By the Way...

I often forget that this blog is about Belltown. And when I remember, I usually dispense old news. This is no exception. OK, so the Cinerama is in the midst of their 70mm Festival. I was gone last week, so I missed the opening phase. Fortunately, they're repeating most of the films. You know, I've never been a cinemaphile. Sure, I like movies like everybody else, but I would seldom go out of my way to see old movies in the theater. Well, that all changed this summer when the Cinerama had their Kubrick-fest. I only saw two films - A Clockwork Orange and The Shining - and that was enough to change my mind. I had only seen The Shining once on TV over at a friend's house. I wasn't impressed. It seemed completely stagnant. I was bored by it. However, when I saw it at the Cinerama, it was a completely different experience. It had my complete attention and watching it on a screen that size gave it a completely different dimension. By the time it was over, I could honestly say: "Yeah, that film is a masterpiece." I'm hoping that I'll have a similar experience with these films. Here is the schedule for this week. I'm going to see Chitty Chitty Bang Bang this afternoon. I haven't even thought about that film in about three decades. I just remember it as rather weird and creepy. And it costars Benny Hill. Tomorrow night, I'm planning on seeing Lord Jim. I've heard absolutely nothing about this movie other than that it's based on the Conrad novel and it stars Peter O'Toole. After seeing The Shining on that huge screen, I'm really looking forward to further offerings from the Cinerama. After all these years in Belltown, the one thing that consistently cheers me up is the Cinerama.