If you’re old enough to remember what it was like to see “The Deer Hunter” or “Goldfinger” on the big screen back in the day, and you long to share that experience with the less fortunate, Cinema Retro could be what you’re looking for.
George Mangan of Winnetka, a lifelong movie buff and collector, launched the five-film program Jan. 18 at the Wilmette Theatre with a remastered digital print of “The Deer Hunter.” And with a pre-film cartoon instead of half an hour of commercials and trailers.
“I picked films from the ’60s and ’70s because a lot of people are around who had the chance to see them when they were first released,” said Mangan, a Wilmette Theatre board member who proposed Cinema Retro as a way of diversifying the theater’s usual menu of contemporary indie and art-film fare. “It’s designed to be a nostalgic experience to a certain extent — an opportunity for Baby Boomers to bring younger friends and family who might not have had the chance to see these great movies on the big screen.”
Mangan will serve as host for all five films — including the original, 1962 “Cape Fear” Feb. 15, “Once Upon a Time in the West” March 22, “Goldfinger” April 17 and the original “Planet of the Apes” May 31 — providing production info and setting each in the context of their times.
“They’re all genre movies, one Western, one war movie, one thriller, etc.,and they’re all pretty much my favorites in each category,” Mangan said. At least his favorites among the vintage titles that are available in remastered DCP prints.
“I also chose films that have amazing scores by great composers like John Barry and Ennio Morricone and Jerry Goldsmith,” he added, noting that he has created a pre-screening audio montage featuring dialogue and music from each film in the series. “It’s rare to find scores like these in movies these days. When was the last time you went to a movie and left humming the music?”
Of course, Mangan expects the key ingredient in the Cinema Retro experience to be the chance to experience these films in a theater with other fans.
“It’s just not the same watching them at home by yourself,” he said. “Even if you have a nice home theater with a big screen, you’re not going to get the same impact.
“The communal experience, the opportunity to enjoy these great movies with an audience, that’s a big deal.”
Cinema Retro continues at 3 p.m. Feb. 15 with a screening of “Cape Fear” at the Wilmette Theatre, 1122 Central Ave., Wilmette. Tickets are $10. For more information, call (847) 251-7424 or visit http://www.wilmettetheatre.com.