Your
Belmont
Memories
Spoons
"I had seen the film The Disaster Artist at the Belmont and enjoyed it. Typical of the majority of films I went to see at the Belmont the audience was small. So when the opportunity arose to see the film that inspired The Disaster Artist and there were only a limited number of screenings I felt I had to go and see it. I usually aimed to arrive 20 minutes after the official start time so as to avoid the adverts. This has rarely been a problem.
On this occasion I was a little bit earlier than this and was stunned to see people queuing up outside. "What is going on?", I am thinking. "Why are so many people interested in a film of limited appeal?" I get to the ticket desk and I am lucky to get one of the last remaining seats in the front row of the large Screen 1. I prefer to sit near the back so as not to strain my neck and go swivel-eyed trying to take in a large screen close up. I was invited to take some plastic cutlery on the counter. "What is this for I asked?". "It is part of the film." was the reply with an enigmatic smile.
Sure enough Screen 1 was packed out. The film starts and a little way in the people behind me shout "Spoons" and I am showered in plastic cutlery . This happened at key points during the film. Also the audience shouted out phrases at certain repeated phrases or camera shots. The audience clearly knew this obscure film very well. Never in my 50 years of cinema going have I encountered such an immersive experience. Well done to the Belmont.
The film, in case you want to look out for it, is "The Room" by Tommy Wiseau. A film that has to be seen in a cinema.
Bruce Taylor
Share Your Memory
Spoons
"I had seen the film The Disaster Artist at the Belmont and enjoyed it. Typical of the majority of films I went to see at the Belmont the audience was small. So when the opportunity arose to see the film that inspired The Disaster Artist and there were only a limited number of screenings I felt I had to go and see it. I usually aimed to arrive 20 minutes after the official start time so as to avoid the adverts. This has rarely been a problem.
On this occasion I was a little bit earlier than this and was stunned to see people queuing up outside. "What is going on?", I am thinking. "Why are so many people interested in a film of limited appeal?" I get to the ticket desk and I am lucky to get one of the last remaining seats in the front row of the large Screen 1. I prefer to sit near the back so as not to strain my neck and go swivel-eyed trying to take in a large screen close up. I was invited to take some plastic cutlery on the counter. "What is this for I asked?". "It is part of the film." was the reply with an enigmatic smile.
Sure enough Screen 1 was packed out. The film starts and a little way in the people behind me shout "Spoons" and I am showered in plastic cutlery . This happened at key points during the film. Also the audience shouted out phrases at certain repeated phrases or camera shots. The audience clearly knew this obscure film very well. Never in my 50 years of cinema going have I encountered such an immersive experience. Well done to the Belmont.
The film, in case you want to look out for it, is "The Room" by Tommy Wiseau. A film that has to be seen in a cinema.
Bruce Taylor
Oh hi, Belmont!
"One screening I remember attending at Belmont was the special screening of The Room, which was played alongside the release of The Disaster Artist. With a packed out Screen 1, fans of the film were shouting out lines, throwing American footballs and even the staff joined in on the festivities by giving us plastic spoons to chuck around.
It is still my favourite cinematic experience to date and something that could only be experienced properly at a space like Belmont."
Amy Smith
The Fellowship of the Belmont
"The best Belmont screenings were always the ones spearheaded by communal love of a classic film or franchise that would bring audiences together but would be far too imposing an ask for your typical multiplex branch. A few of these were put on by Dallas and his team during his time as marketing manager. Of the events in this class, the absolute best was when original 35mm copies of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy were screened one pre-Christmas Sunday. As someone who will confess only having seen the extended version of Fellowship before this event seeing a sold-out Screen One enraptured in Sam and Frodo’s 10-hour journey to Mordor truly was magical.
Seeing such an awe-inspiring piece of cinema in full for the first time felt truly unmatched for the Aberdeen film scene before or since By the time Return of the King got through its 15 endings and Annie Lennox played over the cast credits for the trilogy as a whole the spontaneous round of applause that greeted the end of the journey felt so well deserved.
Not only in how masterful the films are as a 10 hour odyssey but how effectively the Belmont team had been able to pull off such a memorable screening of the kind rarely seen in Aberdeen."
Timothy Neill
Long Live 35mm!
"On my first ever visit to the Belmont I was lucky enough to be shown around the venue and also the projection booths by a kind Duty Manager/Projectionist (a lovely chap by the name of Dallas King, I believe!). I will never forget it. It was amazing to see all of the specialised 35mm equipment that the cinema has retained alongside the more modern, digital kit.
The Belmont still has all of this in place today and it remains the only cinema for miles around with the capability of screening 35mm. It must re-open and do so again to hand down this important aspect of cinema history, allow Aberdonians to experience film screenings on real film, and inspire future projectionists and cinephiles!"
Cieran McCusker
Nae Pasaran!
"It was a packed house in Cinema 1 for the showing of Nae Pasaran. The Belgian film maker had recreated the story of the East Kilbride Rolls Royce engineers who boycotted the refurb of planes Pinochet planned to use against the supporters of Allende in 1970s Chile. The film maker himself and one of the engineers was present for the Q&A afterwards and the chat could have gone on long after the designated hour.
One of the things the Belmont does best or uniquely in Aberdeen is bringing film makers and actors to the city to be part of the cinema experience, to share their thoughts with the public and inspire future creatives. A fantastic night never to be forgotten."
Gwen Smith