Ever sat alone in a film theatre?

We live in a town of 30, 000 which has three movie complexes. The one near us is comprised of 6 plus screens with large seating capacity. It is common place for me to be sit alone. At this point, I would probably be flustered to have people near me who talked and jostled.

I LOVE to go to the movies alone, taking a break from the norm--getting away from the noise and the constant gabbing. It puts me in another world w/out having to think about others.

The first time I saw Chicago, I went with two friends. One of my friends couldn't keep quiet so the second time I saw it, I went alone. The next time I went with my other friend who had gone with me the first time. We left the gabby to her own devices. The last time I saw Chicago, Bluxx and I had a great time. I saw Sid and Nancy by myself. Loved it. I was much older than the rest of the audience, but I got more out of it then they did. Same with The Doors. I saw Deerhunter 14 times, 13 of them by myself.

Usually try for early afternoon on weekdays and rarely share the movie with more than twelve others. Like the space and quiet. Caught "The Closet" after it had been playing for MONTHS and there were only two other people. One of them laughed at the same times I was howling. The other never made a peep.

Bluxx, that's exactly how I feel.

Going to the movies alone can be great. Especially if the movie is so bad that you want to walk out, the way I did when I saw PULP FICTION. If I had been with someone I would have had to watch that drivel all the way to the end.

Larry, did Tarantino sleep with your significant other or something? You chew on that movie like an old soup bone but all you do is piss and moan about how bad it is. Spit it out, man.

Muerte, since you have no taste yourself the idea that a movie could offend my sensibilities is incomprehensible to you. PULP FICTION offended my taste and my intelligence. You are offensive too, but fortunately your posts are brief and easily digested.

Well, it would seem to me that would give both of you a point for agreement. That's something, I guess. If isn't practical to disagree agreeably, perhaps you could agree to disagree . Anybody can toss a stone, but it takes more than one to carry on a game of toss-and-catch.
And what the heck ... while Pulp Fiction isn't on my own "Best of anything" list, I found it entertaining yet not particularly satisfying.

And, being a long-time A/V freak, I've often gone to particular theaters for particular movies alone. I make it a point to get there early and grab the best damned seat in the house. I really enjoy a really, really big screen, an industrial-strength sound system, and a comfortable chair. A great movie with a great soundtrack, seen in a great theater, is a great experience.



timber

Oh, and muerte, welcome to A2K. Glad to have you here, and hope to see more of you. If you'd like any help figuring out bells and whistles, or protocols and such stuff, just holler. I'll be glad to help you out however I can.


timber

Larry, at last I found someone who does not genuflect when speaking the words "Pulp Fiction". I am angry at myself for not walking out. The same goes for "Natural Born Killers" and "Reservoir Dogs." (You may not agrees on all 3).

Muerte, Why do I intensely dislike these films? Because the characters are scumbags. Foul-mouthed, obnoxious, killers with no redeeming or even interesting qualities. I am far from prudish. Violence and foul language don't bother me. But who gives a flying f--- what happens to these m------f----g pieces of s---, anyway?

Permit me to incude live theatre. Years ago, on a Sunday afternoon, I went to see a friend of mine perform in an off-off-broadway theatre in lower east Manhatttan. The production was Berthold Brecht's "A Man's A Man." There were over thirty actors in the cast. The audience consisted of an Asian man, his about eight year old daughter and yours truly. The three of us played our role of audience as well as we could. We applauded, laughed and clapped, but it was tough work. I learned then that, in live theatre, the audience is definitely part of the performance. In spite of our valiant efforts, for the actors, it was more like a dress rehearsal.

Going to the movies alone can be great. Particularly if your significant other is in to blockbusters.

Once went to the old Orson Welles to see a documentary on coal miners. Was one of three or four people in the audience and a man who was a little nuts sat next to me, commenting his way through the film. Too terrified to get because it would have drawn him back to me.

Billly Falcon: you have got it exactly right. It is impossible to give a damn about any of Tarantino's characters. They are unredeeemed filth in human form.

Plainoldme: isn't your significant other with the other six-year-olds watching the animated cartoons?

Going to the movies alone can be the best entertainment, especially if, like plainoldme, your significant other doesn't like anything but 'shoot 'em up, kill 'em dead' movies.

I was alone when I saw both The Hours and Talk to Her. It was great to concentrate on the movie and leave everything else behind.

Diane,
There are several movies that I saw alone and was very glad not to have company. The Hours, Close to Heaven, The Pianist were this year's movies that I was happy to be unaccompanied to. After I saw The Pianist, on a Sunday night in a small theatre in a suburb of Boston known for its history, I walked down the closed and shuttered main street, crying as I thought of one of the Szpilman lines: after being told to leave one of his hidden apartments, he asked, "Where do you want me to go?"

As I walked down the street, I thought how little of Europe was left. Where to go? Portugal? Ireland? Leave completely and come to the US? How? On what money?

I have a distant cousin who died in the Holocaust. My paternal grandmother's parents left Poland circa 1880. Her brother was born in this country late in the 19th C and she was born much later in 1902. Michael Kozal was their cousin. He had just been elevated to the status of bishop when he was captured by the Nazis, who killed him. He was named "Blessed," by John Paul II, one of six Holocaust victims to be put on the road to canonization.

Thanks for noticing, at least obliquely, the snide remark from larry richette. This is a person who thinks he has a license to deride and insult and yet holds his person above criticism. Since you are a forum chair, I'm glad you responded as you did.

Have to admit I too walked out of Pulp Fiction. I was with a friend and we were both bored and decided to sneak next door to see what was on the other screen. People were horrified when I admited it wasn't to my taste. I have since watched the entire movie but was not completely enamoured with it.

I rarely go out to the movies, prefering to watch them on video or payperview. I am irritated by other peoples comments, making noise, big-heads sitting in front of me, feet up on the back of my seat, chomping peanut brittle with that loud-smacking sound (ever heard of closing your mouth while you eat?).

There have only been a rare few movies where the audience interaction was an excellent experience - one that comes to mind was in a movie theatre in Dublin where there was one amazingly witty guy who would inject a comment during scenes of the movie "Jaws" and they were so infectiously hilarious that, several times, we had to request the manager re-play the reel because we were laughing so hard. It was one of the few times I had an unexpectedly interactive experience and about 30 of us (complete strangers) from the movie-theatre grabbed the entertaining young man and dragged him to the pub afterwards.

Heeven-- I am tempted to start a discussion on why PULP FICTION is no good. You and Billy Falcon can be charter members. I have rarely seen a worse movie achieve such instant popularity among usually intelligent people. It was one of the puzzles of the Nineties.

You say you prefer to watch movies on video and TV. Fine, but there is the occasional movie that really does benefit from the big screen. Epics like the Tolkien movies, sci-fi, anything pictorial needs to be seen on the big screen I think. Too much detail gets lost on the TV image.

You got that right. I loved the impact of Star Wars when I first saw it on a movie screen. On a TV the effect is lessened enormously. Another reason I don't like going to theatres is I can get very emotional and cry at the drop of a hat - I hate doing that in front of other people.