Most memorable experience in a movie theater

#1

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11/9/03 at 2:25pm

Kevin Porter
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Joined: January 2002
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What is something that you can never forget that happened to you or someone else in a movie theater. It can be embarassing (I was reading a story in another forum about this guy who wet himself at Lord of the Rings: FOTR when Galadriel poured water into the mirror) or sad or funny. Whatever.

Danny Federici, we'll meet you in the land of hope and dreams

#2

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11/9/03 at 4:43pm

ChrisBEA
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I remember going to Star Wars:SE, it was the first time I had the chance to see it on the bog screen. I loved it!
Also when seeing Jay and Silent Bob at a sneak preview, it was sold out and it was full of KSmith fans, that was a blast as well.

#3

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11/9/03 at 5:19pm

Christ Reynolds
CJ
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walking out of the small theater in falmouth after watching bowling for columbine, looking at a few grown men with tears in their eyes. pretty memorable. also i was watching independence day on the day of its release, and afterwards, everyone in the theater stood up and applauded. it was a cool action flick, not sure about being applause worthy. but it was also cool to see a whole theater get together on something...

CJ

And then when I feel so stuffed I can't eat anymore, I just use the restroom! And then I CAN eat more!

#4

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11/9/03 at 6:39pm

Richard Kim
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Watching SW: Attack of the Clones on opening night at the Ziegfeld in New York was an incredible experience. When Yoda finally pulls out his lightsaber, the crowd went absolutely crazy.

Quote:

walking out of the small theater in falmouth after watching bowling for columbine, looking at a few grown men with tears in their eyes.

When watching The Matrix Revolutions, this big, tough looking guy was audibly sobbing and sniffling during
Warning Spoiler! Click to show

Trinity's death scene.

#5

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11/9/03 at 6:54pm

Clay-F
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Joined: February 2003
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Um my most memorable experience in a movie theater would be for an R rated topic.

#6

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11/9/03 at 7:32pm

MatthewLouwrens
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Watching the Star Wars trilogy (sadly, the Special Editions) in a single sitting, front row centre (best seats in the house) at the Embassy Cinema - soon to be host to the world premiere of LOTR.

Speaking of LOTR - midnight screenings of FOTR and TTT. And soon, the Trilogy screening.

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100 Passions - 39 to go - last seen: Breakfast At Tiffany's
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#7

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11/9/03 at 7:50pm

Greg_L_C
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I Talked my dad, who hardly every went to the movies, into going to see Backdraft. My dad was a big city fireman for over 30+ years and I had just started my career with the Fire Department. I thought it would be fun to see the movie together. I was really touched during the last scene of the movie to look over and see tears in my dads eyes. It was the first and last time I ever saw him even come close to crying.

Greg

#8

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11/9/03 at 8:41pm

Peter Kline
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Joined: February 1999
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Seeing "This Is Cinerama" a week after it opened in NYC in 1952. Moviegoers had never previously experienced an ultra wide screen color movie on a deeply curved screen with 7 channel surround sound before this film came out. It forever changed the way movies are seen and heard in theatres.

#9

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11/9/03 at 8:42pm

Jeremy Anderson
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Joined: November 1999
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During FINDING NEMO, a woman two seats over from me whipped out her right breast. I was thinking "Uhm... what in the hell?" And then, her husband handed her the baby that I hadn't noticed and she proceeded to breast feed it. Still... a theater full of children seemed like kind of an inappropriate place for that.

During X-Men 2, this kid with a laser pointer kept shining it on the screen. After the movie, I was pissed off so I snatched it out of his hand and threw it in the garbage. Unbeknownst to me, his mother was standing behind me at the time and started screaming for security. The guy who was coming to clean the theater came along and she told him she wanted him to dig the laser pointer out of the garbage, to which he laughed and said "Lady, I'm not digging in the garbage. Maybe your kid shouldn't have been shining a laser pointer at the screen, because other people paid to see the movie too." I started to walk away and the mother screamed out (in front of her kid) "Get back here, you f*%@ing c#$%sucker!" I don't remember exactly what I said back, but it was something about hoping her kid got taken away by child services.

