The FIRST "Summer Movie" EVER......
I really really hate the term "Summer Movie" and all it implies. Let it be known , however, that before 1975 THERE WERE NO SUMMER MOVIES! I went back and looked at all the releases before the "Summer of Jaws" in 1975, and there were no calculated summer movies. None. Anyway; here's a great ad from when I saw this for the first time at the Huntington Shore theater. (The following year's summer movie was "Logan's Run" which I also saw at The Shore in 1976). And we all know what 1977's big "summer movie" was! "Orca" ! (ADDENDUM: TO ME, SUMMER 1979 WILL ALWAYS BE "SUMMER OF DAWN OF THE DEAD" -----EVEN IF "ALIEN" WAS A MUCH BIGGER HIT. 1978 WAS A TIE BETWEEN "GREASE" AND "ANIMAL HOUSE" FOR SUMMER HIT MOVIES AND "JAWS 2" WAS NOT A BIG HIT THIS SUMMER).
posted by artaugogo @ 12:56 PM
8 Comments:
See, one could argue it all started going downhill in the SEVENTIES !
Well, yes and no. Although "Jaws" was the first unofficial "summer movie" it was more "happenstance" than anything else. The "summer movie" ball didn't really get rolling for a few more years. "Star Wars" (summer 1977) and "Grease" (summer 1978) would transcend being "summer movies" because these would have been hits even if released in the dead-of-winter ("Saturday Night Fever" came out in cold weather season and that didn't seem to matter). By summer of 1979, however, "Meatballs" was the biggest hit ("summer"?) movie--so there you go. Either way, what "summer movie" means to me is, something along the lines of a "Super Mario Brothers" type movie. A throw-away flick for 10 to 16 year-olds and other morons who would be happy just sitting in a theater and talk through an entire movie. I can only approximate that the term "summer movie" was coined in the 1980's with the advent of multi-plexes. I do not remember this phrase from anytime in the 1970's.
At least I got a "yes and no" !
I do agree with you.
The mainstream movie industry is geared more and more and more to those 10-16 year olds. Have you been to the Huntington Shore Theatre on any given night lately?
Is it still called the Shore Theater?
I used to love the upstairs theater--the seating was very steep and you could see the screen very well--even from far back (although since high school-I have no problem sitting in the first 5 rows). Which pays off because most people are terrified to sit so close to a screen (even tiny multi-plex screens!), so you have more room--less teenagers around you talking. Going to the movies, today,really sucks!
I just checked... it is technically now called:
AMC Loews Shore 8
I usually prefer sitting closer to get the big movie experience but I dont like to be in the first 3 rows due to neck fatigue.
I rarely ever go to AMC Loews Shore 8 any more, except if it's a movie guaranteed to attract no teenage viewers. The teenagers have taken over that place and there is absolutely no ushering, security, discipline, etc.
That's why I like the Cinema Arts Center better. NO TEENAGERS. Not all teenagers are bad, however. Your "no ushering" comment was right on target! What is the deal with that? For the price of a movie ticket these days; you should have a S.W.A.T. team with assault rifles on top of theses spoiled little bastards. My worst experience in the Shore Theater was when I "(stoopidly) saw "Space Balls" there in 198? -- every single person around us was about 16, all of them non-stop talking, giggling, gibberish chatting , etc. Too many to tell to shut up! We do live in a different generation, today. The 1960's were "hippies", the 1980's were "yuppies". In the 1990's it was "Gen X"/ "slackers". Today we live in the "Eminem Nation" -- belligerent, jaded and (in the case of the Huntington downtown area) rich (or well off). Even though most simple-minded think of the 1970's as a Disco-fied era of excess--that's nothing compared to today! (And remember--the "Disco years" were merely the last three of the decade anyhow!)
Oh yeah; the teenagers-going-to-the-movie-theater-just-to-have-a-place-to-hang-out happened in ......the 1980's as Multi-Plexes were not merely movie theaters, they were more like Malls to loiter in. The 1980's will always suck.
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