Your first experience of the Cinema/Movies

[Long Lashes]

I was about 4 years old and I have a vague recollection of seeing a cowboy film, but I can’t recall many details. I remember being startled by the volume and also being fascinated by the huge screen and seats.

The main thing I remember was my Dad buying each of us a huge bag of maltesers lol


Can you remember your first cinema/movie experience and the film you saw?

 

[Ome]

Can you remember your first cinema/movie experience and the film you saw?

My mum tells me my first movie was The Jungle Book, however I really have no recollection of this.


My first memory comes from a holiday in Great Yarmouth where we went to see two movies in one week.

The Towering Inferno and Earthquake. I have no idea which was first, but I do remember feeling excited and anxious during Earthquake, made worse by the sound system. I remember thinking the cinema was was about to collapse and we would all be stuck underground...

If the Ghost of Christmas Past was ever to visit me in a dream, I would love to be taken back to that moment in Great Yarmouth

 

[Karin Schill]

To be honest, no I can't remember the first time I went to the cinema.

Some early cinema memories however includes going with my pre-school group to watch an Astrid Lindgren movie. It felt like a magical experience that I really enjoyed.

I also went to the cinema to watch the "My Little Pony" movie in 1986. That might actually have been my first visit at the cinema. I went there with my parents, sister and our two best friends who lived nextdoor to us. I remember I loved the movie but my sister's best friend got scared when the purple goo arrived and drowned the dream castle! lol

 

[Barbara Fan]

My first memory of going to the cinema was to see Disneys 101 Dalamations and being quite scared of Cruella de Ville.

A few weeks later my parents took me to the Cinema again and saw a double bill of the Wizard of Oz and Tom Thumb.

2 of the earliest films i can really remember - that i loved were
the inn of the 6th happiness with Ingrid bergman
and the 5 Pennies starring Danny kaye and a "blonde lady as his wife" who grew up to be Momma / Miss Ellie aka BBG
they remained my 2 fav actresses up to this day although i couldnt have told you aged 7 who BBG was!

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The Jungle Book

Disneys 101 Dalamations

My first memory of seeing a film at the cinema was a Disney too.

I have a dim remembrance of getting really upset when a diamond was hidden in Herbie's fuel tank by the villains. I thought they were hurting him. I think I had to be taken outside, only returning once I was assured Herbie was ok.

 

[Willie Oleson]

We went to the cinema to celebrate my birthday (and to entertain the birthday guests):

It was the Fabulous Madam Medusa Movie!

I believe there was also a little girl and some mice in it...

 

[Jessie]

My first memories of going to films, I was 8 and my brother 5. My Parents were separated at the time, and my Dad was not really great at picking films good for children. He took us to, Poseidon Adventure, Planet of The Apes, Bonnie and Clyde, God Father, and Vincent Price films. We would go home, and couldn't sleep my Mom would tell my Dad not to take us to films that are not appropriate for children but did he listen no. I did love the Planet of the Apes films but God Father scared me, and gave me nightmares.

 

[Alexis]

My first memory of the cinema was going to see Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Obviously it was a re-release I'm guessing some time in the late 1980s?

I just checked it out and the film was re-released every 7 to 10 years. I think I saw it on it's 1987 re-release which was it's 50th anniversary. I was about 3 or 4 years old.

 

[Willie Oleson]

my Dad was not really great at picking films good for children. He took us to, Poseidon Adventure, Planet of The Apes, Bonnie and Clyde, God Father, and Vincent Price films.

Awesome!

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

So, you started with one of the best movies. Do have any memories of it at all? You were so young, but do you remember if it made an impression?

When I was young I always wanted to see the Disney movies (well, some of them) but they were never shown in the local theaters, or maybe they were and my parents simply didn't tell me (*cue sad violin music*)
And because these movies were so "out of reach", they became even more enigmatic. I could spend hours looking at the movie illustrations in the books.
And now I have them all on DVD - it's my very own little rags-to-riches storylol

 

[Alexis]

Awesome!

So, you started with one of the best movies. Do have any memories of it at all? You were so young, but do you remember if it made an impression?

When I was young I always wanted to see the Disney movies (well, some of them) but they were never shown in the local theaters, or maybe they were and my parents simply didn't tell me (*cue sad violin music*)
And because these movies were so "out of reach", they became even more enigmatic. I could spend hours looking at the movie illustrations in the books.
And now I have them all on DVD - it's my very own little rags-to-riches storylol

I remember how huge the cinema was, and I remember like fancy white satin drapes that were pulled up to show the huge screen. I remember popcorn, and loving the film but being frightened and fascinated by the evil queen. The more I have thought about it I now kind of understand why were taken to see the film. My dad had just passed away and my aunts and uncles were doing lots of things with us. I'm guessing my older brother wasn't that impressed with it. I have since seen the film countless times so I cant be too sure of any real vivid memories from the first time.

