American Cinematheque at the Aero Theater Manhattan Friday, 9/24/10, 7:30 pm

Price: free with my badge. Concessions: None Audience: 150? 200? The theater was mostly full, not unusual at the Aero, but always pleasantly surprising to me. Trailers/advertising: No trailers, but one of those hyperactive KCRW ads that the Cinematheque always shows at its two locations. Projection: 35mm changeover; not a great print, but not terrible, either.

This was a bit of a change: a movie I’ve already seen in a theater I’ve been to many times, and it didn’t cost me twelve bucks. The Aero is the Cinematheque’s Westside arm, complementing the screenings that they do in Hollywood at the Egyptian. Their calendar tends to be a little more straightforward than the Egyptian’s, with lots of Hitchcock retrospectives and classic American films, as well as sneak previews of current films and in-person events. Despite the fact that the theater is unremarkable and uncomfortable, it’s always packed. I’ve seen a little of everything there – Norman Lloyd talking about his role in Hitchcock’s Saboteur, Susannah Grant screening Catch and Release for an Amherst alumni event, and Roger Donaldson with his film The Bank Job. It’s the heart of the Montana Ave. neighborhood, and it’s great to see a single-screen neighborhood theater still thriving.

I’ve seen Manhattan two or three times, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in 35mm on a big screen. The print wasn’t super, but it was passable, and Gordon Willis’ cinematography was beautiful to behold. The film never ceases to entertain, but this time around, I was much more aware of how much the way we live and interact has changed in the last 30 years. It doesn’t seem that long ago, but when you look at those banks of payphones, it seems like a different world.