This might have been discussed in a thread, do not remember. But, do you guys remember the first meeting with film? I am not 100% sure about the year, but I was at Greåker Kino and saw 101 Dalmatians. My first film ever and I think it must be 71, I do think I was about 5 at the time. We never had much money, so it wasn't much we could see or do, but this was a big experience for me.

Pretty sure mine was The Wizard Of Oz in Blackpool around 1970ish when I lived there, was absolutely spellbound

What a great introduction to the cinema experience you had there Vidar. No wonder the love of film and the cinema has remained in your veins!

I think the very first I was taken to the cinema to view was Mary Poppins at around the same era.
I can't remember anything before that experience.Closely followed by Bedknobs and other Disney animated and live action films.

I can vividly remember the frenzy and queuing necessary to go and see Star Wars when it first was shown in the UK.

It took three attempts of queuing to see the film before we finally got a seat in the picture house!

Ironically, I was never taken to see the Wizard Of Oz at the cinema as a child.
This was one I only ever saw on TV back then. I missed out on that one but I bet it was a brilliant film to have seen for the very first time on the big screen Del!

Mine were the standard 8mm silent Castle Films back in the early to mid 1960's. I still have the very first film my Dad bought for me back then, it's a Castle Sport Parade - "Ski Hi - Ski Lo". Many years later I found a 16mm sound print - I just had to finally listen to that sound track. I went to 16mm in 1970.

This ties in with the subject of the thread. On Friday, it was the last day of school before summer break. I took my GAF 3000S into my daughter's classroom to introduce the students to 'reel' film. The day before, I had the teacher select what she felt would be appropriate for the class to see. I was able to set up before the students returned from another activity out of the classroom. The students entered the classroom about 10:15 and noticed the projector set up. One fellow said "are we really going to watch a movie?". I asked him if he had ever seen one of those (projectors) before and he shook his head 'no'. As suspected, most of the students didn't know what the machine was for. I knew that they would need an explanation of what was about to occur, so I started by showing them a DVD disc and asked them what it was. Of course they were familiar with that. Then I held up a VHS tape and only one student knew what that was (LOL!). Then I went on to explain the film reel to them (the predecessor of VHS). I also explained the storage capacity for a reel of film as opposed to a DVD (that a 400' reel could only contain about 17-18 minutes of film). I also explained that film would not show an image as clear as a DVD and they might see scratches and black lines in the image, as well as color fade. We watched a 400' digest of "Superman" (1978) and the boys in particular were very attentive. I stood by the projector the entire time adjusting the sound/picture as necessary. After it was all over, they were very quiet and allowed to ask any questions that they might have. It was a good feeling to share my love of film with them and I let them know that they would most likely be the only students in the school who would ever experience that. I noticed one or two of them really checking out the machine as I rewound the film too! But I believe that overall, the class enjoyed it (perhaps some were even in awe of the experience).

I can remember being taken to see "Bambi", very traumatic experience, my Dad said, "I hope none of your mates from work are witness
to this carry on!", "Big Red" and "Beast From Hollow Mountain", I must've been very young, but remember vividly "Seventh Voyage of Sinbad", I was still an infink at the time.

My first reel film experience was most likely at the drive-in movies,as these were very popular here in the states from the 1950's through the 1970's. I was quite young, probably 4-5 years old but I remember my brothers and I in our Dad's 1957 Ford Fairlane car and watching the Jerry Lewis film "Disorderly Orderly". We saw many films at the Pasadena Drive-In,with the last being "The Hindenburg" in the Spring of 1976. It was closed down by the early eighties and destroyed by a fire shortly afterwards.

I grew up with a bunch of family films on Standard 8, so I have watched reel film as long as I can remember. But it was only the family films, and I didn't get anything else before I was a teenager. I then got a couple of cartoons including Mickey & His Pals which I still have today. My first Cinema experience was probably Flåklypa Grand Prix, but as I watched that several times later too, I can't say I remember it.

I have a couple Happiest Millionaire, in Falmouth while on holiday. I caused a big laugh when the seat I was sat on went into its sit down position. I could only see with it tipped up.I fell on the floor. The other would have to be ABC Sheffield Battle Of The Bulge. I found out years later it was in 70mm, bit bored with it, till the second part and the tanks came on. My dad tells me I never took my eyes off the screen.

My first Cinema film experience was when I was around 2 years old.
Yes that's right 2 years old. I remember it clearly sitting on my Mother's
lap watching ... THE WIZARD OF OZ.
I kid you not.

