OldBoy

Sometimes you have very vivid memories of a movie you saw or particular happenings at a specific time. So what are yours?

I’ll never forget the time I saw Die Hard, 1st movie I literally sat on the edge of my seat the whole movie. Still my #1 movie to this day and that experience has a lot to do with it.

Mike86

jeffkjoe

I remember hearing the audience scream when Captain Quint was getting eaten in JAWS.

And during the climactic fight, I remember hearing the crowd cheering the introduction of Rocky Balboa and booing the introduction of Apollo Creed during ROCKY II. It was almost like watching a real fight.

tommyp007

One as a kid. Our small town theater didn't sell "tickets", per se, just took admission. When ET came around it was so packed there were kids sitting in the aisle watching it, including me.

Also I remember being blown away at Independence Day and Die Hard. And falling asleep during the Return of the King (the only time I think I've dozed off during a movie)

GoldenJCJ

OldBoy

Also, 15 minutes of complete and utter silence after the credits rolled in a packed house for showing of Schindler’s List.

GoldenJCJ

Nick Danger

I saw The Poseidon Adventure in the theater as a pre-teen. During the scene where Shelly Winters had to swim a long way under water, I realized that I was holding my breath. I looked around me and realized that a lot of the grownups around me were holding their breaths too.

TomOpus

I remember my older sister took me to Grauman's Chinese Theater to see Mary Poppins. First time I got to check out all the stars hand/foot prints in cement. It was so packed, there were people sitting in the aisle.

JTH182

Jurassic Park - the sound right off the bat was like nothing I had heard before (DTS).

Dumb and Dumber - being 14 and almost laughing out of my seat in tears.

Episode I - when you still had to wait in line for tickets AND seats! Awesome atmosphere.

PhantomStranger

As long as I live, I'll remember seeing Bram Stoker's Dracula on opening night.

I also remember seeing Independence Day on the 4th of July. It was the first and only movie I've ever seen where a packed house stood up and clapped like crazy when the credits rolled. You would have thought they had announced everyone in the theater was winning a million dollars or something. Looking back, I still don't know what prompted it. After seeing it on cable a few times, now I can barely sit through the movie.

tanman

The time I went toe to toe and almost came to blows with another movie goer when trying to watch Ratatouille on my birthday.

tanman

Wow cool. That's really a historic time for Disney fans.

https://d23.com/d23-video/mary-poppi...miere-footage/

Ash Ketchum

When I went to see the 5th James Bond film, YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, at a neighborhood theater during its initial release (1967), the children's section was packed. I was sitting with my sister. And when the climactic action began as the ninjas attacked SPECTRE's volcano rocket base, the crowd went absolutely nuts. We'd never seen ninja or samurai action like this before and kids were roaring and applauding and cheering and jumping up and down like I'd never seen an audience react before (or since).

tanman

Wow that's really cool but so much of this story seems weird now. Your theater had a kids section? And a kids section in a James Bond movie? And there were that many kids watching James Bond and they were all jumping up and down and causing a ruckus during the movie?

JeffTheAlpaca

The ticket guy saying I was not old enough to see New Jack City in 1991

wishbone

Star Wars: A New Hope: We got to the theater late and the movie had started. My parents looked for seats while I was transfixed watching the opening scene with the Star Destroyer. I was six-years-old.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars: the impromptu lightsaber battle between costumed Jedi and Sith characters around the theater before the movie started. It was more entertaining than the movie.

Ghostbusters, Pee-wee's Big Adventure, There's Something About Mary: The laugh out loud moments for the Librarian Ghost's "Shhh!", Large Marge's reveal, and Mary's 'hair gel' scenes.

Dragnet: Outside in the lobby of a small theater I heard the Dragnet theme 'duh da duh duh' while we waited for the next showing. About ten minutes later I heard it again so when we saw the movie I anticipated the themes toward the end, the first I think was Dan Aykroyd's look following the line, "Don't you mean the virgin Connie Swail?"

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves: When Will Scarlet tells Robin, "...that our father loved you more than me," a woman stated aloud in a hushed moment of revelation, "That's his brother..." We felt like responding, "No sh!t lady!"

Troy Stiffler

Who Framed Roger Rabbit was the first movie I ever saw in theaters. My brain barely remembers the experience. My attention definitely drifted in and out. I only remember moments of being in the theater. Like maybe my parents couldn't get me to sit still.

I watched TMNT 1 and 2 a lot when I was a kid. A lot.

I know T2 and Die Hard 3 the way people know Pink Floyd's The Wall.

