Temple of Doom on the big screen!

I have just arrived home after FINALLY seeing Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in an actual cinema, and it is quite easily one of the most fulfilling days of my young life - I have waited so long for this, and it was over and above what I expected - beyond incredible... seeing the old Paramount mountain up on screen, merging into the gong gave me chills!!

What made it so fantastic were the people in the cinema - hardcore Indy (I think specifically Temple) fans like myself - we were all getting into it, it was like audience participation...there was even a guy dressed up as Indy, in a pretty accurate costume too! Everybody was laughing at the jokes and comical scenes and lines, and clapping and cheering whenever Indy got the upper hand, even when Willie pulled the fulcrum release lever and saved the guys from certain death - cheers all 'round!!! It was almost like watching it for the first time

Nothing can compare to seeing it up on the big screen, to see the actual film grain and I'm pretty sure it was an old print from 1984 because it had scratches and dust spots and slightly red overtones - but I LOVED that, it was like watching an actual piece of history - I'll never forget this day, and I am proud to call myself a fan of Indiana Jones, especially after seeing one of the originals up on screen like that - unbelievable!!!

Daley said:

Nothing can compare to seeing it up on the big screen, to see the actual film grain and I'm pretty sure it was an old print from 1984 because it had scratches and dust spots and slightly red overtones...

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Wow, a PRINT, congratulations! That's a big deal. You should go back and find out where they are shipping the print to, (and steal it).

I was walking by the little theater in the next town over at about 2am and the left the film cans outside to be picked up!

I imediately thought of Raiders!

More detail please...the theater size/screen size, sound...ect.

Information overload below!!

Oh believe me when I say, I thought about stealing it more than once - it would be treasured! Then I'd organise a screening for ALL of us, and we could enjoy it together, as its' MEANT to be!

Okay it was the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester square in London, here's the link to the site: http://princecharlescinema.com/

It's an authentic, vintage style cinema with red walls, a stage for mini skits(they also apparently have Rocky Horror sing-a-longs, audience participation events, things like that), and red velvet curtains that sweep across the screen - I did feel like I'd been transported back in time... "as giddy as a schoolboy" is the PERFECT description for how I felt... I'm actually still on a high..

It seemed to be a moderatley sized cinema, not too big (we got inside and the lights had already dimmed), and there also seemed to be a raised balcony/gallery at the back. I even noticed a disco ball attached to the ceiling!
The layout and position of the seats was strange, as they are on an incline - normal cinemas have the seats sloping down towards the screen, with the highest ones at the back of the theatre so that you're looking at the screen directly in front of you....but THIS cinema was a bit different in that the seats in the front, by the screen were the highest, and the rows of seats sloped DOWNwards towards the back - so we we're basically looking up at the big screen. It was an odd sensation, but I just went with it and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The film seemed to be projected at a bit of an angle as well (perhaps the screen had a slight curve to it) but the edges of the frame were distorted and stretched. Maybe the lens wasn't configured correctly for the anamorphic film.... but it wasn't at all distracting, I just notice odd things like that sometimes

We had Dolby Digital sound, although it was fairly centralised. John Williams' score really and truly sounded grand and powerful, and the opening number was a real highlight too!
Dialogue was mostly crisp and clear throughout, but there were a few instances where the music overpowered it. I know this film inside and out, so I wasn't bothered by that either!

I also noticed that this print had a few missing frames here and there, and shortened shots - nobody but a die-hard fan would've picked these up though, but for example:
1. When the trio first arrive at Mayapore, there is that shot of the villager woman pleading with Shorty, then the very next shot is an establishing wide angle shot, showing the rush of villagers surrounding Willie and Indy...well that very wide shot was not present, it just cut straight from the woman and Shorty, to the trio inside the Shaman's hut..
2. At Pankot palace, after Willie's line: "Maybe it's because he hasn't, found the right woman?", we usually cut to the Indian dancer girls as they finish their dance and the music stops. That brief shot of the girls finishing off the dance is missing. It jump-cuts to Chattar Lal introducing the Maharajah, we don't actually see Indy step up to the banquet table and glance at Willie, those frames were missing.
And here and there, there were VERY tiny glitches where I can only presume the past projectionists had decided to steal a few frames from the film for their own collections - I wish I could get my hands on it too.

