At the cinema

Kevin Ryland looks back at a lifetime of visits to the cinema.

I have been a loyal fan of the cinema for many years, from when I was a very small boy. Before I set foot in a cinema I was afraid of the strange building which had colourful and attractive photos and gaudy posters outside. The first film I ever saw was an English comedy about a romantic little railway line being kept alive by ardent supporters which, indeed, was rather prescient.
From that day I was truly “hooked” and went with my mother very often, always to see “U” films (“U” = universal), though when I was older I graduated to “A” films (“A” = adult), “X” films, however, remained inaccessible until I was 16 as they contained “strong” themes of violence and sex.

In those days, before the invention of video and DVDs, it was easier to control what kind of films children could see. There were Saturday morning children’s clubs with cartoons, adventures and cowboy films (such as Hopalong Cassidy) and plenty of ice-cream, soft drinks and popcorn. When I was a child I used to go to Walt Disney cartoons until I realised how sentimental and manipulative they were. I’ve always preferred the superb anarchy of the Warner Bros. Cartoons of Bugs Bunny and Road Runner.

My mother’s father was a film director (Norman Lee) and she worked in a film studio as a continuity girl, so you could say it was in my blood.

As I grew into late adolescence my film tastes changed and became more sophisticated and I joined the Torquay Film Society. By this time I was resident in Oxford and I was really keen on “art” films and foreign films and used to indulge my enthusiasm for films from India, Japan, Europe and Mexico, for example, at the students’ favourite Scala Cinema, and I learnt to recognise the style of key film-makers and read serious film magazines (i.e. the British Film Institute’s “Sight and Sound”) and books.

I’ve never lost my love of good westerns and horror films, but comedies and war films largely leave me cold, with one or two special exceptions like “Some Like it Hot” (1959) or “The Thin Red Line” (1998), both masterpieces.

Recently I joined the new Torquay Film Society (everything goes full circle!) which projects DVDs of art and foreign films and which has garnered good support. I also try to support my local cinemas such as the Apollo (Paignton) and the Central (Torquay) when they show worthwhile films. My recent cinema-going experiences have included “The Dark Knight” (noisy and overrated) and “Gone, Baby, Gone” – Ben Affleck’s first film as a director (sensitive and impressive), but there are so many poor films these days, such as mindless “popcorn movies,” silly comedies or noisy action films that my loyalty is severely tested.

I love cinema – the projector’s light, the special atmosphere, the feelings of excited anticipation that I first experienced all those years ago. [KR]