I’ve compiled a list of every film I have seen from the first time I can remember until a couple of years ago and the theaters that I saw them in. In this list I will also give a brief history of said cinema and some personal anecdotes of my time there. This little project down memory lane was a fun blast to the past as well as a reassurance of my love for cinema, it also kind of shows what I was into or perhaps what cinema was reflecting at that moment. I saw many movies, especially in my youth, multiple times so the same movie will sometimes show up at different theaters as well as difficult years since some of these predate the advent of home video and films were often re-released.most of the films I watched by myself especially as child in the 70s, a very different time, and as an adult. I preferred going by myself as its easier to get lost in the world the filmmakers are creating.

EDWARDS CINEMA WEST

This was the first theater I ever went to and was our go to theater for much of the 70s. When JAWS came out on the above marquee, on cinema 1, was a big silhouette of a shark with Jaws spelled out in red, that would be the first PG film I attended, I was 7. I remember asking my father what movie Dolby Stereo was. It took a long time to convince him to take me to see it that summer.

Cinema number 1 was the largest auditorium and could’ve accommodated a 70mm projection as the screen was massive. Cinema 2 was a tad smaller and 3 & 4 were small. By the end of the 80s it was run down and quiet. The strip mall that surrounded it had been demolished and the bricks and concrete from it up sat there for a number of years, it was quite apocalyptic. It was sad that it was destroyed as we would often eat at The Copper Penny restaurant and get ice cream at the Thrifty’s there and our local library was there as well. Edwards kept the theatre standing though but it was a shadow of its former self. The curtains were rotted and falling apart and no one gave a shit if you smoked in the auditorium, beer bottles were often heard rolling down the seating area to the front. I remember bringing in a couple of beers and weed and watching Umberto Lenzi’s THE BARBARIANS staring the Barbarian Bros. The last picture I saw there was with my girlfriend in 1989, the film was LEATHERFACE: THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE III. The theater was demolished not long afterwards and replaced with The Edwards Westminster 10 and a Home Depot and all the other chain crap that has littered neighborhoods  it but the car wash is still there. I still go there from time to time and I have it listed as under its new name.

1970s

Living Free

Animals Are Beautiful People

Charlotte’s Web

Bedknobs And Broomsticks

Song of The South

Robin Hood

The Strongest Man In The World

Jaws

Dumbo

Midway

Peter Pan

The Shaggy D.A.

King Kong

The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh

Fantasia

The Three Caballeros

The Deep

It’s Alive

Star Wars

Bad News Bears In Breaking Training

Thank God It’s Friday

Jaws 2

The Bad News Bears Go To Japan

Running

Same time Next Year

The Brinks Job

Force Ten 10 From Navarone

Superman

California Suite

Every Which Way But Loose

The In-Laws

Escape From Alcatraz

The Muppet Movie

Moonraker

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Time After Time

Fast Break

The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh

Players

The Nude Bomb

Breaking Away

Meteor

The Villain

1980s

My Bodyguard

The Elephant Man

Popeye

Any Which Way You Can

Bronco Billy

An American Werewolf In London

Raiders of The Lost Ark

Eye of The Needle

Pennies From Heaven

Porky’s

Conan The Barbarian

Fast Times At Ridgmont High

The Soldier

Valley Girl

Blue Thunder

Space Hunter: Adventures In The Forbidden Zone 3D

Octopussy

The Right Stuff

Scarface

Deal Of The Century

Top Secret

Best Defense

Real Genius

Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge

Ruthless People

Maximum Overdrive

Friday The 13th Part VI Jason Lives

Armed and Dangerous

Meatballs III

My Demon Lover

The Barbarians

Prince Of Darkness

Beetlejuice

The 1990s

Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III

THE BROOKHURST LOGE

I only went here a few times. It was located on Brookhurst in Anaheim. I first went here in ’77 to a kiddie matinee, which was a freakin’ chaotic nightmare with screaming kids running up and down the isles. This was at there very end of kiddie matinees, which were designed for parents to drop off their brats for a day. They played three films with magic shows in between. The three movies they played on that day were STUNTS, THE PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT and DAY OF THE ANIMALS. The next time I came was with my parents for THE LATE GREAT PLANET EARTH.

