When I wrote my last column, I mentioned the greatest single moment in any movie—the scene that, in varying ways, changed my life. It occurs in ""Raiders of the Lost Ark,"" when a sword-wielding assassin challenges Indiana Jones to a duel in the Cairo marketplace. The swordsman busts out a couple of menacing swipes and prepares for battle. Instead of brawling, Indiana whips out his gun and shoots the bastard, a move that would make even Dirty Harry crack a squinty grin.
Now, I have only seen ""Raiders"" on tiny, grainy TV screens, so I can't even imagine how I would have reacted to seeing it in the theater. Besides the digitally mutilated re-releases of the ""Star Wars"" films, the only old movie I've seen on the silver screen was ""The Godfather,"" and it was amazing. A lot of us in college are movie buffs, but nowadays, watching DVDs at home is the norm. But for a multitude of reasons, especially the ubiquitous presence of chattering roommates, DVDs will never supplant the experience of watching a great movie in a darkened theater with pounding surround sound and pristine images only celluloid can produce.
Westgate Art Cinema, where I work, is holding two special screenings of the original print of ""Raiders of the Lost Ark"" this week, Thursday at 7 p.m. for $8, and Saturday at 12 p.m. for $6. Tickets are available at Point and Westgate cinemas, or by reservation at 271-9044. All the profit we make on it will go to a young Point employee who is recovering from a recent stroke. Movie buffs of Madison, this is your chance to not only help out a fellow Madisonian, but to enjoy one of the best flicks of all time on the big screen, where it damn well belongs. Don't miss it.
