Fun at the Crest Theater

I love, just LOVE, the Crest Theater here in Shoreline, on 5th and 165th. If you don't have to see movies on opening night, and are fed up with paying ten bucks or more to see a first-run film, you probably love it too. For only $3 (and of course, the price of your chosen film snacks) you can see second-run flicks, and often many smaller release indie movies. That's less than it usually costs to rent a DVD, and even though the screens are smaller than many other theaters, they're most likely larger than the one in your living room.

I was with a friend on Friday evening, watching one of those less-known films, Mongol, at the Crest (loved it, by the way). Around 1/3 of the way through, the film stopped abruptly. It wasn't more than five minutes until it started up again, but in that time, the audience remained good-natured, joking about the film and chatting patiently.

Within another 20 minutes, the film stopped again, and this time, we were treated to one of those sights you only see in clichéd movies about movies: the projected image actually showed the film blacken and melt, complete with little bubbles of cellulite.

I even got a picture of the blackened film:


It was so funny to see that instead of getting mad, people actually seemed to be enjoying themselves even more. People talked with the folks seated near them, and after a moment, a couple of the guys working at the theater came out and started talking to the audience.

They told us that the film would be fixed in just a few minutes, and answered questions about how the projectors worked and why this had happened. Then the conversation veered off into the current Olympic topic: Michael Phelps and whether he'd win his 8th gold medal. Instead of an angry, impatient crowd, the Crest staff turned a tough moment into a little bit of Shoreline community building.

It wasn't too long before the film was underway again, and if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. And I recommend the good old Crest, too. For $3, you get a movie, some excitement, and you might get to know your neighbors.


Link to the Crest Theater site and showtimes.