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Mumsnet users share their cinema memories with ODEON

341 replies

JustineBMumsnet · 17/12/2018 16:08

NOW CLOSED

Whether you go often or it’s a rare treat, trips to the cinema often leave memories in a way watching a film at home rarely would. ODEON would like to hear about your memories of going to the cinema - either when you were a child or when taking your own children now.

Chris Bates, Commercial Director at ODEON UK & Ireland said: “The festive period is a special and magical time for the whole family, and what better way to celebrate than by enjoying one of the most highly anticipated films of the year – Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns. Across our cinemas, we’ve been busy sprinkling a little bit of extra magic on the cinema-going experience – including live performances from magicians, decorating our foyers, and a special Magic Mix deal on food & drink. Tickets to see the return of everyone’s favourite nanny are available to book now and we can’t wait to welcome guests through our doors to watch this truly magical film with ODEON."

Do you remember a particular film? Perhaps you have memories of a family member laughing so loudly it was embarrassing? Maybe you remember going without your parents for the first time? What are your favourite memories of taking your own children to the cinema?

All who post their memories below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

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Mumsnet users share their cinema memories with ODEON
OP posts:
ButterflyOfFreedom · 20/12/2018 21:53

The film I remember watching as a child was a random one called 'Mac & Me'. My Mum took me and we had such a brilliant time! The film was hilarious and we both laughed so much!!! Still remember it to this day and it was about 30 years ago! Smile

fanomoninon · 20/12/2018 21:58

I think the first proper cinema trip I remember was ET. Our cinema had a (super cool!) amphitheatre type ceiling with steps lit up. It looked like the inside of a space ship and i assumed they'd done it specially for the film and was very impressed.. Also lovely memories as an older teen of loving taking my younger siblings to see Jurassic Park as a big treat. My brother spent most of it under the seat refusing to watch as it scared the bejesus out of him.

My dc adore the cinema - we are lucky to have lots of cinemas nearby - from independent through to massive great multiplexes, and I love everything about going to the cinema :-) We always choose a family Christmas film (so much better than a panto!) , and looking forward to this Christmas' trip!

del2929 · 20/12/2018 22:20

i remember my 1st ever cinema experience, it was a school trip to go and see a pre release showing of the lion king over 23 years ago. it was the best day of my life as a 9 year old

Tanfastic · 20/12/2018 22:39

I remember my mum taking me to see watership Down when I was little and I fell asleep and didn't wake up till it was nearly finished 😂

Amaksy · 20/12/2018 22:52

Oh wow I remember my first few times going to the cinema far away from where we live because tickets were cheap....great experience especially because the screens used to be practically empty so it felt like a private viewing.

AntiBi · 20/12/2018 23:10

First film we saw as a family was Jaws. Remember it well. Not so much for being scary but it was the days when they used to play the National Anthem before a film (now that ages me!). My dad - a fervent socialist would not allow any of us to stand up. Every single person in the cinema did - except us 7. Was both embarrassed but terribly proud at the same time.

cannotmakemymindup · 21/12/2018 00:29

Ha! I am/was the embarrassing friend/family member who laughs to loud. Regularly find films funnier than those surrounding me, although not my husband we're laughing together.
So sometimes it's easier to go on my own, then my friends can't complain at me. Grin

RoaryMouth · 21/12/2018 01:40

I went with a friend to see Annie when it was released in the 80s. We were quite young so probably one of the first times we'd visited without an adult. We got quite carried away with the songs and we were up singing and dancing in the aisles! I can remember our joy and humour clearly. Probably annoying to others though!

Fabrizia7 · 21/12/2018 04:25

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mrsjackrussell · 21/12/2018 08:48

My earliest memory was going to see bambi with my parents age around 5. That cinema is now a nightclub. My best memory though is going to see one of the rocky films and everyone cheering all the way through it. People don't seem to react to films like that now.

margaritasbythesea · 21/12/2018 08:59

I remember being taken to see Bedknobs and Broomsticks when I was really tiny. I hadn't even really seen much TV before and I remember being utterly entranced at how overwhelming and exciting it was. I remembered it for what seemed like forever, and it remained a treasure in my imagination even after being taken to see my next film, years later - The Empire Strikes Back.

Easylikeasonntagmorgan · 21/12/2018 10:02

I remember going to the cinema c1997 to watch Titanic with my mates from school, and us all crying Grin

My favourite cinema memory though has to be taking my 6 year-old DD to watch Moomins. No-one else came to the screening, so we had the whole cinema to ourselves.

1wokeuplikethis · 21/12/2018 10:47

My first cinema trip was memorable for the wrong reasons! 6 years old, so excited to be going I was running up the road with my brothers, tripped over a wonky cobble and smashed my face off a bench. Broken nose, black eyes, bust lip and a trip to a&e instead. My older brothers weren’t bothered about missing the film as they were so worried about me!

However we were lucky to make plenty of trips to the old odeon over the years. I loved walking in and smelling the warm sugary popcorn, walking over the crazy swirly red carpet and feeling so excited if we were seeing a film that was up the swirly wirly stairs as they were the biggest screens. If we were lucky we could have ice cream in the intervals and we usually bought £1 worth of sweet stuff from the newsagents next door to take in with us. Coming out of the film I loved looking at all the stuff they sold in the foyer; hairbands and bracelets with names on (although they never had my name as it was quite modern at the time!)

