I remember seeing Dracula when it opened in 1992: A packed movie lobby with a line of ticket holders snaking around and filling every available and empty space (fire hazard). So we had paid already and were now waiting for the theater to be cleared for us to enter. Keep in mind this was back before tickets were for a specific seat in a theater. And you were painfully aware of this Lord of the Flies situation unfolding. And also keep in mind that over 70% of the waiting patrons were dressed in Victorian garb (lots of blood red and black and purple velour). I missed the memo, thankfully, and left my stovepipe hat home (I don't really own one [but wouldn't mind if I did]).
So this giant intestine of patrons filling the lobby began to move, and it was bedlam. No one respected the order of arrival:
Lots of pushing and polite shoving, with a dash of panic due to being in a giant mass of wall-to-wall human beings... and the Victorian garb made it feel like being in a blurry faded photograph in a history text... about The Great Theatre Fire of 1992.
Thankfully, no fires erupted, and the film turned out to be pretty freaking great. I still love the practical effects, and the score by Wojciech Kilar is in the top three film scores of all time. It just IS.
Click below for the musical track that totally should have accompanied the moment the crowd began to move towards that theater door...
