Emotional Moments At The Movie Theater (Offshoot of "Top Gun") Thread (1 Viewer)

[Encyclopedia Brown]

The posts in the Top Gun thread has had a near consensus about the sequel needing to be seen at the theater to get the fullness of its awesomeness.

The movie theater experience has almost become extinct. Covid came close to delivering a deathblow. That's too bad.

It made me think of the times I have been at a theater with a large crowd and the scenes that provoked serious emotional reactions.

List your experiences.

There's Something About Mary: I saw this on accident the Friday it was released. The restaurant my girlfriend and I had reservations for was overbooked, and we had to wait for three hours. We went into the theater to kill time, with zero knowledge of what the movie was about.

The only time I can say the walls shook, and the floor quaked with laughter. All the reaction shots were like a jolt of lightning throughout the room.

Ben Stiller's nutsack

Cameron Diaz's hair

The tanned lady's boobs

Brett Fav-uh-ruh

The only time I recall hearing people gasp for breath.

Austin Powers: Goldmember

The opening scene with Tom Cruise, Gwyneth Paltrow and Danny Devito came out of nowhere. I remember the audience reacting with shock and then laughter.

The Ice Storm

When the little boy touched that fence there was a collective gasp in the audience. When Kevin Kline found his body and brought him to Sigourney Weaver, there was sobbing and people looking away from the screen. That was a tough scene to watch.

 

[foxco]

End of Shawshank got me. I'd read the novella and figured it'd stop with Red traveling, but man what a terrific final shot. The movie theater was half empty but the people who were there began clapping and when the lights came on a few people (men & women) were wiping their eyes. I may or may not have been one of them. 

The first Scream was a really fun experience; packed theater, everyone into it, screaming, laughing, just a fun community of motion. 

 

[ekbeats]

My wife and I saw Pulp Fiction in a crowded theatre.  During the overdose needle scene, where they have to inject the needle into Uma Thurman's heart, about 5 rows in front of me there was huge ruckus.  Suddenly a group of people lift up this limp woman and rush her out of the theatre.  She either passed out or dropped dead.  Talk about life imitating art.

 

[Desert_Power]

Austin Powers: Goldmember

The opening scene with Tom Cruise, Gwyneth Paltrow and Danny Devito came out of nowhere. I remember the audience reacting with shock and then laughter

Most I can recall laughing in a movie theater was during this movie. I was 14 though.

 

[wikkidpissah]

fell apart in front of a client during Forest Gump, of all flicks.

when i was a gambler, several casino hosts around Reno/Tahoe would call me if they had a whale who wanted to play the horses but hadnt a clue. not only was i a decent handicapper but was anecdotal enough to be entertaining and connecting to the process. they sent me a guy - real nice, very unlike most rich folk cuz he'd been a diver most of his life and had just made a multi-million dollar score working sunken Spanish galleons off the Florida coast for Bob Ballard - who enjoyed me so much he wanted us to be pals - rented a house in the hills when he'd originally just been visiting, ended up taking me to Saratoga & Breeders Cup first class later on.

i had, of course, not clued him in that my Mary was in her first truly terrible period of dealing with pain from the cancer that eventually killed her. my client had asked me to double with him, even though i believe he was involved with both women, one nite, so we went out to a nice dinner and a movie. it was Gump and i was not prepared for the triggers in it. i was losing the free-spirit love of my life to disease and had fathered a son who i' never saw til he was 5 or 6 years old, so the story just folded over on me and i fell apart. immediately, i had these two professional blondes fawning all over me and the whale's reaction was highly personal too. all 3 helped me out the theater and were consoling to the point that i had to get my #### together or this was gonna turn into a foursome. very Two & a Half Men.

 

[McBokonon]

Gonna go with one others might not with the  first night or two of “Snakes on a Plane.” It was sort of early in the internet days as far as things going viral, and those first couple of nights when it was released had an almost Rocky Horror vibe in the theater with everyone in on the joke together and interacting with the screen. Was basically a party.

 

[rockaction]

Gonna go with one others might not with the  first night or two of “Snakes on a Plane.” It was sort of early in the internet days as far as things going viral, and those first couple of nights when it was released had an almost Rocky Horror vibe in the theater with everyone in on the joke together and interacting with the screen. Was basically a party.

That's really great. To be in on the meta-joke and just have a good old time with it. 

