My mom was a pretty happening woman, culture-wise, during the two years we lived in Chicago in the ‘60s. On the Monday morning of our spring break away from school in 1968, she said she had a surprise for us: the matinee of a movie that had just opened at the Olympic Theatre in Cicero called 2001: A Space Odyssey. We filed into the car for the short hop over from Oak Park, and she let us off at the curb before going off shopping. I’m talking about me and six brothers, all of whom were under 18; I’m surprised the theater management let our little ensemble in. Once inside, though, we found that the grand hall was deserted, so where did we decide to sit? In the balcony, of course! The viewing of cinematic masterpiece at the Olympic remains one of the greatest experiences of my life. The film was so crisp looking and the sound was pretty glorious for the time. Seeing 2001 at the Olympic, I feel, established it as my favorite movie of all time. I’ve viewed it many times since, including a remastered 70-millimeter print at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, Calif back in 1995. All pale in comparison to my remembrances of being at the Olympic on that one Monday in April 1968. I tell my wife that I’m overdue for a visit back to Chicago, with or without her. When I go, I’ll definitely swing by the Olympic. As for my memories, if only there was some time machine I could step into…
My mom was a pretty happening woman, culture-wise, during the two years we lived in Chicago in the ‘60s. On the Monday morning of our spring break away from school in 1968, she said she had a surprise for us: the matinee of a movie that had just opened at the Olympic Theatre in Cicero called 2001: A Space Odyssey. We filed into the car for the short hop over from Oak Park, and she let us off at the curb before going off shopping. I’m talking about me and six brothers, all of whom were under 18; I’m surprised the theater management let our little ensemble in. Once inside, though, we found that the grand hall was deserted, so where did we decide to sit? In the balcony, of course! The viewing of cinematic masterpiece at the Olympic remains one of the greatest experiences of my life. The film was so crisp looking and the sound was pretty glorious for the time. Seeing 2001 at the Olympic, I feel, established it as my favorite movie of all time. I’ve viewed it many times since, including a remastered 70-millimeter print at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, Calif back in 1995. All pale in comparison to my remembrances of being at the Olympic on that one Monday in April 1968. I tell my wife that I’m overdue for a visit back to Chicago, with or without her. When I go, I’ll definitely swing by the Olympic. As for my memories, if only there was some time machine I could step into…