I recently started buying most of the Disney films on DVD too, it started as an excuse for my niece to see them. But I think I like them more than she does now. She's totally into Dinosaurs and Paw Patrol now. lol

 

[Willie Oleson]

The first time I saw Snow White (or maybe I should say the best parts) was when they showed a Disney villains special on television, must have been the early 80s.

I was so excited that I forgot to record it!

 

[Jason73]

We went to the cinema to celebrate my birthday (and to entertain the birthday guests):

It was the Fabulous Madam Medusa Movie!
View attachment 387
I believe there was also a little girl and some mice in it...

That was my first movie too! It's my favorite Disney movie and I remember that my mom bought me the record of the movie some time later and I used to love acting out the Madame Medusa parts.

 

[Willie Oleson]

I would love to be taken back to that moment in Great Yarmouth

It looks like a place from American Horror Story.

 

[hatayas]

I clearly remember my first visit to the cinema. It was in a theater that doesn't exist anymore. I was about 7 or 8 and I went with my mom and a good friend to see "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". To this day this movie reminds me of that friend who moved away a year later.

 

[That Bowie Girl]

I have been told that my parents took us to the drive in often when I was little...my cousin even remembers going with us....I can't remember any of this.....not even one time going to the drive in with them....

What I do remember is ....My Uncle took me and my 3 cousins to see Star Wars and that was like WOW.....it has always stayed with me.... that feeling watching that movie.....on the huge screen. Thank you Uncle Charles!

 

[Angela Channing]

I have a dim remembrance of getting really upset when a diamond was hidden in Herbie's fuel tank by the villains. I thought they were hurting him. I think I had to be taken outside, only returning once I was assured Herbie was ok.

What a coincidence, the first film I saw at the cinema was Herbie Rides Again featuring the second Digger Barnes from Dallas. I saw the film again recently and still liked it.

 

[Angela Channing]

My first memory of watching any film was seeing Kings Row on TV when I was about 7. It starred an actor that I never saw again in any subsequent film for over 30 years but I remember I really liked his performance. His name was Ronald Reagan.

 

[Swami]

Being brought up on a farm severely limited opportunities to go the cinema, believe it or not the first film I saw in the cinema was Rocky IV in 1985!

Swami

 

[KayLloyd]

My Nana took me to see The Sound Of Music. We had so much fun. During the bus ride back her apartment, I asked a couple of nuns if they had been in the movie.

 

[Toni]

I think I was born in a theater because I can´t remember a period of my life without movies being my favorite activity. As I already explained in the "gone" Forum, my father used to paint posters for the movie theaters in Barcelona. So I could watch the films for free, especially when they left the first release circuit and went into the double feature circuit.

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Therefore going to the movies was something that was part of my life since my early years. It´s funny but I can remember going to see the films you have mentioned above ("The Rescuers", "Herbie Rides Again", "The Poseidon Adventure"...I guess it´s a generational thing). When I really loved the movie, I asked my father to see it again, and if it was a Disney feature, it was shown with a short film too. I think that I got to watch "Peter Pan" three times in a row, in a theater...and then, of course, in the TV screen on dvd.

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Back then, it was allowed, at least in my country, eating and drinking whatever you brought to the movies. Now it may be an odd thing to see, but at the time eating a sandwich while watching a film was quite usual. Due to my father´s job, I knew in advance what movies were going to be shown every week, and even invite some friends to come with me. My father painted the posters by hand, there was no computer, and he didn´t xerox the reference drawings or pictures, so it was a very traditional job that doesn´t exist anymore: the posters are just small photocopies and they hardly are put in the marquees as they used to.

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Of course, I also watched a lot of movies and cartoons on TV, though it took us awhile to have a color TV set, and everything was in black & white (yes, that isn´t a myth...). Later on, I and my brothers also were lucky enough to have a Super 8mm projector at home, and my father bought us a lot of Disney mini-films (they didn´t sell complete movies in the 70´s, only short versions of their classics that lasted around 10 minutes). We watched them outdoors, at our weekend house, together with our family and friends. Drive-ins were not as usual in Spain as they are in US, but home cinema was quite popular back then.

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There were a lot of movies that made a big impression on me . Randomly I can mention "Planet of the Apes", "Mary Poppins", "Star Wars" (no "hope" then...), "American Gigolo", "Cat People", "Airplane!", and the TV re-runs of "Psycho", "Giant", "Little Women", "My Fair Lady"...In some ways, few movies have given more to me than these... (insert here "The Way We Were" by Barbra...)

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PS: About pic #3, I found this scene of a "Dallas" episode with Jessie Montford by chance, and it´s been quite a surprise!!