1
00:00:06,506 --> 00:00:08,508
[pleasant music plays]
2
00:00:10,635 --> 00:00:12,429
[Guillermo del Toro] A great movie...
3
00:00:12,929 --> 00:00:15,140
will take you places
you could not imagine.
4
00:00:16,850 --> 00:00:19,436
And if it happens at a temple,
5
00:00:20,103 --> 00:00:21,896
a building dedicated to it,
6
00:00:23,106 --> 00:00:25,734
the experience is transcendental.
7
00:00:27,569 --> 00:00:30,113
Opera has palaces,
8
00:00:30,196 --> 00:00:32,657
the ballet has palaces,
9
00:00:32,741 --> 00:00:34,993
painting has museums.
10
00:00:35,535 --> 00:00:38,621
Cinema deserves that magical realm,
11
00:00:38,705 --> 00:00:40,874
which was the great movie palaces.
12
00:00:40,957 --> 00:00:42,876
Like any other holy building,
13
00:00:42,959 --> 00:00:44,210
you go to a theater
14
00:00:45,712 --> 00:00:48,757
to recapture a spiritual moment.
15
00:00:49,758 --> 00:00:51,634
- [roars]
- [shouting]
16
00:00:51,718 --> 00:00:52,844
[soaring music plays]
17
00:00:55,388 --> 00:00:56,514
[laughs]
18
00:01:05,023 --> 00:01:06,691
- [screams]
- [shouts]
19
00:01:07,567 --> 00:01:08,818
[laughs]
20
00:01:08,902 --> 00:01:09,778
[music softens]
21
00:01:09,861 --> 00:01:11,529
[del Toro] We're storytelling animals.
22
00:01:11,613 --> 00:01:13,406
Every notion we have,
23
00:01:13,490 --> 00:01:15,158
notion of love,
24
00:01:15,241 --> 00:01:17,202
country, belonging,
25
00:01:17,702 --> 00:01:19,162
they come from a story.
26
00:01:19,245 --> 00:01:20,663
[yelps]
27
00:01:20,747 --> 00:01:26,044
And the only art that can encompass
any human experience is cinema.
28
00:01:26,961 --> 00:01:29,172
When we can experience a movie
29
00:01:29,255 --> 00:01:32,550
in the environment
that you can surrender yourself,
30
00:01:33,551 --> 00:01:34,886
it engulfs you,
31
00:01:35,637 --> 00:01:37,639
heals, elevates,
32
00:01:38,389 --> 00:01:40,058
connects with your soul.
33
00:01:41,059 --> 00:01:44,604
So, for me, the Egyptian is a temple.
34
00:01:48,733 --> 00:01:50,735
[music fades out]
35
00:01:52,112 --> 00:01:54,239
Many times I've been at the bottom.
36
00:01:54,322 --> 00:01:55,990
I'm about to quit the job...
37
00:01:56,074 --> 00:01:58,701
[chuckles] ...of life,
and I go, "This is meaningless."
38
00:01:59,661 --> 00:02:01,579
And cinema has lifted me up.
39
00:02:01,663 --> 00:02:04,666
With the right drama,
the right horror movie,
40
00:02:04,749 --> 00:02:05,959
the right cartoon.
41
00:02:06,626 --> 00:02:07,752
Can be a Capra.
42
00:02:07,836 --> 00:02:09,170
Merry Christmas!
43
00:02:09,254 --> 00:02:10,755
[del Toro] Can be a Keaton.
44
00:02:11,422 --> 00:02:13,174
And it just shakes you.
45
00:02:13,258 --> 00:02:14,342
Come on!
46
00:02:15,844 --> 00:02:17,220
[Autumn Arkapaw] Raging Bull.
47
00:02:18,638 --> 00:02:19,806
Thin Red Line...
48
00:02:19,889 --> 00:02:20,723
[shouts in Japanese]
49
00:02:20,807 --> 00:02:22,016
...Road to Perdition.
50
00:02:23,143 --> 00:02:25,854
Those are the movies
that stick with me the most.
51
00:02:25,937 --> 00:02:27,438
It feels so real to me,
52
00:02:27,522 --> 00:02:30,275
like I feel like I'm now
in this magical world.
53
00:02:30,859 --> 00:02:32,110
That's actually happening.
54
00:02:32,193 --> 00:02:34,612
The experience of
going into the dark with strangers
55
00:02:34,696 --> 00:02:36,739
and having this group hallucination,
56
00:02:36,823 --> 00:02:39,284
and coming out the other end of it
a different person.
