Fat Dude Digs Flicks

I don’t know how many of you will want to read this, but I enjoyed it, so I have posted the link.

My parents live in the small metropolis of Armour, South Dakota. It is, literally, a mile long. The town proudly proclaims that on sign welcoming you. I never lived there, but I always enjoyed my trips to Armour. One of the best things to do there is to catch a movie at the Lorain Theater. I should explain how the Lorain works. It is a first-run theater, for the most part. They get movies that are playing wide (and some nice small releases peppered in for good measure every now and again), but it may be a couple of weeks after the release date. For waiting, you are treated to lower prices and really kind, down-home treatment. Movies play each weekend only with (I believe) two shows on Saturday and Sunday. Running the theater are local volunteers taking time out of their schedules for the fun of it. It’s  a great operation and an excellent means of entertainment for people that would otherwise have to drive at least forty minutes away.

The equipment they previously used was not what you would call state of the art. As you’ll read in this first entry, when they first received the equipment being replaced, it had already been used by other theaters. This would sometimes show in the presentation of the film. Due to some odd cropping, the boom mic was seen in frame during my viewing of Big Momma’s House. Something else had its second reel spliced in backwards. These minor mistakes and glitches just added to the fun of the theater. 

With the support of donors (many from Armour itself), the theater was able to make the upgrade to digital sound and projectors. This is an excellent series of blog entries put up by the theater chronicling that change over. It’s a look behind the scenes that we don’t often get. If you are a fan of cinema, it really is worth the read.