My friend recently told me of a notion he had, perhaps inspired by these Favorites of mine, so today’s Favorite is dedicated to Eric, incorporating his Dodo concept back into mine.
Despite being only five, I know precisely where I was on the morning of 26 May 1983: the parking lot of the United Artists Hulen 6. I’d previously seen E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982) in that multiplex, and now—thanks to my babysitter’s boyfriend, who camped out for tickets—I was going to see Return of the Jedi (1983) on the second day of its release.
I loved that theater, and saw most of my early movies there until 1988, when I moved away. (I somehow never noticed it became the UA 8 in 1986.) When I came back in ’92, the place was somewhat rundown, but it had become the art house cinema of Fort Worth, TX. Seemingly operated entirely by a staff of octogenarians and boasting the unique tactile experience of a floor stained by so many soft drinks that it took a significant act of will (and leg strength) to walk to your seat, I split my affections between it and its sibling on Bowen Road in Arlington (where worked the much-admired Karl), briefly forsaking them for the glitz of the extravagant new Eastchase location in ’97 before reaffirming my allegiance to my first love with a movie every Monday during the superlatively scheduled fall semester of my sophomore year in college. I remember standing alone in the theater for The Green Mile (1999), the chairs too rickety and uncomfortable for the length of the film in its last week of exhibition.
The Eastchase location is now operated by AMC, the Hulen is a Movie Tavern, and Bowen…is a self-storage place. I wonder what Karl’s up to.
Historical Note: According to the Digital Bits, I’d have seen a 70mm Six-Track Dolby Stereo presentation of Return of the Jedi, which is nice to know.