Ever since I was a child, I have enjoyed going to the movies. The first movie I remember seeing as a child, with my parents, was 'The Long, Long Trailer' with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The last movie I saw, as of this writng, was 'Beowulf' in digital 3D. In between were hundreds more, both good and bad.
Movie theaters in Baltimore during the fifties and sixties were typical of theaters across the United States. The theaters in the downtown area were older. Some were burlesque theaters converted over to play movies. Some, like the Hippodrome, featured magnificent artwork and sculptures. Others were, well, kind of sleazy.
Most of these relics are long gone. The downtown theaters turned into parking garages (except for the renovated Hippodrome, which features touring musicals and such). The suburban theaters became American Legion halls.
Some surburban theaters outstayed their welcome. I remember going to the Northwood theater in 1974 to see 'Crazy Joe' starring Peter Boyle (I know, I was real bored). I think I was the only one in the theater. A little ways into the movie, I began to see movement around the aisles. Upon further observation, I saw that the place was infested with mice. I mean they were all over the place. I put my feet on the seat in front of me and continued watching the film.
Not long after that, I realized that I was alone in a dark movie house, completely outnumbered by vermin, watching a lousy movie. I left, never to return.
One thing I liked about the movies back then was you really didn't know much about them before they hit the theater. Unlike today's films, with previews and television trailers that give away the entire plot (and sometimes even the ending), the movies in those days told you who was starring in it and the feature times.
In fact, certain films would offer sneak previews to the public weeks before the official opening. My wife and I saw 'The Outlaw Josie Wales' in this manner. All we knew about the film was that it starred Clint Eastwood.
The movie theaters began to change for the better in the late '80s.
Sometime in early July of 1988 I was watching television when an amazing movie trailer came on the tube. I ran to my wife, like a little kid, telling her we had to go see that movie. It hadn't yet started in Baltimore, but it was playing in Washington, D.C., so that's where we went.
The theater was old and big and was equipped with a fully functional surround sound system including a monstrous sub woofer.
The movie was 'Die Hard' and it knocked my socks off. It was my first time in a movie theater with loud realistic sound. It was, and still is, the best movie going experience in my life.
A few years ago, I managed to approximate the sound at home with my own surround sound system, and a 50" rear projection wide screen television.
So who needed movie theaters? Almost all DVDs were available in their original wide screen versions. The video and audio quality was excellent in that format. I didn't have to worry about being disturbed by chattering, cell phones, or mice.
But then, around the same time as I was purchasing all this stuff, the movie theater complexes being built in our area offered a innovation I couldn't refuse; stadium seating.
Seeing the movie screen in a movie theater, without a head to block the view, was just too much to withstand.
So I compromised. My wife and I still go to the movies, but it's usually to see the movies we just can't wait the 4 or 5 months to see on DVD. Or to see the epic type flicks that you just have to see on the big screen.
I love DVDs and as soon as they get this beta vs. VHS (oops, I mean blu-ray vs. HD) thing straightened out, I will purchase a high definition player. For the time being, I'm perfectly happy with the way my DVDs look and sound on my T.V.
But I will not sacrifice the pure joy of seeing a movie on the big sceen. From 'The Long, Long Trailer to 'Beowulf', it's been a blast.