The theater was in two buildings one was the loge and for “adults only” meaning you couldn’t bring the kids in and it was fancy with loge seating, hence the name (a bit ahead of its time) that didn’t last long and it just became one theater in two buildings. It later became a make-up academy, then finally torn down I believe.

1970s

The land That Time Forgot

Stunts

The People That Time Forgot

Day of The Animals

The Late Great Planet Earth

THE GROVE THEATER

The Grove Theatre was located on Garden Grove Blvd between Brookhurst and Gilbert. I don’t remember too much about the theater, but I always had the impression that it had seen better days. It had two auditoriums that seated 375 each. Elvis Presley’s LOVING YOU was the first film to play there. There was a bowling ally next to it that had a huge bowling pin with neon for the sign. This photo is most likely from the very late 70s or early 80s when the neighborhood changed and they started showing Vietnamese pictures. In the 90s it was a furniture store for a while and was torn down in 2008 and an office building was put in its place. The bowling alley sign stayed around until just a few years ago, it’s 2019 as I write this. My mom and I would eat at the Bobs Big Boy that was on the corner of Garden Grove Blvd and Gilbert, it was the very first googie style Big Boy. It was torn down to build a small strip mall with a laundromat.

1970s

Grizzly

Jaws

Day of The Animals

EDWARDS FOUNTAIN VALLEY

This was on Brookhurst across the street from Mile Square Park. It was a twin theatre and has now become a Vietnamese Performing Arts Center.

1970s

Buck Rogers in The 25 Century

Star Wars

Saturday Night Fever (PG version)

Invasion of The Body Snatchers

Midnight Madness

Hanger 18

The Big Red One

For Your Eyes Only

Conan The Destroyer

Tex

Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom

UA TWIN WESTMINSTER

This was another theater I went to often. The theater was outside The Westminster Mall, which was built in the early 70s and I first went there on my 5th birthday to see BAMBI and THE APPLE DUMPLING GANG after eating ice cream at Farrell’s in Huntington Beach.

This theater had two large screens with loge seating in the back four rows, which cost more. I saw THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK here about 15 times the summer of 1980, usually by myself, I would sit in loge seats since they were usually empty during matinee showings I would sneak in to watch THE SHINING, though I never sat and watched it from beginning to end in one sitting. In the mid to late 80s the Edwards chain took it over from United Artists. The last picture I saw here was NIGHTWATCH with Ewan McGregor in 1998. The Theater was in bad shape by this time.

The building is still there to this dayand it became a Babies R Us and one of those Halloween stores. The dark side of the photo is where the entrance was. I miss this theater.

1970

Journey Back To Oz

The Apple Dumpling Gang

Bambi

Silent Movie

You Light Up My Life

Winds of Change

Hurricane

1980s

The Empire Strikes Back

The Shining

Bear Island

Honky-Tonk Freeway

The Omen III: The Final Conflict

Swamp Thing

Jewel of The Nile

Ghostbusters

Angel Heart

La Bamba

Young Guns

1990s

Nightwatch

UA WESTMINSTER MALL

This UA theater was inside The Westminster Mall. It became an Edwards in the 90s and now is a shoe store.

1970s

Tentacles

Orca

Harper Valley P.T.A.

A Bridge Too Far

Young Frankenstein

Old Dracula

Somebody Killed Her Husband

Death On The Nile

Lord of The Rings animated

Ice Castles

Shape of Things To Come

1980s

A Force Of One

The Final Countdown

Battle Beyond The Stars

Super Fuzz

Great White

Charlie Chan & The Curse of The Dragon Queen

The Night That The Lights Went Out In Georgia

Take This Job and Shove It!

Cloak and Dagger

Body Double

A Nightmare On Elm Street

Night Of The Comet

Into The Night

Raw Deal

Bullies

Trick or Treat

Quiet Cool

Pirates

The Big Easy

D.O.A.

Halloween 4: The Return Of Michael Meyers

GARDEN GROVE TWIN

This was a small family run theater on Valleyview and Chapman and is still there and operating! As you can see I only went there a couple of times.

