THANKS STANFORD THEATRE!
Well we got a really wonderful treat
this past weekend.... After half a decade of wanting to see the
movie "It's a Wonderful Life" on the big screen instead
of a worn out VHS copy, we finally got to do it. This note is to
publicly thank and acknowledge the fine people that brought this
true treat to us.
The movie "It's a Wonderful Life" is one of those films
that can be interpreted in several ways, when it originally came
out it was called corny by the critics, and was not a big hit,
being upstaged by "Gone With The Wind". Over the years
though it has become a film that has become a classic, usually
thought of as a Christmas film. The idea of "It's A
Wonderful Life" as a Christmas film is misleading though, as
the move spans the lifetime of a character named George Baily,
and only the last critical minutes of the move are on Christmas
Eve. The movie is REALLY about how we each touch one another's
lives in some way, almost always for good or for ill, and rarely
in ways that we know or expect.
Finally getting to see this film in a
real theater was a wonderful treat. *The Stanford Theatre* in
Palo Alto showed "It's A Wonderful Life" on Saturday
May 18th at 19:30 hours. I had never been to the Stanford Theatre
before and from my first interaction with them I was happily
impressed. I wanted to make certain that we could get tickets, so
I called them up in advance. They have the usual recorded
time/date/showname information, but at the end they have a number
that you can call and {gasp} actually speak with a person. I
called this number, and the woman that answered, was very
friendly and helpful.
The day of the show, we got there early and waited in a very
short line to get tickets for the show that evening. My first
impressions of the theatre were very positive. The Stanford
Theatre is a theatre from out of the early days of film, having
been completely renovated not long ago, the atmosphere is
relaxed, subdued, and old fashioned. The lobby is nicely
carpeted, and is very tastefully decorated with huge framed
posters of classic films. The feeling is that of a place your
grandparents might have taken your family, the snack bar is not
the center of life, (I even noticed that they allowed people to
bring in food from elsewhere). There are even couches on the
second floor lobby where people sit and chat.
Entering the viewing area, you feel like you have been transported back in time just a bit. Your eyes are drawn to a huge Whurlitzer pipe organ being expertly played for the audience. Soaring up behind the pipe organ is a enormous heavy burgundy colored curtain which is draped in horizontal layers all the way to the roof. The roof itself is painted in old fashioned designs and colors and is supported on the screen end by 2 large gold painted pillars. As the music streams from the pipes which are located below golden cherubim, you really can allow yourself to relax.
The seats are comfortable and done in a
burgundy velvet like fabric, and leg room is acceptable, but not
spectacular. The theatre was a comfortable temperature and stayed
that way throughout the film. The Stanford Theatre does a lot of
nice little touches. This film is part of their "Frank Capra
Centennial Celebration" and before the film a gentleman came
out and gave a small talk about Mr. Capra's work. Just a few min,
but enough to give some interesting information without seeming
like a stuffy film-lit class. The organist also played at least 4
songs from the film on the organ prior to the show. A small
detail that few noticed perhaps, but very neat! In addition the
theatre gave out a little pamphlet about Mr. Capra and all of the
films that they are going to show of his.
The show itself was great. Not once was the projector out of
focus, nor were there any sound problems. The print they showed
was cleaner than the copy used to make the video tape I have of
"It's A Wonderful Life". The screen is large, and
flawless behind a secondary curtain.
The movie itself was, as expected, a joy
to see FINALLY in the way it was meant to be seen. The details
and nuances that one detects, even after knowing the film on
video practically by heart are surprising. There is one scene
where George Baily looks at a picture of his father, I have
always wanted to know what the printing below the picture
said.... and now I do. :-) After the movie ended, the pipe organ,
(which drops through the floor), slowly rose back up and played
yet another song from the movie, and then other tunes as well.
All in all it was a wonderful experience, one which I truly
appreciated being able to take part in. *THANK YOU* to the people
that run the Stanford Theatre, thank you to the persons who chose
to show "It's a Wonderful Life", and thank you to you
for reading this far :-) :-) I am in no way affiliated with the
Stanford Theatre... this was actually the first time, (but not
the last) that I have been inside it.
If you enjoyed this note, the following resources might be of
some interest to you:
A Good Looking Stanford Theatre Page
http://www.mikemurphy.com/stanford/
Another Page about the Stanford Theatre
http://www.cs.monash.edu.au/~pringle/silent/stanford.html
The It's A Wonderful Life Webring
http://www.memorableplaces.com/iawlring/iawlringmain.html
Minor Update October 31, 2001
Copyright 1997 - 2001 by Charles
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