Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace (2019)
Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace (2019)
Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace
(April Wright, US 2019, 84 min., DCP)
Other countries built palaces for royalty; in the United States, we built them to watch movies. In the decade between the end of the first World War and the stock market crash in 1929, construction of grand venues for motion pictures boomed, with some years seeing hundreds of new theaters opening. Construction of these opulent spaces continued into the 1940s, but the advent of television led to more utilitarian construction in the second half of the century. While some movie palaces still exist, many more have been torn down or lay in shambles. Director April Wright follows up her documentary on the drive-in with this historical look at a time when going to the cinema was an experience befitting royalty.