At the Movies

[cjlasky7]

For the first time in my life, I went to a drive-in movie.

With all the movie theaters in New York a health hazard for the foreseeable future, the drive-in--a forgotten relic of the 1950s--is the only game in town for big screen cinema.

Last night, the fam packed up snacks and drove out to the Skyline Drive-In, located on the water in Greenpoint (Brooklyn). Entry was smooth and safe: electronic "ticket" scanned at the gate, with plenty of attendants to wave you into your spot on the lot. We got there early enough for a good spot; we lined up right with the center of the screen.

If you want to walk around before the movie, the view of the Manhattan skyline is fantastic. (And if you need to make a side trip, the bathrooms are clean and well-maintained.)

Rather than set up speakers for your car like the old drive-ins, you just set your radio to a particular FM station. We brought a transistor radio, since we didn't want to drain our car battery.

Food? As I said, we brought our own. But they do have a short Grub Hub menu, and the attendants bring the order right to your car window.

It was a relaxed atmosphere, some people hanging out (at a safe distance) on lawn chairs. There were families, young couples, even a few dogs enjoying the night air. It was good to be around people again, enjoying a community activity without worrying too much about unwanted contact.

The movies themselves are modern day "classics"--hits from the 80s, 90s, and 00s. You're not going to get new movies here. Last night's selection was "The Goonies," maybe the Spielberg-iest movie Spielberg didn't direct. (Suburban kids on bicycles? Check. Fantastical adventure? Check. Villains from the world of grown-ups? Check. Misunderstood outsider embraced by the kids? Check.)

It was a very pleasant experience. We'll be back in two weeks for School of Rock.

Comments

[wendelah1]

That's fantastic. They had quite a few showings of old movies in various venues in LA this summer but the tickets sold out lightening fast.

[cactuswatcher]

The last drive-in movie I was at was For a Fist Full of Dollars sometime in the 1960s here in Tucson with my brother-in-law. A perfect cheesy movie for drive in. Neither of us had seen it before. But we knew exactly what to expect. I remember my B-I-L got out a pen and some paper before the show started and turned on the dome light in the car whenever anyone died to mark it down to keep count. Too many killings for a drinking game!

[cjlasky7]

If I have any regrets about being born too late for drive-in movies, it would be missing out on seeing bad scifi flicks (like Earth vs. Flying Saucers) or bad monster flicks (like Reptilicus!) up on a 40 foot screen. I mean, I've seen some of these on big screens in art house revivals, but I get the feeling a drive-in would be the more appropriate venue...

[cjlasky7]

As long as Covid hangs around, I get the feeling more of these will pop up everywhere...

[atpo_onm]

The best movie theatre in my area (about a 25 minute drive from me) has been showing some of these. They're out nearby Lancaster Airport where it's fairly sparse building-wise, so it's a good spot, and they have state=of-the-art projection equipment available. I may have been to drive-ins when I was very young, but I don't remember it-- we're talking late 50's, and I was 6 or 7 years old. The three local drive-ins gradually started to close after that.

I do miss the big-screen experience, but not sure I could sit comfortably in my car for two hours anymore.

Glad you and the fam had a good time! How was the heat/humidity factor for you? It's been sweltering here for the last week-plus. Did you have to run the car to get AC at all?

[beer_good_foamy]

That's really cool, and it's nice to see drive-ins picking up in the Current Situation. I wish we had them here.

[cjlasky7]

It was humid, but not hot. Since the drive-in is on the water, it's automatically a few degrees cooler than in the rest of the city.

Still, it wasn't optimally comfortable.

[shadowkat]

I remember drive-ins as a kid in the 1970s. They were around in Pennsylvania at least.
I saw movies during the summer at them.

There's lots of outdoor cinemas in NYC, not necessarily drive-ins. Brooklyn Bridge Park has one, Prospect Park did, Courtelyou Road did, so too did Bryant Park. I wonder if they chose to discontinue.

Also, they are releasing new films to drive-ins. There's one..."The Relic" an indie horror flick that IFC released at drive-ins, along with another one "She Dies Tomorrow", also released at drive-ins. The horror film is actually perfect for a drive-in movie theater.

[cjlasky7]

I have heard some great things about "She Dies Tomorrow"; but it's not a family picture, and (as usual) I have to consider what an 11 year old boy thinks is entertaining....

[shadowkat]

Neither are...I wouldn't take a kid to either film.

Unfortunately they haven't released any "new" kid films to drive-ins. I think Disney is missing an opportunity there.