1986 Transformers movie in Melbourne cinema 2 January 2023

[Paulbot]

Just learnt that on the New Years Day public holiday, the Astor Theatre in Melbourne (St Kilda) is showing a double feature of Transformers The Movie and G.I.Joe The Movie from 2pm.

Details here

https://www.astortheatre.net.au/films/the-transformers-the-movie

There's a very likely chance I will be attending.

[Demonac]

I'll be there. Family and all.

[Bidoofdude]

I'm interested, can't say for sure if I'll go though.

[Demonac]

So...is anyone at the Astor watching this?

[Paulbot]

I’m being anti-social, but I am here.

[griffin]

I hope it was a lot of fun, seeing it on a big screen with theatre sound.

If I had heard about this a couple weeks ago, I think I would have flown down to see it (both movies actually)... but then I would have had to rush back to the airport to get a flight back.

[Paulbot]

They did a little social promotion last week, but if I'd not see the post on a Transformers Facebook page I think I would have missed it.

There was a fairly good crowd for the showing. The programmer came out and said he'd been looking to do this for a while and uncertain about if there'd be an audience and seemed pleased with the turnout.

Most of the audience was men in their 30s and 40s (like me and Demonac) and some women and children scattered around.

I'm not sure what source they were playing the movie from. I presume the blu-ray, particularly as there were a couple of shots that looked worse than I expect them to and I presume it's because of retouching/upgrading for that release. It was the original print - so no opening crawl, no closing narration, and the foul-mouthed Spike. On the big screen I noticed a few minor details in the art that I've never noticed before, but just little things mostly. The sound was just a bit too loud for my liking but it added to the effect.

The audience dropped off noticeable for the screening of the G.I.Joe film, but despite less people the audience reactions were louder. TFTM was watched in pretty much quiet appreciation (although Spike's cussing got a reaction) while some of the more questionable moments of the JOE movie got big laughs.

I've never see the Joe movie before, I've never seen a full episode of that cartoon either, so I stuck around to watch it. It's definitely the lesser, felt cheaper and more made-for-video than for theatres. I kept getting thrown by the movie using so much music from the TF cartoon - I presume both cartoons shared music? Seeing a big G.I.Joe vs Cobra battle start while Transformers fighting music was playing was odd each time. Also the Cobra Commander I know from the Marvel Comics is so different from his cartoon version, I can't believe that's the voice that so many people have in their minds for him.

Before each film they showed some of the PSAs and toy commercials from each franchise (those looked shocking on the big screen, particularly those TF PSAs that were never broadcast. A couple of new movie trailers were in the mix too but it seem a real missed opportunity that they didn't show the Rise of the Beasts trailer. The audience would have loved that. Instead we got the new Indiana Jones film which is also of course going to resonate with the kids of the 80s but there's a whole new Transformers movie trailer just sitting there!

I think there's a chance they will do this again, maybe in a year or two. Will keep a look out.

[KELPIE]

Yeah, the Joe cartoon shared plenty from Transformers, music, voice actors, writers, directors....

I love the Joe movie. Such fond memories, especially that opening sequence at the Statue of Liberty.

We got a few VHS releases here in Australia for the Joe cartoon, however if you didn't seek them out at grocery stores or VHS rentals, you'd miss them easily. After going back and re-watching the series, it's interesting to note just how few episodes we got here and why my connection to certain characters varies greatly to those who grew up watching the whole thing.

[Paulbot]

Oh one other thing about watching TFTM in full for the first time in years: I had a greater appreciation for all those Studio Series 86 and Generations toys. I found myself thinking it in the underwater scene. This may have also happened if I’d watched it at home.

There were other things about the movie that stuck out as odd. I think this was because I was watching it with other people and looking it at with a fresh perspective: what would someone who hadn’t memorised this film by the time they were 10 think of this film?

[High_Q]

Sigh. I only noticed this thread today. :(

I've seen TFTM 86 end to end many times over, but never on the big screen. Always wanted the big screen experience of the movie. One day.