Fantastic memories! And now, my kids LOVE the cinema too, and I love taking them, buying them a huge popcorn to last the whole film and snuggling up together.

Ahhh this is a nice thread!

RaininSummer · 21/12/2018 11:12

In the seventies and eighties Odeon was one of the few places you could go to on a date when too young for pubs. We used to pay to watch our film, with support film too, and sometimes stay and watch it twice. Pearl and Dean adverts, with the catchy tune too. And ice cream sellers.

Sunflowersforever · 21/12/2018 12:33

The Odeon I went to as a child had plush red velvet stairs and lights in the ceiling like stars. Going was such a special treat and I always felt like it was a magical experience because of the stars.

I also remember the usherettes with their beautiful 'nutcracker' type costumes.

Hmumto3 · 21/12/2018 14:45

Went and watched aquaman as a birthday treat with my son's mate and his family they loved it made them feel so grown up they are only 6 and 7!

Drookit · 21/12/2018 15:04

My first film at the cinema was a ballet version of Beatrix potter stories. Bo-ring! I would have been about 6 in the late sixties.
However I also remember a Christmas cinema trip in my local after which satsumas were handed out as a treat. I do not recall the film.

Much later as a teenager I visited the cinema in Clerk Street Edinburgh with friends while it was still one huge space. We sat right up at the top quite near the ceiling. The lights in the ceiling were like stars. Magical.

Going to see Jaws and lifting my feet off the floor.....just in case!

MistressoftheYoniverse · 21/12/2018 15:10

My earliest memory was going to the cinema with my mum to watch Disney's Snow white and the 7 dwarves we did it every year at a cinema in Holloway.. it was at a time when they still had the interval and the glamorous (I thought) ladies walking down the aisle selling ice creams & snacks I loved it (secretly wish intervals would come back).
My mum told me on our very first visit the adverts were showing and so I shouted out very loudly ' Why don't they turn it to BBC mummy?' (BBC no adverts Grin) and everyone laughed.

One year my mum wasn't well enough to take us so our big brother did he 'conveniently' couldn't find the cinema (now I think back and don't think he wanted to watch Snow White lol) so we ended up some how watching Flash Gordon instead not what my mum had in mind for my little sisters!!

My first experience with DD1 was also very funny she was 2 years old and we watched Shark Tale she absolutely loved it and at the end she got up and did an impromptu dance to the music in the aisle very cute and funny.

My first proper date and kiss in the rain with my DH was after watching Pulp Fiction at the Ritzy in Hackney sticky floor and dodgy seats but we loved every minute of it!

Sneakily watching my first 18 film at 16 with my friends at the Coronet in Elephant and Castle - Young Guns!!

Never realised I had so many firsts at the cinema Grin

Annamaria0 · 21/12/2018 16:23

I remember going to see Gone with the Wind with just my mum, when I was 9 or 10 so 34-35 years ago. It was the first time my mum saw it, and obviously the first time for me, too. We were swept away by the epic tale of love and war, and thought that Vivien Leigh was the most beautiful woman, and Clark Gable incredibly handsome and suave.

tshirtsuntan · 21/12/2018 16:59

I went to see the jungle book with my Lovely, long departed, Grandad when I was three. We went to the cinema in our little market town which is now a bingo hall. My memories of that day are eating a rectangular ice cream (small block unwrapped and put into a cone) and Grandad buying me a little bunch of flowers from the market afterwards because "all ladies deserve flowers". Happy times.

AngelDog · 21/12/2018 17:24

Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves was the most exciting I saw. My brother and I felt so grown up because for the first time my parents dropped us off at the cinema, and picked us up again afterwards.

A friend of the generation older than me told the story about how she went to the cinema with a bag of plums to eat, and did so with great enjoyment. At the end, when she came out into the light she looked into the bag to see if there were any left, and saw a whole lot of little worms in there. Urgh!

QwertySmalls · 21/12/2018 18:13

My dad took me to see Shaun of the Dead and the cinema was completely empty. He pretended that he had booked the whole cinema but I really knew it was just luck. It's still one of my favourite films.

fishnships · 21/12/2018 18:39

First time was seeing 101 Dalmations, so good we saw it twice! (in the days when they repeated films and you could just stay in the cinema!

tor8181 · 21/12/2018 19:11

as a family we love the cinema

we go 3-4 times a week(sometimes more) as our local one is £2.50 each and as both boys have complex disabilities asd being one and are home educated we go in the day times when it is quiet

many times its just been us there

IndianaMoleWoman · 21/12/2018 19:23

As a teen in the 90s we used to have a local cinema that was THE place to be seen on Saturday night (for some reason on Friday night THE place to be seen was collapsed with alcohol poisoning in the park). I must’ve been dozens of times but I can’t remember a single film. It was all about spending Saturday afternoon choosing your outfit/hair/make up then “flirting” with boys in the foyer. Sometimes we’d meet fleeting “boyfriends” for a snog at the back.

Fast forward to 2018. In the summer holidays this year DH and I (sadly didn’t meet him at the cinema!) took our 4 year old to the cinema for the first time. She was mesmerised! It was a lovely experience, from choosing our snacks in the foyer to seeing the big screen and the amazing sound quality for the first time, she was thrilled. I love the way children help you to see things that you consider mundane and everyday as magical again. I had forgotten that the cinema is amazing!