded** at the theater, I thought of starting this thread. I have the DVD of the original movie, and while I don’t have a big screen TV, I do have an impressive sound system. Still, I wish I could have seen this one at the theater. **Rain Man:** Even though there aren’t any special effects to speak of that would have to be appreciated at the theater, this is one of my all-time favorite movies and I wish I had watched it at the theater first before seeing it on video for the first time. **Lethan Weapon:** Again, another favorite I wish I had seen at the theater. **To Live and Die in L.A.** I know I would have loved to see the big chase scene on the big screen. It came out in 1985 and I was 15 at the time. The movie is rated R, so I couldn’t have seen it in the theater unless I were to get my mom to take me. ---
**Author:** ![catnoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@catnoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catnoe)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/2 "2003-05-15T11:07:29Z")
**The Hunt For Red October** We were in Norfolk Virginia when this movie came out and though Hubby is navy and a submariner we didn’t want to see the movie with every sailor in Hampton Roads so we waited for it to come out on video. When the sub broke the surface at a 30 degree angle when making the emergency blow, WOW! Wish I had seen that on a larger screen than my then 27" TV. ---
**Author:** ![Aranea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Aranea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aranea)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/3 "2003-05-15T11:22:12Z")
Reaching way back in time, I wish I’d been able (and old enough) to see “Jeremiah Johnson” on a big screen. The scenery is such a part of the movie, and to see it on something other than a little TV would have been awesome. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/4 "2003-05-15T11:55:15Z")
There are two: **Moulin Rouge** and **Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon**. Wow, what eye-popping spectables they must have been on the big screen. [slight hijack]I _have_ seen **The Wizard of Oz** on the big screen, in a revival house, c. 1972 – that was pretty freakin’ amazing.[/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/5 "2003-05-15T12:10:53Z")
There are a lot, but one of the biggest ones I remember kicking myself over was **Titus**. The school newspaper here at UT is notorious for having horrible movie reviews, but for some reason, I listened to them when they said the movie was crap. I later rented it and really REALLY hated myself for having done that when I knew better. Also **City of Lost Children** , Amelie, and Delicatessan\*\*. Three of my favorite films I wish I caught when they hit theaters. I was the first one of my friends to ever hear about **A Nightmare Before Christmas** and the last one to see it about six years later. **Army of Darkness**. I remember seeing the movie trailer, but never recall it ever hitting the theaters. I’ve managed to see the other two Evil Dead movies on the big screen, but I keep missing this one (still not sure if I like it better than **ED2** ). **Spirited Away** and **Metropolis**. ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/6 "2003-05-15T12:10:56Z")
_Ghost In The Shell_ - I had a chance to see this and several Hong Kong actioners (including _High Risk_) at a film festival when I lived in Arlington, VA. Got pissed off in traffic and didn’t go. _Lawrence Of Arabia_ - duh. Add to it the rest of David Lean’s epics. _City Of Lost Children_ - I love the look of this flick so much, the big screen could only enhance it. _The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly_ & _Once Upon A Time In The West_ - Leone flicks were meant to be seen this way. So perfect at using the widescreen frame whether he filled it up or barely even had anything in it. _The Mission_ - This one needs no explaination. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/7 "2003-05-15T12:22:29Z")
Conan The Barbarian. Just to hear that theme and watch the big-screen killfest…mmm I would have loved it.“What is best in life?” “To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women!” ---
**Author:** ![Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/8 "2003-05-15T12:29:37Z")
_The Fellowship of the Ring_. I wasn’t able to see it on the big screen, and I am hoping perhaps some theaters will offer a day’s showing of all three sometime after the third comes out. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/9 "2003-05-15T14:45:41Z")
BLADE RUNNER- either edition ---
**Author:** ![moodtobestewed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@moodtobestewed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moodtobestewed)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/10 "2003-05-15T15:50:41Z")
Koyaanisqatsi. Probably would have blown my mind, though. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/11 "2003-05-15T16:07:59Z")
