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Thursday, September 4, 2008
What I miss when going to the movies
Earlier this week I went inside the Dayton Mall for the first time in a long time, and man, I hardly recognized the place. Even the old Spencer Gifts was gone. Now what are people going to do to play with stupid electronic junk?
Oh that’s right - they carry stupid electronic junk around with them now.
But I digress. What always makes me swallow hardest when I pass by the mall is remembering that the huge old Dayton Mall 1 Cinema, with its huge screen, is long gone. And that brought to mind a number of things I miss about moviegoing when I was a kid. Such as:
BIG screens: Sure, there are large screens at the megaplexes now, but rarely do you see the curved 50-foot monsters that the Dayton Mall had, and that Page Manor cinema had.
BIG auditoriums: This one kind of went out with the BIG screens. Even in a good-sized megaplex auditorium, you get maybe about 500 people in a packed showing. I miss hearing 1,000 or so people roaring at the swordsman getting shot in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Quiet audiences: Seems to me audiences were better behaved in days gone by partly because they appreciated that going to the theater was a special experience, because the movie wasn’t going to be available at home in 4 months.
Movie posters that say “Now in its 53rd smash week!”: What’s the last movie that could boast that? E.T.? Return of the Jedi, maybe?
Seeing Disney animated classics in theaters.
And along those lines, this isn’t something I miss, so much as I missed out on: Cartoons before movies. If only they showed up at more than animated features.
And finally … No ads before the feature presentation: Do I really need to say more?
What do you miss about moviegoing of the past?
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Peanuts animator Bill Melendez, 1916-2008
Bill Melendez, who died Tuesday, was more known for his TV work than his work that appeared in movie theaters, but what TV work it was: He was the director behind some 40 years of Peanuts TV specials and the “voice” of Snoopy. As a longstanding Peanuts fan who watched the shows religiously for years, I had to pay tribute.
Melendez’s animation was simple, and one could even justifiably call it a little crude, especially in the early years, but that simplicity meshed very well with the directness of Charles Schulz’s writing - and it had a charm of its own. How can one look at this and not smile?
I always liked Violet’s moves the most. Check Melendez’s own site too.
Farewell, Bill, and thank you. Give Sparky our regards.
