A Day at the Movies

by Timothy Szykula

Radio City Music Hall started what will hopefully become a tradition in the fall: A five day film festival showcasing some of the best films lingering in the Warner Brothers vault. The films shown this year were: Bonnie and Clyde, Blazing Saddles, The Exorcist, My Fair Lady, Blade Runner (The Director's Cut), Casablanca, and Dirty Harry. Billed as the world's biggest motion picture screen, the venue also offers the excitement of a 53 speaker Dolby Digital Surround sound system. The Exorcist, Blade Runner, and My Fair Lady were shown on seventy millimeter film, providing at least twice the resolution and clarity of standard thirty-five millimeter film. All tickets were $10, general admission.

Reporter's Notebook: It's hard not to be immediately impressed upon entering Radio City Music Hall. The place has class and character, like Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, the film that I was privileged to see there. Live organ music is played by a talented organist in the front left corner of the seating area, as you choose your seat and settle in. The movie screen is covered by a huge curtain that is pulled up before the show begins, to add to the drama.

The show opened with a single preview, for a movie opening November 15th that stars Michael Jordan, Bill Murray, and Bugs Bunny, in a comedic mix of animation and live action. After the preview, there was a fantastic demonstration of the Dolby Digital system, where a train traverses the screen visually and can be heard crossing the theater. The demo ends with a larger than life Dolby Digital logo on the screen, and an ominous bass tone. All stereophiles in the theater got goosebumps at this display of raw power, and cheers were heard. Unfortunately, Casablanca was created before Dolby got into the movie business, so the demo was the only impressive sound spatialization heard all night.

Ferris Reel Film Society, a Union of Student Organizations recognized student group, paid for twenty of its members to go to the film festival. Two members went to The Exorcist, nine went to Blade Runner, and nine went to Casablanca. Ferris Reel shows movies every Thursday night in Altschul Auditorium, in the International Affairs Building, fourth floor.

Here's lookin' at you, kid.

C.U. SCHOOL OF THE ARTS - The Film Division