Never seen it on my end, but that sounds like a whole lot of fun. Rocky Horror is fun in person. 

 

[3 hour lunch]

Saw the first American Pie movie in a packed theatre at the Mall of America and the place was roaring throughout. 
 

On the flip side, took a date to see Saving Private Ryan (bad idea) and spent portions trying to think of other things so I wouldn’t cry. 

 

[Ghost Rider]

Good call on There's Something About Mary. My brother and I saw that in a packed theater opening weekend, and the collective gasp from all of us when we saw the shot of the frank and beans caught in the zipper was crazy loud. 

Another that came to mind was Titanic.   The moment when Rose spits in Cal's face after he tries to physically stop her from going after Jack got a massive applause from the crowd when I saw that in the theater. 

 

[Leroy Hoard]

The part in Ernest Goes to Jail where Ernest Goes to Jail.

 

[simey]

The ending of Philadelphia made me cry, and I couldn't stop the tears. As soon as Neil Young's song started playing, and the family was watching home movies of the character when he was a little boy, the tears came flowing out. It made me so sad, and it lingered well after the movie was over. It was very quiet as people shuffled out of the theater. You could only hear sniffles of sorrow. It didn't help that my friend, Garland, died of AIDS just a few months prior to the movie. He was only 32. 

 

[rockaction]

I don't remember getting too emotional during movies, but when **** Dale's "Misirlou" started during the opening credits of Pulp Fiction (after the first scene), I was utterly enthralled, sensing I was in for some sort of otherworldly great movie. And it sure proved to be true on that night in 1994 at the downtown theatre in Hamilton, NY. I will never forget that. 

 

[Mr. Mojo]

I got a group together to watch Raiders Of The Lost Ark opening day.

Even though it wasn't advertised much, I thought that Lucas and Spielberg would be a dynamite combination.

There were 2 times that nearly the entire audience clapped - at the end and when Indy shot the Swordsman.

 

[snogger]

Not emotional as much as awe but...Titanic in the theater cannot be replicated at home.

When they start up the ship and take you through the engine Area

 

[NewlyRetired]

When Captain catches Mjolnir in End Game.  The theater erupted like a goal was scored in a World Cup game. Loudest I have ever heard a movie theater.

 

[offdee]

My story actually has to do with the original Top Gun that came out in 1986.

I was 10 yrs old and very close to my cousin Kathy who was an Air Force pilot graduate that year (she now flies cargo planes for UPS...I'm guessing some of them have carried rubber dog ish out of Hong Kong before, ironically).  Anyways, me and my mom flew out to Colorado (from Wisconsin) to be there for her graduation.   We went a week early to just spend extra time with her and just have it be a vacation.   Well, on the week leading up to the graduation they had an event where all the graduates got to get an early preview of a new movie coming out about pilots starring Tom Cruise....it wasn't releasing to the public for another month   Each graduate got a ticket for themselves and one extra ticket for a guest.   Kathy chose me to go see this movie with her.   So, it's 10 yr old me in a theatre with a bunch of Air Force pilots watching the original Top Gun before anybody else in the world knew much about it.   One specific moment that I remember is when they first said/showed the words "The Navy" in the movie, the theatre was filled with boo's and some sort of Air Force yell (like hoo rah, but whatever the Air Force pilots say).  My cousin let me wear her Air Force Hat throughout the movie and walking out with it on after the movie high fiving and saluting all the other pilots in full uniform. 

I get back to school and I'm telling all my friends (again, 10 yr olds) about this awesome movie...going into detail about scenes including the sex scene and the french kissing silhouettes, lol.   Most of the kids thought I was making it up.  Then when it came out and all the buzz started, they thought I was the coolest. Such an amazing experience that I'll never forget.

 

[AAABatteries]

My Dad took me to see Poltergeist when I was 8 - I just about #### my pants when the clown came at the kid from under the bed.  Does that count?

 

[SFBayDuck]

Hardest laughter I’ve ever heard in a theater was Wedding Crashers. The Hangover was a close second. 
 

On the other end of the spectrum was the first several minutes of Saving Private Ryan as they’re storming the beach. I was sweating and felt like I was gonna puke, just hoping the scene would end before I did. 

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Just to be serious for a minute (just one), the final scene in the original Blade Runner. To see an inhuman killing machine in his dying moments save someone who has been trying to kill him the entire movie. What a shining moment in time.

