The Bridge on the River Kwai at the Academy Theatre! (1 Viewer)

[Rob Tomlin]

I saw David Lean's classic prisoner of war epic, The Bridge on the River Kwai, at The Academy Theater in Beverly Hills Monday night.
This was part of the Academy Theater's 75 years of Best Picture Oscar Winners, where they are screening all 75 Best Picture Winners every Monday night. For more information, click here.
In short, the presentation was nothing less than fantastic! Before the feature, we were shown a portion of the Academy Awards Television broadcast from 1957 (the year Bridge on the River Kwai won) showing David Lean and Sam Spiegel accepting their Oscars.
Also, we were shown a trailer for Gigi, as well as a Warner Bros. cartoon (Birds Anonymous) that was the winner of the cartoon short subject that year.
Finally, a audio tape was played of the young (at the time) actor who played the young soldier who was given the responsibility for pushing the plunger to blow up the bridge!
Very fascinating!
Watching a movie at The Academy Theater was a real treat. Absolutely no food or drinks are allowed inside the theater. And, best of all, no talking, including whispering is allowed! Despite being a sold out showing, I was amazed at how completely quiet people were!
This is what all movie going experiences should be like!
The audience gave a loud round of applause at the beginning and end of the movie. Many people were somewhat formally dressed, all of which added to the ambiance of the evening.
I took two friends, neither of whom had seen Bridge before. They both loved the movie, and couldn't stop talking about it once we were outside.
If you get the chance to see any of these Best Picture Oscar Winners at the Academy Theater, you will not be disappointed. Especially considering that tickets are only $5.00!

 

[Rich Romero]

Man Rob, how did you get so lucky?

 

[Steve Christou]

Lucky man! Bridge is one of the greatest films ever made, probably the best war film ever made, the second best David Lean film ever made, the... [ok Steve we get the picture].
I'm a huge fan of Lean's but have never seen any of his films at the cinema [sobbing] I even missed out on the Lawrence of Arabia reissue!! [faints]

 

[Patrick McCart]

How was the quality of the film and the cartoon?

 

[Rob Tomlin]

The quality of the film was very good. You could certainly tell that it wasn't 70mm (I saw Lawrence in 70mm last month and was blown away), and its age showed in a few places (especially shots of birds against the sky, lots of grain and dirt) but overall, the print looked very good.
One of my friends, who sees maybe 3 movies a month at a "regular" theater, even commented, without being prompted, that he was really surprised how good the film looked!
It should be noted that The Samuel Golden Academy Theater is well known for being one of the best screening facilities in the world, so it was expected that the presentation would be top notch. It was!
More good news...Lawrence of Arabia will be shown in January, and the website referenced above confirms that it will be the "new" 70mm print!
Although I saw it in 70mm recently at the Cinerama Dome, there was a slight problem with the sound. Also, I did have some mixed feelings about the curved screen. And, there were people talking during the majority of the movie, as well as a guy who kept "chugging" his ice from his soft drink.
It is for these reasons that I am really looking forward to the opportunity to see Lawrence in 70mm again, at an incredible facility!

Man Rob, how did you get so lucky?

Living in Southern California does have its advantages!