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Joe Blevins 
"Don't I look handsome?"
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 Posted - 04/11/2009 : 02:56:40
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This thread has taught me a tough lesson. And that is: there's a difference between "movies" and "going to the movies." I guess I thought I was a fan of "going to the movies" but as it turns out, it's just the "movies" part I like and not really the "going to" part. It's hard to separate one from the other. I became a movie fan largely because of moviegoing experiences which occurred in actual movie theaters, not in front of a television set. I can still remember seeing the Star Wars and Disney films as a little kid, and somehow the whole experience -- the movie, the theater, the popcorn, the laughs and gasps of the audience -- all got rolled up into one big paradigm in my brain. For me, "movies" became sort of a secular religion, the movie theater was like the church, and the audience was the congregation.
But now, I go to the theater and all I want is to see and hear the movie without constant distractions and noise. And movie theaters simply can't provide that. It is a social experience, and people do go to hang out and, yes, talk to their friends and relatives. I feel like I can't really call myself a "movie fan" if I don't actually go to the theater occasionally. It's like saying you're a Catholic and skipping church. But maybe it's time to face facts. Movies around here (and, I'm sure, where you are) are damnably expensive, and I just don't feel like throwing $10 down the drain for the "theatergoing experience" anymore, since that "experience" now in all probability includes listening to a gaggle of teenage girls critique the characters' outfits. I guess I have to get used to waiting for the DVD.
Wow, this thing has really depressed the heck out of me. |
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Sean
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
New Zealand
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Posted - 04/11/2009 : 04:09:00
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Sorry to hear that Joe. I made the switch to home viewing a few years ago (that happened when I got a big TV). Now I ignore totally the cinema schedules.
I don't actually miss the cinema, but the main thing I miss is not being able to take part in the conversations about the recent movies that eveyone's talking about. Generally I'll be seeing them 3-6 months later and of course few are interested in hearing about them then.
But, I watch a movie most evenings at home and it's become a habit that I'm quite happy with, for me the cinema is a thing of the past.  |
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silly 
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
United States
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Posted - 04/11/2009 : 04:49:12
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Some things have changed.
I remember when Star Wars came out. I was about 12 years old, and it played seemingly FOREVER at the Northpark 1 & 2 cinema (in Dallas). This is when, of course, you had to get a newspaper to see where and when movies were playing, and all they had was a little ad that said "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..."
And we loved it. Sure, we had to get our parents to drive us down to the theater (10 or 15 miles, I think) but our suburb only had one movie theater and they sure weren't playing Star Wars, so it was the only way.
I really couldn't tell you if I annoyed any of the other patrons when we went, I honestly don't remember and didn't care much at the time. I like to think I had decent manners, but that's kind of in the eye of the beholder, I can see now. Of course we tried to sit in the non-smoking section so we could see the movie better.
There wasn't an internet to watch movie clips on, and no hope of buying the video when it came out - you either wanted to see the movie or you waited (forever) for it to come out on TV.
I wonder, often, what my kids now think about the whole process, since they have 200 channels of TV to watch and more than that many DVDs that will show a movie in HD that you can pause if you want to go make popcorn or go to the bathroom or answer the phone. They've never been to a drive in. There's one only 100 miles from here, maybe I'll take them there before they shut it down. (that's a whole different social dynamic, I cannot imagine how it has changed in the twenty years since I've been to a drive in)
I'm not saying it's better or worse now, but it is very different, at least for me. 
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randall 
"I like to watch."
NYC, USA
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Posted - 04/11/2009 : 05:34:36
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Y'all hit the NAY-ull own the HAID!
TREMENDOUS rant! |
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ChocolateLady 
"500 Chocolate Delights"
Israel
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Posted - 04/11/2009 : 07:54:51
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quote:
Originally posted by silly
Some things have changed.
They've never been to a drive in. There's one only 100 miles from here, maybe I'll take them there before they shut it down. (that's a whole different social dynamic, I cannot imagine how it has changed in the twenty years since I've been to a drive in)
Ah, a drive-in! That was an experience. I remember on family trips, my father sometimes would ask us if we wanted to go straight home or go via the "scenic" route. We knew that the latter was a euphamism for doing something special, and always chose that option. More than once it was going to a drive-in. I recall things like trying to find a space where you could see well, and then hoping that the speaker wouldn't be crackly, having to walk through the lot to get popcorn or go to the bathroom. If I recall correctly, the last time we went there were far too many roudy kids jumping between convertables and pick-up trucks and I think we left early.
Another movie experience - December 1968-January 1969 we spent in New York. We went to Radio City Music Hall to see the show and a movie. That impressed me so much I can recall the movie we saw, vividly - it was The Impossible Years staring David Niven. I immediately got a crush on Niven (it was the accent, not his looks), and I think that was when I began being an anglophile!
(The movie was pretty silly, but even after all these years, when I wrote my review for here, I remembered enough to be able to include a spoiler in the review!)
