There's a difference between a multiplex and a movie theater. The former is designed to show as many movies as possible to as many people as possible as many times as possible throughout the day. And while there's nothing inherently wrong with seeing a movie at a big multiplex, the sheer number of options they provide mean there's not much sense of community.

It's unlikely the people working concessions know your name. You don't constantly see the same moviegoers over and over. No one hangs around in the lobby afterward to talk about the movie with strangers. That's a bit different at a more niche movie theater, though. The smaller the venue, the more personal the experience is bound to be, and there was one theater in particular that seemed to offer a communal movie watching experience unlike anything anywhere else in the world: the New Beverly in Los Angeles, California.

The theater itself has undergone a lot of controversial changes lately (Quentin Tarantino took control of it and decided to turn it into his personal movie theater), but one of its former employees, Julia Marchese, made a wonderful documentary about what the theater used to represent before the recent changes. Her film is called Out of Print, and today she put it online for anyone to watch for free. And even if you've never been to the New Beverly before (I haven't), hearing all about this mystical movie palace will put a thousand smiles on your face-- until you read about the current state of affairs behind it, at least.

This was a family-operated place where David Lynch might wander in seemingly from nowhere to do a surprise Q&A or where you could spend a week watching movies personally programmed by Patton Oswalt or Stuart Gordon or where screen legend Clu Gulager has a plaque on his very own seat. You're simply not going to get that kind of experience at your local multiplex. And even if the New Bev no longer is the theater showcased in this documentary, it's heartwarming to know how many memories it gave so many different people over the decades.

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