I never had the chance to see a movie at the Plaza Theatre. Today the theater is back to its original glory and I can only imagine what it must have been like to see a film like "Casablanca" or a John Wayne western spectacular, larger than life, with the stars twinkling above it all. The Plaza Theatre has come back to life and so have the movies that made it one of the most important movie houses in the country.
The Community Foundation, the lifeblood of this theater has incorporated the much-needed technology to bring the movie house into a whole new century, and two devoted community activists are sharing this treasure with the world.
Eric Pearson and Chuck Horak have worked tirelessly with movie studios all over the world to re-ignite the passion of the grand old movie theater. The ten-day festival, Movies at the Plaza, kicks off August 14 and runs through August 24.
Some of the finest films, performances, directors and their creations will once again come to life on a screen that is so completely state of the art, other old movie houses across America wish they had what we have. “That is the key to all of this, El Pasoans need to realize that we truly have something special in our own backyard,” Horak says.
Movies from 1934-1970
The film festival, the most important of its kind for the community not to mention the rest of the country, is designed to showcase the films from 1934-1970 when the Plaza Theatre was the movie showcase of the Southwest. “We begin with Humphrey Bogart and continue the great film tradition that was the Plaza Theatre with Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece, "2001, A Space Odyssey." Even films that probably would have opened at the Plaza Theatre after its doors closed will get their moment with the twinkling stars.
The duo started the project by seeking the help of the community. “So many businesses have rallied together to make this possible, and since the efforts began to re-open the Plaza Theatre, many patrons asked when we would start showing films here again,” Pearson says. “The unending support of area businesses and individuals turns this project into the great equalizer and allows this theater to belong to everyone,” Pearson said.
The next step was to reach out to movie studios to insure that prints were available for this colossal endeavor. The studios provided the actual archival prints from their vaults to help provide the finest quality of the prints available for the festival.
“Enthusiasm from the movie studios and from everyone we have dealt with out of town to help make this possible proves what we have known all along, that this theater has broad international appeal,” Pearson says.
Every Film, Every Genre
During the festival, movie fans can look forward to horror, comedy, musical, animation, drama, romance, even locally produced films. One in particular, Zach Passero, will participate in the world premiere of his film "Wicked Lake," and movie goers will have an opportunity to be part of the screening of one of his surprise films. Later in the festival, the best of El Paso shorts created by local filmmakers will be shown in collaboration with EPFILM.
The programming of the festival is designed to provide something for everyone and will run daily from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. The counter programming means that Abbott and Costello fans can enjoy the zaniness of their antics as they meet up with Frankenstein, while serious Spielberg and dinosaur fans can scream at the sight of a meat-eating velociraptor in Jurassic Park. “Movie lovers of all ages, everyone, will be able to see their favorites during the ten days of movie watching,” Horak says. “You will have the opportunity to see the greatest films ever made in America.”
Hollywood Symphony Orchestra
Another amazing coup that has been more than a year in the making is a collaboration pre-season concert with the El Paso Symphony Orchestra featuring the conductor of the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra, John Scott. Scott, a composer of countless film and television scores will direct El Paso’s finest musicians in a concert that stars the music that has helped to make movie magic. “This one night only concert will feature the music of some of the greatest composers of the 20th century who happened to compose masterpieces for film,” Horak says. The symphony performance is scheduled for the big theater on August 21 at 7:30 p.m.
Horak, a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the host of KTEP’s “On Film,” says this motion picture labor of love is a tribute to the dedication of Eric Pearson and the El Paso Community Foundation. “The Foundation has worked to lead the city and region through this restoration of the Plaza Theatre getting us where we are today,” Horak says. “The leadership and the faith of the Community Foundation means we have the perfect equipment in place to honor the finest in film here at home.”
The dynamic film/community duo promises that the price of admission will be just right, and that the festival will not end when the credits roll. There will be opportunities to enjoy the Plaza Theatre hospitality at the Oasis Lounge, next door to the Philanthropy Theater and food and refreshment in the Arts Festival Plaza. “You can enjoy your favorite film, lunch, even make time for a trip to the El Paso Museum of Art; This festival puts Downtown at your disposal,” Horak says. They expect upwards of 40,000 people to attend the ten-day festival.
One of the afternoon films during the festival that promises a full house is the Pearl Harbor classic, From Here to Eternity, featuring the Academy Award winning performance of Frank Sinatra. “It is always so much fun to see how great films acknowledge our area,” Pearson says. In this film, the infamous line referring to “the terrible guy from Ft. Bliss who done her wrong.”
The Ideal Escape
During the 1930s and the Great Depression, and the 1940s and WW II, movies were the ideal escape. It was the way to learn more about what was happening in the world via newsreels and a way to forget the troubles of the world even if only for a short while. For about 25 cents, the magic began with a little popcorn and a date with Judy Garland, James Dean, or a trip under water with a film like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. “Every story you hear about the Plaza Theatre relates to something that someone associates with a great film they saw here,” Pearson says. “Now those memories can come alive once again.”
“This festival dawns a new century of film,” Pearson says. “The expansion, remodeling and subsequent re-modernizing of this great movie house means 35mm and digital cinema at its finest that can be experienced now and forever at the Plaza. We honor the past and at the same time with all the community support, insure the future of this grand old Theater.” For more information about Movies at the Plaza log on to www.plaza-movies.com.
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