So yeah… that one that a bunch of you would like to see… you know, the one with ol’ Angel Eyes and Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez (aka, The Rat) and Blondie… that one?
Yeah, I’ve seen it in the theatre. Film Forum was doing a spaghetti Western film festival last summer and I made absolutely certain I would not miss it. And it was just as good as I’d hoped. Not so much the big screen–honestly, FF’s screen ain’t that big, as big screens go, and I’d like to see it again on a bigger–but the experience of being in a packed theatre full of people who love the movie just as much as I do. And walking out and going to the bathroom and everyone is whistling/humming the music.
I’ve also seen Forbidden Planet and half of Some Like it Hot (I was drunk and it was a midnight movie; I eventually decided drunk was winning out). Also Tremors; does that count? I’d pay to see most any of my favorite old movies with the right audience, but some the two that would top the list: Casablanca and The Wizard of Oz.
I’m a huge Powell and Pressburger fan, and I would absolutely pay to see any of their movies on the big screen, particularly the ones in color: The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, A Matter of Life and Death, and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. The first one of those was actually restored a few years ago, and I’ve heard amazing things about the new version.
Back in college, I went to a several-hours-long showing of Buster Keaton films. The audience went crazy with laughter. I remember being sore for a few days for laughing so much. Not at all the same as watching in your living room.
If you’ve only seen Lawrence on a TV, you have NOT seen Lawrence. It doesn’t matter how big your screen is. There is a scene that uses every grain of the 70mm film format and every inch of the largest screen available.
I was lucky to see a 70mm road show print at Chicago’s Music Box theater.
Same thing with Citizen Kane. Welles used the theater as a vital element of the soundtrack. And my wife and I saw To Kill a Mockingbird recently at the Gene Siskel Film Center, and there were so many subtle expressions that it acquired even more power. These films were not created or composed for the small screen.
One that I would love to see again is Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. Such a brilliant film, and I was gob-smacked the first time I saw it in the theater.
It’s almost pointless to watch certain movies on a small screen - ones like 2001 and Lawrence of Arabia.
To me, comedies are a lot more fun when I’m laughing along with a crowd. I also enjoy seeing a classic children’s movie with a theater full of children who are experiencing it for the first time.
The audience can be part of the movie-going experience. I recently saw The Wizard of Oz in a theater, and there were several Dorothys in the audience, as well as a Lion, a Tin Man and a really good Wicked Witch of the West (who cackled at appropriate times, but not during the movie). Another time I saw A Night at the Opera in a theater and there were Grouchos running all over the place.
Which scene?
It was many years ago, but I got to see Lawrence at the Ziegfeld Theatre (nearly 1200 seats); the scene that left me awestruck was (and I don’t fully remember here) a landscape shot of the desert, heat waves in full effect, and a lone rider approached (Lawrence approaching Omar Sharif?).
I certainly must second the suggestion of screwball comedies - I’d love to see some in a packed house.
I saw Barry Lyndon in the movie theater in it’s first run! Beat that!
One of only two movies that I’ve seen as an adult, that I cried at. It was the funeral procession scene, when it cuts to the little boy’s coffin being pulled along on the goat cart he used to like to drive.
I missed Lawrence of Arabia, but did get to the Music Box to see Patton in 70mm, and it was glorious. I’ve never seen Lawrence, and knowing that there are still 70mm prints of it out there makes me want to hold out until I can see it for the first time in that format.
Years ago ('91 or '92) the Music Box did a Warner Brothers animation film festival with about an hour-and-a-half of old WB cartoons, including “Jack Wabbit and the Beanstalk” in 3D.
Oh, I saw it on tha big screen, too! The music was impressive (and the funeral scene, yes, I teared up, too.) Beautiful movie that wouldn’t be made today, too long and talky.
I would like to see “Marie Antoinette” (1938) with Norma Shearer just for the remarkable costumes. What a shame plans to film in color were dropped at the last minute due to cost! I would like to see “The Scarlet Empress” (1934) with Marlene Dietrich just for the astounding sets. Or, Marlene in “The Devil Is A Woman”, again for the costumes (i’m interested in that kind of thing).
We saw “Metropolis” (1927?) on the big screen in the 80’s, the one with the 80’s techno music score by Giorgio Moroder. I can’t remember if critics liked that or not, but the sold out audience certainly did.
I have seen Gone With The Wind on the big screen, as part of an anniversary restoration/re-release in 1999. My friend Rick, who’d never seen it before, left the theater with me saying, “Now THAT is a movie that deserves its reputation.”
When that same theater (an art-house that has now gone partly mainstream) opened some years before, it ran some classics as part of the opening celebrations. Citizen Kane was one of them, and again, my friend Rick and I went to see it. If he hadn’t forbidden me to, I’d have yelled out in the middle of it, “OH, WAIT A MINUTE, I’VE SEEN THIS ONE. ROSEBUD’S HIS SLED!!!”
I also saw The Wizard of Oz and A Hard Day’s Night when they had special re-releases. This year, Fathom Events showed The Birds and a friend and I went to see that.
It may seem weird, paying to see movies that I’ve already got at home, but there is just something about seeing them on the big screen. I hope that Fathom Events shows Psycho in the future. Or, given that next year is the anniversary of Hollywood’s Big Year (1939) we might again see re-releases of GWTW and TWoOz.
I really wish they’d start re-releasing Disney classics on the big screen again. It’s a shame the Disney 3D restoration thing has ground to a halt (they’ve canceled plans for The Little Mermaid in 3D since Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc. didn’t do that well in 3D), because I’d have loved to see them try out certain older Disney movies in 3D–especially Fantasia. (The Rite of Spring and Night on Bald Mountain sequences in 3D…chills…)
I’ve seen this one twice on the big screen, it’s fucking awesome. There’s one scene when Indy is going to talk to Belloq after Marion died. They are passing out guns right behind him, I never see this on the TV.
I have written about this before but in the early 90s I went to a charity event where they presented all three Star Wars movies on the big screen. They were original prints as well. They looked amazing. It was quite a thrill.
In other news, the fact that you listed Jurassic Park, a movie I feel like I just saw in the theaters (but I know in my heart is now 20 years old) makes me want to get social security.
Completely agree. If I ever come into incredible amounts of money I will open up a small theater that only shows older movies I want to show. And beer. And a Gremlins double feature at some point.
