Thursday, July 5, 2012

A show that is really a show sends you out with a kind of a glow

And you say as you go on your way...

I saw That's Entertainment (1974) last night. Cinemark showed it as part of their classic film selections for the summer. It was pretty incredible. Going into it, I wasn't sure what to expect. When I saw Casablanca in theaters as part of the Fathom events, it was sold out - and I went to the encore performance! I wholly anticipate Singin' in the Rain to be sold out as well. So, I assumed That's Entertainment would be somewhere up there in popularity.

Well, the audience was myself, my mom, and an older gentleman who sat one seat away from us. That was it! We had a private showing! It was pretty funny. I was disappointed by the turnout but the small audience certainly had its perks. My mom was able to sing along and no one was there to mind. I constantly nudged her saying helpful things like, "I love this part!" and "this is one of my favorite songs ever!" and "this part is so good" and "my favorite part is coming up... yup. That's it." Yeah. I was worried that we'd bothered our co-viewer but, according to my mom, he was making his own commentary, so it's okay.

But. Let me tell you. It was so incredible watching that movie on the big screen! If I had been alive to see all of those great films when they came into theaters originally, I think I would have been a fan of more of them than I already am. For instance, Eleanor Powell and Fred Astaire's rendition of "Begin the Beguine" has never been a favorite of mine, simply because I'm not a big Eleanor Powell fan. But seeing it larger than life like that was simply incredible. I could see all of the expressions, all of the moves. The humor was so much funnier, everything was sexier, more moving, more exciting. Just more.

After we left the theater, my mom asked if there was another showing immediately after. I'm pretty sure if there had been, we would have turned around and watched it again!

1 comment:

  1. well, dang... that is a bit of a downer that folks just aren't into classic entertainment anymore... was it advertised well? I know the Casablanca and Singin in the Rain viewings were (and are) well advertised...if they showed it here, I probably would have liked to have seen it...I have the 'set of 'TE', but honestly haven't even opened it...

    Well, glad ya had a good time, anyway, Sally! I wish I could see a LOT of the 'classics' on the big screen!

    KIG!
    Hu
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