 

[Barry]

There's Something About Mary:

Cameron Diaz's hair

I still remember the reaction.

edited to add the disgust/laughter when Stiffler ate the truffle in American Wedding.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

“The moment” in Se7en.  Theatre just sat there stunned.  Crazy disbelief.  We all walked out like “omg, what just happened?”

Pulp Fiction was probably the best live movie experience I can remember.  Crowd went nuts multiple times.  Marvin’s head.  The samurai sword.  The needle.

 

[Ilov80s]

Awesome thread. Will report back later and catch up with.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

The end of Saving Private Ryan was emotionally shocking to me then and everytime since.

 

[facook]

Cap and Thor's hammer, theater went nuts.  

30 minutes later....

Tony Stark's funeral.  Theater silent, save quiet sniffles.

 

[KarmaPolice]

My best movie experiences as far as that crowd reaction has been for comedies and horror movies.    The ones that stand out in my mind are There's Something About Mary, American Pie, and The Blair Witch Project.   

On the opposite end was the sheer silence at the end of Saving Private Ryan nobody wanted to speak or move.  

 

[dickey moe]

When Captain catches Mjolnir in End Game.  The theater erupted like a goal was scored in a World Cup game. Loudest I have ever heard a movie theater.

Yeah when Thor smiles and says, "I knew it" and Cap starts swinging the hammer, that was badass. 

 

[dickey moe]

My best movie experiences as far as that crowd reaction has been for comedies and horror movies.    The ones that stand out in my mind are There's Something About Mary, American Pie, and The Blair Witch Project. 

I saw Blair Witch project opening night in L.A. (I think it may have been at the Chinese Theater). The hype was off the charts. After the trailers, the theater began to darken and everyone hushed, readying themselves for the experience. A few seconds later, someone down toward the front row rips the loudest fart I've ever heard. The whole theater starts busting up laughing. Awesome timing. 

 

[facook]

"Anchorman" when Veronica confronts Ron on his erection...it wasn't that the whole theater reacted, it was that I caused a scene for the whole theater.   

When he said "It's the pleats" I just lost my cool.  I was rocking the whole row of seats and I think I missed the next 4-5 minutes of movie trying to regain my composure.

 

[Chaos Commish]

1969 I was 7 living on the Navy base where I currently work. For a quarter dependent children of an active military parent could get in the Saturday matinee (a nickel), get a soda (another nickel), french fries or popcorn (another nickel), and a burger (a dime). Mom would give me 25/50 cents at 11am and wouldn't see me until dinner. Before noon me and my buds would ride bikes a couple miles to the sports and rec complex - gym, pool, youth center, bowling ally, sports fields, commissary and theater. 6,7,8 year olds, gone for the day. How times changed. 

One Saturday dad announced we were going to the matinee as a family, all 8 of us. He wanted to see this movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I'd seen plenty of silly/bad/fun movies at the matinee, but I'd never seen a great movie. I'd never fallen in love with characters before. I'd never taken a show so seriously before. The last frame, my heroes frozen, the guns firing. I lost it. Completely. Uncontrollable sobbing. What a horrible movie. How could they do that to me? My mom helped me exit the theater. Just bawling. No interest in spending the day at the rec center. Inconsolable in the station wagon. Depressed all day. 

One good thing came from it. I was raised Catholic by my mom, NFL fan by my dad. She took me to church on Sundays with my sisters. Dad and big bro got to stay home and watch football. The Sunday following Butch and Sundance mom got my Sunday clothes ready and told me we were leaving in ten minutes. NFL Films pregame show was on early that morning. In bratty anger I asked something my dad laughed about for years. "Does Jesus still die in the end!!??" He let me stay home and watch football. From then on.

 

[Sleestak]

Tears:  I cried my eyes out at the end of Star Trek II.

Creeped out:  Arachnophobia was all kinds of fun shudders, since I hate spiders.

Laughter:  "Don't call me stupid" right after the Cleese-speaking-Russian scene in A Fish Called Wanda.  So much fun.

 

[zamboni]

The ending of Schindler's List at the gravesite, for sure.

Could hear a pin drop during that final scene and as I recall, so many of us were so overwhelmed that we just remained in their seats for a short time afterwards.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

The posts in the Top Gun thread has had a near consensus about the sequel needing to be seen at the theater to get the fullness of its awesomeness.

The movie theater experience has almost become extinct. Covid came close to delivering a deathblow. That's too bad.

