1975 vs 2019

71 Replies
line-naama-yehuda

PHOTO PROMPT © Na’ama Yehuda

“Get a move on, we need to get there early.”

It was a 30-minute drive to the theater.

Although the movie had been there for two weeks, the line stretched around the corner.

“Ya got kids? You know you won’t make the 5:30 showing, don’cha?”

It started to rain.

The line started to move at 5:15. Would we make it?

The door closed just before we entered. At least we’d make the 8 PM showing.

It rained harder.

*

“Hey, the new movie is at the 25-screen-multiplex.”

“What and wait in line for 5 minutes? It’ll be streaming in a month.”

***

Word count = 100

Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields.  This week’s prompt is here and uses a photo © Na’ama Yehuda.  Read more or join in by following the InLinkz “linky“.

***

Does anyone remember waiting in line, sometimes for hours, to see a hit movie like Jaws or Star Wars (The movie once known only as “Star Wars”, no other name or number needed)? Yeah, the good old days ;)

71 thoughts on “1975 vs 2019”

    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I remember the gasoline lines, though I didn’t really see many where I was. The movie liens, though… until the late 70s or early 80s, int he area where I lived if you wanted to see a popular movie, you stood in line. If you missed it, it was gone forever. These days? No….

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  3. patriciaruthsusan

    I’ve never gone to a premier and rarely get out these days to a movie or anywhere else. I also hate crowds. My dad said when he and my mom went to movies in the 1920’s you sometimes had to stand the entire time in a crowded theater with no seats left. No for me. A good story, Trent. Well done. :) — Suzanne

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      These days I don’t go often despite the fact that I live a two minute walk from a theater. There was a time when I was a kid that there were only a handful of theaters within an hour drive, and this was suburbia, so a couple of hundred thousand people for those theaters. There was always huge waits, hours, for the popular movies like Jaws (the first blockbuster I remember). By 1980 there were several multi-screen theaters around, so no more super-long waits.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Not just for opening night – When I was a little kid, there were some blockbusters that had lines from opening night until they left the region and if you missed them, oh well… Glad you enjoyed the flash back.

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  5. James McEwan

    I go to the cinema for the wide screen and the atmosphere. Most importantly getting to see the film on its first outing. Netflix and streaming the film while sitting at home is not the same – to me.
    A great observational story.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      There is a big difference. I think the immersion into the film at a theater is a big one, particularly when it is something like a Star Wars movie where the visuals are such a huge part of the movie. Thanks.

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  7. Dale

    I don’t do lines… because I don’t do premiers ;-)
    But I definitely do movie theatres because it is so much nicer to see a movie out there in a darkened room with a bunch of strangers!
    Excellent take.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I do not do lines either, but back in the day when a movie was in town for a few weeks and if you missed it, it was gone forever, lines were unavoidable… Even though the movies don’t have that special air they used to have when it was a limited commodity, it is still nice to go out and you can make it special.

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      1. Dale

        It’s true. Times have changed. Now the movies come and go so quickly just to be found on-line that you have to hurry up to see it in the theatre if that is what you like.
        I definitely enjoy going

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        1. trentpmcd Post author

          The older I get the less I like to go except for special occasions or special movies that need that total immersion. I live a two minute walk from a local theater, so 90% of the time I go to a movie, that is the place. Being a small theater, they often get art films that aren’t shown in the mega-theaters, so that is always a plus. And there is almost always a short line there ;)

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          1. Dale

            I enjoy the cinema experience and I love the art/indie films but have to go into town to catch those. I treat myself once in a while. Parking is inside and costs a mere 2 bucks so no stresses on finding a spot! 😁

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            1. trentpmcd Post author

              When I first moved to my village, the theater did not play any mainstream movies and was often the only theater (in the US) north of Boston to show most of the movies. When I told people I lived in Wilton, the theater was always the first thing they mentioned…. I used to go all of the time then. But now they are more mainstream, though not totally, so still cool.

