Look at what I almost missed!!!
I missed a bunch of the essentials – I missed my chance to see North by Northwest on the big screen – which is a bummer – but I still have a chance to see:
Suspicion
Notorious – on the big screen???? ARGH!
The Birds
Vertigo
To Catch a Thief ….
Help. I need my day calendar. I need to start planning my time. My heart is POUNDING.
LOL! Once again, your passion has made me smile. Would that I had an ounce of your enthusiasm!
i would LOVE to see those! soo jealous..
Motherfu….
My theater has only shown a handfull of those. Oh, to live in New York….
Mark – I know!! I’ve never seen any of this shite on the big screen!
Oh man, they’re all so good on the big screen. And they’re even showing the silent version of Blackmail. See it! Why are you still sitting here? Go! Now!
One of the great theater experiences I ever had…and I was in grammar school at the time…was when my best friend’s dad brought us to some revival theater that was showing “Rear Window”. I don’t remember what street it was on or anything, but Rear Window remains my favorite Hitchcock film to this day. I wish I could make it in to the city for “the Birds” and “To Catch A Thief.” Grace Kelly…umm, you don’t get to see anyone that stunningly beautiful on the big screen anymore.
Going off topic, my second-favorite movie theater experience (excluding my first viewings of the original Star Wars films) had to be when that same friend’s dad brough us to an advance screening (I believe it was a critic’s screening, he was a writer for Time and had the creds to get into those things) of Superman II.
I am jealous. Have fun seeing these films!
I loooooove Rear Window too, Alex.
Hmmm, now you are making me think of my favorite movie-going experiences. Star Wars definitely … I think my favorite one was Empire Strikes Back – because we had waited SO LONG and the anticipation was INSANE!!!!
Sheila, without question, The Empire Strikes Back is the greatest single movie-going experience I have ever had. Or probably will have, for that matter.
It is, in many ways, a perfect film: The writing, the acting, the pacing, the surprises…it is the space version of The Godfather Part II. Empire is the measuring stick…and it set a standard so high that even Lucas couldn’t meet it with his entertaining yet utterly inferior prequel trilogy.
Since we’re talking theater experiences, I have to add in a friday double feature I got to see at the University of Miami campus cinema (now named the Cosford Cinema, after the late Miami Herald film critic…who taught my fave class in all of college, but that’s a story for another day).
The double bill?
Part 1: Blade Runner, the Director’s Cut
Part 2: Aliens (a movie that is just about as good as Empire)
I had never seen either one on the big screen before. It was so great.
OH MAN!!!
I just got goosebumps – I never saw Blade Runner on the big screen either – I wish they would re-release it. Yet again. The movie has just gathered steam as a great accomplishment ever since it came out. It’s one of THOSE films. But I sure would like to see it on the big screen.
And yes, yes, yes to your comments about Empire. It’s one of those movies that never leaves my Top 5 – other films come and go. That one never does. I can never EVER forget the first time I saw it.
Retrospect shows me that obviously it was the best of the bunch – but at the time, all I knew was that I was swept away even more intensely than with the first Star Wars.
GREAT film. On every level that it needs to be great.
The reason for that is that Empire operates at an emotional level that does not exist in the original Star Wars. You have romance, you have real internal conflict going on with the characters.
I often find myself defending the original Star Wars nowadays. People tell me it’s boring,that the effects are lame, etc. These are criticisms that are unfair and out of context. At the time, Star Wars was mind-blowing. It also established SciFi devices that have been ripped off and reused in just about every scifi film and/or show ever since.
The cantina is the perfect example of this…it is arguably the best scene in the movie and instantly demonstrates that it is indeed a large galaxy with a limitless variety of beings inhabiting it. Nowadays, there’s always a bar scene with aliens.
That’s because of Star Wars. And it’s just one example. I’m going to stop because I can talk about movies like this all day, and I have to go home now!
I love threads like this….
YOu have come to the right place. I can talk about this shit all day too.
Have you read the book Easy Riders Raging Bulls? It’s about what happened in the film industry in the 70s – the revolution that occurred – it’s an incredible book. Of course George Lucas was a huge part of that revolution – I posted a bunch of excerpts about Star Wars a while back – maybe you’d enjoy them. Not sure if these will open up in new windows – but anyway, here are all the excerpts I put up on my blog about Star Wars and its impact:
Star Wars
More Star Wars …”No one was supportive”
Star Wars … “There’s no jiggling in the Empire”
Star Wars “George, you can type this shit, but you sure can’t say it”
Star Wars “Who’s gonna believe this?”
Star Wars: “What’s this Farts of Others?”
Star Wars: Dolby Stereo
Star Wars: “I guess it works, ya know?”
Star Wars: “Watch the six o’clock news”
And my favorite one of all:
Star Wars: “you started feeling this huge thing coming over your shoulder overwhelming you”
Oh boy! I’ll be catching up on all of those this evening. Haven’t read that book. I’ll be sure to stick it on my Amazon wishlist.
Thanks for the links! And the film chat!
Sheila, those posts were really great. I simply must have that book. The backstory is as interesting as the actual film itself.