Sheltered in place, safe at home, we have never watched more movies. And we’ve never missed going to the movies more.
Don’t get me wrong. Streaming is great. There we are, on the couch, discovering a terrific film like Finding Your Feet (really, give it a try, Netflix).
But it’s not the same as hopping in the car, going to a theater, buying some popcorn and waiting for the lights to dim and the movie to begin.
And, because I cherish Rochester connections, it’s even a point of pride that the movie may have been shot on film made by Kodak in Rochester, as many directors, even in this digital age, prefer film.
Maybe the Kodak connection is one reason that Rochester is such a movie town. So many people here once worked at Kodak. Some still do. It’s natural that they, and everyone else, would love film.
Perhaps, that’s why Jack Garner, the longtime Democrat and Chronicle movie critic who died on July 5 at age 75, had iconic status here. He moderated the film conversations, started and settled the debates.
It’s also because of Kodak and its founder that we have the George Eastman Museum, a national treasure devoted to the preservation of film. (With restrictions, the museum reopens July 26.)
People come to the museum to study film, to see film. Among others, it attracted the silent film star Louise Brooks. She arrived in 1956, lived quietly until her death in 1985, became friends with Garner.
So, Rochester’s a movie town; it’s got the credentials. But most other towns are, or at least were.
Movie-going was an ingrained habit, one that survived the arrival of television and even the appearance of the internet and the advent of streaming. Now we’ll have to see whether the habit has been broken by a pandemic.
Theaters here may reopen at the end of the month. There will be restrictions, of course. People will have to wear masks and observe social distancing. I’m apprehensive, not sure that I’ll be first in line, or even in line.
But eventually, I hope, it will be OK to go to the movies.
We’ll buy our popcorn, settle into our seats; the lights will dim; the film will flicker on; we’ll get lost in the story; and, for a while, perhaps just a while, our worries will be on hold.
Remarkable Rochesterians
Let’s add the name of this film critic to the list of Remarkable Rochesterians at data.democratandchronicle.com/remarkable-rochesterians/
Jack Garner (1945-2020): He became the film critic for the Democrat and Chronicle in 1977 and then also served as the chief film critic for Gannett News Service from 1987 until his retirement in 2007. A Pennsylvania native and 1967 graduate of St. Bonaventure University, he did graduate work at Syracuse University before joining the Times-Union in Rochester in 1970 as a reporter. He took dictation and pieced together some of the stories that earned the paper a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the 1971 riot at Attica prison. He later moved to the Democrat and Chronicle, reporting and editing before becoming the movie critic. He was the second recipient of the George Eastman Medal of Honor from the George Eastman Museum.
More: Remembering a master class with Jack Garner who loomed larger than life — even on Zoom
From his home in Livingston County, retired senior editor Jim Memmott will document the new normal of living in a socially distant world. He can be reached at jmemmott@gannett.com or write Box 274, Geneseo, NY, 14454.
More: Jack Garner (1945-2020): Beloved film critic through the years
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July 18, 2020 at 05:04PM
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Longing for the big-screen brings memories of remarkable movie critic Jack Garner - Democrat & Chronicle
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