The first movie I ever saw in a cinema was 'Poor Little Rich Girl' with Shirley Temple at the long gone Orana Theatre in Wangaratta. NO, it was not when it was originally released but in the mid 60's. You know, even today I still have dreams in which the Orana appears! The foyer featured a real ticket box and a wonderful large tiled mirror over a faux fireplace and mantle. Oh I tell you the first time I walked in there and smelt that musty but enticing movie palace smell I was enchanted. My life of weatherboard and tiles hadn't prepared me for this! And somehow that must be where my love for 'the pictures' started.
I go to the cinema at least once a week which reminds me how much going to the movies has changed over the years.
In Melbourne, the number of cinemas has closed although there might be more cinema screens – the multiplexes have replaced the single screen theatres and some of the theatres have grown remarkable. The Rivoli in Camberwell was a one screener then went to two or three and now has at least six. The Nova in Carlton burst onto the scene in the 80’s and is now bursting at the seams with 17 screens! In the Melbourne CBD in 1976 there were about twenty theatres, now there’s half that, there were some beautiful places such as the Regal and the Mayfair, the Capitol (and the fantastic light display)the Palace and the Forum, out at Malvern there were some lovely ones and there was even the decrepit Valhalla in Richmond and the Fitzroy Teletheatre. You always knew the session times because they were all pretty much the same 11.00, 2.00, 5.00 and 8.00. If you weren’t seeing a double bill generally you got some god awful documentary from the well intentioned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation about the effects of snow on the elder flower or something as riveting, then one or two trailers for ‘upcoming attractions’ and some quick ads from the Val Morgan company. The curtains would close (eerily similar to the way curtains operate at a crematorium I note) hold for a second as the lights came up briefly, the lights would go down and then the main feature commenced. You would NEVER consume your pasty popcorn or your cooling cordial, let alone the chosen choc top before the main feature started.
Today you feel like you’re at a marketing expo. Twenty minutes of ads and trailers then the film. Mostly the movies are 100 minutes of product marketing with a bit of a story thrown in, some CGI to impress and minimal dialogue so that you (and the actors) don’t have to concentrate too much. That casually placed can of soft drink on the kitchen bench top has probably the subject of months of negotiation and manipulation, the pen George Clooney casually pulls out of his jacket to make a note has probably been written into the scene to grab a few extra dollars for the film and a few seconds of exposure for the Swiss manufacturer of said pen. Nothing in films these days is accidental or by the way. And as for the choc top and popcorn, well it’s well and truly gone before the film starts – what’s the point in that?????
I like a good blockbuster but I like a good story better. Take me to another world through the skillful manipulation of words and character development and I’m in dreamland. Give me something better than my imagination or what my subconscious can create in my dreams and I am happy to fork out a few dollars. When Australian filmmakers show that we are among the best and produce yet another gem them I’m in the front row cheering it on. And if every so often I see a moment or two of extraordinary acting and the goosebumps rise then man oh man, that’s what movies are all about.
Cinemas these days are generally more comfortable than the old flea pits, you can melt into the seats, and there are even helpful holders for your overpriced candy bar post mix beverage, occasionally a bench to pop your purchases upon.
So there in the dark every weekend I go to a happy place, even when watching a tragedy or groping for my tissues. I see something like ‘Burning Man’ and weep, play with the grownups with ‘Barney’s Version’, am transported with laughter in ‘Midnight in Paris’ or sit on the edge of my seat watching ‘Salt’ and thank God for giving the talent and the inspiration to the original movie makers. Whether they were playing in Paris or becoming moguls in Hollywood, breaking new ground in Ealing or putting together Salvation Army propaganda in Melbourne they have given all of us something simply magical.
Sometimes those on the screen have stepped down to meet me (and no I’m not having a ‘Purple Rose of Cairo’ moment). I ran through the Southern Cross Hotel carpark to kiss the cheeks of Marlene Dietrich, wondered if Rex Harrison was going to negotiate the step from the footpath to the road, helped dress Frank Thring, watched Trevor Howard NOT negotiate a footpath and felt a little weak in the knees talking to Claudette Colbert.
From the Orana theatre to cinemas in London, Munich, Mariestad, Sydney, Brisbane, Hobart and Melbourne it has lifted my life and just reminded me every time how blessed I am.
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