A two-part question: (1) Do you still have a drive-in movie theater within 100 miles of where your live? (2) When was the last time you've been to a drive-in movie theater and what did you see?
(1) I live in Las Vegas, NV and there is one drive-in theater left featuring three screens.
(2) The last time I was at a drive-in movie theater was 1998 and I saw the double feature of the animated PRINCE OF EGYPT with Robin Williams' PATCH ADAMS.
Post Edited (01-13-04 00:06)
I live in Iowa and as far as I know there is only one screen left and it's far away from me.
I myself am almost 30 years old and have never been to a drive-in.
That's sad!
I live in Wisconsin and until recently we used to have a big drive in movie theater.I don't remeber the last movie I saw in it, it might have been Batman but im not sure.
There is one pretty close to me in Virginia that shows movies several months after they are released, and for anyone who wants to find one near them, go to:
www.driveintheater.com
It lists over 500 operating drive-in theaters as well as lots of "dead" drive-ins and you can search for them by state. It has the phone numbers for the existing ones.
ASHTHECAT - I'll save you the time. Here are the operating drive-ins in Iowa. You should definitely get to one at least once!
Council Bluffs Drive-In
1130 West South Omaha Bridge Road, Council Bluffs, IA 51501 (712) 366-0422
61 Drive-In Theatre
Highway 61 South, Maquoketa, IA (319) 674-4367
Valle Drive-In
Rr 2, Newton, IA 50208 (641) 792-3558
ASHTHECAT wrote:> I myself am almost 30 years old and have never been to a drive-in.
You should make an effort to experience one. Even though drive-ins are traditionally thought of as "passion pits" you can enjoy it with friends or family.
One of the my fondest memories was going to the drive-in with four buddies. We brought a pickup truck, lawn chairs, an ice chest full of beer and sodas, a small grill for hotdogs, and a 39-gallon trash bag of popcorn. Our movies for the night were GODZILLA '85 and HERCULES II.
We heckled the screen and wound up having a popcorn fight (which originally started out as throwing popcorn in the general direction of Lou Ferrigno). Few cars were there so we were allowed to be semi-loud, obnoxious, and messy. And it didn't bother any of the other patrons since they were isolated inside their cars!
There is one movie in particular that I would love to watch in a drive-in: Peter Bogdanovich's TARGETS starring Boris Karloff! That ought to up the adrenaline in the vehicles.
Thanks for the info...
I'll have to check out the one in Maquoketa as it's only an hour or so away from me.
I've lived in Iowa my entire life and I had no idea there was a drive-in that close!
All the others are clear on the other side of the state near the Nebraska border.
Here's a good website about creating, owning and operating your very own drive-in theater:
http://www.driveinworkshop.com/index.htm
What do you think?
Post Edited (01-13-04 05:53)
I live in Delaware about maybe 10 miles from a drive in theater. Last time I was there was Labor day weekend about 3 years ago. I saw American Pie 2, Cats and Dogs, which was a pretty cool movie and the third one was so boring I fell asleep, something about Jay and Silient Bob, I think.
"the third one was so boring I fell asleep, something about Jay and Silient Bob, I think."
if it was jay and silent bob strike back i should whoop your butt! i love that movie. but hey, it's not everyone's thing.
There's a drive in about half an hour away that i haven't been to in years [last and maybe only movie i saw there was mighty ducks 2]
but just recently they had a temporary drive in cinema near me which was really cool. I saw the secretary there [good movie!] Now it's stopped though, and been replaced by an outdoor cinema in the botanical gardens. went there on sunday, it was really cool and heaps of people were there. Saw the princess bride and laughed my head off!
There's one about half an hour from me; there was another one right in the next town over from me, but it closed a coupla years ago. Last movie I saw at the drive-in was X-Men 2.
2001 in Lake George, NY. I think it was called The Glen Drive In. The film was THE OTHERS. Good movie.
We went on vacation with the intent to go to a Drive-In as my wife and daughter haven't been to a Drive-In. At the time I hadn't been to one since 1980. Neat experience.
I actually worked at one back in 78-79. Saw a lot of Corman type cheapies and occasionally a real movie like Star Wars. We also ran X-rated marathons a few times (ran out of speakers and started selling parking spots). Also got to see some interesting people.
We had one nearby when I was growing up, but in the late Nineties they got a "regular" theater so the drive-in went out of business. I wasn't all that sorry since there wasn't much special about it; they played the same movies as the regular theaters.
They had one where I used to live that is still going, but again, they play mainstream stuff. I can't believe they stay in business because that city had a glut of movie theaters.
(1) Yes, we have about 2 or 3 within about an hour drive
(2) The last time I went was probably several years ago. I can't remember for sure what I saw, but it might have been Beverly Hills Cop III. Not sure of what the other movie was.
I would go a lot more if there was a drive-in that showed B-movies from the 1970s.
"if it was jay and silent bob strike back i should whoop your butt! i love that movie. but hey, it's not everyone's thing." quoted from Dean
Ok so you can whoop my butt, It wasn't my "thing" I like those action/adventure movies and the first couple minutes didn't look like something I would watch.
I figured with all three having different area codes, at least one would be somewhat close to where you are. If you go, let me know what you saw and what you thought of the experience.
i think the nearest drive-in is in another state. I haven't seen a drive-in movie since I was about 11 and I think the last one I saw was "Iceman"..but i can't be sure. I am nostalgic about those times..going in your pj's with a bucket of KFC on a rainy night.
Susan - check out the website I referenced above. There might be a drive-in closer than you think.
There is a drive-in about an hour from where we live, and they show at least two movies per night (Fri, Sat and Sun), but they are only open in the non-winter.
My wife and I have found the drive-in to be, not only of sentimental enjoyment, an excellent way to go to the movies with our infant/toddler daughter. She sleeps in the car seat, we watch the movie.
Last summer, we saw "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Finding Nemo" (the drive-in we go to is 'family oriented' so they only show PG-13 and gentler movies). It was a blast. There's a playground up front under the screen for before it gets dark, there's a little cheesy train ride for the younger kids, the hamburgers at the snack bar are cooked on someone's propane grill brought from home....great stuff.
Also, the intro stuff is all '50's animation, a VERY welcome change from the hyperstimulating stuff shown in the theatres nowadays.
We saw Finding Nemo on Labor Day weekend, when they were showing three movies. That's three movies for the price of $5 per person! We did not stay after Finding Nemo was over.
Erik, looks like the nearest one is about 1 1/2 hours away. Not bad, but I guess i'd have to check it out and see what was playing, I'm sure it's probably one screen (not like the multi-screen ones i remember) I was suprised to see how many "dead" ones on the drive-in list were located in dallas. When I first moved here about 20 years ago I remember there only being 2 in my area and they closed down soon after. I somehow wish there would be a resurgance in it's popularity