Midnight Blues

Your Boulevardier, accompanied by his eldest nephew, were among at least 80 persons attending the Friday midnight showing of The Blues Brothers at the Chabot Cinema last night.

The crowd was not only sizable, but lively. Mostly in a good way. There were a few catcalls shouted toward the movie screen, and the sound of at least one aluminum can rolling down among the seats was audible. But attendees were also heard laughing heartily at the jokes (including some of the more nuanced bits), singing along with songs, and speaking choice snippets of dialogue with the screen. Perhaps the most quotable of which is:

Elwood: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.

Jake: Hit it.

Your Boulevardier would estimate that the largest part of the crowd consisted of people in their twenties, with young men outnumbering women by about three-to-two. A very small number wore skinny ties, black hats, and sunglasses, as befits the film. In addition to this younger crowd, a dozen or so persons of age, who perhaps remember seeing the film in theatres when it was first released in 1980 (such as Yours Truly) were in attendance, and that group definitely skewed more strongly male. The energy in the crowd that gathered on the sidewalk after the show was palpable, and was likely seeking an outlet. Your Boulevardier had no such inclinations; as he and his nephew walked back to their vehicle, a six-deep line of cars at the Jack in the Box drive-through was noted.

Speaking of vehicles, Your Boulevardier notes that street parking on Castro Valley Boulevard in front of Direct Sales Floors and XO Windows is prohibited from midnight to three a.m. -- precisely when the movie was showing. Still, vehicles parked there did not seem to get tickets. It's assumed and hoped that the Sheriff's Department had more pressing matters to which to attend during those hours.

The film itself -- the physical celluloid -- showed some wear and tear. (As do we all since 1980, it must be said.) And a few memorable bits of dialogue were missing; Your Boulevardier suspects this is because the version shown was the original theatrical release rather than the slightly extended version we are now accustomed to on DVD. (The most notable absence was the scene in which we see Elwood working at, and then resigning from, his job at the spray-can factory; it explains why he has aerosol glue in the Briefcase when it comes time to sabotage the Good Ol' Boys' Winnebago.)

But any complaints Your Boulevardier has are quibbles. It was wonderful to see this movie on the Big Screen again, and this Friday midnight movie was a rousing success, in this writer's opinion. One hopes that the good folks at Cinelux Theatres agree and continue the series.