Who was at "Lawrence of Arabia" in Atlanta last night? (1 Viewer)

[Brent Bridgeman]

Well, I finally got to see LOA in 70mm at the Fabulous Fox Theater, and it was everything I expected and more. Starting with the Mighty Mo (huge pipe organ) sing-a-long, to the Bugs Bunny cartoon ("Carrotblanca"), to the feature, it was a fun and nostalgic night. Got chills when they closed the curtains after the cartoon and the lights went down and the Overture started. It had slipped my mind that the film started that way, so it was a pleasant surprise. Sat about 15 rows back and in my opinion, the presentation was fantastic. I just wish it was here for more than one night so I could go multiple times (however, my butt is thankful that is not the case).

The only down side was that it didn't start until 8:00 pm, so we ended up getting home around 1:00 am and then I had to get up this morning for work about 5:30 am. Totally worth it, however. I wouldn't have missed it for anything.

Great film, great restoration, great fun.

 

[Scott David]

I was there, too, and also had a great time (from ten rows back). The perfect place for "Lawrence", from the size of the screen to the great sound to the Egyptian interior. No other theatre in Atlanta could do it justice. I, too, wish it could have been there multiple nights. But as much as I enjoyed it, I ended up leaving about 45 minutes before it was over; I was very tired and had to drive an hour back home and get up early this morning to go to work. Let's hope the Fox brings this one back soon--and show it at an earlier time.

 

[Steve_Tk]

I didn't even know it was showing. Guess I should pay more attention.

I've been going to more Braves games and not watching those other things.

 

[Jim Peavy]

Wanted to, but just couldn't make it. Also missed The Two Towers there, and Seven Samurai at the High Museum Sat. night. I've been blowing it!

BUT, I am going to see as many of the Kurosawa/Mifune films the High is showing on upcoming Saturdays as I can .

Do you all know about the Kurosawa/Mifune Retrospective at the High?

 

[Josh Lowe]

I was going to go but wasn't feeling up to dealing with a crowd.

About an hour after the movie ended the big trucks started showing up at the Fox with all of the gear for the Broadway production of Starlight Express. They started unloading at about 2AM and have been going since then. They were still unloading when I left for the gym 5:45PM this afternoon.

 

[Patrick McCart]

I was going to go, but ended up going to Six Flags.

Just out of curiosity, what aspect ratio was Carrotblanca presented in?

 

[Arman]

I was there too. I drove 350+ miles (one way) from Florida just to watch my greatest film of all-time. WOW, just the opening sequence/shot in the dessert is worth all the admission, parking prices, hassles & long driving to Atlanta!

Actually, I went to Atlanta (my second visit to this very beautiful city, I'll be back for sure ) to meet some friends (& did a little sightseeing) in between watching some films in the Atlanta Film Festival and other terrific films not being shown yet in my city (refer to my 2003 Film List post).

Seeing Lawrence of Arabia in the big screen (for the first time) is just incredible. Watching this amazing film in the amazing and fabulous Fox Theater (my first!) is also one of the most memorable movie watching experiences I ever have. We were at the loge section (full packed) during the first part then we went down in the orchestra after the intermission to watch the rest of the film (I'm wondering how many people left during the intermission thinking the film already ended?).

Ebert was right, you have to see LOA in the big screen.

The people of Atlanta (I want to know how many like me are from out of state?) gave LOA a fantastic reception. The film finished past 12:00 a.m.

BTW, in the survey at the lobby, there is a question about what are my 3 all-time favorite movies?, I answered Lawrence of Arabia, Truffaut's Stolen Kisses and Bunuel's Belle de jour.

 

[Scott David]

Just out of curiosity, what aspect ratio was Carrotblanca presented in?

It seemed like it was 1:33.1; someone who was there can correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Jim Peavy]

Well, at least you were able to hit the "Crystal Pistol," Patrick!

 

[Holadem]

you have to see LOA in the big screen.

This has been said so often that it very cliche by now... but it's true! The first moment I became aware of that the theater experience was something else? The cut from the match to the rising sun, the first shot of the desert. The way the whole room went from very bright to this dark orange/crimson glow, with the deep rumbling bass. Simply amazing.

--
Holadem

 

[Brook K]

I was also going to go, but went to Seven Samurai the night before and I feared the wifely repercussions of going to two 3 hour movies in two nights. Plus Lawrence would have been a significant time commitment since I would have had to leave the house by 6 and not be back until 1ish. If I had never seen it on the big screen I would have gone, but I was able to see it in 70mm a few years ago, probably my best theatrical experience ever.

Jim, I'm definitely going to Stray Dog this Saturday and will probably go to several of the others. Stray Dog is the only film in the series I hadn't already seen. It was a great night Jim, the High was packed, I'd never seen it so full and it was wonderful to see it with such a large crowd that loved it after only seeing it on video by myself.

They also announced that Emory U. will show additional Kurosawa's in September - Ikiru, Red Beard, Drunken Angels, and Throne of Blood.

I'll be going by myself so I could meet you beforehand if you're interested.

 

[Brent Bridgeman]

It seemed like it was 1:33.1; someone who was there can correct me if I'm wrong.

That's what it looked like to me also. Definitely enjoyed Tweety's Peter Lorre impersonation. A highlight of the evening. "You despise me, don't you?" Hilarious. Pepe LePew as Louis (one of my favorite movie characters of all time, due to Claude Rains wonderfully sly performance) was also inspired "casting".

