Thoughts & Things

Classic Film on the Big Screen

Anyone who has paid attention to my blog for even a day knows I have a soft spot for classic films. Not even just classic films in a really specific category either, but classic films as a whole (not that I like every classic film ever, but that I don't have a specific preference only, and oh you get what I mean). Rather than a specific category, I wanted to talk about classic film on the big screen.

Earlier tonight I went to see Some Like It Hot (1959) at the movies. For those who are not aware of Some Like It Hot (and pretend I'm not judging you for a moment), it stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon, and tells the story of a pair of musicians in prohibition era Chicago who witness a brutal gang massacre, and flee town disguised as women as part of an all-girl jazz band to avoid being found by the gangsters looking to tie up loose ends. The film is one of my all time favourites, and has been for many years. It is an absolute laugh riot, far saucier than one would ever expect of a fifties film (even one with Monroe), and is a gem to watch over and over again.

Before tonight, I had never seen any classic film on the big screen, although I've always wanted to. One of Canada's major theatre chains, Cineplex, will typically play a classic film once a month, depending on location, and I have wanted to attend for years. Decades ago, film was played in theatres and nowhere else, and there was no way to bring one home. Now we can watch just about anything from the comfort of our homes, including classic movies that audiences could once only see at the theatre. I think there's something incredibly special about having the opportunity to see one of those classic films in the format it was originally meant to be seen in.

Some Like It Hot absolutely thrilled me to see on the big screen. It was the same hilarious film I grew up with, but it was fifty feet high, louder than I had ever heard it (although not as loud as I am accustomed to at the average movie experience), and I was surrounded by dozens of other people enjoying the film as much as I was. I generally am a big fan of the theatre-going experience, as the size and volume are something else, and the connection with other people enjoying the same movie I am makes me feel at one with the world. The added joy of it being over a half century old and still getting to experience this kind of took my breath away.

I also took my significant other to see it with me, and he had never seen it before. He loved it too, but I was glad that I could give him an experience that was something else. Plus he had also never seen a classic film on the big screen either, so he got to experience that joy for the first time with me.

If you've never had the opportunity to see a classic film on the big screen, I definitely recommend it. The film that Cineplex will be playing in August is North By Northwest (which I actually haven't seen!), and I am looking forward to experiencing it for the first time the way it was meant to be seen.

(I have committed to blogging daily with Give It 100. This is Day Seventy-Nine. Eight days of leave taken total.)