My Answer to the Most Recent Criticwire Survey: Best on the Big Screen

This week’s question is about what movie every movie buff should try to see on the big screen at least once. The answer, of course, is all of them. Every movie, no matter how large or small, is meant to be seen on the big screen, and while it’s wonderful that we can see way more movies than ever before on our TV’s, this should not be treated as a substitute for seeing things on the big screen. Anyway, that answer is a copout, so if you want me to name one movie I’ll say the best film ever made Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. I’ve seen that film countless times – but only once on the big screen – and that was the inferior Apocalypse Now Redux – but it was still one of the best movie going experiences of my life. Other films I had seen many times on TV, VHS, DVD or Blu-Ray that I also loved when I saw them on the big screen include Hitchcock’s Vertigo, Rear Window and Psycho (this actually increased my admiration for Psycho immeasurably), Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange and especially 2001: A Space Odyssey (which would be second only to Apocalypse Now if I really did this list) – and of course Welles’ Citizen Kane. And I’m still kicking myself for not finding time to see Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia and Jacques Tati’s Playtime on the big screen when I had the chance. Basically, I think if you have a chance to see any great film on the big screen, you shouldn’t pass that up.