And THAT's why I have a home theater, folks! Because I HATE PEOPLE!

#10

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11/9/03 at 9:30pm

Kristen
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Joined: June 2001
Location: Miami, FL
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If I remember anything about a movie theater experience besides the movie itself, it's usually because something bad happened.

The most recent example was the horrific experience I had watching Two Towers for the first time. The audience was downright insane. They were yelling at each other, screaming out spoilers and even throwing shoes. After an hour of horror, the movie finally started. Unfortunately, the house lights remained on until the first appearance of Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas, which led to a lot of angry screaming. But not even the darkening of the theater shut these people up. They kept talking throughout the movie and laughing loudly at everything Gollum did, even when it was not intended to be funny. I don't mind an enthusiastic audience (aside from some lewd comments about lightsabers, my midnight showing of Attack of the Clones was fun), but these people were just plain rude.

I can only hope that I don't have a similar experience on December 17.

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#11

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11/9/03 at 9:46pm

Dick
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I brought my wife to see THE GROOVE TUBE in 1974, knowing nothing about it at all. We laughed a lot at most of it and were bored by the dragged-out Cheech and Chung rip-off sequence involving drugs. Then came the Public Service annoucement, starring what at first appeared to be a weird hand puppet. Only gradually, as the camera drew nearer, did we realize what we were looking at, and I literally fell out of my seat and, lying on my back on the floor, laughed so hysterically I could hardly breathe, and this set my wife to laughing hysterically, and meanwhile an entire box full of malted milk balls rolled out of my box and all the way to the front of the theater. I wish I could laugh like that more often!

#12

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11/9/03 at 10:05pm

Jesse Skeen
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Location: Sacramento, CA
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Well, I worked at a few theatres for 10 years- my most memorable experience was learning how to run the projectors. I still remember all the movies that were playing. During the whole time I had free access to the movies, I never missed a single film that was shown (I saw everything at least once), with the exception of the last month of my last theatre job when company politics forced me not to care anymore

Home video oddities, old commercials and other junk: http://www.youtube.com/user/eyeh8nbc

#13

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11/9/03 at 11:11pm

CraigK
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Waaaaaaaaaaay back in 1983 when I got special advance tickets to see a screening of RETURN OF THE JEDI...no other possible experience matched that for anticipation or excitment....at least in my 8 year old eyes! I mean...geez...I just plain FRICKIN' NEEDED to know if Vader was Luke's father...3 years was a long time.

The 1989 premiere of BATMAN was also huge. Probably the biggets hype for a film of that decade...and not to mention the fact of the controversy of the Keaton casting...I can still remember people in line saying "...he better be good."

Rounding third would easily have to be the premiere of PHANTOM MENACE. Like it or hate it, the film was the most anticiapted in the history of film...and the 9 hour line I was in for tickets is a testiment to that...

#14

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11/10/03 at 6:47am

BrianMagog
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Joined: April 2003
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No question about it, my older brother taking me to see Star Wars when I was 8, the opening scene where the giant star destroyer stretching all over the screen was a moment I'll never forget.

#15

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11/10/03 at 8:32am

Matt_P
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I've had a lot of great experiences, and some not so great.

The best would probably be when I saw Lawrence of Arabia and 2001: A Space Odyssey in 70mm with dts sound. It was simply breathtaking. Others include seeing Star Wars Episode IV SE in a THX theater, and the LOTR films (no problems at my screenings so far, thank God).

A couple of odd occurances come to mind. When I saw Mission to Mars in the theater (one of the 3 people that did), this guy sitting next to me yelled out "Oh s#!t !!!" when
Warning Spoiler! Click to show

Tim Robbins goes flying off into space.

It really shocked me. Also, at Crouching Tiger, this woman a couple seats down from me could not contain her enthusiasim. Every time someone floated/lept a great distance, she broke out in very loud OOHs, AHHs and WOWs. And just last weekend, at Revolutions, this woman in front of me kept jumping out of her seat and yelling at the screen during a tense scene, instructing the characters what to do: "Close that hatch!!! CLOSE IT!!!!" All these people seemed perfectly normal before and after the film, but during, they went cuckoo.