**Saving Private Ryan** The first fifteen minutes of the film must have been stunning. **Das Boot** If only to see the one scene where they run from one end of the boat to the other in a single shot. Boy, that’s a film that makes you feel you’re in the action even on a tiny TV. Imagine how it must be on the big screen. **Pulp Fiction** I can’t imagine how cool that must have been, with all of that butt-kicking music pounding right along, and the added intensity of some of the key scenes (e.g. the OD scene) Unfortunately, I got burned out on movie theaters years ago when I worked as a projectionist. I had no desire to go to the movies because I’d be noticing every single flaw in the theater setup, every scratch on the film, every bad splice, etc. Because of this, I have missed some really good films when they came out. Once, when we were showing **Born on the Fourth of July** , someone had turned up the volume because of complaints during a quiet part of the film. Twenty minutes later, as I was making the rounds, I noticed that the film was in a war scene, and that the image seemed to have ripples in it, just like on the surface of a pond. I did a double-take and realized that the ripples were, in fact, in the _screen_. The main speakers are behind the screen (it’s full of little holes), so the sound must have been so loud that it was actually making ripple patterns in the screen. Since the projection booth is soundproof, I couldn’t hear the racket. I assume that those patrons had a very bone-jarring theater experience 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/12 "2003-05-15T16:15:59Z")
**Matrix** , **Moulin Rouge** are the two I could have seen, didn’t, and now wish I had. There are of course lots of old movies I would have loved to have seen at the cinema when they first came out. Imagine the opening nights for **Nosferatu** , and **The Cabinet of Dr Calligari**. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/13 "2003-05-15T16:23:24Z")
You know, I think part of **Matrix** was the big screen. I’ve been trying to explain to my GF why it was so cool when it came out, and I think the big screen had something to do with it. It was just mind-blowing for its time. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/14 "2003-05-15T16:27:42Z")
Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This had to be seen in a theater. Speilberg used the light and darkness of a theater for some great effects. Example: The beginning of the film has about 3 minutes of just a pitch black screen. As the music builds everyone in the theaters eyes are adjusting to the darkness. Then a bright white flash blasts onto the screen as the music peaks. No one could help but wince at the brightness. The effect just doesn’t work at home. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/15 "2003-05-15T16:33:28Z")
Also, the opening cartoon of Roger Rabbit. It was just amazing on the bigscreen. Just not translatable at home. I’d probably recommend seeing “Finding Nemo” at the theatre before it goes to DVD. The resolution and detail on the PIXAR films is so high it looks ultrasharp on the bigscreen. ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/16 "2003-05-15T16:42:55Z")
I recently got my wish: the theater I live near has midnight showings of **Donnie Darko** on the big screen most Saturdays. Though by the time I got to see it on the big screen, I’d seen it enough times that I thought I knew everything about it, there are some details that escaped me until I saw them larger than life. That movie rocks. That said, let me also add **Joe versus The Volcano** and **Moulin Rouge** ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/17 "2003-05-15T16:50:33Z")
I guess I’m either lucky (or showing my age) as I saw most of those already mentioned “on the big screen.” Lawrence of Arabia and Dr. Zhivago are the two I’d like to see. I saw Gone With The Wind, The Wizard of Oz, and Casablanca on successive weekends at a historic theater here in town that has been completely renovated to the 1920s era. Just a stunning place, complete with a guy that comes up through the state playing "the mighty Wurlizter organ.’ ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/18 "2003-05-15T17:34:43Z")
It’s harder to get out to the movies with a toddler in the house, so this list is longer than I’d like it to be. Heck, some of these I _still_ haven’t seen: **Monsters, Inc.** **Daredevil** **Spider-Man** **The Matrix** **Lord of the Rings** Can’t remember any more right now, but I’m sure I will five minutes after I hit “submit”… ---
**Author:** ![CyberPundit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/19 "2003-05-15T18:04:07Z")
In general I find it more convenient to watch films on video. A few that I would like to watch on the big screen: **Princess Mononoke** **Dr Zhivago** **Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade** ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2003, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384/20 "2003-05-15T20:20:09Z")
Magical, BIG, awe-inspiring movies, like… **A Nightmare Before Christmas** **Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory** **Star Wars** **Moulin Rouge** and **A Clockwork Orange** Add to those some musicals, like **Footloose** and **Flashdance** , and a couple of horror films, **The Ring** and **Phantasm** and I’d be set for my own little fest. Cooool. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-wish-you-had-seen-at-the-theater-but-didnt/175384.md?page=2)