Regarding parking prices, there is a garage around the corner that is $5 for all Fox events. If you were walking OUT of the Fox, you would turn left and then take a right at the next corner, and the garage is about half a block down on the left. It's around the corner from the Bridgetown Grill, which we patronize before every Fox show we see. The Guava Ribs and Jerk Chicken feast is awesome! Especially with a Red Stripe or two.

We ended up being about the 5th & 6th people in line, with me wanting to get there by 6:00, much to my wife's consternation. I don't think she enjoyed standing in line for an hour, but I wanted to err on the side of caution since I only had one shot. There was no way I was going to be relegated to some seat on the side or in the back.

I didn't hear about the Kurosawa films! Where can I find more info??? It sucks that I missed "The Seven Samurai"!

 

[Scott David]

We ended up being about the 5th & 6th people in line, with me wanting to get there by 6:00, much to my wife's consternation.

I think I remember you guys; I was about 7th or 8th in line (my wife had to work, so I went "stag"). The garage you parked in sounds very close to where I parked (also a garage)...only I forked over eight bucks. Shoulda took MARTA...

I've never been to a film at the High. Being a Kurosawa fan, I'm very interested in the current retrospective, as well as the one coming to Emory. How are their theatres?

One other moment of the LOA screening that I thought was kinda cool: when the overture finished, the curtains parted and the Columbia logo appeared on the screen, the audience applauded loudly. At the logo!! It was like we/they knew what a special moviegoing experience we were about to have--and did. Since I left a little early, was there also applause after it ended?

 

[Brook K]

You can go to the High Museum's website and then click on the link to films.

The High's theater isn't very good. The speakers are old, anything I've seen there that I've seen on DVD sounds better in my home. It has old wooden seats and is in an auditorium setting with a gentle slope that doesn't offer the best sight lines depending on where you sit or behind who you sit.

But that said, I don't hesitate to go to movies there because I'm still getting to see classics or new foreign films with no distribution that I would otherwise never get to see on film, with a good crowd of appreciative listeners at the bargain price of $5.

Crowds are generally a mix between 50's+ and film students and are well-behaved. Most screenings aren't all that crowed, but as I said, Seven Samurai sold out. I don't know how the others will do, but I would expect big crowds for Yojimbo, Hidden Fortress, and Rashomon.

If you're willing to walk a block or so, you can also park for free at the High on one of the side streets. I always go down to the light just past Symphony Hall, take a left past the huge Christian Science church. The road makes a Y intersection, and I take either fork and find a place to park along the street.


I've only been to Emory once to see Tokyo Story. The Emory theater I've been to is in White Hall (I think they show movies in 2 or 3 different rooms). It's nothing special either, just a odd-shaped, very deep classroom with a screen up near the ceiling. The High probably seats around 300, the Emory classroom probably doesn't seat more than a hundred. But again, it's a chance to see these movies on film with an audience.

You can get info on Emory's website. Just go to Film Program and then Film Calendar. You can actually sit in on their film class showings, though I think some of those may be video rather than film.

 

[Brent Bridgeman]

Scott,

We were both standing there, reading books. The guy right in front of us was by himself, was that you? Dang, I was thinking about yelling out "Any HTF'ers here?" but didn't.

Taking MARTA depends on where you're coming from. We lived over in the Sharpsburg area for a couple years and would drive up I-85 to the College Park station (free parking) and take it to Braves games, concerts at Phillips, and Lenox fireworks shows. Now, we live over in the Eagle's Landing area south of Stockbridge and seems to be just as convenient to drive on up most of the time. Then again, I now work in Gainesville and drive 70 miles each way every day to work, so I may just be used to the wonderful Atlanta traffic.

 

[Jim Peavy]

Jeez-Louise... You're a better man than I, Brent!

 

[Arman]

"One other moment of the LOA screening that I thought was kinda cool: when the overture finished, the curtains parted and the Columbia logo appeared on the screen, the audience applauded loudly. At the logo!! It was like we/they knew what a special moviegoing experience we were about to have--and did."

Yeah, it was one of the night's coolest moments.

"Since I left a little early, was there also applause after it ended?"

Yes.

We ended up parking our cars in the $8 parking lot. Oh man, $8 is more than the price of what I paid for to see LoA.
Though it only cost me $5 (each) to watch some film shorts, At First Breath of The Wind and Cinemania in the Atlanta Film Festival (at the Rialto Performing Arts and Atlanta Fulton County's Downtown Library), we also paid $5 for parking (the one besides Rialto).

We went on to watch the 5:30 P.M showing of Man On The Train on Lefont Garden Hills Cinema something (in 2835 Peachtree St.) first. By the time we arrived in Fox Theater (in the same street), it was already 7:45 P.M and there was a long line. Thank God (we are not prepared for a possible sellout since we thought the theater can afford more than 4000 people and no way, it will be sold out since this almost 4 hours film is being shown very late), we were still able to get tickets. But wow, the loge section was almost already packed to capacity that we ended up sitting apart from each other.

While driving to the theater along Peachtree St., we saw a very busy ? Noodle House (I forgot the exact name of the restaurant). How delicious are the food (& noodles) in that restaurant?

Hey, even with the ridiculous parking prices in Atlanta, we will do this experience again.