Bringing Out the Dead was the first Scorsese movie I saw in theaters. Seeing NYC so dirty and dangerous was very immersive and stuck with me for a long time.

I still haven't wrapped my head around watching ultra low-budget film festival and Troma movies. They're awkward and personal and too much to take in a lot of the time.

Watching Lord of the Rings several times on the big screen is probably the definitive movie-going experience of my lifetime.

This place harbors most of my feelings about films over the past twenty years. I'd probably be embarrassed to go back and look at things I've said.

Bluelitespecial

Seeing Home Alone in theaters was memorable in that it took forever before I got to see it. It was on an afternoon towards the end of winter break and it was still sold out.

rw2516

The Abyss. Halfway through movie the power went out. Emergency generators kicked in and movie resumed. Leaving the theater discovered a big storm had hit and power was out all over town. Only the theater had power.
Moonraker. Went first night to drive-in. Fell asleep. Week later went to indoor theater showing 70mm blowup. Fell asleep again. Never did see entire movie till it came on HBO year later.
Blazing Saddles. This was a midnight secret sneak preview some weeks before official release. The audience was completely unaware of the movie or what it was about. Audience was mostly drunks and stoners. Use your imagination.
We used to go to all the counter culture midnight movies in early 70s. I can't remember what movie we were seeing but the trailer for Odessa File was shown. Scene in trailer has some Neo-Nazi giving a rousing Nazi speech followed by other Nazis yelling "Sieg Heil!" and giving Nazi salute. About half the theater audience, drunks and stoners, stood and did same.
Local theater had midnight showings of Rocky Horror every weekend for years. Finally went to check it out around 1982. Pretty wild with all the regulars dressed in costumes, the props, and yelling at the screen.
Love Story. Fast food chain had a promotion that if you came in and said "Love means never having to say you're sorry" to person behind counter they gave you a pin button that had the line on it. The button was good for getting in to see a special showing of the movie. Went with a buddy. When Ali McGraw was dying and all these people in the theater were crying we started laughing and couldn't stop.
Every year at Halloween the local fire department would sponsor a free horror movie on Saturday afternoon before Halloween. Fire department would come around to the schools and have you sign a pledge not to do any vandalism on Halloween. Movie ticket was stub of the pledge card you signed. No adults were at these movies. Theater packed with just kids. Ones we went to were Tingler, Doctor Blood's Coffin and Ghost and Mr. Chicken.
Dracula Has Risen From The Grave. I ran around with twin brothers who went to Catholic school. One Friday night there was a school dance and movie in the gymnasium. There was hot dogs, popcorn, and a whole lot of catholic school girls. We didn't know what the movie was. Movie time rolls around and a couple nuns set up the screen while a priest got the projector ready. Movie starts and it's fucking Dracula. Hammer even. I was 12 at the time yet it felt surreal watching Hammer Dracula surround by catholic school girls, some nuns, and a priest.

Mabuse

Draven

I saw The Last Crusade about a year after it originally came out in a packed "dollar theater". The crowd loved every second of it. Easily the most excited audience I've ever seen a movie with.

At one point during The Blair Witch Project a woman legitimately screamed from fright. Lots of nervous laughter followed but we were all feeling it. Say what you will about that movie, but "found footage" was still a new thing and the last 5 minutes scared the living shit out of me and everyone else in that theater.

I remember seeing the entire opening sequence of The Lion King as a trailer at a gigantic single-screen theater. I've never wanted to immediately see a movie more after a trailer - it was extremely effective.

I saw Bad Boys at an 11PM screening on opening weekend with a packed house that was INTO IT.

Seeing The Room for the first time at a packed midnight showing with everyone chucking spoons was about the most fun I've ever had at a theater.

And when I saw South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, I couldn't breathe during "Uncle Fucka" because I was laughing so hard. I am a longtime musical theater performer and director and holy shit is that movie incredible.

robin2099

Masters of the Universe: That was my first theatrical movie. Even though it did not resemble the cartoon and toyline I loved I did not care. I was too transfixed watching it in my childhood theater.

Ninja Turtles: I remember going to my cousins First Communion and going to see this with my Dad while I was out of town.

Spider-Man: First superhero movie I ever saw opening weekend, and first movie I ever went to where people were standing up and cheering at the end of it.

AVP: I was in Myrtle Beach and a hurricane was getting ready to touch down the following day. It knocked the power to the theater out and we all had to evacuate.

Mabuse

TomOpus

That premire showed what a big deal it was. I'd only seen bits and pieces before.