Sunday, August 5, 2012

Raiders of the Lost Ark ² and The Thing ²

I originally saw Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, at the Century Cinema in Corte Madera. (I'm not sure if it was called something else back then or not, but it was and still remains a large single-screen theater. I haven't been back in years, but at the time they had an annoying tendency to use projector bulbs that were too dim, and the theater didn't have any middle aisles, which was always a little disconcerting.)

I waited a long time to see Raiders, because for some reason I was of the belief that it was about archeology and was therefore just some dumb movie about old stuff. What a difference a year can make, right? In 1981, I was definitely a movie fan, but I wasn't someone who knew a lot about movies. Eventually, I'd be buying Fangoria, and Cinefantastique, and reading my dad's Film Comments. But I guess in 1981, I was still judging movies by their posters and subject matter, and Raiders just didn't seem that interesting to me.

I think it was a friend's fanaticism for the movie that finally convinced me it was something to see. And see it again I did on August 5th, 1982,  at the Alhambra Theater on a double-bill with The Thing. Two movies, two second viewings.

I wish I could remember if I went with my friends, or alone, (probably the latter), but I'm pretty much drawing a blank on the whole experience!

I've written about the Indiana Jones movies on my other blog, so please go and check that out. And I'll leave you with an interesting video that shows the opening of Raiders side-by-side with scenes from 30 earlier adventure films.

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