In Search of The Historic Jesus

In Search of Noah’s Ark

FAMILY TWIN/FOUR

This was another indie theatre on Brookhurst and Warner a block from Mile Square Park. It started out as a twin then two more screens were added. In the late 80s the Edwards chain bought it and it became their training school. Later it went back to playing movies. There was a cool comic book store next to it called The Land of Oooohs and Aaaahs. I also worked as a busboy at Piret’s Dinning next door when I was 16.

1970s

Treasure Island

Benji

Smokey and The Bandit

The Sy Who Loved Me

Foul Play

Seems Like Old Times

1980s

Madman

The Incubus

The Flamingo Kid

Pinocchio (1984 re-release)

ReAnimator

TerrorVision

Zone Troopers

Crawlspace

Wisdom

EDWARDS WESTBROOK

1970s

Logan’s Run

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings

Car wash

Rollercoaster

Skateboard

One On One

MacArthur

The Wild Geese

Meatballs

Outlaw Josie Wales

The Frisco Kid

1980s

Tom Horn

The Island

The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu

The Hunter

The Gates of Hell

The Wild Life

Summer School

Throw Mamma From The Train

Waxwork

Hellraiser III

EDWARDS MESA VERDE

This was a theater I went to often in my early teens. It was small with 1 decent sized screen and three smaller ones. This place would be packed on Friday nights with all the teenyboppers as there was an ice rink and a very cool indie record store The Music Market, It was like a smaller Amoeba but much larger than a chain record store.

1970s

The Hiding Place

Capricorn One

1980s

All The Marbles

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

The Awakening

The Sphinx

Halloween II

Saturday The 14th

Modern Problems

Heartbeeps

The Dogs of War

Caveman

The Sword and The Sorcerer

Poltergeist

Doctor Detroit

National Lampoon’s Vacation

Cujo

Easy Money

Strange Brew

Mortuary

Rumble Fish

Amityville 3-D

Christine

Sudden Impact

The Keep

Uncommon Valor

Firestarter

Fright Night

The Return of The Living Dead

Labyrinth

Johnny Handsome

EDWARDS TOWN CENTER

This theater was built in 1981 and would become one of my favorite theaters. It was a classy theater with two large screens that showed many 70mm pictures and two smaller screens. The cool thing about the theater was the upstairs, which is where the bathrooms were, as it had giant glass windows so one could see the projection room and watch the massive, often 70mm, reels doing their thing. It was located in-front of The Noguchi Garden in what was once a part of The Segerstrom Performing Arts area, or as us locals often referred to it as The Devils Playground. It was called that because it was rumored that the area was designed by Satan worshipper Anton Szandor LeVey. In a satanic ritual the pentagram will have black candles and one white one in the center, the area is surrounded by black buildings with the Westin Hotel being white. The hotel at one time had the address as 666 Anton. Anton is actually the name of Henry Segerstrom’s father and his son and now with google earth one can see that the buildings do not form a pentagram and the hotel’s addresss is now 668 Anton

One of my film going highlights here was when I saw an advanced screening of E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL. A friend and I went early and bought a ticket for the William Shatner horror film VISITING HOURS. This was one of the first films to star Michael Ironside, after that we jumped screens and watched CONAN THE BARBARIAN, my third time watching it (I still freakin’ love that film) once out we saw that there was a line wrapping around the theater for ET and patrons were being issued a special ticket, oh, oh I thought. We jumped in and watched about 40 minutes of Megaforce, then I hatched a plan. When they start letting people in it’ll be crowded we’ll just barge in with all the other kids as they’ll mostly check tickets with the adults since they’re themes buying. The plan worked, but an usher grabbed my friend “hey, let’s see your ticket” just then some other friends had been in line the whole time and they shouted, “He’s with us!” Whew we made it. The sound was perhaps the loudest I’ve ever heard it at that theater making John Williams score (for me the only good thing about the film) brilliantly unforgettable. This is also the place where I first saw one of my all time favorite film Stanley Kubrick’s A CLOCKWORK ORANGE in its 10th anniversary re-release, I had seen photos from it since I was 6 and couldn’t believe I was finally seeing. It freaked my friend out but I understood it immediately, I was fourteen and had already been kicked out of two Christian schools and understood the message about free will and stifling institutions.

