Badmovies.org Forum

I'm not talking about major zillion dollar blockbusters, although some in the past have been that way.  I'm talking about the movies where people actually applaud at the end.

I saw Ghostbusters in the cinema years and years ago, and at the end, the whole audience applauded and yelled as the credits rolled.  It was awesome.  The audience was quite vocal at the end of Stargate.  There was some applause at the end of Star Wars Episode 1.  But I really can't think of very many movies where the audience has spontaneously clapped as a whole.  Interestingly, there was some audience applause at the end of Three Colours Red, when I saw it a couple of years ago in an arthouse cinema.

What movies have you seen where the audience started clapping at the end?  Why do you think they did?

(Hey everyone!  Haven't been in for ages!)

~Archivist~

Outside of the Starwars movies I remember alot of applauding during The karate Kid, and of course during Fahrenheit 911

I had to join just to comment on this.

When I saw "Life Is Beautiful" the only other people in the theater were some older Jewish couples.  After the movie I watched them just there and think.  It wasn't applause, but it was clear that they had gone through an emotional experience watching the movie.  I think that they appreciated the film, but it hurt them too.  I have never cried at a movie, but I almost did watching their faces.

The loudest reaction from an audience that I have ever seen to a movie (besides RHPS) was watching "Mystery Science Theater 3000 - The Movie" in the theater.  As Mike, Tom Servo, and Crow all appeared, the audience would start clapping and yelling.  At the end, everyone was yelling and going wild.

The most powerful reaction from an audience I have ever seen was "Saving Private Ryan."  I saw it in a theater near Washington DC and the rows were full of older veterans.  My group, all in our mid 20's and military, was probably the youngest there.  At the end of the film, the credits rolled, but nobody rose to leave, not even when the lights came on.  When the credits finally finished, some of us started moving.  As I got up, I looked at the audience behind us (we were near the middle) and many of the older men had tears on their faces.

Beyond Re-Animator.

My wife and I went to a midnight showing of the film when it was first released.  Everyone in the audience was clapping and laughing the whole way through.  The ending brought on a standing ovation from everyone there.  It's still one of my favorite theater experiences.

The most powerful reaction to a movie I ever saw was from my father, he was B-17 crewman and I thought he would enjoy Memphis Belle with Mathew Modine, we were watching and every so often he would kind of laugh and say that's not the way that works or we didn't do it that way, he seemed to find the movie mildly amusing right up to John Lithgow's reading of the letters, he got real quite then and when the black and White footage was over I looked at him and he was crying.

When I went to the theater to see RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK the whole audience applauds when Indiana Jones crosses from the cargo ship and re-emerges on the submarine. That was a big movie moment.

(http://www.sensesofcinema.com/images/04/33/raiders_lost_ark.jpg)

As I may have mentioned at the end of GODZILLA 2000 all the people my age applauded in the theater at the end of the movie. It's the first time I ever saw a theatrical release of Godzilla on the big screen. That final Godzilla roar made the theater a little weepy in appreciation for our childhood king of monsters.

(http://www.exclaim.ca/photos/articlephoto-314.jpg)

Lord of the rings. It was overwhelming.  :thumbup:

People clap at premieres, opening nights or special occasion movies, such as an outdoor cinema/place where they show cult movies.

Other than that, I haven't really had a proper clapping moment.

Though I did have some old people talking about 'it was exactly like that back then' when watching "Gosford Park".

I saw "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" in a great big theatre in Perth (Western Australia). A packed room of something like 800 people applauded at the same time just after Jack faced off with the Kraken towards the end. I wasn't going to myself, but I got caught up in the moment.

When Brother Ragnarok & I went to a sold out midnight screening of X-Men 2 back in 2003 on the Wartburg college campus.

The theater was packed with college kids and it was a wild ride from beginning to end.
The audience went crazy during the scene where Wolverine finally snaps and impales that guy into the refrigerator.
People were standing up pumping their fists and screaming "YEAAAAH!"

Here in the city I live in, nobody claps in a movie theater....ever.

The Mask with Jim Carrey.  Went to go see it opening weekend and there were a ton of kids in the audience. 

Side note, I've always wondered why people applaud in theaters...is it for the projectionsist?  Unless its a premier I doubt the actors/directors will be there to hear it. 

Pirates Of The Caribbean:Dead Mans Chest.... not only did the audience applaud the movie itself but they also applauded when the teaser for Transformers played.

Snakes On A plane, this summer all off the whopping 12 people clapped everytime sameul L Jackson cussed. when he would say "Im tired of these mfing snakes on these mfing plane."

When i was around 9-10 my dad took me to see the premiere of star Wars: a new hope in the theatres. The place was packed and people were going nuts and reciting lines. At the end a huge clap and kids pulled out lightsabers and started battling. They also , before the movie did a trivia game where you won a free star wars t-shirt. I was so mad because I knew all the answers but they never called on me.

