We all have our favorite movies. Sometimes they aren’t mainstream movies. Sometimes they are older movies. Sometimes they are cult classics, and sometimes they are 80s action movies, 60s European movies, or 40s classic Hollywood movies. Maybe your favorite filmmaker is a little-known name from somewhere far away. Everybody these days has had to go online to a streaming service or pull out an old DVD to watch something unavailable online.
There’s a great alternative to this struggle– all over Los Angeles, there are revival theaters that have popped up in the past few decades that show all kinds of films. They are called revival theaters because they are old theaters that have been brought back to life by new money and management. They are a return to a different kind of movie screening. Popcorn is cheap in these places. Tickets are cheaper here. And there is a different kind of soul in these places, as one senses they are surrounded by fellow lovers of the Cinema. And miraculously and magically, they always happen to be screening movies that will excite and engage viewers of all ages and tastes.
One of the most prominent revival theater systems in Los Angeles is the American Cinematheque– this organization screens movies across three different theaters in different sectors of Los Angeles every single day. They play multiple films every day, and since it was brought to life in 1984, the American Cinematheque has housed thousands of filmmaker interviews, Q&As, and specialty screenings of all kinds.
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An Exciting Introduction to the Aero Theatre
When I first arrived in Los Angeles in January, a friend of mine found and sent out the American Cinematheque’s announcement of a screening of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights on 70mm, and I immediately bought a ticket. A great number and possibly the majority of the screenings at these theaters are projected on 35mm and 70mm film, which is just an incredible treat.
(Note: with film, there is something different about the image. There is a different kind of depth because film literally captures the layout of what is in front of the camera in a more magical way than digital cameras can. Film exposures capture an image by observing the amount of light that hits the objects in front of the camera, and the actual film inside the camera mirrors that image, and the emulsion occurs on the frames as they slide through the camera. There is something poetically real about a projection of the actual film, rather than a digital copy of it. It’s as if the actors’ DNA is somehow infused into the frames, and we are seeing something that no longer exists, impossibly alive in front of us.)
My friends and I got to the Aero theater in Santa Monica a half hour early, and the sold-out show was already packed. A man came up and announced the film, thanked everyone for coming, and the enormous theater went black. The entire crowd literally jumped out of their seats when The Emotions’ ‘Best of My Love’ blasted through the wonderful speakers and the grand opening scene of Boogie Nights came alive on the widest screen I’d ever seen. Throughout the film, assortments of people who obviously love Paul Thomas Anderson and his work clapped, laughed, cheered at Philip Seymour Hoffman and Philip Baker Hall’s arrivals, and overall just had a blast. It was a gathering of movie lovers who all adored the film, and for two and a half hours, everyone rode the same adrenaline-filled roller coaster. The ending was met with enthusiastic applause, and on our way out, every single member of the audience got a free ‘Boogie Nights’ poster. The place was hospitable, warm, and exciting.
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The Film Club Membership
The Film Club membership at the American Cinematheque offers exclusive benefits and perks, including a members-only ticket line (ensuring you get the best seats in the house!), $5 off every ticket (so that every ticket is $8 instead of $13), and access to special members-only events. I spent a day kicking myself after hearing that a few days prior to our sold-out Boogie Nights screening, there was a members-only screening and Q&A with Paul Thomas Anderson himself.
Gaspar Noé’s Return to Los Angeles (and a Surprise Visitor)
After hearing that a friend of mine went to a screening of ‘Babylon‘, projected in 70mm at the very same theater, and attended a Q&A with Damien Chazelle, Justin Hurwitz, and others, I decided enough was enough and bit the bullet and bought the membership. Just the other night, I attended an incredible screening event– Gaspar Noé, who hasn’t been to Los Angeles in many years, came to the American Cinematheque’s Aero Theater with a new cut of his classic masterpiece, 2003’s Irreversible. The event was a double feature screening– first the original cut, and then the new cut. If you know anything about Irreversible, you know it’s a hard, hard movie to get through, so this was quite the daunting task.
