Living For Midnight
Ah, the wonder that is the midnight movie. Is there anything quite like it?
I got a chance to attend my very first midnight movie tonight at a newly re-opened theater in downtown Frankfort, named The Grand Theatre. I don't know the theater's whole history, but it's apparently been around since the 1940s, but closed sometime in the past. It re-opened this week with a showing of Casablanca and a ceremony to celebrate the lighting of the theater's new marquee, and tonight was the debut of their midnight movie program "The Grand At Midnight."
After first getting word about it from my Anderson County connections Jennifer and Tiff a couple of days ago, myself and my usual partner in crime Moses hooked up with the girls and set a course for The Grand. And the first "Grand At Midnight" movie? Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi's 1993 classic Army of Darkness. I've seen Army of Darkness a million times on DVD and television, but this was the first time I'd had a chance to see it in an actual theater. And thanks to the theater's quite cozy atmosphere and the pumped-up audience, I had an absolute ball.
I'd estimate there were only 25 or 30 people in the crowd, but the the intimacy of the theater combined with their energy made the place seem alive. The audience's laughter, cheering, and applause really made the whole thing that much more fun. An example: For you unlucky souls who haven't seen Army of Darkness, there's a scene near the beginning of the film where Bruce Campbell's character "Ash" is on the losing end of a battle against a deadite down in a pit. It's kinda like the scene from Return of the Jedi where Luke Skywalker fights Jabba the Hutt's pet rancor, only more comedic and with a human-sized demon thing. Anyway, this one particular guy drops Ash's specially-rigged chainsaw (which he wears on the stump where his right hand should be) into the pit. Ash jumps up and catches the chainsaw on his stump, which elicited loud applause and raucous cheers of "Yeah! Get 'em, Ash! Whoo!" from just about everyone in the movie-going audience. That's the first time I've ever seen something like that, and it pretty much summed up the entire experience.
And I think I should talk about the theater itself, too. On the outside, it looks like a regular small town business, with the notable exception of a big bright old-timey theater marquee above the sidewalk. The windows were all plastered with movie posters for the theater's upcoming showings (Army of Darkness, Capote, Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth), giving the front of the theater the appearance of something resembling an independent record store. On the inside, it certainly doesn't look like your typical, run-of-the-mill movie theater. Honestly, it looks like a building in the middle of massive renovations. There's a small lobby; well, really, the lobby is just a room with a couple of tables, a model of the marquee that looked a lot like Doc Brown's model of Hill Valley from the first Back To The Future movie, and some newspaper articles about The Grand from the '40s. But anyway, the lobby is connected to a long, narrow corridor, which leads to the actual theater itself.
The theater room is the most obvious part of the renovation, and I'd be lying if I said the place didn't look both tiny and like it was in the middle of being built. There were maybe twenty rows of chairs (not typical theater chairs, but regular chairs) lined up in front of a small stage and the screen. I didn't get a good look at the whole place, but I believe there's a balcony too, which could be really fun if that's part of the renovation. And if I assume correctly, both the stage and balcony will come in handy if the theater hosts plays or concerts like the theater's website suggests.
The Grand's "under construction" look gave off a particular atmosphere of watching your favorite movie with your basement with a bunch of friends who love the movie as much as you do. As I said above, the theater had a certain charming intimacy that I think many big movie theaters would be hard-pressed to naturally duplicate. I thought going to my first drive-in theater last week was special, but this may have been some of the most fun I've ever had seeing a movie. And it's an experience that I wouldn't trade for the world.
I hope that there's more "Grand At Midnight" shows, because this is something I would want to do regularly. According to the staff member that introduced the movie, if the Army of Darkness shows (they're doing a second one Saturday night) are successful, the "Grand At Midnight" crew is planning on doing a Rocky Horror Picture Show costume party. How cool is that?
And as wired as I am, I should probably head to bed. I have afternoon plans, and I'll need my sleep so I can tend to them. Out for now.