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Edited by - ChocolateLady on 04/11/2009 07:58:18 |
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randall
"I like to watch."
NYC, USA
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Posted - 04/11/2009 : 20:41:56
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Drive-ins [VARIETY used to call them "ozoners"] are sorely lamented. Not just for teenaged making-out, but also for the movies. Here are some movies that, to me, looked [and sounded thru tinny speakers] *better* at the drive-in:
Any Roger Corman Poe movie [MASQUE, PENDULUM, USHER, etc.]
THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES and its sequel
WILD IN THE STREETS
THE GREEN SLIME
THE TRIP
THE BLOB
THE WILD ANGELS
Any Hammer monster film
Anyone care to add more? |
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thefoxboy
"Four your eyes only."
Eastern Suburbs, Melbourne, Australia
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Posted - 04/11/2009 : 22:05:15
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We still have a couple of drive-ins in Melbourne.
Infact 2012 will be showing at one next week.
I remember as kids we would ride our bikes to the local drive-in, only when it was a porn movie 
Boys will be boys. |
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MguyX
"X marks the spot"
United States
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Posted - 04/11/2009 : 22:12:02
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I remember when there were porn drive-ins!
The only drive in movies I remember going to was "The Exorcist" (because I nearly jumped into the back seat at the first projectile vomit scene), and "Crusin'" (which i didn't see because i was making out with my girlfriend in the back seat -- oh the irony of making out with a girl during an essentially gay film). |
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duh
"catpurrs"
See Fourum for details.
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Posted - 05/11/2009 : 04:09:24
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| The most exciting part of going to drive in movie theaters was attempting to sneak as many people in as possible without paying. Cheap fun. |
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Sean
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
New Zealand
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Posted - 05/11/2009 : 04:21:02
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Never been to a drive-in. I'm not aware that there ever has been one in NZ.  |
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thefoxboy
"Four your eyes only."
Eastern Suburbs, Melbourne, Australia
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Posted - 05/11/2009 : 05:02:14
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quote:
Originally posted by duh 10mproper Username
The most exciting part of going to drive in movie theaters was attempting to sneak as many people in as possible without paying. Cheap fun.
A lot easier these days with the rear seats folding down into the boot space or trunk or whatever you call it in your part of the world.
Last time I went to a drive in...1989 I think, the owners had to come and wake my girlfriend and I up at the end.
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MguyX
"X marks the spot"
United States
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Posted - 05/11/2009 : 05:46:55
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quote:
Originally posted by duh 10mproper Username
The most exciting part of going to drive in movie theaters was attempting to sneak as many people in as possible without paying. Cheap fun.
I remember that too! When I was a kid, I would lay down on the floorboard in the back while my sisters drove through!  I think we saved $1.25, but it was fun. |
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silly
"That rabbit's DYNAMITE."
United States
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Posted - 05/11/2009 : 16:11:01
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Since you asked, some randomish drive in memories:
We had one in our town and I remember seeing several movies there with my parents (we would make a giant bowl of popcorn and bring blankets and pillows). Some of the movies I can recall with them: M*A*S*H, Bullitt, Skyjacked, French Connection.
Later this same theater went through changes and had "dollar night", and we would still stuff the trunk w/ kids (I had a 72 Buick that was built like a battleship, it could comfortably seat about 9 teens WITHOUT using the trunk). I remember seeing Heavy Metal and the like.
I took my girlfriend on a date to see Flashdance at a nearby drive in (the one in my hometown had become a parking lot by this time). I wanted to NOT watch the movie but since she grew up in Pittsburgh every couple minutes she would be like "LOOK!!! I used to go there!" so we, er, watched the movie. She later married me and to this day Flashdance has been special for us.
The Texas Stadium drive in (where the Dallas Cowboys used to play up until last year, they wanted to make money off the massive parking lot the other 350 days of the year) played Deep Throat and The Devil in Miss Jones as a double feature for the longest time, and Debbie Does Dallas was a favorite, too. Since it was on a major freeway there were accidents some nights  .
Finally, one of my favorite newspaper columns when I was in high school and college was "Joe Bob Goes to the Drive In," which had a bit of notoriety and he lost his job after mocking the "We Are the World" music video, and I lost track of him after that.
"Remember, without eternal vigilence, it could happen here."
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MguyX
"X marks the spot"
United States
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Posted - 05/11/2009 : 21:36:57
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| That Joe Bob is my kinda fella! |
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randall
"I like to watch."
NYC, USA
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Posted - 10/11/2009 : 22:01:45
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quote:
Originally posted by silly
Since you asked, some randomish drive in memories:
I took my girlfriend on a date to see Flashdance at a nearby drive in (the one in my hometown had become a parking lot by this time). I wanted to NOT watch the movie but since she grew up in Pittsburgh every couple minutes she would be like "LOOK!!! I used to go there!" so we, er, watched the movie. She later married me and to this day Flashdance has been special for us.
The best drive-in story ever! Congrats to you and your good lady! |
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Topic |
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People don't know how to attend movies.
