Going to the movies in 1978 

I was born way too late to ever experience the 70s or 80s, but these videos make me feel so warm and cozy. It's hard to explain, but it just makes me so happy

I miss the 70s and 80s so badly. I'd give anything to go back.

I still remember my mother's disgust at the box office when she discovered the price of a ticket for a child rose from 95 cents to one dollar. "A buck for a kid to see a show?" she hissed for all to hear.😄

Watching this and wishing I could teleport back in time to that line, buy a ticket and enjoy a movie in that 1978 theater🥺

I am from 64, the late 70s and 80s were the golden era for movies, huge screens, snacks and above all great atmosphere

The beautiful 70’s..!

I feel lucky to have grown up in the coolest of decades. The 70's and 80's. What a streak of movies I saw in the theater in the 70's: Snoopy, Come Home (first movie I remember seeing in the theater) Tom Sawyer, The Musical Conquest of the Planet of the Apes Earthquake The Towering Inferno The Golden Voyage of Sinbad Battle for the Planet of the Apes Jaws Rocky King Kong '76 Star Wars Close Encounters of the Third Kind A Bridge Too Far The Spy Who Loved Me Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger Superman The Movie Jaws 2 Magic (first rated R movie I saw) Moonraker Amityville Horror (filmed in my hometown where I watched some of the filming) Apocalypse Now

If I could go back, I wouldn't try to change anything, but I would appreciate everything.

I was 9 in 1978. I remember my parents took me to see my first Rated R movie that year, The Omen 2. Scared the hell out of me.

I literally can sense the smell of the theater…That buttery popcorn smell

In those days, they didn't clear out the theater after the show. If you came late to a movie, that didn't matter- you just stuck around and waited for the movie to start over, and you watched it until it started to look familiar. To this day, some people say before they leave, "This is where I came in."

$4 for an adult ticket.....today it's like $15-20

Wish I was around in '78 to see Superman. The music, Christopher Reeve and the flying magic.

I grew up in a small town and my widowed mother would take me to matinees. I was 10 in 1978 and the adult matinee prices were about $2.00 in my town. 😂 Memories. ❤

Hah, I remember when the Dorothy Hamill haircut was popular! I see a few in this video...and the short and sassy shampoo commercials she did.

notice all paying cash, thats how we did back in those days

Look how well dressed everyone is 😊 it was a big deal going to the Movies.

Love the lady that says “2 tickets to rocky please have a nice night little fella”

I was a child of the 90s and what was also special about old movie theaters was the smell they had of popcorn and of the place in general

I was 8 years old in 1978 but I love the 80s they were the best

I know it’s kind of odd, and probably even morbid to think about. But, watching these old videos, especially before the 90s, I think of all of the people in this video who are no longer here anymore, dont ask me why my brain works that way. It’s crazy to think, this was *over* 40 years ago, these moments will thankfully be kept on the RU-vid time capsule for our enjoyment, for the times we want to watch moments from the “good ole’ days”. Thank you for that, please never stop sharing these videos with us!

I was 6 in 1978. I don’t remember a lot of the 70’s, but the 80’s is what I remember the most of my whole life. I wish I could go back to then. I’d go catch some of the movies and concerts that I missed.

Whoever lived through the 1970s is lucky they got to experience Rocky and Rocky II

was born in '78. some of those early 80s days still felt very 70s 🤣

There's a clear difference behind the eyes in footage from this era when compared to human conversation today. People made direct eye contact in an easy, natural way, the kind an entire lifetime of repetition produces. They spoke clearly with sharp articulation, but it doesn't sound rehearsed, because they're comfortable being themselves rather than imitating trendsetters or holding back in fear of what others might think. There's just a natural intelligence and quickness of thought while they speak with each other. And for some, a real trepidation of having their private lives captured on camera. They couldn't guess how right they were on that one...

Ah, yes. The good old days, when you could pay to see a new movie and get change back from a $5 bill! I really miss the 70s and 80s...they were as great as you imagine they were! ❤

I was starting 11th grade in 78. Omg , Life was so simple then. But thanks to the technology of today, I can still hook up with my friends from 1978! Which I have. 😂❤👍👏

Goodbye Girl was a hilarious film! This, Julia, and The Turning Point were all Oscar- nominated for Best Film and the female stars (Marsha Mason, Jane Fonda, and Shirley MacLaine) were nominated for Best Actress.

Oh man near the start of the 80s, all the badass films at the time, especially those cheesy but unforgettable kung fu movies

I love the darkness of 70s-80s videos at night.

2:18 Good to see even famous people like Richard Dreyfuss going to a public theater back in 1978!

I worked at a movie theater in the late 70s. So many good movies. What an era to experience.

No cable tv or streaming videos and devices - it was an event to go see a big show - and a quality one at that

It's cool. Great Video. 1978 was an interesting year for movies is what in between Star Wars 77, and Apocalypse Now 79. Even though Star Wars is not there. Grease, Halloween, Jaws 2, and of course Superman are just around the corner. 👍

I wasn’t born yet, but I love watching these clip its of the past. Going to the movies was so big back in the 70’s and even 80’s😊😊😊

1978, age 6. Mom couldn't afford the movies much. However, the only movie I saw that year was the biggest one, Grease (at the AMC Marlton 8 in NJ). That was my all-time favorite movie theater experience!

