It’s an overly warm May evening and just shy of 11:30. A clap of thunder makes its way across the air. The lightning that proceeded it was none other then Alfred Hitchcock’s immortal Psycho.
Let’s rewind the clock to 9:30 that same evening. The sea of glowing lights that fill the auditorium are fading with the dimming theater lights. All of a sudden a rush of sound and vision simultaneously occur. The jabbering score and opening credits blanket the cinema like a rush of water covers the ice in a glass. The audience appears captivated. During the course of the next few hours genuine screams of terror are admitted from the captivated audience. The outside world, which is conveniently located in our pockets, is forgotten. The experience is like no other in the world and it is shared by friends and strangers alike.
The experience is going to the movies.
Personally I have seen Psycho countless times between DVD viewings and classic spotlights on TV. This wasn’t even my first experience theatrically with this movie. It was by far the best to date.
What makes it the best? The people in attendance. No screening is ever the same because the group is never the same. I went unaccompanied this time around. The crowd consisted of a mix of people ranging in age from what appeared to college level to senior citizen. Some I over heard were seeing the movie for the first time, which created a bit of jealously with me. The jealousy is being able to see such a fine movie for the first time on the big screen. Others in attendance where like myself, a fan of the movie. It was an excellent mix.
I often heard screams from those around me. Each fright brought a smile to my face in remembrance of the first time I saw the movie and pleased others appeared to be enjoying as much as me.
Exiting the movie was different tonight as well. Typically the first thing I see movie goers reach for is there cell phones. Tonight that didn’t happen. Some were holding each others hands but all were talking about the movie. The chatter I was privileged to over hear ranged from how scared some were by the movie to how exciting it was to see this movie on the big screen.
Tonight’s experience in movie going is one for the record books and when I go in the future I hope not to have a duplicate experience but one I hold in the same high regard. I raise my oversized and overpriced soda in honor of that.
