MOVIE THEATERS: PART TWO

PART 2 OF 2

Sometimes I think about all the classic theaters that have been destroyed, and it makes me sad.



Most of what is left now, are giant multi-screened monstrosities.

Those buildings have more in common with a WALMART, than with a movie theater.

I don't feel the same excitement I used to have with the smaller buildings. Those old theaters were made to please your eyes, and had inspired architecture. When I was there, I felt like I was somewhere special.



Nowadays, when I visit local theaters, it's seldom a good experience.

Sometimes the theaters resemble day care centers, because of all the unsupervised kids running amok.

There's the overpriced inedible "food".

Almost forgot to mention the cell phone bullshit. I do NOT want to hear your voice during the movie!.... SHUT THE FUCK UP, OR GO OUTSIDE!

Who the hell wants to put up with A TON OF FUCKING NONSENSE?!

In most of the old theaters, they used to have ushers that stopped disturbances - that seemed to end during the mid-eighties.


Screengrab from WET AND WILD ( aka VIRGINS IN HEAT )


Screengrab from WET AND WILD ( aka VIRGINS IN HEAT )

You'd think there would be a lot of books about theaters, but you'd be wrong. It seems most movie books focus on the folks in front of the camera - which is one of the most disposable aspects of any film.

Below is a short list of movie books that focus on theaters.....



The Show Starts on the Sidewalk
Maggie Valentine
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 978-0300066470

Cinema Under the Stars
Elizabeth McKeon & Linda Everett
Publisher: Cumberland House
ISBN: 978-1581820027

Drive-in Theaters
Kerry Segrave
Publisher: McFarland & Company
ISBN: 978-0786426300



American Drive-In Movie Theatre
Don Sanders
Publisher: Crestline
ISBN: 978-0785829751

Ticket to Paradise
John Margolies & Emily Gwathmey
Publisher: Bulfinch
ISBN: 978-0821218297

Cinema Treasures
Ross Melnick
Publisher: MBI
ISBN: 978-0760314920



Silent Screens
Michael Putnam
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN: 978-0801863295

Drive-Ins
Joan Liftin
ISBN: 9781904563198
Publisher: Trolley Press