10 Films That Were Way Better at the Cinema

5. Psycho (1960)

WARNING – I’ve stayed spoiler free up to this point but I can’t realistically be expected to discuss this film without at least hinting at major plot revelations. If you have somehow managed to avoid finding out the ending to ‘Psycho’ in the last 55 years, go and watch it now! I’ll wait…

As a horror fan, seeing ‘Psycho’ in the cinema for the first time in 1960 is probably the most desirable position I can imagine being in. That film did everything it could to shock its audience. First – The film’s biggest star, Janet Leigh, was used in all of the advertising and was generally marketed as the leading lady… Only to be killed 30 minutes in! Follow that with the likeable, mild-mannered co-star Anthony Perkins, an actor/singer known at the time for his roles in rom-coms, westerns and dramas, turning in a spectacular performance as the deeply troubled Norman Bates. Add on the fact that the film smashed the boundaries of on-screen sexuality and violence (despite seeming comparatively tame to modern audiences, this film was outrageous for its time) and a mind-blowing twist-ending, in a time before twist-endings were tacked on to everything, and you’ve got something that would have made for an unforgettable experience.

 

4. The Exorcist (1973)

Sticking within the horror genre, we come to what is quite possibly considered the most infamous film of all time and, in my opinion, unfairly so. Don’t misunderstand me here, I love this film. I don’t have the superlatives to express my appreciation for this film. Everybody involved in the making of ‘The Exorcist’ did brilliantly and produced a masterpiece which was, quite rightly, nominated for the academy award for best picture, becoming the first horror film to achieve that kind of acclaim. Of course, it is also incredibly frightening, especially for its time. Some theatres provided “barf bags” along with tickets to see the film and there were several stories of people passing out in the aisles.

There’s just something about the idea of sharing such a visceral experience with others in a public venue that can never be replicated at home.

MORE: 10 UNMISSABLE 21ST CENTURY INDIE HORROR FILMS YOU NEED TO WATCH

 

3. Star Wars (1977)

This one kind of goes without saying, but I’m saying it anyway.

I include the entire original trilogy in this entry (and possibly parts of The Phantom Menace and the last 30 minutes of Revenge Of The Sith).

‘Star Wars’ is another phenomenon I wish I’d had the opportunity to see for the first time upon its initial release. I can only imagine how completely my mind would have been blown, not only by the SFX, but by the sheer magnitude of the universe it created. Everything seems authentic. It feels real. George Lucas deserves major credit for creating an incredibly detailed sci-fi/fantasy universe that, somehow, still feels grounded in reality.

Even after almost 40 years, the original film and its sequels hold up very well. It’s really saying something that the original trilogy looks far less dated than the prequels, which I find so hard to watch now due to the CGI, which has not aged well.

The last 30 minutes of ‘Revenge Of The Sith’ enforce my point about communal viewing. When Anakin lost the fight to Obi-Wan and was reborn as Darth Vader, I was so giddy I could have pissed in my chair. People were looking at each other and then back at the screen. The whole theatre humming with a “This is it!” vibe. When the Vader mask clicked shut on Hayden Christensen’s punchable face and he took his first trademark breath, me and my friends were practically hugging each other. Watching again at home… not so much.

 

 

2. Avatar (2009)

Let’s get this out there straight away: ‘Avatar’ is a decent film. Its story may be derivative, its characters basic, its plot by-the-numbers, but it sets out to tell a story which it does effectively and with good pacing. It gets a lot of flack for being a shitty film with good SFX and I dispute that from the off. As a story, it’s fine – not great, not original – but fine. ‘Avatar’ was never intended to be a groundbreaking story. It was vehicle to show off some new and groundbreaking SFX and holy shit are those SFX worth seeing!

The whole film, when viewed on a huge screen, in full digital HD/RealD/3D whatever the hell it was called, is nothing short of breathtaking. Easing us into it on the spaceship and then letting us run free on the alien planet (technically an exoplanetary moon) of Pandora and battering our senses with the beautiful sprawling landscapes and occasionally luminescent forests before taking us flying through the canyons and among the floating islands (apparently physics isn’t a thing on Pandora) on some kind of dragon/horse. It’s all absolutely exhilarating and it absolutely does not work at home, trust me, I tried.

 

1. Gravity (2013)

Finally we arrive here. Many of you probably already knew this was our destination.

In RealD 3D, space looks majestic. Having never been to space, I have to assume they nailed the zero-G physics because they look impressive as hell, especially during scenes involving flying debris. Every part of this film looks utterly gorgeous and I can almost feel myself floating around with the characters. The whole experience of the film left me feeling about thirty pounds heavier when I tried to get up at the end than I had been when I sat down at the beginning. I consider ‘Gravity‘ to be my favourite ever cinema experience.

Watching again, at home on Blu-Ray, ‘Gravity’ is 90 minutes of Sandra Bullock crying and George Clooney saying George Clooney things while not much else seems to happen other than occasional bursts of broken space things hitting other broken space things. If you missed ‘Gravity’ at the cinema, you missed out big-time and you better hope it gets re-released sometime in the future… In fact, I also hope it gets re-released. I would definitely pay to see it again properly.