Movie Memories

The Movie Experience

There is something about watching movies. Whether in the comfort of our own home or the top row of a cinema, we all have fond memories of eating overpriced junk food and discovering our favourite films.

The Drive-In

In 1933, the first drive-in movie theatre opened in New Jersey. During their peak popularity in the 50s and 60s, over 4,000 theatres popped up across North America.

The drive-in was and is still a unique movie-viewing experience. Unlike attending a traditional movie theatre, where you are discouraged from talking to your neighbour, the drive-in can be a real social affair. Family's pile into their cars, friends gather on lawn chairs and blankets. There is no wrong way to experience the drive-in.

Pulling up to the lot is almost like entering another time. Most drive-in theatres today have kept their vintage aesthetics. They are usually not renovated or remastered. The sound system is as good as your radio, and the picture quality is often grainy (in some cases). But the low quality and greasy foods are what makes the drive-in special. It is less about the movie and more about the experience.

Although its popularity has dwindled over the last thirty years, the drive-in has never faded out of the entertainment industry. Ten percent of drive-in theatres still exist across North America.

Renting Movies at the Local Video Store

Before Netflix and Disney+ ruled home entertainment, renting movies from the local video store was the original Friday night ritual. From 1977 to 2010, rental stores such as Blockbuster and Rogers Video brought movie buffs closer to the films they love. In addition, you did not have to wait for your favourite movie with rentals to premiere on cable tv.

For anyone who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s, renting movies was a whole experience. On a Friday night, you would head over to your local rental store with your family or friends and browse the shelves. Most people did not have internet, so discovering the perfect Friday night movie was either by recommendation or pure chance. After about forty-five minutes, you would bring your pile of movies and snacks to the counter. The sales associate would remind you that new releases are a two-day rental, and a two-dollar fee would be added to your account if you did not return the movie on time. You would then leave with twenty dollars worth of quality weekend entertainment. Life was good.

Since the rise of streaming services, video stores have become a novelty. For example, Blockbuster, which once had over 9,000 locations, has only one store in a small town in Oregon.

Good Old Fashion Movie Theaters

Although traditional movie theatres are not extinct, the theatre experience has drastically changed over the last decade. There once was a time when you would have to stand in line for hours to get the best seat for the latest summer blockbuster. Now with the touch of a button, you can order your tickets months in advance. Remember when you had to save your friend's seat with a jacket as they got their snacks? Now you can order your entire meal right from the comfort of your reclining chair. Back in the day, we had seats with worn-out cushions. If the movie were longer than 90 minutes, you would hear from your tail bone.

Movie theatres have gone through incredible technological transformations—Ulta AVX, IMAX, and of course, epic surround sound. However, there was nothing quite like experiencing a 3D movie before Real D's 3D debut in the mid-2000s. The flimsy cardboard glasses with blue and red plastic lenses were not the highest tech or the most comfortable. But it was exciting and, for some of us, an entirely new experience.

As we navigate these strange times of social distancing and streaming services, the cinematic experience continuously changes. But it is not about how we watch movies. Instead, it creates a memory that will last longer than any pandemic.