I got a chance to attend my very first midnight movie tonight at a newly re-opened theater in downtown Frankfort, named The Grand Theatre. I don't know the theater's whole history, but it's apparently been around since the 1940s, but closed sometime in the past. It re-opened this week with a showing of Casablanca and a ceremony to celebrate the lighting of the theater's new marquee, and tonight was the debut of their midnight movie program "The Grand At Midnight."
After first getting word about it from my Anderson County connections Jennifer and Tiff a couple of days ago, myself and my usual partner in crime Moses hooked up with the girls and set a course for The Grand. And the first "Grand At Midnight" movie? Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi's 1993 classic Army of Darkness. I've seen Army of Darkness a million times on DVD and television, but this was the first time I'd had a chance to see it in an actual theater. And thanks to the theater's quite cozy atmosphere and the pumped-up audience, I had an absolute ball.
I'd estimate there were only 25 or 30 people in the crowd, but the the intimacy of the theater combined with their energy made the place seem alive. The audience's laughter, cheering, and applause really made the whole thing that much more fun. An example: For you unlucky souls who haven't seen Army of Darkness, there's a scene near the beginning of the film where Bruce Campbell's character "Ash" is on the losing end of a battle against a deadite down in a pit. It's kinda like the scene from Return of the Jedi where Luke Skywalker fights Jabba the Hutt's pet rancor, only more comedic and with a human-sized demon thing. Anyway, this one particular guy drops Ash's specially-rigged chainsaw (which he wears on the stump where his right hand should be) into the pit. Ash jumps up and catches the chainsaw on his stump, which elicited loud applause and raucous cheers of "Yeah! Get 'em, Ash! Whoo!" from just about everyone in the movie-going audience. That's the first time I've ever seen something like that, and it pretty much summed up the entire experience.
And I think I should talk about the theater itself, too. On the outside, it looks like a regular small town business, with the notable exception of a big bright old-timey theater marquee above the sidewalk. The windows were all plastered with movie posters for the theater's upcoming showings (Army of Darkness, Capote, Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth), giving the front of the theater the appearance of something resembling an independent record store. On the inside, it certainly doesn't look like your typical, run-of-the-mill movie theater. Honestly, it looks like a building in the middle of massive renovations. There's a small lobby; well, really, the lobby is just a room with a couple of tables, a model of the marquee that looked a lot like Doc Brown's model of Hill Valley from the first Back To The Future movie, and some newspaper articles about The Grand from the '40s. But anyway, the lobby is connected to a long, narrow corridor, which leads to the actual theater itself.
The theater room is the most obvious part of the renovation, and I'd be lying if I said the place didn't look both tiny and like it was in the middle of being built. There were maybe twenty rows of chairs (not typical theater chairs, but regular chairs) lined up in front of a small stage and the screen. I didn't get a good look at the whole place, but I believe there's a balcony too, which could be really fun if that's part of the renovation. And if I assume correctly, both the stage and balcony will come in handy if the theater hosts plays or concerts like the theater's website suggests.
The Grand's "under construction" look gave off a particular atmosphere of watching your favorite movie with your basement with a bunch of friends who love the movie as much as you do. As I said above, the theater had a certain charming intimacy that I think many big movie theaters would be hard-pressed to naturally duplicate. I thought going to my first drive-in theater last week was special, but this may have been some of the most fun I've ever had seeing a movie. And it's an experience that I wouldn't trade for the world.
I hope that there's more "Grand At Midnight" shows, because this is something I would want to do regularly. According to the staff member that introduced the movie, if the Army of Darkness shows (they're doing a second one Saturday night) are successful, the "Grand At Midnight" crew is planning on doing a Rocky Horror Picture Show costume party. How cool is that?
And as wired as I am, I should probably head to bed. I have afternoon plans, and I'll need my sleep so I can tend to them. Out for now.
posted by Matt Sutton at
4:37 AM
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