My first two years I lived in a dormitory at the university. Twice a week we would howl to the antics of Batman and I was amazed by an early transmission from the newest wonder of the world, the Astrodome. We prayed for a home run just to see the amazing light show—Bang, Zoom! But more importantly, the dorms on the hill rotated movie nights and, in combination with the weekly movies on campus and the local theaters in the village, provided a broad and important education into the best of cinema.
I made a little list of a few of the films that affected me the most back then. Like all such lists, this one would certainly grow as my memory coalesced from the mist of the years. But for now, what do you think?
- Medium Cool
- Zabriski Point
- Electra Glide in Blue
- The Woman in the Dunes
- Morgan
- Blowup
- Zorba the Greek
- A Taste of Honey
We also had special showings of many of the biggest movies Hollywood offered. I’m sure there were more but I recall busloads of students treated to early matinees at many of the spectacular old movie palaces: The Egyptian, Pantages, El Capitan, Grauman’s, and the Warner Hollywood (where we saw 2001: A Space Odyssey). The movies went from a controversial nude Michael Parks in The Bible to a gloriously restored GWTW. I guess it was an unforeseen benefit of attending college in Los Angeles.
A Celebration of Reading 