It was this theater where I started watching more high brow stuff, and started seeing myself as a cineaste rather than a fan and often went by myself on a Saturday or Sunday afternoons or instead of going to school and I’d smoke some weed in The Devils playground and then go to a picture often with the latest Fangoria or maybe a citadel The Films of Book from one of the four bookstores at The South Coast Plaza across the street. Speaking of which in the mid 80s while the Segerstrom Center, Crystal Court and the Nordstrom expansion was going on the Carl’s Jr. (now a fancy Japanese restaurant) had a beer fountain just like the soda fountain. I’d order a western bacon combo and with the empty cup fill it up with beer! Some construction workers saw me “you need some help with that beer, kid.” My reply was a simple grin and a “No.”

As time went by it slowly became an art house and started falling in disrepair. With Edwards bankruptcy and Segerstrom selling the land and buildings (including The Noguchi Garden) to the city of Costa Mesa the theatre was demolished and a parking structure is now in its place.

1980s

Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid

Conan The Barbarian

Visiting Hours

E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial

A Clockwork Orange (re-release)

First Blood

High Road to China

Tootsie

The Dark Crystal

Videodrome

Racing With The Moon

Return of The Jedi

Never Say Never Again

Gremlins

Moscow On The Hudson

Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom

All of Me

Fandango

Return To Oz

Explorers

The Goonies

Pee Wee’s Big Adventure

Agnes of God

Weird Science

Lucas

Stand By Me

Blue Velvet

True Stories

Children of A Lesser God

Sid and Nancy

Gothic

The Doctor and The Devils

Platoon

Empire of The Sun

After Hours

Out of Africa

Slamdance

Bull Durham

Monkey Shines

Tapeheads

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Drugstore Cowboy

1990s

What About Bob?

Kids In The Hall:Brain Candy

The Full Monty

Jackie Brown

Sour Grapes

I Went Down

Ravenous

Elizabeth

EDWARDS SOUTH COAST

On the other side of Westin Hotel at The Segerstrom Performing Arts area sat another of my favorite theaters, The Edwards South Coast Plaza. One of the first commercial buildings built on Segerstrom property, it was originally a Fox Theater with a massive screen with the first film being THE SOUND OF MUSIC. Later the screen was turned into two auditoriums and called The South Coast Plaza II. Mann then purchased it and behind it built a new large format screen. In 1977 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND screened here in 70mm one of the few theaters in the country to screen it in that format. It was then that I first stepped into this theater. I would see RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK here about 10 of the 12 times I saw it. This was another of my favorite theaters but sadly fell victim to Edwards bankruptcy it’s now a green lawn. Sometimes one can see me like a ghost wondering around Segerstrom Plaza searching for my beloved movie theaters.

1970s

Close Encounters of The Third Kind 70MM

Good Guys Wear Black

Prophecy: The Monster Movie

1980s

Raiders of The Lost Ark 70MM

Poltergeist

The Best Little Whore House In Texas

Krull

Trading Places

The Empire Strikes Back (re-release) 70MM

Twilight Zone: The Movie

The Bounty

Cat’s Eye

Highlander

Beverly Hills Cop II

Colors

1990s

Back To The Future II

Terminator 2 70MM

The Shadow

True Lies

Seven

Good Will Hunting

EDWARDS HARBOR & WILSON

I liked this Theater a lot. It was two large screens and it was quiet and quaint and there was a Crown Books next to it. It was designed by Pearson and Wuesthoff, who also designed The Edwards Big Newport. It was in a strip mall and there was parking in front and behind just like it’s box office. It was an old style strip mall probably from the 60s. I liked coming here with my mom, even if we didn’t go to a movie there was a fabric store and I think a Penny’s as well and a Coco’s down the street. I saw many great films here as well. Sadly the whole strip mall was torn down for a Home Depot because there aren’t enough of those. The Chuck E Cheese is still there though. Why? Who knows.

