Movies You Wish You Could Have Seen In The Theaters

To me, there's no better way to watch a movie than on the big screen. I've seen Scarface numerous times and still the best time I've ever had watching it was at the Alamo Draft Houst theater in Austin a couple of years ago. I've seen some movies in the theater that I've been fortunate enough to watch after they were already hits (such as The Godfather, Scarface, The Big Lebowski, The Goonies just to name a few and I have the good people at the Alamo Draft House to thank for that). But I love going to the movies and there are just certain movies that I'd love to see in the theaters if ever given the chance. Here's my list in no order:

-Raging Bull
-Goodfellas
-The Last Temptation of Christ (more for crowd reaction)
-Memento
-The Boondock Saints
-The Godfather Part II
-The Usual Suspects
-X-Men
-Fight Club
-JFK
-Jackie Brown
-True Romance
-Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
-Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
-Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
-The Fellowship of the Ring
-The Two Towers
-The Return of the King
-Daredevil
-Clerks.
-Mallrats
-Chasing Amy
-Dogma
-Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back

Citizen Kane
Casablanca
Once Upon a Time in the West
Once Upon a Time in America
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
Le Samourai
Taxi Driver
Pulp Fiction
The Godfather
The Godfather part II
Memento
Raging Bull
Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind
Dirty Harry
Schindler's List
Saving Private Ryan
Platoon
Mean Streets
Dead Man
Gone With the Wind
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Chinatown
Star Wars/Return of the Jedi (I saw 'Empire' in theaters)
Le Cercle Rouge
Heat
Reservoir Dogs
Batman Returns
Unforgiven
About Schmidt
City of God
Five Easy Pieces
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Graduate
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror
Psycho
Gladiator
Dr. Strangelove
The Shining
Goodfellas
Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
Sunset Blvd.
Double Indemnity
The Lost Weekend
Big Fish
American Graffiti
21 Grams
American Beauty

-Braveheart
-Tombstone

2001: a space odyssey: I'd be the only one there who'd of loved it and not been high on acid.

Lawrence of Arabia: Ebert has said it's one of the things a film lover must do before he dies.

Schindler's List: I can only imagine the audience reaction and the power that film must have on screen.

Vertigo: The original Vista-Vision projections must have been just marvelous.

Gone with the Wind: I'll get to see it soon enough for it's 75th anniversay

Casablanca: It's got a 65th Anniversary comming up...

There are older films I did go to the theater to watchi in film festivals or re-release. Scarface, for instance which is also a must-see on the big screen. In re-release with the new sound it is the stuff dreams are made of.

La Dolce Vita is an epic length film which is tough to watch at home but somehow in the theater it is a riveting film.

One word: Jaws


Hey Irish there are only seven movies on your list that I didn't see, most of them because of my age
There are only eight that I've seen on Don V's list mostly due to my age and nationallity.

I was lucky enough to see Apocalypse Now a few years ago on the big screen and was completely blown away. It was made about 10 times more intense because I swallowed a block of hash for it. It wasn't easy adjusting to reality once the credits rolled. I only have a short list of movies that I'd love to see on the big screen:

The Pianist
The Godfather (I + II)
The Passion of the Christ
Scarface (just for the final scene)
Battle Royale

Unfortunately I haven't catched NONE of my favorite movies on the big screen. If I had the chance to pick some and give everything to be able to watch them on the big screen, these would be my choices:
The Godfather Trilogy
Scarface
Heat
Carlito's Way
Lawrence of Arabia
Dr. Zhivago
Raging Bull
Goodfellas
Taxi Driver
The Deer Hunter
Pulp Fiction
Once Upon A Time In The West
Once Upon A Time In America
Apocalypse Now
Schindler's List
Gladiator
Casablanca
On The Waterfront
Leon the Professional
Forrest Gump

Which 7? Goodfellas, Casino, Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Godfather Part II, JFK and ?

Starwars

The Godfather

Gee, I am getting old! Going through the lists above I have seen most of those movies in the theater!

Two movies that I've always wished that I could have seen in the theater were Wizard Of Oz and Spartacus.


Don Cardi

What kind of theater are you talking about because the last couple of movies I saw in a theater I would like to see in a theater.

Are there many true theaters around or have they all been replaced by the typical 300 seat oversized screening room.

I think there should be a minimum requirement to be called a theater involving, screen size, seats, and sound capabilities.

Just any old movie theater. A big screen screen and seats. Nothing fancy really

I agree, but not many of them around anymore

I was just thinking the same thing!!