57
00:02:40,368 --> 00:02:42,120
It is a group experience,
58
00:02:42,203 --> 00:02:45,665
and it gives you permission to feel it.
59
00:02:46,166 --> 00:02:49,502
[Arkapaw] The theater itself,
the space at which your film is shown,
60
00:02:49,586 --> 00:02:52,630
all feeds into how people
are relating to your film.
61
00:02:53,131 --> 00:02:54,841
Oh wow!
62
00:02:54,924 --> 00:02:57,969
With the Egyptian, you go in there,
and it's like, "Game on."
63
00:03:00,096 --> 00:03:01,723
[Johnson] The whole experience
is the show,
64
00:03:01,806 --> 00:03:04,809
including walking up
to the facade of the theater,
65
00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:09,230
taking you back to the imagined glamour
of Hollywood past.
66
00:03:09,772 --> 00:03:13,109
[del Toro] It's a grand outing
to a different reality.
67
00:03:13,193 --> 00:03:15,778
You are transported to a place that has,
68
00:03:15,862 --> 00:03:20,617
if not great architecture
by the historical accuracy,
69
00:03:20,700 --> 00:03:22,535
certainly grand architecture.
70
00:03:23,119 --> 00:03:25,246
[Arkapaw] The bravado
of the theater is felt.
71
00:03:25,330 --> 00:03:27,332
You're engulfed in that whole environment.
72
00:03:27,415 --> 00:03:31,169
As a person who completely believes
in spirits and ghosts
73
00:03:31,252 --> 00:03:33,588
and energy contained within spaces,
74
00:03:34,589 --> 00:03:36,674
it's like those buildings have memory.
75
00:03:36,758 --> 00:03:37,717
[cheering]
76
00:03:38,509 --> 00:03:41,262
[Pete Hammond] My father
was actually there
77
00:03:41,346 --> 00:03:44,307
on the opening night
of the Egyptian Theatre.
78
00:03:44,974 --> 00:03:46,267
It was Robin Hood.
79
00:03:46,351 --> 00:03:48,186
And he said, "I saw Douglas Fairbanks."
80
00:03:48,269 --> 00:03:50,980
It was a big night.
It was a very special thing.
81
00:03:51,064 --> 00:03:52,440
[Leonard Maltin] I fell in love with it.
82
00:03:52,523 --> 00:03:55,276
It became my favorite place
in Hollywood to see a movie.
83
00:03:55,944 --> 00:03:59,489
[Rene Lagler] I would tear
1,316 tickets every night.
84
00:04:00,698 --> 00:04:01,616
It was fun.
85
00:04:01,699 --> 00:04:05,370
It was exciting to be a part of all that,
especially the premieres.
86
00:04:05,453 --> 00:04:07,997
The red carpet, the flowers.
87
00:04:08,081 --> 00:04:09,249
Most of the stars,
88
00:04:09,332 --> 00:04:12,585
Marlon Brando, and all those people,
they would come to the theater.
89
00:04:12,669 --> 00:04:15,964
We were proud to be a part
of something that was special.
90
00:04:16,047 --> 00:04:17,131
[cheering]
91
00:04:17,215 --> 00:04:19,550
[announcer] Ben-Hur,
opening at the Egyptian Theatre.
92
00:04:19,634 --> 00:04:21,010
It's already proclaimed
93
00:04:21,094 --> 00:04:24,097
as the entertainment experience
of a lifetime.
94
00:04:24,180 --> 00:04:27,934
[man] There were lots of great premieres
that happened there in the '60s...
95
00:04:28,518 --> 00:04:29,978
How do you do?
96
00:04:30,061 --> 00:04:31,854
...and the '70s, like Alien...
97
00:04:31,938 --> 00:04:33,564
[shrieking]
98
00:04:33,648 --> 00:04:34,857
...the early '80s.
99
00:04:37,485 --> 00:04:38,987
[cackles]
100
00:04:39,070 --> 00:04:40,613
[deep rumbling]
101
00:04:44,826 --> 00:04:46,619
[Peyton Hall] I drove by the Egyptian.
102
00:04:46,703 --> 00:04:48,663
The building had big holes.
103
00:04:49,539 --> 00:04:52,542
I think that we need to keep
the Egyptian forever.
104
00:04:53,459 --> 00:04:56,254
This is such a fundamentally
important place
105
00:04:56,337 --> 00:05:00,883
in the invention of how
we experience movies.
