I saw Return of the Jedi on my 6th birthday in 1983 with my brother (who had skipped school a few days earlier to get into the opening night show). The venue was the Illinois Theater in Jacksonville, Illinois, which is where I had seen my first movie two years before during the 1981 re-release of Star Wars. Three things have really stuck in my mind from that night at the Illinois almost 25 years ago. The first is that my brother had to translate Jabba the Hutt fro me because I could barely read during the summer of ‘83. The second is the collective “aww” when one of the Ewoks was killed during the Battle of Endor sequence. The third was when Luke removed Darth Vader’s helmet near the end of the film. Everyone was so focused in the monet that it was incredible. The funny thing is that 22 years later I would end up taking my son to the sasame theater to see Revenge of the Sith. I saw the helmet come of at the age of 6 and he saw the helmet go on at the age of 5 and ½.
Yes, the Times still sports its neon canopy and the old ticket booth still sits in the entry way, though I don’t believe it’s been used in years. I have heard stories of a beautiful red dragon mural that has been hidden behind paneling in the lobby. I’ll get some pics on-line ASAP.
I saw my first movie at the Illinois in 1981 (The re-release of Star Wars). It had just been twinned at that point and the marquee was covered with some very ugly brown siding (though a few years ago you were able to see a section of the marquee when a storm ripped off some of the siding. Other than being twinned the inside appears to be close to original. It still has the tile laid out front confirming that it was a Fox theater at one time. I’ll provide some pictures at a later date.
I saw Return of the Jedi on my 6th birthday in 1983 with my brother (who had skipped school a few days earlier to get into the opening night show). The venue was the Illinois Theater in Jacksonville, Illinois, which is where I had seen my first movie two years before during the 1981 re-release of Star Wars. Three things have really stuck in my mind from that night at the Illinois almost 25 years ago. The first is that my brother had to translate Jabba the Hutt fro me because I could barely read during the summer of ‘83. The second is the collective “aww” when one of the Ewoks was killed during the Battle of Endor sequence. The third was when Luke removed Darth Vader’s helmet near the end of the film. Everyone was so focused in the monet that it was incredible. The funny thing is that 22 years later I would end up taking my son to the sasame theater to see Revenge of the Sith. I saw the helmet come of at the age of 6 and he saw the helmet go on at the age of 5 and ½.
Yes, the Times still sports its neon canopy and the old ticket booth still sits in the entry way, though I don’t believe it’s been used in years. I have heard stories of a beautiful red dragon mural that has been hidden behind paneling in the lobby. I’ll get some pics on-line ASAP.
I saw my first movie at the Illinois in 1981 (The re-release of Star Wars). It had just been twinned at that point and the marquee was covered with some very ugly brown siding (though a few years ago you were able to see a section of the marquee when a storm ripped off some of the siding. Other than being twinned the inside appears to be close to original. It still has the tile laid out front confirming that it was a Fox theater at one time. I’ll provide some pictures at a later date.