An Alabama theatre is taking viewers back to the classics. Bama Theatre and the Bama Art House announced their new summer film series: “Nostalgic Blockbusters," featuring films like The Goonies, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.
Kevin Ledgewood is in charge of PR for the Arts Council of Tuscaloosa. He said he is excited to see this event bring the community together.
“We have a lot of community events that young kids are involved in. And that brings in the young parents that are you know, 30-ish, in the late 20s 30s in there. And I think this is this series is going to bring people in that are a little older, middle aged, and a little older,” explained Ledgewood. “And I think quite a few people are bringing their kids with them. Because you know, the parents are excited about it.”
Ledgewood said the Arts Council normally has a film series in the winter, summer and fall. He told the story of how these series began with vintage films like “The Wizard of Oz” and incorporated foreign and independent films as the series began to lose momentum.
Bama Art House eventually decided to show local films and also find films that wouldn’t be screened in the area. Ledgewood said they decided to try something different and go for a more nostalgia-based series and the public’s reaction has been encouraging.
“And in you know, there's been a lot of buzz leading up to it, the people that we have mentioned it to, you know, we've tried to talk it up in the community and everybody has been really excited about it,” said Ledgewood. “And it's given us the opportunity to do a little bit different marketing, and a little bit of very different visuals than what we normally would. we had really good attendance for that, and the people are excited, and we're excited also.”
Ledgewood noted that not only are the films being shown nostalgic for audiences, but they are also critically acclaimed films. Raiders of the Lost Ark received Oscar nominations in 1982 for several categories including “Best Director” and “Best Visuals” and won several other categories including “Best Film Editing” and “Best Music and Original Score." Meantime, Back to the Future was nominated in two categories and won in two others. Ledgewood said this quality only adds to the experiment.
“To see them on the big screen, again, is a completely different experience. And that was part of our thought process in choosing these films, you know, to see gels on the big screen again is, you know, an experience that you really can't compare it to anything else.”
The “Nostalgic Blockbusters” series will show films every Tuesday (except the 4th of July) until July 11th.
The last three showings in the series include:
—E.T. The Extra -Terrestrial on Tuesday, June 20
—Raiders of the Lost Ark on Tuesday, June 27
—Back to the Future on Tuesday, July 11
Doors and box office open at 6 p.m. each night and screenings start at 7 p.m. Tickets are only available at Bama Theatre and ticket prices vary.
