Going to the Movies, Old-Style
Had a great movie-going experience last night. There's a restored old theatre near us that shows "classic" films on the big screen, complete with a live organist for entertainment before/between shows. Last night they had a double dose of Audrey Hepburn, whom I love: Charade and Wait Until Dark, neither of which I'd seen in their entirety before. So we headed over to the theatre and settled in for the night (it costs $6 to get in, but you can stay for the double feature if you want to see both movies, which is a pretty good deal).
Charade was definitely amusing: a fast-paced, funny, full-of-surprises Audrey Hepburn/Cary Grant romp. Quite enjoyable. But then came Wait Until Dark, which turned out to be the vastly superior movie. I won't say too much, for the sake of those of you who haven't seen it (and should). But it's an excellent layered thriller of a movie, and Audrey Hepburn (while not looking as glamorous as in some other films) does some amazing acting.
I think it's a comment on the state of movies today that, during the climactic scene of Wait Until Dark, I screamed out loud in the theatre for the first time in my life (along with about 200 other people). They just don't make suspense the way they used to. I couldn't even pinpoint for you exactly why I was so terrified by the time we reached the end of that movie; I've certainly scene plenty of scary modern movies, and I don't usually shriek during them. This film just creeps up on you, developing slowly, without the heavy-handed foreshadowing that's so common in today's films. And by the end, man, they had me completely.
I'm also totally stoked because next week for Silent Wednesday night they're showing Nosferatu. I got such a kick out of Shadow of the Vampire, despite never having seen the movie it was riffing on, so I'm very much looking forward to the opportunity to see Nosferatu on the big screen with a live organist providing scary music, the way it was originally intended.
Charade was definitely amusing: a fast-paced, funny, full-of-surprises Audrey Hepburn/Cary Grant romp. Quite enjoyable. But then came Wait Until Dark, which turned out to be the vastly superior movie. I won't say too much, for the sake of those of you who haven't seen it (and should). But it's an excellent layered thriller of a movie, and Audrey Hepburn (while not looking as glamorous as in some other films) does some amazing acting.
I think it's a comment on the state of movies today that, during the climactic scene of Wait Until Dark, I screamed out loud in the theatre for the first time in my life (along with about 200 other people). They just don't make suspense the way they used to. I couldn't even pinpoint for you exactly why I was so terrified by the time we reached the end of that movie; I've certainly scene plenty of scary modern movies, and I don't usually shriek during them. This film just creeps up on you, developing slowly, without the heavy-handed foreshadowing that's so common in today's films. And by the end, man, they had me completely.
I'm also totally stoked because next week for Silent Wednesday night they're showing Nosferatu. I got such a kick out of Shadow of the Vampire, despite never having seen the movie it was riffing on, so I'm very much looking forward to the opportunity to see Nosferatu on the big screen with a live organist providing scary music, the way it was originally intended.