Special Collections Shows Silver-Screen Classics

By Eva Armendariz

The buzz of the room quiets as the lights dim. Finally, the chance has come to experience the classic 'silver screen.'

The BYU L. Tom Perry Special Collections opens the Special Collections archive and invites BYU students to experience classic movies in a unique environment.

Each month this semester, the Special Collections will present a free classic film for students'' enrichment and enjoyment. Each film is briefly introduced, providing viewers with film background and suggestions on what the audience should look for.

'It''s to enhance people''s appreciation of classic film, and give them an opportunity to see them in a venue which they wouldn''t ordinarily get to see it in,' said James D''Arc, curator of the BYU Motion Picture Archive. 'There''s a perception that Special Collections just has old pioneer diaries and genealogical records. Film is very much a part of our cultural heritage.'

Located on the first floor of the Harold B. Lee Library, the Special Collections Auditorium presents viewers with a unique cinema experience.

'I like seeing the classical movies on the screen. It''s really cool to see,' said Brittany Johnson a 24-year-old American studies major from Lakeview, Ore., and Special Collections receptionist.

Shelby Pouliot, a 21-year-old history major from Barrinton, N.H., also adores classic films.

'I love old movies because I am constantly mesmerized with the glamour, the wit and the sparkle that accompanies them,' Pouliot said in an e-mail. 'One is privileged to watch old movies to hear lines that are perfectly crafted and to hear actors who deliver them well.'

Thanks to raked seating, the theater presents each viewer with a perfect seat and clear line of sight. The auditorium is also smaller, creating a type of intimacy between the movie and the audience, D''Arc said. The original 16-millimeter films are shown through a light projector.

'Film presents a warmer, more full-bodied type of picture than just projecting an electronic signal,' D''Arc said. 'You get a much better picture, with better colors; even psychologists tell us that an illuminated image, as opposed to an electronic image, registers better in the mind. The main advantage is that you are seeing these films as a group, in a darkened theater ...with other people it becomes a whole new movie. The audience is 50 percent of the experience.'

Similar to great literary works, vintage films offer viewers the chance to step into a different time period.

'I do love old movies,' said Rebekah Allred, a 19-year-old political science major from San Diego, Calif., in an e-mail. 'I think that old films are essential to culture because they are classic and timeless, and for me they have always been a way to connect to another era completely outside my own.'