After having a blast Saturday night while viewing Beyond ReAnimator at a local theater (http://www.badmovies.org/bbs/read.php?f=2&i=44187&t=44187), I started wondering what everyone's best expeirence was.
Being as I rarely go to the theater to see films, my list is pretty short. I think the absolute best films I have watched in the theater would be: Beyond Re-Animator, Jason X, and Spiderman.
Keep in mind that these are not listed due to the actually "quality" of the film but are rated by the "fun-scale". Beyond Re-Animator was a blast. Gore, humor, and a penis/rat kung fu fight. Jason X was also hilarious. How could you not love a F13 film set in space? And Spiderman was well...Spiderman.
Anyone else? Absolute favorite film seen in a theater????
A couple I would mention. As far as mainstream films that lots of people liked, I would say that Titanic and Star Wars (any of the first two) were much better on the big screen. The one that I think lost the most going to the "little" screen ....SEVEN. I loved it in the theatre, I hate it on the television.
I'm tempted to put 28 Days Later here at the top of the list.
On the other hand, I am old enough to have seen the entire Star Wars trilogy in theaters (the original, non-revisionist versions).
I saw THE GODFATHER and THE EXORCIST at the drive-in during their original theatrical runs. Both were extremely memorable experiences.
I saw the original ROCKY in the theater when it was first released. As far as total energy and incredible audience participation, this was an unbeatable experience. The entire theater was energized and everyone was on their feet cheering during the fight between Rocky & Apollo Creed. It was unbelievable.
I saw JAWS in the theater during its original release. That experience probably takes the cake for riveting, heart-pounding excitement.
I also saw STAR WARS during its original theatrical run. It was similar to ROCKY in that everyone was cheering during the climactic attack on the Death Star.
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW should have been a great theatrical experience, but wasn't. I saw it in a theater full of people who did not appear to be "afficionados." They were yelling things at the screen, but at the wrong times. There were a few "hardcore" fans in the audience whoi seemed to know what they were doing. They were obviously disgusted by the other drunk clowns who were just yelling out random, foolish comments.
I have not been a movie in recent memory that has generated as much magic, excitement, and audience participation as the ones I mentioned above.
I had lots of good experiences when I was a kid. "Batman" (1989) was for sure one of them. Now I am like a hardened veteran, and less movies leave me completely satisfied. The two last ones which succeeded in leaving me speechless were "Spirited away" and "Apocalypse Now Redux".
Seeing Jaws and being completely blindsided by it back in 1975 at the tender age of 8. Favorite movie.
The Swarm - so lovingly doofy, saw it four times on the big screen back in '78. Four times
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home opening weekend in a packed theater on Van Ness (back when I was living in San Francisco). The audience was really into it, complete blast.
Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace - Yeah it isn't that good, but seeing my then six year old son loving his first big screen trip to a galaxy far, far away was a blast. To this day my wife and I giggle at how he shouted out STAR HORSE when the fan fare started. Of course, now he calls Yoda Yodaman. Stupid commercials. :D
The only really satisfying cinema experiences I can remember were 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' and 'The Matrix' and more recently 'City of God'.
I still can't believe how great 'City of God' was.
I also really enjoyed seeing Donnie Darko at the cinema, but that I'd seen it on DVD like 15 times before that.
Most of mine are more recent movies; I only recently started making a habit of going to the theater more often.
Jason X was a lot of fun-- I saw it with a couple of friends immediately after taking our SATs, and it was the perfect antidote. We called exactly who was going to die in the first five minutes.
A few months ago, a few friends and I went to a concert, only to be rebuffed because one of us wasn't 18 yet. On a whim, we went to the local arthouse theater instead, and caught a festival of Looney Tunes, which was every bit as exhilirating as one would imagine.
Terry Jones' "Wind in the Willows" was a good one; my mom and I tracked down the only theater in the state playing it when I was 12. It was the first time I'd ever gone out of my way to see a non-mainstream movie in a theater, so the whole experience was pretty exciting.
The Willard remake was a good experience, though that might just be because the movie was the best I'd seen in a theater in a while (also, I saw it just after getting accepted into two colleges and backing my car into a tree, and just before my friend almost got us killed by hooligans, so the whole day was pretty eventful).
Silence of the lambs, I've seen it on my school's little theatre( like 35x 50 ft. and it changes the movie experience so much. I was only 11 when it came out in theatres so I wasnt able to see it, so this was a first for me. I loved every second of it.
my second choice was Army of Darkness. My dad deceided to take me to see it, I was only 13 and it was a surprise, I thought he had already seen it the night before and he said no( I dotn think he was telling the truth, lol) so we went to see it. I didnt know what to expect, but what I saw was the best movie of my childhood.
I hadn't been this entertained EVER. and I still love this movie to death to this day, I would love to see it on the big screen again someday.
Godzilla 2K, hands down. What a great experience. My first and only big screen Godzilla movie to date. The sad part is, I'm sure it'll be my last, 'cuz I doubt any more Godzilla movies are coming. Nevertheless, watching this movie in the theater (coerced by my friend) single-handedly got me into Godzilla movies. I then realized that Godzilla 2K was a good movie, but OK as far as other Godzilla movies go. That's the power of seeing a movie on the big screen for ya.
Nick
28 Days Later, X2, Spider-Man, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of The Ooze.
Monsters Inc. completely, totally captured my imagination and attention.
Jason X was a good experience too because I was part of a GREAT audience. Everyone there enjoyed the movie tremendously.
2001
It was refurbished & rereleased around 1991. I got to see it on the big screen, and was blown away by it. Now I cannot watch that movie on tv, even projection screen tvs are too small; it is about the only DVD I won't buy. The ship needs all the room of the big screen. . . it is just a completely different experience.
Age 6, midnight showing with mom, 1977, in a Galaxy far, far away....
'Nuff said.
28 Days Later, I liked seeing that gritty film texture on a huge screen, it was relly fun, kind of gave me a voyeur experience.
I liked watching Punch Drunk Love in the theaters, there were only 5 other people in the whole theater, I had a good relaxing watch, no distractions so I really got into it.
Mine is probably a toss-up between The Empire Strikes Back (original) and Jurassic Park. I actually saw TESB before I saw Star Wars, although I'd read the book and knew the story by heart from magazines, TV specials, the picture book etc. That was probably the first big special effects movie I saw in the theater. Jurassic Park blew me away with the dinosaur effects. We sat fairly close to the screen, so when the first dinosaur appeared, it looked life-sized.