Welcome aboard, Automan2000.

I just received that DVD at our unit Christmas party the other day.  Should have gotten the clue when some of the Marines were asking me about recent movies that I had not seen yet.  Looking forward to watching it, as I enjoyed the first one.

Also wanting to see "Snakes On A Plane."

 Iv'e seen a couple emotional reactions in theatres...during Jaws when I was a kid...I admit...I was chewing my ticket stub like gum.
And my cousin Tina RAN down the aisle after Jack nailed the cook with the axe in the SHINING.

My Dad took me to see JAWS in 1975 I was only 8 years old at the time.
And I will never forget People standing and cheering and clapping at the end of that movie.
I Had seen nothing like it before or since and neither has my Dad. :thumbup:

A couple people applauded a bit when Rocky started laying into Mason in Rocky Balboa. 

People yelled, laughed and squeeled throughout Freddy VS Jason. 

People applauded King Kong defeating the last T-rex. 

Probably the strongest reaction I've seen wasn't from a film at all, but from a trailer.  First time I saw the Pearl Harbor in a packed theatre, a lot of the older folks were getting wistful and misty eyed by the end.  The full-length trailer for that film is fantastic, one of the best I've ever seen.  Too bad the film isn't...

Jim H, could you give us your thought on ROCKY BALBOA. I'm thinking of catching this over the holiday.

I grew up in small-town Kilmarnock, Virginia.  One movie theatre for approximately 50miles in all directions.
One of the factors that gets people applauding at films is lack of other outlets, I think.
Anyway, the one film I attended several times wherein the audience spontaneously applauded -- at the race results, no less -- was . . . Walt Disney's "The Horse in The Grey Flannel Suit" --
I can't even remember the plot to this picture, but recall vividly how great it felt to be in a group of people all clapping because the underdog horse had won this sqeaky-close race.
And, of course, everyone screamed and yelled at Hammer's "The Reptile", but that's not applause.  We all used to hide behind the seats & otherwise hugely react during horror/science-fiction flicks.  Hell, people still do that here in Colorado.  But applause is a rare kettle of fish . . .
peter johnson/denny crane

I'm still a bit muddled about it, actually.  I think I'd get a better opinion if I see it again, which probably won't happen til it hits DVD.

But some general thoughts...

The writing is mostly good.  There are a few clunkers and cheese bits here and there though.  Stallone and everyone else is excellent..  With the exception of the guy who plays his son.  He ranges from pretty good to (in a single scene) awful.  The 'villain' is given a bit of humanity early on, but then this is apparently totally forgotten, which bugged me a bit.  I'd have liked more time with him.

Stallone has a couple of longer speeches, which are pretty good.  The overall storyline is good, and more believable than you'd guess.  It seems like there is going to be a romantic subplot, but there isn't, which is great.  The cinematography is usually pretty, but I thought the hand held bits were too common.  Film is slow building, but does get where its going.  It feels slower than the original Rocky, actually, which is kind of amazing. 

The fight sequence at the end is very well done, though the MTV style in the middle gets to be a bit hectic.  Still, extremely well choreographed and shot.

Overall, as a serious movie, I'd say it is better than all of the other sequels, but it is not as good as the original film.  I don't think Stallone will ever top the original, it's pretty much his Citizen Kane. 

So yeah, Rocky Balboa gets my vote to see in theatres.  It would be especially worth it if you get with a crowd who really gets into it...  I suspect the early showings with huge Rocky fans were awesome.

* The original ROCKY - I saw it during its original theatrical run when I was 12 years old.  The theater was sold out and the entire audience was on it's feet clapping and cheering for Rocky during the final fight scene.  It was like being at a live boxing match.  When I saw ROCKY BALBOA on oipening night las week, it was a similar experience except that the audience didn't stand up . . . but they were clapping and cheering during the fight. 

* STAR WARS - When I saw this during its original theatrical run, the audience cheered during the attack on the Death Star and also during the closing credits.

* JAWS - The audience cheered when Roy Scheider killed the shark.

I kept considering the fact that "Rocky" must have been a good one in the theater.  You get to feel for Rocky, because he is someone given an extraordinary opportunity, someone who seems to have wasted a great deal of his life, but he reaches down deep to find a lot of strength and intensity.  The audience does not even know if he has enough to win, but they are going to applaud how far he came to try.

I saw "Rocky IV" in the theater and remember everyone clapping and cheering.  Of course, in that one you have a drug-enhanced Soviet monster as the enemy, along with Rocky outrunning KGB agents as he trains for the fight by pounding through deep snow.  Oh, and the DJ robot dancing around and coming on to Paulie.