As I walked up to the theater, I noticed people pointing at a man in a leather jacket– it was Gaspar Noé. He was just standing there, hanging out at the entrance, talking to people, cracking jokes, taking pictures, and signing DVDs. I took a picture with him and decided to leave him alone– he was passionate, and busy, and he seemed… Excited. Motivated. I watched him from afar as he made his rounds, talking to workers and the owner of the place. He announced the original film and said, “Monica [Bellucci] called this a feminist film made by a man. I see it a little differently– I see it as a ‘testosterophobic’ film– I fear the evil in men, though I am part of that problem, I suppose.”
He also told us of a private encounter with David Lynch (notorious director of ‘Blue Velvet’, ‘Twin Peaks’, ‘Wild at Heart’, and ‘Mulholland Drive’), the night of the Cannes premiere in 2003. Lynch was head of the jury that year, and when they bumped into each other and exchanged hello’s, Lynch said something like, “Your film was great! Obviously, we couldn’t give it an award, though.” The audience laughed at this anecdote.
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An Awe-Striking Night
And so the picture started. It was a digital render of the film – the original film was shot on Super 16mm, but Noe edited it into a widescreen cinemascope aspect ratio, and it was digitally distributed. He commented later on in the night how wonderful he thought the image quality and sound quality of the Aero Theater was, compared to many he had been to in the past.
After the screening of the original and before the reveal of the newly titled ‘Straight cut’ (in which the film, originally a set of twelve scenes played out backwards from end to beginning, has been re-edited by Noé himself to be set chronologically ‘straight’), I went to the lobby to get some more popcorn (those that were staying for both screenings got free popcorn all night). I overheard Noé talking to a worker with a clipboard. I peered over and saw a long list of names handwritten in Sharpie– some were crossed out, and some were unchecked. A worker turned to what I assumed was a manager of the theater and said, “He wants to know when the Saint-Laurent people are arriving.” I raised my eyebrows, shrugged, and bought more popcorn. As I went back into the theater to sit down, I noticed a familiar, gentle, and soft-spoken man. It was Guillermo del Toro, director of ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’, ‘The Shape of Water’, and Netflix’s ‘Pinocchio’, sitting in a reserved section in the back, talking to Noé.
Gaspar Noé stepped up to the stage before the screening of the new cut and, with fierce, excited eyes, glared at that reserved section, and told us all about what Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel thought of the new cut, recounting the reception of the original and telling us the passionate tale of his inspiration to re-edit the film this way.
The film screened and got an exasperated, scared-silly applause. After talking to some folks next to me about the film, I walked out of the theater coincidentally at the same time as del Toro. I greeted him and told him his ‘Pinocchio’ was wonderful, a labor of love; he patted me on the shoulder, heartily smiled, and softly said, “Thank you.” I walked off, overwhelmed and fascinated. As did many.
The American Cinematheque always has events like this going on. Here is a link to their March Calendar, with many exciting showings throughout the Spring.
Another great revival movie theater is Quentin Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema, located on Beverly Blvd, which plays all kinds of fantastic cult, grindhouse, art, and commercial films from all decades of film’s history. Tickets at the New Beverly are usually $10, and a large popcorn is $6!
Now get out there and watch some awesome movies.
By Ben Brown
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I am sure I am speaking for a multitude of Cinema lovers all over the world when I speak of the following sentiments that this medium of art has blessed me with. Cinema taught me about our world, at times in English and at times through the beautiful one-inch bar of subtitles. I learned from the stories in the global movies that we are all alike across all borders. Remember that one of the best symbols of many great civilizations and their prosperity has been the art they have left behind. This art can be in the form of paintings, sculptures, architecture, writings, inventions, etc. For our modern society, Cinema happens to be one of them. Cinema is more than just a form of entertainment, it is an integral part of society. I love the world uniting, be it for Cinema, TV, media, art, fashion, sport, etc. Please keep this going full speed.”
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