Towering Inferno (5 Stars)

Best. Disastermovie. Ever.

I saw this film in the cinema with my girlfriend Louise Bailey when it was first released. That makes it a special film to me, not just because of its quality. For years I didn't go to the cinema very often, only once or twice a year, so the films that I saw on the big screen made a big impression on me.

Tonight I sat and tried to remember all the films I saw in the cinema up to the age of 21. That's not an arbitrary age. When I was 21 I moved to Berlin and went to the cinema frequently, some weeks every day, so I've totally lost track of what I watched. The sheer volume of films that I watched made the individual films less memorable.

Here's the list of films that I watched from the ages of 6 to 21. I can put them in approximate order by remembering who I went with. I used the film's release date as further assistance, but that isn't infallible, because in the days before multiplex cinemas it often happened that a new film didn't arrive in my local cinema until six months or longer after it was released.

1. The Wizard of Oz

I saw this at the Avion in Aldridge with my mother. I can't remember the exact year, but it was while we lived in Little Aston, so it must have been between 1961 and 1963, probably closer to 1961. This was before my parents bought their first television, so I can say with certainty that it was the first film I ever watched.

2. Call me Bwana

I also watched this at the Avion with my mother. According to IMDB it was released in 1963. My memories tell me that I watched my first two films shortly after one another, but it's possible that I'm wrong. Childhood memories always seem to have happened at the same time.

3. Doctor Who and the Daleks

I saw this at the ABC Cinema in Walsall. I believe I went with my father. It's a rare case where I can't remember who I went with. It was released in 1965.

4. Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 AD

This was released a year later in 1966. I also saw it at the ABC in Walsall. I'm almost certain I went to see it with my father.

5. Thunderbirds are go

I went to see this film at the Imperial Cinema in Walsall with my friend Richard Lee. I went to see it a second time by myself. This made it the first film that I ever watched more than once in the cinema, and it was the first time I visited a film by myself.

6. The Magnificent Two

I went to see this film at the Imperial Cinema in Walsall with my mother. It was released in 1967, but it's possible that I didn't see it until a year later. It made a big impression on me at the time. I'll write more about it next time I watch the DVD.

7. 2001: A Space Odyssey

I went to see this film at the ABC in Walsall with my father. He annoyed me. During the film a woman with refreshments (drinks and sweets) went to stand at the front of the cinema. My father sent me to buy something, even though the film was still running. I went to the front, grudgingly, and bought what he wanted. When I went back to my seat the film stopped for a half-time pause. Why was he so impatient? It was released in 1968, but it's possible that I saw it before "The Magnificent Two".

8. "Till death us do part"
This is another film that I went to see in the cinema with my father. I still remember him laughing out loud, especially during the scenes which took place during the Second World War.

9. Z

I went to see "Z" at the Clifton in Great Barr with my mother. It was an incredible film that we talked about for days. It was released in 1969, but it's possible that I didn't see it until a year later.

10. Beneath the Planet of the Apes

I went to see this film in Walsall with my father. I can't remember if it was the ABC or the Imperial. Until recently I thought this was the first film I went to with my father, but after checking the release years of the films this evening I realised my memories must be wrong, since it wasn't released until 1970. All I can say is that my memories of the evening with him are very vivid. I didn't get on well with my father in my childhood, but at this film I felt we were bonding.

It's possible that I saw the last two films in the reverse order, but what I'm certain of is that they were the last two films that I saw in the cinema with my parents. I was growing out of that age.

(various films)

From 1972 to 1973 I watched a few Chinese films at the Odeon in Sutton Coldfield with my friend Mick Cooksey. I forget their names, but they were probably Shaw Brothers films. We always went to the cinema on a Sunday afternoon. I forget exactly how many Chinese films we saw. Maybe three or four. I can only remember the name of the last film we watched together:

11. The Big Boss

I watched this film at the Odeon in Sutton Coldfield with Mick Cooksey. It was the only really memorable Chinese film that we watched together.

12. Enter the Dragon

I went to see this film at the ABC in Birmingham with my sister Shirley. It was probably early 1974. It was nerve-wracking standing in the queue. The film had an 18 certificate, and there were lots of children in the queue who were obviously underage. The cinema employees were walking along the line pulling kids out and telling them to go home. I was 18, but my sister was only 15, so we were nervous. We got in anyway. She looked old enough.

13. Holiday on the Buses

This film was released in 1973, but I know that I didn't go to see it until 1974, because I went with my girlfriend Sally to the ABC in Walsall. I wanted to go to see "Way of the Dragon" – by that time the ABC was a multiplex with three screens – but Sally persuaded me to change the film at the last moment.

14. Way of the Dragon

A few days later I returned to the ABC with my friend Robert Brown to watch "Way of the Dragon".

15. name forgotten

I went to see an erotic film with my girlfriend Andrea at the ABC in Walsall. I have no idea what the name was, but I'd recognise it if I ever saw it again. It was a typical 1970's European soft porn film, maybe Italian, maybe French. A lot of bare breasts, but no full frontal nudity. It took place in Africa. A man grew up to adulthood without women, and when he finally met women he had to learn how to have sex. Silly, but good fun.

16. Towering Inferno

Now I'm finally getting on topic. In 1974 I went to see "Towering Inferno" at the ABC in Walsall with my girlfriend Louise.

17. Earthquake

Shortly afterwards I went to see "Towering Inferno" at the ABC in Walsall with Louise again. We had a messed up relationship. I was suffering from depression at the time, and I couldn't have cared less about her, but we dated for nine months, my longest relationship until then. I forget why she broke up with me. In retrospect, I think it was just a test to see if I really loved her. As it was, I just said "Okay", and that was it. We never phoned one another, and we've never contacted one another since. It's been 46 years since we last spoke. I wonder about her sometimes.

18. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

I went to see this film with my girlfriend Jenf (real name Jennifer). I forget which cinema it was, except that it was in Birmingham, somewhere I'd never been before. Maybe the Odeon? I don't know. I just know that it was in 1976.

19. Take me high

I visited the same forgotten cinema with Jenf to see "Take me high". It was released three years earlier, so I was late seeing it.

20. People that Time forgot

I went to see this film by myself at the ABC in Walsall. It's the last film I watched in the cinema before moving to Berlin. I know I was still dating Jenf at the time, but I can't remember why I went without her.

So that's the complete list of the films I watched before I moved to Germany. At least, I think the list is complete. If any other films occur to me later, I shan't even admit my error, I'll just go back and edit this post.

Success Rate:  + 6.3

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