People can be very odd.

#16

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11/10/03 at 8:48am

Brian Kidd
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When I saw SUPERMAN as a 7 year old. When the movie was over, I spent the entire ride home staring out the window at the stars and imagining that I was flying amongst them.

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#17

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11/10/03 at 8:50am

Tim Ford
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I remember sitting through the entire last reel of Shallow Grave with no picture on the screen!

#18

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11/10/03 at 9:03am

Glenn Overholt
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I was treated to a murder mystery once. When the projectionist got done with reel 1 he started up reel 3. I'll never forget that.

Glenn

#19

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11/10/03 at 9:18am

Justin W
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Joined: October 2003
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Hmm... Seeing Episode IV on the big screen will probably be an experience I'll always cherish, even if greedo did shoot first.

#20

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11/10/03 at 9:52am

Steve Christou
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Location: Deepest Darkest London, England
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I've posted this before, while I was at the cinema watching Mars Attacks! with some friends somebody's baby was crawling up and down the aisle throughout the film. I couldn't concentrate on the movie, that crawling baby was creeping me out! I was staring at martians on the big screen and at the same time a baby martian was creeping past my seat.

The film had a 12 certificate over here so how that baby got in I don't know, never saw it's mother.

Many years ago I remember watching a movie in a cinema which was infested with rats, they were chasing each other between the seats and running into my legs.
I watched most of the film with my feet up, last time I went there.

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#21

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11/10/03 at 9:53am

Dave Poehlman
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I remember being a 9 yr old back in 1977 and watching Star Wars with my mouth agape. (I went back 12 more times)

I also remember seeing Rocky Horror Picture Show for the first time back in 1987 with my mouth agape wondering what the hell was going on with the audience. (I went back 4 times)

Also, seeing Godzilla as a kid at my small town's local cinema. The place was a dump and the roof leaked.. I got dripped on during the whole show.

Going out to the dollar show as a teenager at one of Milwaukee's historic theaters (now closed

) with about 6 bottles of Meister Brau hidden in my coat. I set one of my empties on the floor and it tipped over and rolled all the way up to the front... everyone in the theater snickered.

Ahhh to be a kid again.

#22

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11/10/03 at 10:01am

Ted Lee
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hmm....it's gotta be ghostbusters

i was on a date with this girl i was sorta seeing in high-school. as we were watching the movie i pulled the arm-around-her-neck move.

she leaned in...so, i went for it.

yes, folks -- the very first time i copped a feel, i was listening to ray parker jr.

#23

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11/10/03 at 10:16am

Joey Gunz
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Years ago, when I was a kid, my friend invited me to go to the movies with him and his mother (who's a very nice lady). The movie was that bad Ryan O'Neal comedy So Fine. Anyway, the theater was packed but the audience wasn't laughing much... except for my friend's mother who apparently found the movie to be absolutely hilarious. She just wouldn't stop laughing. She had a very hard and loud laugh, and the fact that no one in the audience was laughing made her very noticeable. Everytime she laughed, me and my friend (getting more and more embarrassed) would sink deeper and deeper into our chair hoping no one will notice us. I remember at the end of the movie, when the lights finally came back on, my friend just bolted right outta the theater leaving me and his mother behind.

#24

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11/10/03 at 10:50am

Scott_Jua
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Joined: December 2002
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Coolest movie moment ever: SE Empire Strikes back first showing first day... Entire audience Raised arms and said "YAAAAAYYYYY" in unison when it was announced that the First Transport was away. It was the single most awesome disply of one way thinking I have witnessed.

one of the worst: Watching a Cuba Gooding Jr. movie (something about him being a boxer) and feeling a wet sleeve. I thought that my friend was messing with me at first and was dripping water on me. As I progressively got more wet I though the ceiling was leaking. Finally when I realized my entire arm was soaked I touched it again and it was sticky...so I got up to go see what the hell it was. It was blood. my own blood. As I walked out to see, I was dizzy and almost fell over. When I finally got to the bathroom, my entire arm was covered in my own blood. Freaky yes, but worse was taking off my shirt to find that it was only a tiny pin prick like hole in my arm jsut bleeding like mad. No earlier injury, so sign of damage...jsut this tiny hole bleeding profusely. It ruined my day...but luckily I applied enough pressure to get it to stop bleeding before I passed out.