106
00:05:02,927 --> 00:05:08,141
The American Cinematheque courageously
went forward on the rehab project
107
00:05:08,224 --> 00:05:10,893
to save the history and character
of the Egyptian Theatre
108
00:05:10,977 --> 00:05:12,478
and to make it work again.
109
00:05:15,565 --> 00:05:18,901
[del Toro] The first time
I experienced King Kong was on a TV.
110
00:05:18,985 --> 00:05:22,739
{\an8}Many of my generation,
and generations subsequent to mine,
111
00:05:22,822 --> 00:05:27,410
{\an8}have experienced most of
their audiovisual storytelling on TV.
112
00:05:27,493 --> 00:05:28,453
[tense music plays]
113
00:05:29,329 --> 00:05:31,456
When I experienced Vertigo
on the big screen,
114
00:05:31,539 --> 00:05:33,875
I realized I had never seen it.
115
00:05:34,625 --> 00:05:37,128
Even though I had seen it
many times before,
116
00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:41,716
the size of the screen,
that's one of the most important things.
117
00:05:42,925 --> 00:05:45,136
In any temple, surrender is key.
118
00:05:45,636 --> 00:05:48,681
At a moment's notice, your world changes.
119
00:05:51,142 --> 00:05:53,019
[Arkapaw] I love Apocalypse Now.
120
00:05:53,728 --> 00:05:56,522
I can always go back to a theater
and watch that.
121
00:05:56,606 --> 00:06:00,818
I was just being so affected in a theater
by these kind of epic films.
122
00:06:00,902 --> 00:06:03,738
We have a sinner with us here.
123
00:06:03,821 --> 00:06:06,407
[Arkapaw] Seeing There Will Be Blood
and going, "I wanna do that."
124
00:06:06,491 --> 00:06:07,533
That film was amazing.
125
00:06:07,617 --> 00:06:09,827
That's why I became a DP.
126
00:06:09,911 --> 00:06:11,329
I'm always thinking about,
127
00:06:11,412 --> 00:06:14,040
"Will people love to see this
in a theater?"
128
00:06:14,791 --> 00:06:17,585
[Ben Tucker] I remember
my first black-and-white movie,
129
00:06:17,668 --> 00:06:19,837
which was Miracle on 34th Street,
130
00:06:19,921 --> 00:06:23,508
and learning that I liked old movies too.
131
00:06:23,591 --> 00:06:25,385
I get it now, more than ever,
132
00:06:25,468 --> 00:06:29,806
how great it is to watch a movie
with a really good audience
133
00:06:29,889 --> 00:06:31,224
in a packed house.
134
00:06:31,891 --> 00:06:38,481
What's special about the Egyptian
is its ability to run nitrate-based film,
135
00:06:38,564 --> 00:06:40,400
which is very unusual.
136
00:06:40,483 --> 00:06:43,319
There's only a handful of theaters
in the United States
137
00:06:43,403 --> 00:06:46,697
and in the world
that can run nitrate film.
138
00:06:46,781 --> 00:06:50,535
Movies are as delicate as vampires.
They need darkness to exist,
139
00:06:50,618 --> 00:06:54,455
and they are dependent on a very,
very strange body chemistry.
140
00:06:54,539 --> 00:06:58,418
[Arkanaw] I always like the OG,
kind of unique film print projection
141
00:06:58,501 --> 00:07:01,546
because I like texture,
and I like imperfection.
142
00:07:01,629 --> 00:07:04,257
There's something about it
that feels more special.
143
00:07:04,924 --> 00:07:06,467
[del Toro] The experience is different.
144
00:07:06,551 --> 00:07:09,804
There is something beautiful
about the flickering.
145
00:07:09,887 --> 00:07:15,435
We're trusted by the studios,
and the archives, with their best prints.
146
00:07:15,518 --> 00:07:19,105
You're looking at prints
that are closer in generation
147
00:07:19,188 --> 00:07:21,482
to the original negative.
148
00:07:22,108 --> 00:07:26,737
[Johnson] We should be championing places
that are showing great older films,
149
00:07:26,821 --> 00:07:32,076
because it's a incredibly vital experience
that changes people's lives.
150
00:07:32,660 --> 00:07:36,038
{\an8}[del Toro] I remember seeing
Los Olvidados, Buñuel's movie.