1980s

Time Bandits

The House of Wax 3D (re-release)

Treasure of The Four Crowns 3D

Jaws 3D

Sixteen Candles

The Road Warrior

Airplane II: The Sequel

Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life

Footloose

Undercover

Reckless

Against All Odds

Police Academy

Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan Lord of The Apes

Romancing The Stone

Sixteen Candles

The Last Starfighter

The Karate Kid

Purple Rain

Witness

Beverly Hills Cop

Starman

Down and Out In Beverly Hills

Tin Men

Someone To Watch Over Me

Under Cover

They Live

Batman

Shocker

1990s

Tremors

Lord of The Flies

Flatliners

City Slickers

Shattered

Universal Soldier

Nowhere To Run

Hard Target

EDWARDS BIG NEWPORT

This is thee best theater I’ve ever been to, not so much anymore. This screen had the largest screen outside of New York, I don’t know if it still does. I saw STAR WARS the second time and was completely awestruck with it 1500 hundred seats massive wrap around curtain; this was thee place to see big releases and was my go to theater for those films. I was surprised that RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK didn’t play here, I went to the Cinedome for that one.

The theater is still nice but it has the giant lazy boy seats now and is expensive, so I don’t go. The Revenant was probably the last film I saw there.

1970s

Star Wars

Jaws 2

Doctor Zhivago (70mm)

2001: A Space Odyssey

Revenge of The Pink Panther

1980s

The Empire Strikes Back (70mm)

Reds (70mm)

Star Trek II The Wrath of Kahn

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (70mm)

Return of The Jedi (70mm)

Brainstorm (70mm)

Blue Thunder (advanced screening)

Something Wicked This Way Comes

The Right Stuff

Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom (70mm)

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

Gremlins

Amadeus

2010

Dune

1984

Top Gun

Aliens

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Willow

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Tucker: A Man and His Dreams

Ishtar

The Untouchables

Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade

Batman (70mm)

Black Rain

Born On The Fourth of July

Always

1990s

Hunt For Red October

Back To The Future III

Total Recall

Dick Tracy

Ghost

Arachnophobia

Darkman

Goodfellas

Dances With Wolves

Godfather III

The Doors

Backdraft

Robin Hood Prince of Thieves

Cape Fear

Hook

Patriot Games

Batman Returns

Under Siege

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

A Few Good Men

Falling Down

Jurassic Park

The Fugitive

Clear and Present Danger

Broken Arrow

Mission Impossible

Independence Day

Escape From L.A.

Seven Years In Tibet

Titanic

Great Expectations

The Zero Effect

Lost In Space

Godzilla

2000s

Saving Private Ryan

The Avengers

Waking Ned Devine

Mighty Joe Young

The Matrix

The 13th Warrior

The Fight Club

THE EDWARDS NEWPORT LIDO

1980s

Brazil

EDWARDS MESA

This was torn down to make a Boarders Book Store and now that’s gone.

1980s

Oxford Blues

UA THE CITY SHOPPING CENTER ORANGE

This was torn down to build The Block or whatever they call it now. There’s a large AMC there now. This is where I saw most of the midnight movies during the 80s.

1970s

Corvette Summer

Island of Dr Moreau

Orca

Race For Your Life Charlie Brown

1980s

On The Right Track

The Thing

Friday The 13th Part 3D

Dawn Of The Dead (most of my Midnight viewings here)

Eraserhead (midnight)

Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn

Three Amigos

The Toxic Avenger

The Curse

The Outing

Killer Klowns From Outer Space

Amazon Women On The Moon

The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck

1990s

Drop Dead Fred

Highway To Hell

Leprechaun

EDWARDS FASHION ISLAND

1990s

Misery

L.A. Story

101 Dalmatians

Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country

Pinocchio

Cool World

Fire In The Sky

Posse

Snow White and The Seven Dwarves

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

Reality Bites

Natural Born Killers

Serial Mom

Dolores Claiborne

The Frighteners

Tomorrow Never Dies

The Big Lebowski

Tarzan and The Lost City

Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas

EDWARDS JAMBOREE

The Man In The Iron Mask

EDWARDS COSTA MESA

This was the very first Edwards theater and was the first first run theater in Orange County and was designed by Schwager & Destatoff. The building is still there but has been converted to offices.