It made me think of the times I have been at a theater with a large crowd and the scenes that provoked serious emotional reactions.

List your experiences.

There's Something About Mary: I saw this on accident the Friday it was released. The restaurant my girlfriend and I had reservations for was overbooked, and we had to wait for three hours. We went into the theater to kill time, with zero knowledge of what the movie was about.

The only time I can say the walls shook, and the floor quaked with laughter. All the reaction shots were like a jolt of lightning throughout the room.

Ben Stiller's nutsack

Cameron Diaz's hair

The tanned lady's boobs

Brett Fav-uh-ruh

The only time I recall hearing people gasp for breath.

Austin Powers: Goldmember

The opening scene with Tom Cruise, Gwyneth Paltrow and Danny Devito came out of nowhere. I remember the audience reacting with shock and then laughter.

The Ice Storm

When the little boy touched that fence there was a collective gasp in the audience. When Kevin Kline found his body and brought him to Sigourney Weaver, there was sobbing and people looking away from the screen. That was a tough scene to watch.

I remember people openly weeping in the theater during The Passion of the Christ.

I remember seeing one the the Friday the 13th movies in the theater on opening night (not sure why since I'm not a huge fan) and the audience going nuts each time Jason appeared on the screen. He was being cheered on while slaughtering teens as if he was a hero.

When Captain America catches and is able to wield Mjolnir in Avengers:Endgame the audience went nuts cheering - I got goosebumps.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

When I was in high school we went to see Gandi in the theater as a class trip. This was done mockingly but people we chanting "Gandi...Gandi G...Gandi...Gandi G" with claps in between each Gandi.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

One of my favorite memories of all time was taking my seven year old step-son to see The Simpsons Movie in the theatre. As one point, I looked over and Michael was literally ROTFLMAO down on the floor in the aisle. 

 

[Andy Dufresne]

1) Alan Grant stares agog into the camera...what is he looking at!? Pan to...a freaking Brachiosaurus. and the audience suddenly wears the same face. 

2) The T101, Sarah, and John look down the corridor at the T1000, thinking they're safe since he's on the other side of the bars. But that doesn't last long as he "melts" his way through them, only pausing for a moment when his gun gets stuck.

3) Hawkeye, Uncas, and Chingach#### take off in an effort to rescue Alice from the clutches of the evil Magua. The tension ratchets up as Uncas loses his mano y mano battle. Chingach#### squares off against Magua in the possibly the greatest cathartic moment in movie history - and wins a bittersweet victory. I still clinch my jaws and fists for all of that when I re-watch.

 

[zamboni]

As a teenager when I saw Poltergeist, I recall half the audience practically hitting the ceiling when the clown attacked the little boy in the bedroom.

 

[Doug B]

The one and only time I ever fell out of my seat in laughter during a movie was this scene from John Cusack's High Fidelity.

Verbal recap: Ian (Tim Robbins) is bedding Rob's (John Cuzack) recent girlfriend Laura. Ian lives upstairs from Rob so Rob sees them together all the time, gets despondent, and acts as a minor nuisance to Ian (crank calls, etc.).

The linked video begins when Ian stops by Rob's record store Championship Vinyl to calmly ask Rob to respect Laura' wishes and to move on from her. Ian does this openly in front of two of Rob's employees, humiliating Rob. Rob, in the moment, fantasizes about three satisfying responses to Ian's condescension.

(The money shot is when Ian's teeth go flying  )

 

[Bracie Smathers]

The part in Ernest Goes to Jail where Ernest Goes to Jail.

GREAT!

Warn us of spoilers.  Now its ruined.  

Next on my list, Ernest Goes To Camp. 

Dying to know how that mystery plays out.

 

[Bracie Smathers]

The week Saving Private Ryan came out I moved across the country for a new job and took a vacation on my company's dime, they paid for my gas, hotels, meals, and wear and tear on my vehicle.  Part of the trip was from Seattle up to Glacier National Park, stopped at a diner that only had one car in the parking lot. 

My car was packed with my things, so I needed to sit at the corner booth since it was the only one where the shade hadn't been pulled down. 

The only guy in the diner had his back turned to the corner booth. 

As I approach the booth the guy whips his head around and glares at me.

It was Stephen Spielberg.   

First thing I did the night I got to my new town was hit the theatre and see Saving Private Ryan.

