This is my all time favorite “Going To The Movies” story.
I saw Raiders on “accident” at the Esquire 4 in Clayton (St. Louis), MO. It was playing in the #4 house, a stand alone theatre with tons of seats and a massive screen.
Here’s the thing: we had actually gone there to see another movie but it was sold out. So my mother suggested that we check out “Raiders Of The Lost Ark.” I said, “I dunno…I guess so. OK.” My mom paid our money. We walk into the theatre right at the scene in Marion’s bar (we’d missed the famous boulder sequence).
Roughly an hour and a half later, our jaws hit the floor. We were stunned and amazed at the brilliance we had just seen! We cheered when Indy shot that swordsman. We felt his pain when seeing those snakes surrounding the ark. We were shocked to see the glory of God instantly melting and exploding all those henchmen. “Raiders” instantly became one of my mom’s all time favorite movies to this day!
To clarify the 2nd to last paragraph, Bigfoot owns the theatre and Carmike is still its operator. Go to the Crest’s website and there are Carmike promotion ads on the bottom of the homepage.
I’ve seen many websites dedicated to a particular state’s theatres & drive-ins of the past and present (Southern CA drive ins, Michigan drive-ins, etc). I suspect it’ll take tons of Google searching to find them all, but I’ve seen them. I know they’re out there.
On a personal note, I’m still holding out hope for someone to build a similar website for St. Louis. :)
I am proud to have contributed my $12.75 to that total!
Speaking of which, it costs less to see a movie here (Grauman’s) than it does to see a movie at The Dome. Somehow, the good folks at Chinese Theatres can find a way to utilize that fact in their marketing scheme so audiences can come back!
Which is why I called The Landmark’s (UNNECESSARY!) booking of large scale releases “delusions of grandeur.” The place was built and conceived as an arthouse. Showing mainstream flicks here is a waste of time!
Are you guys working with theatre chains to get more photos of theatres – PAST as well as present – uploaded here? Also, any plans to reach out to the plethora of folks who have created regionally based theatre websites to upload their pics here?
One of my film club friends spoke with some folks from another film club who saw Inception here. They said they hated the movie. My friend told them, “It’s because you saw it here instead of The Dome.” LOL!
IMO, runs neck in neck with Regal’s LA Live complex as the most overrated theatre in Los Angeles. It’s constantly patroned by stuffy, pretentious West LA types who prefer subtitles and corsets to explosions and VFX. Shortly after opening (as Brad mentioned), they got delusions of grandeur and started mixing big titles like the last 007 flick, “Inception” and the aforementioned “The Dark Knight” alongside their stuffy arthouse fare on their postage stamp sized screens.
I used to only come here during Academy Awards season but, since they now run the 10 Best Picture nominees at other theatres, I happily avoid this joint like the plague!
More pics of the 66 here: St. Louis Flashback Movie & Drive-In Theatres
More pics of the 270 (and other St. Louis area theatres & drive-ins) here: St. Louis Flashback Movie & Drive-In Theatres
1971-72. GP got flipped to PG around 1972 (not exactly sure on the date).
WIN!
That picture is the Regal LA Live 14 in Downtown LA. If y'all can, please upload the pic there.
I knew there was a reason why we saw the HP 7.2 trailer at X-MEN!
Shame…
This is my all time favorite “Going To The Movies” story.
I saw Raiders on “accident” at the Esquire 4 in Clayton (St. Louis), MO. It was playing in the #4 house, a stand alone theatre with tons of seats and a massive screen.
Here’s the thing: we had actually gone there to see another movie but it was sold out. So my mother suggested that we check out “Raiders Of The Lost Ark.” I said, “I dunno…I guess so. OK.” My mom paid our money. We walk into the theatre right at the scene in Marion’s bar (we’d missed the famous boulder sequence).
Roughly an hour and a half later, our jaws hit the floor. We were stunned and amazed at the brilliance we had just seen! We cheered when Indy shot that swordsman. We felt his pain when seeing those snakes surrounding the ark. We were shocked to see the glory of God instantly melting and exploding all those henchmen. “Raiders” instantly became one of my mom’s all time favorite movies to this day!
And we saw it by accident…LOL!
They’re gutting this place???
Theater is now reserved seating – but still labeled as a Pacific & not an ArcLight.
To clarify the 2nd to last paragraph, Bigfoot owns the theatre and Carmike is still its operator. Go to the Crest’s website and there are Carmike promotion ads on the bottom of the homepage.
Now that the picture loading option is instituted, will someone upload a pic of the pre-split auditorium?
Wow! Great ad!
A damned shame…
I’ve seen many websites dedicated to a particular state’s theatres & drive-ins of the past and present (Southern CA drive ins, Michigan drive-ins, etc). I suspect it’ll take tons of Google searching to find them all, but I’ve seen them. I know they’re out there.
On a personal note, I’m still holding out hope for someone to build a similar website for St. Louis. :)
Facebook’s another option, too.
I am proud to have contributed my $12.75 to that total!
Speaking of which, it costs less to see a movie here (Grauman’s) than it does to see a movie at The Dome. Somehow, the good folks at Chinese Theatres can find a way to utilize that fact in their marketing scheme so audiences can come back!
I used to fight sleep driving home from a day at Six Flags St. Louis just to catch a glimpse of what was playing on this theatre’s screen.
Passed this place a million times. Never saw a movie inside.
Which is why I called The Landmark’s (UNNECESSARY!) booking of large scale releases “delusions of grandeur.” The place was built and conceived as an arthouse. Showing mainstream flicks here is a waste of time!
I agree, Brad. It is indeed time to give up the ghost once and for all.
What’s left of the marquee is still standing, I believe. I think the screen is completely gone now.
Are you guys working with theatre chains to get more photos of theatres – PAST as well as present – uploaded here? Also, any plans to reach out to the plethora of folks who have created regionally based theatre websites to upload their pics here?
One of my film club friends spoke with some folks from another film club who saw Inception here. They said they hated the movie. My friend told them, “It’s because you saw it here instead of The Dome.” LOL!
IMO, runs neck in neck with Regal’s LA Live complex as the most overrated theatre in Los Angeles. It’s constantly patroned by stuffy, pretentious West LA types who prefer subtitles and corsets to explosions and VFX. Shortly after opening (as Brad mentioned), they got delusions of grandeur and started mixing big titles like the last 007 flick, “Inception” and the aforementioned “The Dark Knight” alongside their stuffy arthouse fare on their postage stamp sized screens.
I used to only come here during Academy Awards season but, since they now run the 10 Best Picture nominees at other theatres, I happily avoid this joint like the plague!
Soon to be 1. I heard they’re shutting down both Glendale locations this year.