151
00:07:36,122 --> 00:07:38,416
{\an8}And I came out completely transmogrified.
152
00:07:38,499 --> 00:07:41,711
I thought, "That was done
by a filmmaker in Mexico."
153
00:07:41,794 --> 00:07:46,799
"I can talk about my reality in my mind
or my place of birth through cinema."
154
00:07:48,968 --> 00:07:52,763
[Johnson] I remember going to a theater
and seeing Harold Lloyd's The Freshman.
155
00:07:52,847 --> 00:07:57,393
To see this film from 80 years in the past
156
00:07:57,477 --> 00:07:59,228
bring the house down...
157
00:07:59,312 --> 00:08:02,023
That's probably the best experience
I've ever had in a theater
158
00:08:02,106 --> 00:08:03,316
watching a comedy.
159
00:08:03,900 --> 00:08:07,403
[del Toro] Peter Bogdanovich used to say
there are no old movies and new movies.
160
00:08:07,487 --> 00:08:10,740
Just movies you've seen
and movies you haven't seen.
161
00:08:11,699 --> 00:08:14,202
And for me, to be moved by Mervyn LeRoy...
162
00:08:14,285 --> 00:08:16,370
The bigger they come,
the harder they fall.
163
00:08:16,454 --> 00:08:18,498
- [del Toro] ...by Douglas Sirk...
- Put down that phone.
164
00:08:18,581 --> 00:08:21,626
Would you like to speak to him yourself?
I'll tell him you're here.
165
00:08:21,709 --> 00:08:23,169
...they had to wait for me.
166
00:08:23,252 --> 00:08:25,796
Any way we can preserve those experiences,
167
00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:29,425
the way they wanted it to be screened,
it's a sacred duty.
168
00:08:30,009 --> 00:08:32,386
[Hammond] The Egyptian needs
serious remodeling,
169
00:08:32,470 --> 00:08:33,554
and it's getting it,
170
00:08:33,638 --> 00:08:37,934
and that's thanks to some of the money
from Netflix and American Cinematheque.
171
00:08:38,643 --> 00:08:43,606
At the Egyptian, we are working on
a very good recreation and preservation
172
00:08:43,689 --> 00:08:45,358
of what was there in 1922,
173
00:08:45,942 --> 00:08:50,488
so that the Egyptian is there for people
to come and have this experience.
174
00:08:50,571 --> 00:08:51,697
One, please.
175
00:08:52,657 --> 00:08:56,994
[del Toro] Certainly, in cinema,
there are screening rooms that are cold,
176
00:08:57,495 --> 00:09:00,039
and there are screening rooms
that are warm.
177
00:09:01,290 --> 00:09:03,751
Those are the best places to see a movie.
178
00:09:04,794 --> 00:09:06,796
If it's a great movie, it's great.
179
00:09:07,296 --> 00:09:09,757
If it's a bad movie, it's not that bad.
180
00:09:10,758 --> 00:09:13,052
The Egyptian, even though it's enormous,
181
00:09:13,553 --> 00:09:15,096
it's a really warm room.
182
00:09:15,930 --> 00:09:18,516
[Taylor] There is a magic to the Egyptian.
183
00:09:18,599 --> 00:09:22,395
Feeling all of these incredible
filmmakers that came before you.
184
00:09:22,979 --> 00:09:26,857
That history gets passed down,
inspires a new generation.
185
00:09:26,941 --> 00:09:29,110
You can still go to the Egyptian
186
00:09:29,193 --> 00:09:32,822
and still see some of the movies
that played there decades before.
187
00:09:33,364 --> 00:09:34,824
[wondrous music plays]
188
00:09:34,907 --> 00:09:37,702
[del Toro] There's a covenant
with cinema at the Egyptian
189
00:09:37,785 --> 00:09:41,497
that you get renewed every time
you're there as an audience member.
190
00:09:41,581 --> 00:09:45,001
And as a filmmaker,
you feel that covenant with the audience.
191
00:09:45,084 --> 00:09:47,086
[wondrous music continues]
192
00:09:47,169 --> 00:09:52,258
You have a direct line with the origins
of cinema at its most grand.
193
00:09:52,341 --> 00:09:53,926
[wondrous music continues]
194
00:09:54,010 --> 00:09:57,263
The Egyptian is there
to have a spiritual moment with film.
195
00:09:57,346 --> 00:09:59,056
[wondrous music crescendoes]
196
00:10:01,142 --> 00:10:03,144
[energetic music plays]