Weird...

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#25

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11/10/03 at 11:11am

Dave Poehlman
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Scott, your blood story reminded me of another theater experience.

I was a young kid... and my family was at the mall theater (probably seeing Star Wars) and on the way out, I said I had to go to the bathroom. The bathrooms were up some stairs (this was a messed up theater) and down a hall. Anyway.. I came back out to the lobby to see my family walking away into the crowded mall. Panicked that I would be lost and have to live in the mall forever, I bolted towards them.

I ran into a glass door... breaking my nose.

About a week later they put some silver little circles on the glass so idiots like me could see there was glass there. :b

#26

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11/10/03 at 11:11am

TheLongshot
Jason
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A few:

Seeing ANH:SE at the Uptown with friends. The most memorable part wasn't the movie, but the trailer for Jurassic Park before it, which the theater used strobe lights to go along with the dino footfalls. Very effective.

The first time seeing Superman: The projector bulb went out while Superman was entering Lex's lair. The vocal track was still running, so I just thought it was damn dark down there.

Jason

My DVD Collection

#27

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11/10/03 at 11:31am

Kami
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I've been in theaters where there was applause before, but the only time I've seen a standing applause with people yelling and whistling was on my first screening of FOTR on opening night. There were tons of hardcore fans there, and the applause went on forever.

#28

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11/10/03 at 12:09pm

Dave_Brown
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Location: MI
Post Count: 666

Most memorable: Don't remember my exact age but it was when ET hit the screens. I was a farily young kid, probably around 10 and the reason it stands out was because this was the first time I remember standing in a line for a movie that went all the way around the block and then some just for the tickets. This was a small town theater and my parents had dropped off my sister and me to watch this movie. First time we got to go to a movie without our parents and boy did we feel cool!
Turns out the theater only sat 300 people and they had to come out and do a count for the remaning tickets. I was getting pissed after standing there for over an hour and thinking we wouldn't get in. As the lady came down counting you could see everyone getting pretty testy. My sister and I were 297 and 298. Just barely made it in. And yeah, it was probably the first movie I cried in.

Least proud moment: At the end of the first Mortal Kombat movie with an army buddy of mine. I had a wicked case of stomach rot going and had tried to hold the gas in all movie long. Finally as we were standing up to leave I couldn't take it anymore and one slipped out. It was terrible, had my eyes watering. My buddy turned around a couple seconds later and all he could say was "Man, can you------ulp!" before he couldn't breath. So then I started to bust out laughing and we just bolted. Finally make it out to the car and fresh air and he was cursing me out. He says, "I was gonna turn to ask if you thought someone busted ass in here only to turn around and find the source!"
Anytime we need a good laugh we just think back to all those poor folks behind us that had to walk through that cloud.

#29

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11/10/03 at 1:09pm

Scott Walburn
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Joined: August 2000
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I'll chime in on this one. When I was 14, and Terminator 2 came out. I've never left a theater with such a jaw dropped expression in my life. To this day, this the greatest theater experience. Everyone, in the theater was silent, and hypnotized by the movie. To this day, I compare all other movies I see in the theater to T2. The only movies that have come close to the feeling I had after that one were the LOTR and the Matrix. However, when T2 came out I was a lot younger, and it captured my impagination like no other movie. Now, Im a little older and a lot more cynical, but I'll always appreciate the WOW factor of a James Cameron movie. They may not always be the best movies, but there is always something that just makes your jaw drop and makes you go WOW.

#30

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11/10/03 at 1:45pm

Dome Vongvises
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Joined: May 2001
Location: Lexington, KY
Post Count: 8,174

Anytime I watch a Star Wars movie, it's an event. People clapping and cheering. I love that kind of experience.

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