What was your first showing like?

[IkranTswonya]

I'm curious, for the rest of the forum, what was your first showing like?

My wife and I went on opening night. I had been excited about Avatar since seeing the trailer back in the summer. I was able to get tickets for a Friday evening showing online, though we had really terrible seats - in the front (well, about 5 rows back) and on the far left of the screen.

We see a good number of movies each year - I would estimate probably 30-40 a year in the theatre. A Friday or Saturday with my wife and I usually consists of a nice meal followed by a trip to the cinema. It's just one of the things we really enjoy.

Despite the 3D looking a little off, I was transported into one of the most amazing cinematic experiences of my life. But the best part, for me, was right at the end. After a movie that messed with my emotions all the way through, right at the very end of the movie, when they zoom in on Jake's eyes ... and they open ... and those drum hits ... then AVATAR appears on the screen? At that point the theatre literally burst into some of the loudest applause I've ever heard in a theatre.

The last movie I saw before Avatar that got any applause in the theatre was Return of the King.

So what was it like for you guys? What made your first trip to Pandora so special?

[stdout]

One of the friends I went with the first time kept making sarcastic comments which spoiled the immersion, and I had a cold, but I still loved it.

[Jamza]

My first showing was a last minute night out with friends.

We decided to go to the cinema and Avatar was the only film showing at the time (its quite a small cinema).

I am ashamed that my first thought before going to see Avatar was "Meh, this is just another over-hyped film, it will suck."

[Iknimaya]

I really knew nothing about it before going in, except that it was super hyped. I had seen a short preview on Conan, but no other advertisements. My buddy and I were at the mall just enjoying a free day and I said "Hey let's go see that new Avatar movie, I heard it was good." Little did I know that I would walk out of the theater as a new person, seeing the world with fresh eyes.

[Apollo]

Mine was very analytical, in a good way. Being a film enthusiast (and a wanna be actor and director in the future), I wondered how he did all of that. Plus me, my brother and father went to go see it together; on the way home, we couldn't stop talking about how hot Neytiri was.

When I went to the second viewing, everything changed... everything.......

[omaticaya]

I was going with two friends a few days after it was released and I was pretty excited because I had seen the trailer and had the feeling that this movie could be one of the greatest I have seen for a long time. I was the only one of the three of us who had seen the trailer, though, so I said to my friends just that they are going to like it. I woludn't want them to expect to much.
After the movie we were speechless and completely overwhelmed, they because they hadn't expected anything, me, because I just had expected one of the greatest movie I've seen for a long time, but what I just had seen was by far the most outstanding movie I've experienced in my whole life.

[Seamus]

My first viewing of Avatar was the most cathartic and inwardly validating experience I have ever had.

I went to see it with a friend, who only interrupted my immersion with a couple of comments. He had seen the film a couple of weeks before (I saw it in Madison, WI, on my way from North Dakota to Tennessee). Basically my eyes were wet the whole time, with extra wetness at appropriate moments . I recognized Pandora as a very realistic representation of my home. I had never seen it before, but when i saw it I recognized it. I recognized the way the People conducted themselves with each other. It was also wonderful to see the "Indians" win for a change. I was literally (silently) sobbing in response to Neytiri when she jumped up and screamed "Eywa has heard you!" I was, after all, seated next to a male friend...

A couple of years ago I had a dream where I was given the choice to go with one of several species of alien beings before me. There were tall greys, short greys, blue guys, reptiles, and one Leonine ET all by himself. I knew it was a male from his mane as well as his energy. Also he was holding a jar in his hands which contained a genetic experiment so delicate that it required his constant attention. I chose to go with him because he felt like family.

This dream came back to me after the film, and added to the conviction that "I know these people!"

I cried during Dances with Wolves... but not through the whole dang film!

I also did not want to talk about the film for a couple of hours after watching it. I was still downloading and processing the massive amount of archetypal data that I was opened to by the film. My father had the same response. I was surprised to hear that many others, including Zoe Saldana's 10-year-old niece, had the same experience.

Pure awesomeness.

[Eltu]

What is wrong with me tonight?

I read this topics name as
"What was your first showering like?"

--

[Human No More]

Really, I only saw Avatar because I'd heard a bit about it and seen the trailer once and just happened to be bored with an evening and £10 to spare.
I actually bought food for it... what a waste of money, because I just forgot about it fairly early in, and was just sitting there, watching.

Afterwards was really weird, I felt kind of happy, but wasn't really sure why, I recommended it to a few people but don't think they ever did see it I also felt that distant feeling that I'm sure will be so familiar now to many people, but didn't really think about it then. PAD didn't set in until the next day, and I had no idea what had caused it until a day or so after that.

[txen]

Originally Posted by Seamus

My first viewing of Avatar was the most cathartic and inwardly validating experience I have ever had.

I also did not want to talk about the film for a couple of hours after watching it. I was still downloading and processing the massive amount of archetypal data that I was opened to by the film.

Pure awesomeness.

Very well said

That sums up my experience as well. I was stunned. I'm surprised that I was able to put one foot in front of the other and walk out of theater. It was incredible. Hours? It was more like a whole day. I was not expecting to be hit so very hard.

[RizZy]

I think you've got something on your mind Eltu


On topic, I knew very little about the film, I knew I wanted to see it but this was mainly from all the hype - this was February time, I heard a couple of guys at work mention they were going to see it & I asked them if I could tag along. We went to the Imax cinema & I was simply blown away for the entire film, I'd never seen a film that literally took me to another planet, the whole thing was beyond epic.

[Sacred Tsahaylu]

Incredible
I remember it vaguely, as though through veil of mist, as I was totally encapsulated by the film. I was on the edge of the seat for the whole 3 hours. It was that incredible that I (as mentioned in A-F) lost motor control at the end of the film. I was stuck in the seat for a while trying to comprehend the film

[Sovereign]

My friends had decided two days before opening "Hey we're going to see Avatar," they presented me with a link and ordered me to buy a ticket. I had no idea what Avatar was, having not seen previews, heard any hype or really, known that it existed.

The viewing itself was rather subdued. No applause, no cheering, no crying or anything (that I heard). Still, it was IMAX 3D.

[Tyrannosaurus]

I saw it the day after it came out. Just because I had nothing better to do. Honestly, from the trailer I thought it looked a little weird...

I was like, in a trance the whole time. XD It actually wasn't till hours later after I first saw it that I realized how amazing it was. I had PAD, but didn't realize it until I joined AF. I was so glad that I wasn't the only one who felt that way...

[SaphirJD]

Gone with a friend when avatar was coming into austria cinemas. Had quite low expecations but the hell i was amazed in the End.. A perfect experience no matter at what part you look at.

Most loved movie of all time for me