And this was the censored UK release (I'm used to the original theatrical release, heart-ripping, extra screams and all), so it was very interesting for me in that regard as well.

As I mentioned above, the overall quality of the film was somewhat lacking (scratches, dirt spots, white patches..even a few green scratches that lasted a few minutes down the left hand side of the frame)...but it just added to the whole experience and I loved it! It was surreal watching for the "burn-outs" at the top right hand side of the screen, for the film to switch over to the next reel. Despite this, there was a vast amount of detail to be seen, much more than what we can see on the current DVD's (The 1080p HD versions floating around show precisely the same amount of fine detail that I saw this afternoon, so when the official blu-rays are released I think they will be as close to film quality as we will get). The overly red tones were most noticeable during the shots of Indy in the Temple (just after Shorty has woken him up) - Ford's features are consumed by the over-exposed red, but this was the only shot that was remotely distracting throughout the entire film. Blacks were solid, with a LOT of detail hidden within those dark areas - more than what I've seen on the DVD versions, which I found interesting.

Daley said:

Information overload below!!

Oh believe me when I say, I thought about stealing it more than once - it would be treasured! Then I'd organise a screening for ALL of us, and we could enjoy it together, as its' MEANT to be!

Okay it was the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester square in London, here's the link to the site: http://princecharlescinema.com/

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F**k... It was in London? F**k again... Was it a one night/day only showing???

Darth Vile said:

F**k... It was in London? F**k again... Was it a one night/day only showing???

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I'm honestly not sure if they have any plans to show it again in the near future... I honestly think they should, there's a hell of a demand for it, full cinema, and it's a freaking CLASSIC! But on the site, it is only listed for the one screening today:
http://princecharlescinema.com/indexdown.php?display=1716&date=2011:6:25&year=&month=&day=

Sorry mate, would've been awesome to meet up with somebody from the Raven! Who knows, maybe we will in the future!

The had a Raiders event there a few months ago, now Temple. It's not unlikely that Crusade is coming down the pike.

Thanks for the post, interesting details about the seating...odd. Good to hear about the bits and bobs as well.

The crowd was good? Old, young?

Rocket Surgeon said:

The had a Raiders event there a few months ago, now Temple. It's not unlikely that Crusade is coming down the pike.

Thanks for the post, interesting details about the seating...odd. Good to hear about the bits and bobs as well.

The crowd was good? Old, young?

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Oh it was great, I'm guessing some of the younger people were around my age, early 20's - perhaps a few in their late teens; the oldest viewers were maybe in their 50's, maybe 60's... Sorry I'm being a bit vague here, but I noticed the mixture of people was quite varied.
Ugh I just happened to sit behind this giant of a girl who had a bow in her hair, so most of the time I saw the beautiful widescreen image, with this bow silhouette bobbing around the lower corner in front of me - THAT was the biggest distraction...I thought she was most inconsiderate to wear a bow to the movies, jeez.

I've had an Indy triple feature a few years ago at a local cinema , and it was just awesome as well. I think with events like these you can pretty much expect mostly Indy fans being there, and that's exactly what made that night so special. Just as you noted yourself: audience participation!

Laserschwert said:

I've had an Indy triple feature a few years ago at a local cinema , and it was just awesome as well. I think with events like these you can pretty much expect mostly Indy fans being there, and that's exactly what made that night so special. Just as you noted yourself: audience participation!

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I wish they'd do that near where I live. Quad feature. All Indy. All day. All good.

The fun thing with a back-to-back showing like this is that the throwback-jokes work much better this way... like Indy grabbing for his (gone) gun in Temple or the ark bit in Crusade.

Wow, that's awesome! I think a cinema that only shows good old classics, like a vintage-looking cinema, would be really successful. People are into the nostalgia factor. In fact, I think I finally know what kinda of business I want to open now...

^I agree with you there, it would've been amazing though if they'd had an Indy marathon, but not just on one weekend. Have a triple play every fortnight, or something where multiple viewings are offered!
(I know I should include KOTCS in this, but I can't bring myself to do it..)