I never saw The Godfather in a theater, and I saw GF2 on an airplane (ironically, I was flying to Sicily) as well as in the theater, so I would've loved to see the first one on the big screen. My mother always said that the horse's head scene was so shocking and gross on the screen. She also said that Appollonia was ten times more beautiful on the screen.

I agree, but not many of them around anymore [/b][/quote]True but I must admit the stadium seating is a nice feature (and so are the chairs that slightly rock)

Films which were made for the big screen, and I would do anything to see them so:

Weekend (1968)
Le Mépris/Contempt (1963)
Chinatown (1974)
Krótki Film O Zabijaniu/A Short Film About Killing (1988)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Eraserhead (1976)
Shichinin no Samurai/Seven Samurai (1954)
Vertigo (1958)
Rear Window (1954)
North by Northwest (1959)
Psycho (1960)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Fanny och Alexander/Fanny and Alexander (1982)
Irréversible/Irreversible (2002)
Ran (1985)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes/Aguirre, Wrath of God (1972)
Cinema Paradiso (1989)
Touch of Evil (1958)

Some films I'm very proud of having seen on the big screen:

Nosferatu (1921) - with live music
Das Kabinett des Dr. Caligari/The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1919)
Metropolis (1926) - with live piano accompaniment
Mean Streets (1973)
Taxi Driver (1976)
La Nuit Américaine/Day For Night (1973)
Un Chien Andalou/An Andalusian Dog (1928)
L'Age d'Or/The Golden Age (1930)
Viridiana (1961)
Stalker (1979)

Thanks for reading,
Mick

Thanks to a now defunct Manhattan movie theater in the West 50's (The Regency) ... I got to see MANY favorite old films, (including The Wizard of Oz) on the big screen during the 1980's. I remember there being such touching applause when Dorothy & Toto first appeared onscreen at the very beginning of the movie.

It was always a blast checking out The Regency's 'themes', which would usually last a week or two depending on the subject or star.

I did also see Gone With The Wind for the FIRST TIME at the Regency...but also saw it a special screening at Radio City Music Hall for the 50th Anniversary. Special in-person appearance that night by...BUTTERFLY McQUEEN !!!

I still have the program somewhere.

AppleOnYa

Another reason to live in NYC. I don't have a theater near me with old movies.

Or Austin

Or Austin [/b][/quote]When I was in Austin a year ago I saw an old theater downtown playing "Days of Heaven" (1978).

I saw The Godfather in a theater in manhatten when I was a kid. My Grandfather was a huge fan of the book and I remember that it was his birthday and The Godfather was opening up in a Manhatten theater ( Back in those days movies would first open up in Manhatten theaters and then after a few weeks they would come to the local theaters in the outer boroughs ) so our whole family went ot dinner in Manhatten and then to see The Godfather.

Years later I took this girl on a date to a theater in Brooklyn that was showing both GF I and GFII and we went to see the double feature. My date sat through both movies with me and never complained once. I knew that I had to marry this girl and guess what, I did. 22 years later I still tell her that I knew that she really loved me because she sat for 6 hours in the theater watching two movies that I loved and never complained to me once.


Don Cardi

That's sweet, Don Cardi!

My main ones would be The Godfather I and II...

Or Austin [/b][/quote]When I was in Austin a year ago I saw an old theater downtown playing "Days of Heaven" (1978). [/b][/quote]Was it called 'The Alamo Draft House' or no?

That's so awesome and sweet man! Good for you! I pray I have that same love myself one day

Only in your case she'd have to sit through a Kill Bill double feature.

Oh and Irish it could have been the Paramount theater in Austin that was showing an old movie, they have things there as well possibly even the Mall theater on Guatalupe (sp) but they mostly show arthouse stuff

Amen to that brother. But hey, at least it's only 4 hours compared to 6

I feel so old. I've seen so many of the movies mentioned in a theater. :p I agree with I12, that nothing can replace watching a movie on the big screen. Some, especially "spectacles" like Ten Commandments, Titanic, West Side Story, and many others I can't think of right now, are great to see on the big screen the first time.

I did get to see GWTW back in the 70's when they played it at a local theater. The Wizard of Oz would be nice to see on the big screen, although I'm happy to say, both those movies are waaaaaaay before my time.

Although, I don't know that they'd be classified as "spectacles", I would have loved to see any of the James Dean movies on the big screen. It wasn't until they were televised that I saw them, and at that time, with no videos, you simply had to wait, and check your tv guide in order not to miss a good movie.

