I got to see this again on the big screen for the first time since 1981. Raiders has the record as the film I've seen the most times in the theater. I absolutely love this movie. It's about as close to perfect as I could ask for. And this is also a film I never could handle on the small screen. When it came around on television (back when they would overdub the language, there was no such thing as widescreen, and commercial interruptions were frequent) we'd watch it... sort of. It was always disappointing. When it came out on DVD, well, I didn't even buy a copy, and this is one of my favorite movies of all time! I just knew I'd never watch it, so why spend all that money to buy it? Even after all these years, I still have most of it memorized. From "Hovitos are near" straight through to "You know, a drink?" I have all the sound effects memorized. All the music. I have no need to watch it on a small screen because I can pull it up in my head at any point as I remember it.
But I jumped at the chance to go see it again on the big screen. It's playing on IMAX screens, but the closest IMAX theater to me does not one of the really large screens, so that was a bit disappointing. It was also played so fricking loudly that my earplugs were very nearly not sufficient. I felt so sorry for the kids in the audience, getting their hearing completely ruined at such a young age. I don't know how they could stand it. I seemed to have had a glitchy screening too, as it jumped several times in the opening scene and went out of focus more than once. It seemed to straighten out after the first ten minutes, and it was pretty much awesome from then on.
The funniest thing was, there was no sensation of seeing it on the big screen. It just felt... normal. LOL! All the things I used to look at were right where I expected them to be. Very refreshing to see it as it was meant to be seen, as I remember it.
And it was glorious, from the Paramount logo right through the end credits. It was a very fun evening at the movies.
7 comments:
Did you squirm during the snake pit scene? Or are you desensitized to it? lol
Hee! Neither actually, because I grew up catching snakes in my backyard, so those scenes never fazed me even when I was young. I did want a pet snake named Reggie, though. LOL!
Haha. Well that explains it.
What about rats? (Remember in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?) Are you fond of them?
Would have loved to do this! The sneak preview of RAIDERS one week before opening -- done to build up positive word of mouth, I'm sure! -- remains one of my favorite movie-going memories. My friend and I had no idea what to expect, we just knew a couple people from STAR WARS were involved (i.e., Harrison Ford and John Williams). It was the closest a movie has ever come to being a roller coaster ride, we staggered out at the end shaky, giggling, exhausted & exhilarated by the completely unexpected, thrilling and funny adventure we'd just experienced. What a *movie*!
Loved reading about your chance to go see it in a theater again!
Best wishes,
Laura
Nope, I'm okay with rats. But I wouldn't particularly like having all those bugs from the tunnel in Temple of Doom crawl all over me. That would get to me!
Raiders is playing one more week, so you still have a chance if you really want to see it!
How cool that the sneak preview left you with such great memories! We went to the sneak preview too. Except when we got there, it said Raiders was rated R, so my sister and I went into another movie (The Four Seasons, with Alan Alda... boy, I'll never forget that!), and my parents got to see the sneak preview. Then they did nothing but rave about it until it was officially released and they got to take us. We never let them forget how we got stuck seeing that other movie. Hee.
You know which scene in the Indiana Jones movies I don't like? The ants in Crystal Skull! Now *that* makes me squirm. I blame it on seeing "The Naked Jungle" when I was young! It scarred me! :-D
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