Micmacs (à tire-larigot) is Jean -Pierre Jeunet's latest movie and finally it is showing this week at the Scala down in Prestatyn. I missed the evening showing yesterday, so I may have to go to see it at the Pensioner's special on Tuesday morning.
I was thinking about my love of cinema this afternoon and where it all came from.
Visiting the cinema in the 1970s could have been viewed by some as a rather dismal activity. The decade was not known as an uplifting period in movie history as some of the bleakest films found their way to the screen (Straw Dogs, Clockwork Orange,Dog Day Afternoon, Taxi Driver and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's nest) yet as a baby faced adolescent I was spared the trauma of trying to get into see an "X" certificate movie.....favouring the more teen friendly "A" and "AA" movies..............so of course we had the plethora of disaster films of the mid 70's to enjoy, as well as the likes of Jaws, Bugsy Malone,The Omen,The Spy That Loved Me, Close Encounters and Alien)
The cinemas were large cold, uncomfortable orange and beige places that smelled of cigarettes and damp, but I loved making the effort to go to Rhyl on the bus to sit though a matinee by myself, the trouble to go the four miles, really made the ritual worthwhile.
There were always two features on offer,and always an ice cream lady with proper ice cream and wafers all set out in a box strung around her neck. (I never had the money to get an ice cream!)
Matinees were almost deserted every time I went, so even to this day, there is something quite reassuring and familiar when I am surrounded by empty seats and all alone in the dark, the lighter side of seventies movie life (remember the 1970's was a bleak economic, news worthy and political time), could wash over me.
This love of film fantasy has continued to be an important part of my life today. Love of the technicolour epic continues ( and always will do), but thankfully my cinematic interests and experiences are now wide and varied!
The ritual of choosing the film, the paying for the ticket and the sitting down in a chosen ( and quiet) seat remains a joy and on Tuesday if I do go to the pensioner's showing of Micmacs, my experience of the Jeunet movie will be as fresh and as enjoyable as my 1974 trip to see The Poseidon Adventure!
I took my Mom to see "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" when it came out. She acted so appalled at the language, and yet I had heard far worse during Mom & Dad's fights, while I was growing up.
ReplyDeleteI think that film was the one that made me a super fan of Jack's. Gee, just now thought, maybe that's where my Jack got his name, from the deep recesses of my mind.
I seldom go anymore, and on those occasions, I take ear plugs, they play them so LOUD!
Watching a good movie is kind of like reading a good book, you just kind of get lost...............
I think it funny, I rarely go to a movie by myself, but have much the same feeling when I do. I get to see the movie I have chosen, with my own thoughts and opinions being the only one of concern, and I agree, the variety is a tad bit better than in the 70's...
ReplyDelete(But Sharon, I agree with you, I have earplugs in my purse just because of that. Husband, who is hard of hearing, complains, too!)
Cat
Same here. I very rarely go to the movies, but, when I do, it's always with a great deal of anticipation and excitement.
ReplyDeleteOh, this is going to get long.
My Mother was a movie lover. She had started going to the movies during the depression, and always loved them. They were the way she escaped from the sadness around her. She knew everything there was to know about the stars of that era.
When I was a child, there were no suburban movie theaters. To see a movie you went downtown. And, the RKO Palace got all of the best movies. It was a fairy-tale theater, full of red velvet and halls with crystal chandeliers. To a child, it WAS like a palace. Mom took me there whenever there was a new Disney movie. It was a special treat, and the anticipation lasted for days before.
I think that anticipation and excitement still lives with my inner child today. I'm feeling it right now. You see, Wednesday, a friend and I are going to see "How to Train Your Dragon" in 3D! Yeh, I still like animated features.
louise,
ReplyDeletenice thoughts....
thanks for sharing.
my mother too was a lover of film see next blog!!!