Never saw anything like it.  Was shaking with adrenaline the entire flick.  

Caught it a few days later with buddies, we all were choked up.

That was the one that really got me.

 

[Bracie Smathers]

As far as horror. 

In high school we snuck in to see a movie called Halloween that was being released and since it was opening week no one had heard of it, we thought would be fun.  Scared the snot out of me but put up a brave face with my HS buddies.  We had no plans to stay for the second screening until three cute girls took seats in front of us.

We knew all of the 'jump scares' and had a lot of fun with the cuties in front of us.  So much fun.

We also snuck into the Exorcist.  Terrified me.  The buddy who drove me couldn't take me hoe because had to go do something.  I had to walk home, alone, at night, it was raining.  Longest walk of my life.  Got home to an empty house, completely terrified.

Comedy. 

Same HS buddies snuck into the first movie that National Lampoon put out, we were all big fans.  It was called Animal House.  OMG.  BEST TIME EVER watching a comedy.  I remember coming out of the theatre and we did donuts in the parking lot with peels of laughter.  

 

[arrow1]

GREAT!

Warn us of spoilers.  Now its ruined.  

Next on my list, Ernest Goes To Camp. 

Dying to know how that mystery plays out.

I won't say anything about "Ernest Saves Christmas."

 

[Captain Cranks]

The ending of Schindler's List at the gravesite, for sure.

Could hear a pin drop during that final scene and as I recall, so many of us were so overwhelmed that we just remained in their seats for a short time afterwards.

That movie experience at the theater stands out for me too. 98% of the people were respectful of the content, but I'll never forget when the 2% would laugh at certain things. 

 

[Zow]

I saw "Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood" in a downtown Allentown theater when I was like 12 (had to go to this specific theater because they didn't card). 

 

[Zow]

Just to be serious for a minute (just one), the final scene in the original Blade Runner. To see an inhuman killing machine in his dying moments save someone who has been trying to kill him the entire movie. What a shining moment in time.

Like tears in the rain. 

 

[Zow]

My story actually has to do with the original Top Gun that came out in 1986.

I was 10 yrs old and very close to my cousin Kathy who was an Air Force pilot graduate that year (she now flies cargo planes for UPS...I'm guessing some of them have carried rubber dog ish out of Hong Kong before, ironically).  Anyways, me and my mom flew out to Colorado (from Wisconsin) to be there for her graduation.   We went a week early to just spend extra time with her and just have it be a vacation.   Well, on the week leading up to the graduation they had an event where all the graduates got to get an early preview of a new movie coming out about pilots starring Tom Cruise....it wasn't releasing to the public for another month   Each graduate got a ticket for themselves and one extra ticket for a guest.   Kathy chose me to go see this movie with her.   So, it's 10 yr old me in a theatre with a bunch of Air Force pilots watching the original Top Gun before anybody else in the world knew much about it.   One specific moment that I remember is when they first said/showed the words "The Navy" in the movie, the theatre was filled with boo's and some sort of Air Force yell (like hoo rah, but whatever the Air Force pilots say).  My cousin let me wear her Air Force Hat throughout the movie and walking out with it on after the movie high fiving and saluting all the other pilots in full uniform. 

I get back to school and I'm telling all my friends (again, 10 yr olds) about this awesome movie...going into detail about scenes including the sex scene and the french kissing silhouettes, lol.   Most of the kids thought I was making it up.  Then when it came out and all the buzz started, they thought I was the coolest. Such an amazing experience that I'll never forget.

Aim High?

 

[E Street Brat]

The part in Ernest Goes to Jail where Ernest Goes to Jail.

Spoiler Alert.

 

[McBokonon]

That movie experience at the theater stands out for me too. 98% of the people were respectful of the content, but I'll never forget when the 2% would laugh at certain things. 

Not to mention seeing the occasional couple who would be making out during it.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

GREAT!

Warn us of spoilers.  Now its ruined.  

Next on my list, Ernest Goes To Camp. 

Dying to know how that mystery plays out.

I wouldn't know. Never saw it because it was only playing on a small local screen. If they had released it on IMAX I might have bought a ticket. 

 

[facook]

Not to mention seeing the occasional couple who would be making out during it.

"You were making out during Schindler's List?!"

 

[seahawk 17]

To this day I don't know why...but my entire family including parents, grandparents, siblings...went to a packed theater and watched United 93. It still haunts me sometimes.