And in keeping with that era, a movie that's probably more of a "groundbreaker" than an award winner is "Rock Around The Clock." I remember my older brother coming home from the theater saying what a commotion, with people screaming, dancing in the aisles of the theater. With Rock & Roll, at it's birth, and being a fan at a very young age, I would have loved to witnessed the spectacle of the era, you might say.

TIS

Thanks for reminding me. Now that I think about it, that's the theater that I saw both The Godfather Part I and Scarface

Malcolm X

I feel very lucky to have seen The Wizard Of Oz on the big screen.

- Junk in the Trunk, pts. 1 and 2
- Romp in the Backseat
- Wild and Horny pt. 4
- Sex With the Single Mom, pts. 7 and 9

:p

You guys are going to think I'm crazy or something, but I've only been to the movies twice in my 16 year life. Once was with my cousin to see Snow Day, the other was a school field trip to see Fantasia.

I like to appreciate movies for their intellectual significance, and I feel that it's impossible to do that when there are a lot of other people in the same room as you watching the same movie. Plus I like to pause movies to get a drink or scratch my balls. And sometimes if I don't hear what was said or misunderstood the scene I like to rewind it.

Wait so the only movie that you've seen in the theater by choice is SNOW DAY!?!?

It wasn't my choice, and I was 8 years old.

Pulp Fiction

You can scratch your balls in the theater. But I agree, watching movies at home does provide luxories (such as the ability to pause, scratch one's privates, bathroom breaks without missing the movie, etc).

Shining or a good scary movie. (You made me realised that I have never seen a horror movie in cinema), Next time any good one comes, I'll there

Scarfacelondon, as an Englishman (or at least somebody who lives in England), you may want to check out Neil Marshall's new horror, The Descent.

Here's my review of it.

Mick

Huge list.

-Any of the Godfather's, but preferably II.
-Requiem for a Dream
-Fight Club
-The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
-Once Upon a Time in America (But I'd have to be in the UK, so I saw the extended version we have on DVD now.)
-Pulp Fiction
-Reservoir Dogs
-The French Connection
-Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
-Magnolia
-Boogie Nights
-Taxi Driver
-American History X
-Raging Bull
-Citizen Kane
-Goodfellas
-American Beauty
-Mean Streets
-Donnie Darko (Being of such a small release here in the States, I never saw any previews, and never heard of it until its DVD release.)
-Memento
-On the Waterfront

American History X and Requiem for a Dream for me as well

Hey, Irish, on the topic of Darren Aronofsky, have you heard of The Fountain yet? It sounds awesome, I can't wait for it.

No I haven't heard of it, but I see he's writing and directing a Lone Wolf and Cub movie that I'm really excited about (since I own the Japanese series on DVD)

Yeah, well, check out The Foutain while you're at it. It sounds like a really cool premise.

Personally, I'm excited about all of his upcoming works.

Alright Rachel Weisz is in it. I love her, she is so beautiful. The only movie of his that I've seen is Requiem for a Dream. I haven't even seen Pi. But the 3 movies that I'm looking forward to the most this year are Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Domino, V For Vendetta all of which come out in November.

I'd rate, from what I've seen (Requiem and this), Pi as Aronofsky's best film. Wonderful style, an interesting and highly inventive plot, a promising debut.

Mick

How does Pi differ from Requiem? Aren't they both drug movies? I think I heard Pi is shot in black & white though?

Pi is about a mathematician trying to find out some unknown equation or something to that effect. I really wanna see it, although there's always something I get above it.

Pi and Requiem were nothing alike. Complete contrast.

As DV mentioned, Pi was about a mathematician on the brink of sanity trying to equate a mystery equation.

Requiem takes place over the course of three seasons, and shows the negative side of drug addiction on four people living in Brooklyn. The way the drug scenes were shot were really cool. You can see one in my avatar.

"Black and white though?"

Was that meant to sound negative?

Nice review, I was still unsure whether I should go see it or not, then I read this line again, "Six women friends who like to explore ", Now I got to go see.

Oh, you mean it's in black and white. Sounds stupid. I'm not seeing it. :rolleyes:

Possible misinterpretation here: I was quoting Irishman. Apologies if I've misinterpreted this. Smileys wreack havoc on my conscience.

Mick

Sorry, I didn't know this was directed towards me. No, I didn't mean for my statement to sound negatively. I was just asking for confirmation that the movie was indeed black & white.