Reviewer Wheldon Curzon-Hobson is a New Zealand writer. His second novel Near A Canal was described as “… easy to read, evocative of its setting and the characters are beautifully drawn … " His reviews are written in a similar vein, selecting books with inspiring characters and history. He is married with two young children who continually encourage him to 'open his eyes a little wider' to the wonders of the world.
Author: Wayne
Brittenden
ISBN: 13: 9781869621469
Publisher:
Random House NZ.
Going to the movies didn't used to be
just about watching a film. Through meticulous research, interviews
and photographs, Brittenden captures the spirit of cinema in its
heyday: the magnificent architecture, the fascinating characters, and
the audiences who became thoroughly involved in voicing their
emotions and opinions.
In the late 1970's a raggedy bunch of
primary school children leapt, or fell, out of the old Howick bus.
They charged at the doors of the Civic, Auckland, New Zealand,
their teacher desperately trying to keep control. In front and behind
were hundreds more children, all attempting to enter the cinema at
once. They dashed up the stairs to the very top and entered another
world. There before them was a magical scene, the night sky above
with stars flickering, and before them, forever etched into their
memories, were the two lions on either side of the curtain, their red
eyes flashing. They were shown to their seats, just as the curtains
opened to reveal the screen far, far below.
In the early '80s
the Monterey Cinema in Howick was where a group from school went to
watch an altogether dubious movie as a reward for winning a House
competition. The highlights of the afternoon were not just the
rustling of rats, the jaffas being thrown, the dreadful jokes being
told by the students in between the awful jokes on the screen, but
the collapsing of a seat as a student sat down. The chair gave no
warning, the whole thing completely gave way and he was left
sprawling on the ground.
Such are just two of my first
memories of movies. Others spring to mind when I was young: the
showing of Star Wars at the massive screen at Cinerama, a double
feature of Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark at the Classic before it
became a porn cinema, wonderful times at Charley Gray’s and The
Academy, the Film Festival at St James’, the list goes on and
on.
Cinemas form such an important part of our personal and
social history. Wayne Brittenden brilliantly captures these magical
memories encountered throughout New Zealand prior to the arrival of
the multiplexes. The Celluloid Circus lives and breathes the
splendour and personalities of the cinemas of yesteryear, many of
which no longer survive in New Zealand today.
What makes this
book particularly special, even above and beyond the meticulous
research and fascinating detail of the buildings themselves, are the
personal stories and photographs of the personalities from the heyday
of cinema. Brittenden has searched out the quirky and untold stories
behind the cinemas throughout New Zealand; the managers, the ushers,
the projectionists and others who made these buildings living,
breathing entities. There are hilarious stories of managers trying to
outdo other local managers, of feuds between cleaners, of
projectionists and what occurred in their booths, and what illicit
frames of film were cut out from R rated movies.
This
book is a treasure: it captures in both words and images a vitally
important part of New Zealand culture over the past century. It is a
book to enjoy, to treasure, to discuss and reminisce. And for the
younger reader, it is an opportunity to discover why their parents
and grandparents mention the movies with a sparkle in their eye.