The Alamo Drafthouse Best Place to Enjoy a Movie Without Talking and Texting!

The Alamo Drafthouse Best Place to Enjoy a Movie Without Talking and Texting!

I love going to the movies, always have. Back in the last century, as a child, I used to go to the movies every Saturday morning with friends and we would watch the movie several times until the ushers would kick us out to begin that afternoon matinee. I was hooked from the beginning and went through different phases involving monster movies, war movies, Three Stooges and other wacked comedies up to the day we stayed for our first afternoon movie, Porgy and Bess. Yeah...and even though I was seven years old at the time. I loved it. I saw my first Fellini film at age 12 and movies just became more than a serious hobby. Later in life I also studied film making but honestly my favorite directors skewed wildly from Fellini to Ron Howard, Steven Spielberg, Frank Capra, David Lynch, Woody Allen, Luis Buñuel, Werner Herzog...wait stop! There are way too many to mention and frankly to say that I am a movie buff is putting it mildly. And though I did not become a film director I turned out to be more than a movie buff but a fan of the entire movie experience. After all, I think fan is short for fanatic!

In 1997, my brother, who was a wholesale food broker here in Austin, told me about a couple who were opening a new movie theater where you could enjoy a movie along with dinner and a bar. What a concept! He was helping them with a menu and supplies and everything that goes in to a restaurant but this one was located in a movie theater. I don't know about you but it can be a hassle to try and sneak "alien food items" into a movie and a six pack? Not impossible but extremely difficult! Now a person could attend a movie, order very good food (this is key at the Alamo Drafthouse, it's not just blah fare) and even get service for adult beverages. The new theater opened as The Alamo Drafthouse and took off in a nice fashion. Austin being a town where new concepts and many offbeat ideas can find a following was the perfect place for the theater to grow! The theater began to draw a consistent and loyal crowd of patrons for all kinds of movies.

The Alamo Drafthouse was not only a place for movies dinner and drinks but the owners were also avid movie fans! They took movies (and the movie experience) seriously. And despite Netflix, online movie streaming, pay per view and all the other ways a person can enjoy a film, there is no duplicating sitting in a theater, lights down, silver screen bigger than life and just losing yourself in the experience. For those who watch movies on a computer, iPad or even an iphone...I don't get it, it just does not work for me and I am not alone. The theater regularly sponsors all sorts of theme movie events and other activities that consistently set them apart from any other movie experience you will ever encounter. If you have yet to check them out, do so soon. The original theater has expanded to several more in a small chain that is now in other cities other than Austin.

One of the very best things about movies at The Alamo Drafthouse is a no tolerance policy for talking, texting and any other activity that disturbs the movie for the patrons. To that end, people who act inappropriately are warned and then if that does not work are politely asked to LEAVE! Recently, this happened and the irate patron called the Box Office and left a scathing message. The owners of the Alamo Drafthouse, kept the recording and turned it into a video clip that now airs before each movie as a warning that they are serious about talking, texting and any other actions that would interfere with a movie experience. Now the video has gone viral and has turned out to be yet another boon for this great theater chain. Check it out below, I have used the censored version but will let you make your own assessment of the caller and her complaint...

...Yeah...I know what you are thinking and we can just leave it at that! Well wait a minute, I actually I cracked up at the comment that every other theater in Austin had no problem with rude and inconsiderate patrons...yeah right! The Alamo Drafthouse is just another one of the things that help keep Austin weird and wonderful at the same time. My name is Russell Lewis, Austin is my home and I love almost everything about our often weird but always fun city. I have twenty years experience assisting buyers and sellers in Austin's finest neighborhoods. I am not all things to all people and concentrate the majority of my business in Central, West and Southwest Austin and the Westlake/Eanes School District. If you or anyone you know is anticipating purchasing or selling real estate and would like to learn more about living The Good Life in Austin Texas. I would be happy to be of assistance. Email or call my mobile listed below for a private consultation at your convenience!