1970s

Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heats Club Band

1980s

The Man Who Saw Tomorrow

Cannonball Run

The Legend of The Lone Ranger

Poltergeist

Under The Volcano

Red Dawn

Supergirl

Full Metal Jacket

The Abyss

Lethal Weapon III

EDWARDS TRIANGLE SQUARE

1990s

Spawn

I Saw What You Did Last Summer

A Life Less Ordinary

Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil

Wag The Dog

SOUTH COAST VILLAGE MANN/UA/EDWARDS/REGENCY

This theater along with the Big Newport and a couple other ones are the only survivors from my childhood. It’s now OC’s main “art house” and I still go here from time to time. They just recently installed the horrible lazy boy seats unfortunately, but it still looks the same despite the many name changes. I remember coming here when I was ten to see a double of SLITHIS and TOURIST TRAP and missing out on the SLITHIS survival kit, I was sad and the girl gave me a free popcorn. I was introduced to my favorite band The Cramps when I snuck in to see URGH! A MUSIC WAR when I was 13, why it was rated R, who knows. This was another theater I’d go to when I was ditching school, honestly though was I ditching or just attending my film school?

1970s

Grease

Tourist Trap

Slithis

Winter Kills

1980s

Urgh! A Music War

Cat People

Poltergeist

The Hitcher

Lifeforce

Invaders from Mars

Link

Straight To Hell

Hairspray

1990s

Cry Baby

Unforgiven

Crumb

Lone Star

Kissing A Fool

The Big Lebowski

Henry Fool

Pi

Cube

Little Voice

2010s

45 Years

Roma

Mary Queen of Scotts

ROSSMORE SUPERSAVER

1990s

RoboCop II

Miami Blues

Bird On A Wire

The Cutting Edge

Austin Powers International Man of Mystery

THE ORANGE CITY CENTURY THEATERS

This is where I first saw STAR WARS and in 70mm. At one time the theatre was really nice, it had two large screens that where converted to four. This was my favorite dollar theater in the 90s. The theater along with the Mexican restaurant, I want to say it was a Don José, was torn down to expand the parking lot for The Block, a Citywalk type of shopping mall.

1970s

Star Wars 70mm

1980s

Raise The Titanic

Psycho II

Psycho III

Heathers

Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure

1990s

Edward Scissorhands

Thelma and Louise

Naked Gun 2 1/2

Hot Shots

My Girl

The Crying Game

Fried Green Tomatoes

The Lawnmower Man

Basic Instinct

Raising Cain

Forever Young

Fearless

Schindler’s List

Blown Away

Pulp Fiction

UA ORANGE MALL

A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors

BALBOA LANDMARK

This theater has been around for a very long time. Located on the Balboa Peninsula by The Fun Zone, the Balboa was originally a Ritz Theater opening in 1928. In the 70s it became a Pussycat Adult Theater. In the late 70s through the late 80s it was a revival house much like The New Beverly in Los Angeles and I believe it was a sister theater to The Nuart. In the 90s it was a true art house theater but it didn’t last long. Someone sunk a couple of million to renovate it and supposedly it’s to become a playhouse. I miss this theater very much.

1980s

Night of The Living Dead

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Citizen Kane

The Magnificent Ambersons

Clockwork Orange

The Road Warrior

The Man Who Fell To Earth

Van Gough

1990s

Dr. Caligari

Frankenhooker

Henry: A Portrait of A serial killer

Brain Damaged

Rocky Horror Picture Show

EDWARDS CHARTER CENTER

1980s

Young Sherlock Holmes

Aliens

Maximum Overdrive

Roxanne

Three Men and A Baby

Look Who’s Talking

1990s

Sleeping With The Enemy

JFK

Army of Darkness

EDWARDS FIVE POINTS

This is now an Old Navy store as if there aren’t enough of those.

