Fathom Events: Singin' in the Rain

Turner Classic Movies has once again teamed up with Fathom Events to show classic films in theatres. The first screening of 2017 was Singin' in the Rain which is arguably the greatest film musical of all time. TCM hosts these screenings as a way for classic film fans, especially those who live in an area without revival theatres like the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles, to see the films they love on the big screen. One of my joys is being able to see a classic film on the big screen in a theatre. Last night was no exception, kinda.

First off, it was raining as we (me, my dad, and my brother) were heading to the theatre. This was an annoyance as I wasn't properly dressed for the rain that comes to SoCal every few years. So we buy our tickets and take our preferred seats. Right underneath the projector in the very back. It's the perfect location if you wish to avoid those people who have no idea how to act in a public setting. You know, the ones who talk during the film, have their cell phones out or are otherwise rude and disruptive. This is not a problem as the theatre was empty when we sit down. My brother and I felt it was an opportune time to visit the snack bar.

After procuring our provisions, we made it back to our seats. We were gone for ten minutes at the most. During that time, the theatre had exploded with people. It was about half full now. However, there was something off with the standard Fathom Events pre-show. It was slightly out of focus like a worn VHS! (On a side note, this is the second time that a Fathom Event has had bad video quality. The first being when they showed The Nutcracker in December. Don't know if it's related or just a weird coincidence.) After informing someone at the theatre of the video problem, we were told that they would try to fix it. a short time later, the film begins. Also, the lights stayed on during the film until someone went to go say something.

So the usual amount of people show up late as they probably weren't expecting there to be no trailers. One such group of women sit in front of us. They are of a more mature age so no one was particularly worried about any shenanigans. Boy, was I wrong. The woman in front of me proceeds to take out her cell phone to take a picture or record some part of the movie. Being someone who frowns upon this, I give a gentle but firm nudge against the back of her seat with my foot and the phone goes away. Problem solved... not. It happens a second time later in the film so, another nudge with my foot. Phone is put away. But wait, there's more. The third time she pulls out her phone to take a picture I lean down and say "Really? Just put the damn phone away." She does then turns back to me and goes "Yes. Really." in a tone that implies I was being disruptive and doing something wrong. But, no more cell phone for the rest of the film.

Film ends and we leave. The technical problems really detracted from the enjoyment of the film as it is in glorious Technicolor. Plus, Gene Kelly is one of the greatest dancers ever and to see him not in HD is a crime. Also, during the film my dad asked, again, about the video quality and was told they couldn't fix it. All in all, it was a subpar evening with a brilliant film.