Monday, 5 March 2012

Flashback Mondays at the Odeon




Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen!
-Hudson (Bill Paxton) Aliens

Monday nights at the Odeon Manchester is a film night with a difference. We're currently in the middle of a season of classic movies, being screened weekly in the Printworks.

On the 20th I saw Aliens on the big screen. James Cameron's 1986 SF action romp is one of the greatest movies of the eighties. I was four when it came out, so I never got to see it on the big screen the first time around. Thankfully Manchester Odeon recently gave me that opportunity with a vintage '86 35mm print of the film.

Even when you know every word (I was a SERIOUS movie geek in my late teens) it's still a pleasure to watch, more so in a format that it was always made for- the cinema screen. It was interesting to see which parts of the film first-timers found funny, and which lines got laughs (mostly Paxton's). It felt like an authentic, traditional filmgoer's experience- no digital effects, a few frames with dust on, a few frames missing completely, but a riveting story told spectacularly by Cameron. When the credits rolled, the audience clapped. It was like being back in time, and not least because the tickets are only £4. You can't complain.

Still to be shown: Goodfellas (tonight, tickets still available), Batman, Heat, Dirty Dancing, Shaun of the Dead.

I think there's a serious lucrative market for retro nights at cinemas. Seeing as there have been so few truly memorable films in recent years, cinemas would do well to offer fans the opportunity of seeing their favourite films on the big screen. How about a poll using social media asking fans what films they'd like to se brought back? Here are a few I'd love to see on the big screen:

RoboCop
2001: A Space Oddyssey
Star Wars Trilogy (Originals)
The Godfather
King Kong (Original)
Blade Runner: Director's Cut
Fantasia
The Jungle Book
Terminator 2: Judgement Day

What would you have in your flashback season?

3 comments:

  1. The Godfather was actually shown at this very night a month ago, well, at least, sometime in February anyway! You missed out :(

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  2. Gutted- I didn't even hear about the Flashback season until the day Aliens was due to be shown!

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