Technology can't top mystique of seeing a film on the big screen

Going to the movie theater in the '70s was quite an eye-opening experience. The operatic direction of violence in "The Godfather" would set the standard and be copied by various filmmakers in the years to come. "Jaws" would make audiences scream and rake in so much money, marking forever the birth of the summer "event" movie. "Star Wars" - which I saw at the age of 5 in the old Music Makers Theatres in Bricktown - was a phenomena unto itself. It was the film that ultimately started my love of the cinema. Nearly 30 years later I still smile thinking of my younger self cheering when Luke Skywalker blew up the Death Star on that big screen.

I've spent the greater part of my life writing, directing and acting in short and feature-length videos and films. This has led to the creation of an independent film company called Mindbreak Entertainment. This experience has further led me to teaching independent film for the last two years at Ocean County College.

On March 30 I was fortunate enough to have been a panelist and attend the first annual Ocean County Library film festival. It was priceless watching the faces of new filmmakers watching their work on the big screen and listening to the crowd of 250 react.

I can't help thinking this generation can't really appreciate the power of seeing a film on the big screen for the first time like mine could. Today we have illegal downloads, fast-selling DVDs and the Internet constantly giving away upcoming film secrets. Thankfully, the Middlebrook Galleria in Ocean Township shows movie classics from Thursday to Sunday afternoon now. I've just recently seen "Casablanca," and it was amazing on the big screen. These movie theaters can be testaments of time, for "Casablanca" came out the year my father was born. It's also nice seeing movies before the age of CGI [computer-generated imagery] and advance graphics. These films were truly classics and will be again to a new generation.

Watching films on the big screen first helped me to dream. Dreaming has helped me to create. Creating has led me to teaching. Teaching has helped others to dream. I'll never underestimate the power of the big screen where my dreams were born and many have been fully realized.

Darren DeBari

Brick