1970s

Battlestar Galactica (sensoround)

Starcrash

Butch and Sundance: The Early Days

1980s

Airplane

Somewhere In Time

9 To 5

Dragonslayer

Escape From New York

Stripes

Taps

Heavy Metal

Conan The Barbarian

The Beastmaster

Trail Of The Pink Panther

Still of The Night

Terms of Endearment

The Dead Zone

1990s

Silence of The Lambs

Dead Again

Single White Female

EDWARDS WOODBRIDGE IRVINE

1990s

The Two Jakes

EDWARDS STANTON VILLAGE

1980s

Santa Clause The Movie

Spies Like Us

House

Out Of Africa

The Color Purple

Enemy Mine

Radioactive Dreams

Pretty In Pink

Big Trouble In Little China

Legend

Back To School

The Fly

Project X

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

Blue Velvet

Crocodile Dundee

The Color of Money

Deadly Friend

Peggy Sue Got Married

Soul Man

Something Wild

Tai-Pan

The Mosquito Coast

The Golden Child

The Little Shop of Horrors

Some Kind Of Wonderful

Predator

The Witches of Eastwick

Moonstruck

Twins

The Naked Gun

Spaceballs

Adventures In Babysitting

Innerspace

Jaws The Revenge

RoboCop

The Living Daylights

Stakeout

Hellraiser

Three O’ Clock High

Barfly

Baby Boom

Near Dark

Married To The Mob

A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master

Alien Nation

1969

Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure

1990s

Hardware

Split Second

Alien 3

Honey, I Blew Up The Kids

Candyman

Grumpy Old Men

Naked Gun 33 1/2

Village Of The Damned

EDWARDS UNIVERSITY TOWN CENTER

1980s

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension

Brazil

Miller’s Crossing

Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday

EDWARDS BRISTOL SANTA ANA

1980s

Flash Gordon

Creepshow

Inseminoid

Hey Good Looking!

The House On Sorority Row

Galaxy of Terror

The Evil Dead

The Hunger

Night of The Zombies

The Final Terror

The Power

Of Unknown Origin

Children of The Corn

Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter

The Terminator

Terror In The Isles

The Breakfast Club

Friday The 13th Part 5: A New Beginning

Commando

F/X

The Hidden

The Dungeon Master

Pet Semetery

1990s

Night Of The Living Dead (1990)

ORANGE CINEDOME

This was another major Orange County 70mm Theater. It had two large Domes that could play 70mm. I first saw RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK here with my mom. The theater wasn’t very nice, ones feet always stuck to the floor, but it was one of the first with stadium style seating. The concession stand had turnstiles and was chaotic. It was torn down to build townhouses, as if there aren’t enough of those.

1970s

The Black Stallion 70mm

1941

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

The Black Hole

The Electric Horseman

1980s

The Empire Strikes Back 70mm

Stir Crazy

Sharkey’s Machine

Neighbors

Clash of The Titans

Superman II

History of The World Pt. One

Raiders of The Lost Ark

Rocky III

Firefox

Blade Runner

Star Trek II The Wrath of Kahn

WarGames

Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom

Teachers

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

Silverado

Prizzi’s Honor

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

The Mission

The Lost Boys

The Running Man

The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen

1990s

Jacob’s Ladder

Home Alone

Barton Fink

The Adams Family

Forrest Gump

Interview With A Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles

Batman Forever

The Phantom

Nixon

12 Monkeys

Fargo

James and The Giant Peach

Kingpin

Bevis and Butthead Do America

The People vs Larry Flint

Heavy Metal (re-release)

A Simple Plan

The Green Mile

Man On The Moon

AMC MAIN PLACE

1980s

X The Unheard Music

The Big Town

The Last Emperor

Parents

Kindergarten Cop (shot at this mall)

EL CAPITAN

1990s

The Rocketeer

EDWARDS PIERSIDE PAVILION 6

1990s

The People Under The Stairs

The Mask

Apollo 13

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

Goldeneye

EDWARDS WESTMINSTER 10

1990s

Wayne’s World

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Dr. Giggles

The Bodyguard

Matinee

Bad Girls

Island of Dr. Moreau

The Cable Guy

2010s

War Of The Planet Of The Apes

EDWARDS MARKET PLACE 10

Outbreak

U-Turn

UA BEUNA PARK MALL

1980s

Day of The Dead

UA LONG BEACH MARKET PLACE 6

1980s

Class of 1984

Don’t Go Into The Woods Alone

The Philadelphia Experiment

Bachelor Party

Revenge of The Nerds

Dreamscape

Sheena

Dawn of The Dead (Midnight Movies)

