Saturday, July 23, 2011

Reel Life

So last week I was reading an online article about movies that asked its readers what was the first movie you saw. I can't say I remember my first movie, although I have some vivid memories about early movies.

One of the first movies I remember was Hugo the Hippo. (It was released it 1974 so maybe that was my first movie.) According to Wikipedia it was considered a box-office failure and not likely for DVD release because of its "psychedelic, weird, politically-incorrect and violent content." (The movie poster calls it "phantasmagorical." That's something I always look for in a kid's movie - phantasmagoria.) The only thing I remember about it was that Hugo was a purple hippo and that one of my feet asleep during the movie.

I saw Star Wars at one of those big, old movie theaters in downtown Peoria. I had my wedding reception in its lobby many years later. I remember two things about Star Wars. One, I was terrified by the scene where Luke returns home to find his aunt and uncle's burned bodies. Two, I had to step over a dead pigeon as we were leaving the theater.

The movie Grease came out in 1978 and I saw it with my neighbors Marcy and Annie. I went on to watch that movie nearly 100 times. It's no wonder we have it on DVD and I now watch it with Abby.

The next year it was the Muppet Movie. I can't say I remember seeing it but I've been told that before it started I whispered to my dad, "I'm so excited."

In 1981 I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark at the Fox Theater with my friend Jennifer Weller. I had a headache and can remember covering my eyes during the melting heads scene near the end.

Sometime in the late 70s or 80s I saw Alien and The Omen at the drive-in. If my mom doesn't know this story it will probably make her cringe, but I suppose my parents had gone to the drive-in with me in tow. I can hear the conversation because it is one Bryon and I would have today, "Oh, it'll be fine. It's late. She'll be asleep the whole time." Little did they know I watched two of the scariest movies EVER from the backseat.

All this to say that in a couple of weeks we are going on vacation, and while, yes I know that the goal of vacation is swimming and playing Uno and working puzzles and quality family time, I bought a truckload of movies for the trip. My goal was to get nothing but old movies, ones I remembered from my childhood - and no, I didn't get Alien.

I'm anxious to see if the Apple Dumping Gang is as good as I remember it.