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Home > Blogs > Sir Critic on Cinema > Archives > 2008 > September > 04 > Entry
What I miss when going to the movies
Earlier this week I went inside the Dayton Mall for the first time in a long time, and man, I hardly recognized the place. Even the old Spencer Gifts was gone. Now what are people going to do to play with stupid electronic junk?
Oh that’s right - they carry stupid electronic junk around with them now.
But I digress. What always makes me swallow hardest when I pass by the mall is remembering that the huge old Dayton Mall 1 Cinema, with its huge screen, is long gone. And that brought to mind a number of things I miss about moviegoing when I was a kid. Such as:
BIG screens: Sure, there are large screens at the megaplexes now, but rarely do you see the curved 50-foot monsters that the Dayton Mall had, and that Page Manor cinema had.
BIG auditoriums: This one kind of went out with the BIG screens. Even in a good-sized megaplex auditorium, you get maybe about 500 people in a packed showing. I miss hearing 1,000 or so people roaring at the swordsman getting shot in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Quiet audiences: Seems to me audiences were better behaved in days gone by partly because they appreciated that going to the theater was a special experience, because the movie wasn’t going to be available at home in 4 months.
Movie posters that say “Now in its 53rd smash week!”: What’s the last movie that could boast that? E.T.? Return of the Jedi, maybe?
Seeing Disney animated classics in theaters.
And along those lines, this isn’t something I miss, so much as I missed out on: Cartoons before movies. If only they showed up at more than animated features.
And finally … No ads before the feature presentation: Do I really need to say more?
What do you miss about moviegoing of the past?
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Moviegoing
Comments
By Kim
September 5, 2008 9:11 AM | Link to this
I’m pretty much right there with you - I miss the same things. What I miss the most though is definitely going to see the classic Disney features in the movie theater. It seems to me like each movie came around every 7 years or so, and it was always an event - like it USED to be when Wizard of Oz came on TV. Home video definitely spoiled all of that and ruined the “grand event” feeling of movies for the most part. My parents used to tell me about going to school over the swinging bridge, and I tell my kids, “Yeah - we didn’t get to just watch Cinderella whenever we wanted - we had to wait for it to come to theaters.” And seeing those films for the first time remain some of my most intense movie memories! And yes - those long run films! I dunno - maybe I don’t miss that so much - but it’s not like they are cranking out tons of fresh, high quality stuff. I DO miss a quality movie having a longer run so I get a chance to see it multiple times in life’s bustle. I do remember seeing the first Star Wars movie 35 times over the course of a year - and I am sure there were lots that saw it way more times! Those were the days…By SRCputt
September 5, 2008 4:28 AM | Link to this
Actually, E.T. didn’t get to 53 weeks. It was pulled at the anniversary of its release. I think I had seen it five times by then.By SRCputt
September 5, 2008 4:25 AM | Link to this
You just summed up what makes the Victoria Theatre series so fun. A BIG old theatre, and organ concert before the feature, and a cartton before the feature.