GOING TO THE MOVIES - ANOTHER TRADITION IN PERIL
I was disheartened to read about the simultaneous release both in theatres and on DVD and pay per view of the next film by the pioneering director of SEX, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE. At the end of Pedro Almadovar's BAD EDUCATION comes the word "passion", which describes the feeling of one of the characters, who happens to be a film director. It is also the sentiment behind Guy Maddin's remarkable short film HEARD OF THE WORLD where the word "KINO' keeps flashing on the screen.
For me, going out to the movies has been a communal experience. Although I often go alone, there is often the joy of discovery and the chance of sharing that joy with others in the theatre. When I ran the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, I would often introduce the shows, and stand in the lobby afterwards to see and sometimes share the responses of my patrons. (Even if it was something like, "Why did you make me watch that piece of shit, David?)
Last week I blogged about how good it was to have institutions like Fenway Park and the Boston Athaneum still around and last night I was able to share my feelings with Jane Holtz Kay, a preservationist friend of mine who wrote the book LOST BOSTON. But my friend in Toronto, who grew up in the Boston area, reminded me that we've lost the Orson Welles, the Central Square, the Exeter, Off the Wall, and Park Square and Kenmore Square Cinemas, places where one could discover new work and rediscover the old and do it not alone with one's video monitor, but with others. It was a joyous time.
At least the Coolidge and the Brattle are still around. In that respect Boston is doing better as a film town than many others. And, this week, the Brattle is showing a series of classic Westerns. I hope they do well, since New Englanders have never been big on Westerns. Brattle programmers Ned and Ivy are excellent programmers. I know they have been struggling, but it's nice to have a theatre being programmed by people who have a passion for film, both the new and the traditional. And going to the Brattle can still be a communal experience.
I just hope Steven Soderberg's experiment underperforms. For those dwindling numbers of us that still have a passion for film, and love to share that passion with others, young and old, we need another nail in the casket due to the demands of economics.
For me, going out to the movies has been a communal experience. Although I often go alone, there is often the joy of discovery and the chance of sharing that joy with others in the theatre. When I ran the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, I would often introduce the shows, and stand in the lobby afterwards to see and sometimes share the responses of my patrons. (Even if it was something like, "Why did you make me watch that piece of shit, David?)
Last week I blogged about how good it was to have institutions like Fenway Park and the Boston Athaneum still around and last night I was able to share my feelings with Jane Holtz Kay, a preservationist friend of mine who wrote the book LOST BOSTON. But my friend in Toronto, who grew up in the Boston area, reminded me that we've lost the Orson Welles, the Central Square, the Exeter, Off the Wall, and Park Square and Kenmore Square Cinemas, places where one could discover new work and rediscover the old and do it not alone with one's video monitor, but with others. It was a joyous time.
At least the Coolidge and the Brattle are still around. In that respect Boston is doing better as a film town than many others. And, this week, the Brattle is showing a series of classic Westerns. I hope they do well, since New Englanders have never been big on Westerns. Brattle programmers Ned and Ivy are excellent programmers. I know they have been struggling, but it's nice to have a theatre being programmed by people who have a passion for film, both the new and the traditional. And going to the Brattle can still be a communal experience.
I just hope Steven Soderberg's experiment underperforms. For those dwindling numbers of us that still have a passion for film, and love to share that passion with others, young and old, we need another nail in the casket due to the demands of economics.
1 Comments:
Great posting, David. Going to the movies is truly a scared experience, as sacred as any, with its mix of hilarity, emotion, annoyance, puzzlement. Maybe ithis aspect appeals more to people who have been exposed to some form of such moments, or maybe it just appears to be passing. Whenever I go to movies, the theaters are packed, so that's a hopeful sign! Even 'Tristan & Isold', despite Ridley and his bro Scott's involvement, managed to grip the gum-chewing teenie-boppers (acting) crowd at the Chestnut Hill Mall, and kids & people were disucssuing the movie afterwards, so it may be too early to despair - crowd of people, all moved by the experience, and communicating afterwards - not bad!
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