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  9. bearmkwa

    Good one! Reminds me of premier of “Star Trek: Wrath of Kahn” When we got in line that morning, it was sunny and in the 80’s… by 6pm when the line actually started moving, it was snowing with boughts of sleet. By 10pm, we were still in line, and they’d called in the red cross to hand out cocoa and blankets. It was the only theater (2 screens) in a tri-county area at the time. Not the best day to wear a mini skirt. LOL! Ended up front row, so close to screen I couldn’t really see it… but the seat rumbled with each phaser shot… and I think I can still hear Kirk scream “KAHN!” :) laughter. 1st and only time I did a premier… the Vulcan ears is the only thing that kept my own ears from frostbite! heheh! Oh, thanks for that memory! :) <3 BTW: We move Oct 17! YEAH!

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      lol, I don’t think my waiting in line experience was ever that bad. Of course, The Wrath of Khan would have been worth it ;) By far the best of the Star Trek movies, in my opinion. I don’t know if being the first to see it is wroth that, but then, maybe it was!

      Glad you have a date to move set!

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        1. trentpmcd Post author

          I don’t go to the cinema very often anymore – I guess I am spoiled by high definition, large screen movies when I want to see them… There is a town theater a 2 minute walk from my house, so when I go, that is the place to see a movie – small, I know the owner, etc.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      There is a little theater in the small village were i live, about a 3 minute walk away. I think about 95% of the times I have gone out to see a movie it was there… And yes, there is always a line ;)

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      There were things that used to be special, and now they are not. If a movie would only be available for a few weeks and then was gone forever, it was special and worth waiting in line for. If you can see every movie ever made at the touch of a button, well, are movies special any more? Yeah, a little lost magic.

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  19. Na'ama Yehuda

    What a spot on depiction! To be fair, I’m one of those who prefers to wait for the movie to lose some of its immediate ‘new smell’ and let the crowds fizzle a bit before I go … ;) But there were the movies here and there when I stood in line, as described above … Nowadays? Nah ;) Online tickets or go-when-the-rush-is-over … ;)

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I always tried to wait for the movies to lose a bit of their newness so the lines would be shorter, but when I was a little kid there were only a handful of theaters, so if you missed the movie, it was gone forever. You had to stand in line. Now? Yeah, it’s too easy ;)

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Back then if you missed it, you missed it, so you had to wait. It wasn’t a problem. Now? If you miss it, it will somewhere else and streaming soon enough. (By the time I was in high school all of those theaters I waited in line for as a kid had gone from 1 screen to 2, or 3 or even 4.)

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I don’t see new movies in the theater very often any more. I might see the new Star Wars movie in the theater, and occasionally I will see a small art file, but I just don’t make it often any more.

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  23. fakeflamenco

    In Wisconsin, you can order wine or beer to drink at the movies. We buy our tickets online and don’t wait in a physical line. I still love the big screen, audience oo and ah experience. And I still call Star Wars “episode IV” – “the first one.” – Rebecca

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      A lot has changed, from online ticket sales to alcohol being served (I went to a movie theater with a bar in the 80s, so not that new), but I think the biggest change is the availability – Jaws was in town for two weeks and if you missed it, you missed it forever, it would never be back. Star Wars (OK, OK: Star Wars IV) was different in that it came back through town several times over the next two or three years. Every other movie, if you missed it, you missed it. By the time Star Wars IV hit town in 1980, there were already theaters that had gone from 1 screen to two, or three and in one case 4 screens. In 1975 not a single theater in a 50 mile radius had more than one screen.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Funny, those little coincidences of thinking about something and then a story comes up… These days you don;t have to worry about missing that one week that a specific movie is in town never to be seen again….

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I know some of the huge theaters are changing to try to entice people to come in, but I haven’t been to one that serves beer yet. To tell you the truth, I hate going to movies these days and 90% of the time I go, I go to the little local theater that is owned by someone in town and not affiliated with a gigantic company. It is an old fashioned experience and there are still lines. Watching or listening to whatever is on? How barbaric….

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