Heavy Metal (Midnight Movies)

AMC MARINA PACIFICA 12

Scrooged

AMC ARIZONA

1990s

Beethoven

Sneakers

Groundhog Day

A Nightmare Before Christmas

AMC HORTON PLAZA SAN DIEGO

1990s

Sleepwalkers

HOLLYWOOD PACIFIC

1980s

The Thing

THE CHINESE THEATRE

1980s

Raiders of The Lost Ark

Tron

Greystoke The Legend of Tarzan Lord of The Apes

Halloween III: The Season of The Witch

1990s

The Crow

L.A. Confidential

Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace

WESTWOOD

1980s

Rivers Edge

Raising Arizona

The Witches of Eastwick

Ironweed

A Fish Called Wanda

The Blob

The Blair Witch Project

THE NUART

1980s

Wings of Desire

1990s

Hong Kong festivals

Dead Alive

Meet The Feebles

Mystery Train

THE NuWHILSHIRE

1990s

City of Lost Children

The Beyond

TORRENCE

Bright Lights, Big City

Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Breed

BEVERLY CENTER AMC

Walker

Track 39

FOUNTAIN VALLEY DRIVE–IN

This was on Brookhurst and Talbert and was demolished to build a Kaiser Permamente, as if we don’t have enough hospital stuff.

1980s

Risky Business

HIGHWAY 39 DRIVE-IN

Built in 1955, Pacific Theaters Highway 39 (Beach Blvd) Drive-In Theater was one of the largest in the West sporting over 1600 spaces and one of the largest concession stands, STRATEGIC AIR COMAND was the first film played here.

I never much cared for drive-ins and I only went here a hand full of times mostly as a teenager and never with my family as they didn’t like the format either. One of William Bonin’s (the freeway killer) was abducted by here and murdered so this place was forbidden. As a teenager I’d catch the bus here and was always having perverts try to pick me up, one even tried to grab me. This area especially the other side of the 22 on Garden Grove Blvd was filled with pervo’s and creeps, lots of prostitution and homos during the 70s and 80s. It’s been cleaned up and you’d never know it was like that. When I’d walk to Edwards Cinema West I’d always carry a big buck knife with me in my pocket. Funny, I never got messed with at night it was always in broad daylight.

This theater should have been declared a landmark but instead it was demolished to make way for a Walmart, as if we don’t have enough of those.

1980s

Pieces

RoboCop

Fatal Attraction

Wiseguys

Tough Guys

FILM SYMPOSIUM CAL STATE LONG BEACH UNIVERSITY

The Step Father

Creepshow II

Hellbound: Hellraiser II

The Mission

THE CINERAMA DOME

1980s

Apocalypse Now

Close Encounters of The Third Kind

1990s

Dark City

2000s

2001: A Space Odyssey

UA MONTCLAIR PLAZA

Sleepy Hollow

AMC BURBANK 6

1990’s

Mars Attacks

Starship Troopers

Alien: Resurrection

Bullworth

The X Files: Fight The Future

Armageddon

The Mask of Zorro

Saving Private Ryan

Ronin

Apt Pupil

Vampires

Go

Eyes Wide Shut

The Sixth Sense

Bowfinger

Stigmata

American Beauty

The Three Kings

Bringing Out The Dead

Dogma

The World Is Not Enough

Any Given Sunday

Magnolia

AMC 10 BURBANK MALL

Very Bad Things

Existenz

Stir of Echoes

The Omega Code

AMC BURBANK 14

Wild Things

Deep Impact

The Truman Show

Out Of Sight

Something About Mary

Disturbing Behavior

Halloween: H20

Bride of Chucky

Pleasantville

The Siege

Enemy of The State

Psycho

A Thin Red Line

The Facilty

Another Day In Paradise

Summer of Sam

The Haunting

Detroit Rock City

Mumford

Bats

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

Sleepy Hollow

The End of Days

LOS FELIX THEATRE

The Fight Club

DOLLAR THEATER ON FAIRFAX

ELECTION

UNIVERSAL CITY WALK

I absolutely hated this theater along with most of Burbank theaters.

1990s

The Talented Mr Ripley

2000s

300