Revival Screenings

We bought a new rack to hold our movie collection this week. This rack holds all of our movies on Blu-ray and DVD. I don't buy as many movies as I used to. Most new movies have become disposable entertainment for me. It used to be I would watch them over and over. Now if I see a new movie once, it's usually enough. I see less artistry in them. If I want to watch a movie again, I have quite a few streaming services available. So collecting movies is not the priority it once was.

Another reason I don't collect as many movies as I used to is because of where I live. In Los Angeles, beloved movies play all the time. Marie and I have known each other for a little over three years. We've seen "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in the theater four times. I wouldn't have that film on Blu-ray if I hadn't won it in a contest. It's always playing here. This week it's playing three times at the New Beverly with "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom". All three "Indiana Jones" films have played within the last year at the Cinerama Dome and next month the trilogy will be playing at the Egyptian. Why would I want to watch a movie at home on my TV when I can see it as intended on the big screen with movie theater sized sound? Yes, I know the video costs less but watching a movie at home rarely has the impact as seeing it in a theater, and you can't put a price on that. At least I can't.

Here's the top row of our Blu-ray collection (minus "Blow Out" which is out on loan). See that copy of "Air Force One"? I got it inexpensively and I've never watched it. But this Wednesday I'm going into Hollywood to see it at the ArcLight. A few spaces down is "ALIEN", a film I love (I'm listening to the score as I type this, as the movie opened 35 years ago today). Marie and I are seeing that sometime next month at the New Beverly. "The Avengers" will be playing at the ArcLight next month as will "Casino Royale". This represents just one month of movies and one shelf of our collection. Since moving here, I've also seen "The Adventures of Robin Hood", "Airplane", "Aliens" (once from James Cameron's own 70mm print!), "Batman Begins", "Caddyshack", and "Carrie" in local revival theaters. I could have seen "Carlito's Way" as well last year, but I had watched the Blu-ray a few days before the screening was announced. You can be sure I would have gone to that otherwise.

With all of the great revival theaters here in LA (The New Beverly, The American Cinematheque, which runs the Aero and the Egyptian, the ArcLight, Cinefamily, the Nuart, and of course the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), I feel less of a need to own a movie. I know at some point a superior presentation will be driving distance from me and I'll get more enjoyment that way. I know I'm not alone in this thinking. I just learned "Raiders of the Lost Ark" will be playing at the AMC, of all places, next month!