But I think, as far as possible they should be actual film screenings, not digital projections - we have the DVD's for that man lol!!
But I would LOVE to sit in a room full of fellow Indy fans and enjoy the films with them (like I did today)..it was priceless!

Daley said:

Have a triple play every fortnight, or something where multiple viewings are offered!

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I guess one of the problems might be renting the actual reels., which could get too expensive on a regular basis. With a single event, you can be pretty sure the house will be packed... but once a week or something? Not so sure. And actually buying the reels (which might cost a fortune, though I have no idea) - well, I don't even know if it's standard operation for cinemas to actually own movies themselves...

On the other hand, with the quality of Blu-rays, smaller cinemas might even consider showing these, although, I have no idea if there are legal ways to publicly show Blu-rays.

INCUBUSRATM said:

Wow, that's awesome! I think a cinema that only shows good old classics, like a vintage-looking cinema, would be really successful. People are into the nostalgia factor. In fact, I think I finally know what kinda of business I want to open now...

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^Do IT!! And you even know what to Christen the screen with too

But seriously, there is a huge market for this, for showing older films - The other films on show were Pulp Fiction, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Sound of music, Grease and Grindhouse (even though it's not old, it still kinda fits into the whole vintage vibe). Even though we're all familiar with these films, seeing them being projected onto the big screen is just a whole different experience

Laserschwert said:

I guess one of the problems might be renting the actual reels., which could get too expensive on a regular basis. With a single event, you can be pretty sure the house will be packed... but once a week or something? Not so sure. And actually buying the reels (which might cost a fortune, though I have no idea) - well, I don't even know if it's standard operation for cinemas to actually own movies themselves...

On the other hand, with the quality of Blu-rays, smaller cinemas might even consider showing these, although, I have no idea if there are legal ways to publicly show Blu-rays.

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Hmm..you're right - I didn't even consider the cost and logistics behind it... ugh the reality points towards it being less profitable, but it would still be an amazing thing to happen

I just remembered something else from the screening today: As Willie is being placed into the cage, she says: 'Indy, for Gods' sake help me WH-WHAT's the matter with you?!" -- that glitch in the audio was definately present on this print.
It was strange hearing it once again after they'd fixed it for the DVD release.
(although I remember it being strange when I heard the DVD for the first time after years of that audio glitch on the VHS..)

Daley said:

I'm honestly not sure if they have any plans to show it again in the near future... I honestly think they should, there's a hell of a demand for it, full cinema, and it's a freaking CLASSIC! But on the site, it is only listed for the one screening today:
http://princecharlescinema.com/indexdown.php?display=1716&date=2011:6:25&year=&month=&day=

Sorry mate, would've been awesome to meet up with somebody from the Raven! Who knows, maybe we will in the future!

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I'll certainly be there for TLC (If/when they show it). Please keep an eye out and drop a post if you see TLC advertised.

Daley said:

I just remembered something else from the screening today: As Willie is being placed into the cage, she says: 'Indy, for Gods' sake help me WH-WHAT's the matter with you?!" -- that glitch in the audio was definately present on this print.
It was strange hearing it once again after they'd fixed it for the DVD release.
(although I remember it being strange when I heard the DVD for the first time after years of that audio glitch on the VHS..)

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Never thought that was an audio glitch... always assumed it was KC's delivery.

Darth Vile said:

I'll certainly be there for TLC (If/when they show it). Please keep an eye out and drop a post if you see TLC advertised.

Never thought that was an audio glitch... always assumed it was KC's delivery.

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If and when TLC is advertised I'll definately give you a head's up, no problem

I also originally thought is was Capshaw's delivery of the line, like a sob mid-sentence...made sense considering she was about to be roasted!

But it was probabaly a glitch in the original master reel from which all of the other consecutive reels were printed...which then followed onto the VHS versions as well. If it was her delivery, I don't think it would've been changed for the DVD. I must say it was a bit jarring watching it because, up on that big screen, her mouth didn't tremble for the "..Wh-What's.." part.

Does anybody have any other info on this, if it was merely just an audio glitch that the filmmakers only corrected for the DVD?