Monday evening I got some laserdiscs I won on eBay, and wanted to test them out... OK, really I'm so geeky I was just too excited and wanted to play them, but it was right in the middle of getting ready for dinner and watching "2001: A Space Odyssey" in its entirety wasn't an option.
I put the disc in and the overture started right away (remember the good old days when you didn't have to sit through the manufacturer's logo, the FBI warning, and whatever else they lock down at the front of a DVD?). Lili came and sat down next to me, and stared at the black screen as if waiting for something to happen. Finally, she looked up and me and asked, "When's the movie going to start?" So I told her about how movies used to have a prologue that played while people were being seated. When we finally got to the feature, we both smiled. I saw it and remembered seeing it at the Midland Theater here in KC, an old-fashioned movie palace. Lili smiled for the same reason anyone smiles when they see it for the first time: that most famous theme playing as the sun, moon and Earth align is such an impressive bit of film, even 40 years later. The music built, "da-Da-DAA-DUM-DAAAA... bom-bom-bom-bom," and with each horn blast, Lili giggled louder until the climax sent her into a fit of laughter, the kind that makes her cover her mouth. I couldn't have imagined a better moment.
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