Another memory was when at 10 I had a job on Blackpool central pier on the can stall (where you knock the cans off with bean bags). My boss's daughter at the time worked in a local cinema and they were showing Enter The Dragon, now I had been doing Judo for a couple of years so was desperate to see this 18 film so she snuck me in to see it, it was on with King Boxer. It was even better, after King Boxer had finished I went for some sweets as his daughter worker in the kiosk, I had a bar of chocolate and a bag of revels and gave her my money, she then gave me my change and when I looked it was the same amount that I had given her, so free movies and free choccies, win win

P.S. my pay for working on the stall at the time was 10p an hour

I went to see ETD with a girl friend, told my young brother about it, he wanted to see it, took him down, wouldn't let
him in, he was too young, so I told the woman on the check out "it 's a bloody cartoon woman!", but she wouldn't soften.,
so off we went to the pub.

My first experience with 'reel film' was in 1960 when I was taken to see Pinocchio. I can vividly remember the cinema ( The Rex at Berkhamsted www.therexberkhamsted.com ... now an iconic and always fully booked cinema) with its sea shell type decorations, the BIG screen and that stomach itching moment when the lights went down and the magic began. I was hooked.

Does everyone remember Saturday morning picture show. The one I remember was at a cinema in central Blackpool which is now a block of flats (King Edward apartments). The film was Son Of Godzilla, I thought it was fantastic, how times change

I've told you guys this before, but my first memory of film was at a drive-in. It must have been in 1974 because my baby sister was in a carrier of some sort next to me in the back seat. It was "The Exorcist" (1973). Obviously my parents thought I was too young to understand the film (or they couldn't find a babysitter for me). For YEARS I could remember specific scenes, such as the girl vomiting green bile and the scene where an old lady was sitting in the bed with outstretched arms where Linda Blair was moments before. Years later I asked my parents what the film was and Dad would say "uh, I don't know". I let some time pass and I asked about it again and they told me, but they warned me NOT to watch it (wrong thing to tell me). I sneaked and rented it from our local video store and saw what they tried to keep from me all those years. I can say, that I only watched it once on VHS and never have since.

Strange this question asked,I have often thought about it but never to write it down.I remember being on holiday with my parents in Torquay and going to see Dr NO as a treat with my mother.I have a vague memory of going to see the Magnificent 7 at home with my Dad I'm sure the price was 6p or maybe even 3p ( old money not this decimal stuff) at a local cinema called the
Premier in a small town on Dartmoor in the middle of Devon called Okehampton.Some years later I would go to the cinema in Exeter every week for quite a few months as my father was in hospital in Exeter and I accompanied mother to see him but I was allowed a break and I would go and see what ever I could.My collecting started about forty years ago,and like some on here I sold a lot of my films ,projectors etc,for one reason or anther,but now the madness has really started again ,well some years back and well it's some might say out of contro.......

I'm pleased you are fully back into the hobby again Gwyn. It simply never leaves us fully, does it?

Andrew so true I just wish that I had not sold some of the films.Still I'm having fun looking again.

I think there must only be people like Tom, Hugh, David and others here, that have never left the hobby that are devoid of any regrets. I know I regret one or two sales of prints I've allowed to pass through my hands in the past.

Mine was in Primary school, we were all assembled in the hall at Stuart Road School, i watched the teachers go into the side cupboard and he rolled out a stand, on it was the Bell & Howell 16mm projector. It was the Christmas film show and the film the was the great race. I dont remember too much about the film because i kept looking back and watching the big spools going around and the light beam projecting the film onto the white painted wall. I was fixated and from there on the rest is history for me.
My first cinema films where the guns of Navarone and Where Eagle Dare.
Our first home movie only ever came about because of my Brothers huge interest in the American Civil war and in Frampton Camera in Plymouth he spotted a rack of Standard 8 films,he asked about the little 50ft b/w silent box which stated "a tale set during the American civil war" and some time later left with that reel and a Eumig P8. That was the start of our collection and i think then i was about 9 or 10. He also bought a STD 8 cine camera to take our own films, the first was was simply my mum filming me and my two Brothers kicking a ball about in Central Park here in Plymouth. We went onto sound home making and eventually with the help of Gordon Clarke,(employee of Frampton cameras and armature film maker), also the local actor boys and a WW2 gun collector we went onto make a film which we put into the IAC, (institute of ameture cinematographers) competition and won a blue seal award as well as a Kodak gold tar certificate. It was a great day out and firing off £500 worth of rifle blanks was a group of young mans best day out. Paint-ball?? bollocks!
Would any of you boys like me to put a bit on you tube for you to see? (long as you promise not to laugh or take the piss) suffice to say these days we just collect.
These were great days off work & pushed my love of film collecting forward even more. Every gun you see here were authentic pices and not models or plastic. Unfortunately the owner had to give all these up when the poxy gun laws changed thanks to lunatic twats who thought they were Rambo.

Tom yes I remember Framptons in Cornwall street,picked up the odd bit of 8mm stuff there.Sad shop long gone chineses store now isn't it .

Get it on you tube Tom!! What a great great story!!!

That's two previously unknown film stars revealed today here with Dels earlier revelations of being in a TV commercial!

ill let you know when i get an extract up.

Looking forward to it Tom!

It looks great, very professionally done by the looks of things!!