Just started my teen years in 78'. Really happy to have grown up in the period I did.

Love seeing this here. I remember being 5 years old in 1978 going to movie theatres in Connecticut with a foster family seeing Disney movies and seeing Star Wars out at Theater a year earlier. This video brings back these awesome memories!

I was 12 in 1978 and saw two movies at the cinema that year: Grease and Convoy. I love Goodbye Girl, and actually saw it at a film festival where Richard Dreyfuss did a Q&A afterward. That was about 10 years ago.

The best days, I was 7, 8 in December '78.

I was very young, but the first movie I saw in the theatre was the Black Hole in 1979. (I was a little too young for Star Wars, but I did see Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi in the movies)

This brings back memories. I worked at the Avco Cinema in Westwood, CA, for a short period in the 80's. The theatre is still there, but the name has been changed to Ipic Theatres.

The theme song from The Goodbye Girl by David Gates is just so good. Listening to it along with watching this...ahhhh

Goodbye girl is still one of my favorite movies.

You know what vampire robot, funny that you put ‘78, I was born in ‘73 and I always tell people that my earliest remembrance is seeing the first Superman and Grease that year…………….I actually remember what theaters I saw them at in Miami. I tell people, you won’t believe the things you’ll still remember when you were 5 or 6 years old.

Going to the cinema was a very big deal back in the good ol days, and I don't blame them lol.

I appreciate the ambience of all this footage. I wasn't born until the early 90's but my parents are from this era.

This is the AVCO THEATRE on Wilshire blvd in Los Angeles.

I think the fashion for the girls and men back then was better.

man, the experience of waiting in line for a movie seems so foreign now. i haven't done this in a really long time, and i was born in 89.

look! a movie window with an actual working speaker. Also everyone opted for a movie instead of the Disco on this particular night.

This is amazing footage. Fantastic. It's a shame they didn't go into the screening, itself, it would have been great to see an audience watching "The Goodbye Girl".

As always, these clips you upload are beautiful...thank you! Truly the best channel ever. This 1970s fashion makes me green with envy

My brothers, born in '73 and '75, used to be dropped off at the movie theater while she went and shopped. Can't do that today!

I forgot just how different the bigger bills like 10s and 20s looked like back then vs now. Its also strange seeing everyone use paper money.

This is cool! I wasn't born just yet, but my parents lived in NYC this same time. I was born a month later.

18 in 1978, no decade was perfect, but 60’s and 70’s were great time to grow up. We had freedom that would be unimaginable now.

2:10 those prices

Totally AWESOME!! Thank you.

I'm all but certain this is the Avco that was in Westwood (Los Angeles). The movies Alien and Apocalypse Now would premiere here a year after this video was filmed. I love this channel! So much real life footage I had no idea was out there.

As someone who didn't get to experience anything until the 90's, I appreciate people like you uploading videos like these! I was born in 1992, but I'm a sucker for the olden days ❤️ My birthday is actually on Saturday, and I'll be 31, so I wonder if I'm the youngest one here 😂

Its so weird to see everyone paying with cash

I want to watch The Goodbye Girl in a theater.

The Goodbye Girl… I gotta find a day to watch that!

Omg I love this. The first thing I thought of was superman. This is amazing.

To me, August of 1978 meant going to see REVENGE OF THE PINK PANTHER

pretty quality video to be from the 70s

Unfortunately now it’s Good Bye Theater😢

@Vampire Robot: Thank you for these great videos. A correction for your description: This isn’t NYC. It’s Westwood in Los Angeles. (The street shot at 3:30 looks west on Wilshire Blvd. The Ships Galley coffee shop across the street (neon sign) was one of the finest such places ever, and is long gone. The theater is still there, but it hasn’t been an Avco in years, and it was long ago split up into tiny screens.)

Fantastic 😊

❤ Your channel. THANK YOU! Just BRILLIANT, to all who had the foresight to record these times :) Good times!

So cool. I started 10th grade that year. My parents rarely took us to movies, so I've actually never heard of the movies seen here. I'll have to look them up. It's so cool that someone had the forethought to film things like this.

1978 was the year I saw my 1st movie at the theater. I was 6 years old my mom took me to see Superman

I used to go to this theater. This is just outside of Westwood Village in West LA, Los Angeles. I remember the theater so well and there’s a famous old restaurant with the sign. I believe it’s a norms or ships? Anyone remember this I was about 15. I’m 60 now.

This is in Los Angeles-Westwood

I love The Goodbye Girl!

Look at those prices on the old letter board businesses used to use! By this time in April 1978, the 50th annual Oscars (for films made in 1977) might have already aired or were getting ready to air on April 3. Julia, The Turning Point, and The Goodbye Girl had many nominations. This may have been B-roll for a news report regarding those titles and the Academy Awards that year. The Turning Point won no awards, The Goodbye Girl won one for Best Actor Richard Dreyfus (who is wonderful in the film btw), while Julia won four including Best Supporting Actress Vanessa Redgrave whose acceptance speech was the "controversy" of the night. As for Star Wars, it was nominated for 10 awards that year but not showing at this theater on this day.

Hard to recall Jason Robards getting a top billing. I mostly remember him from movies like Quick Change as the police chief.

My mom was pregnant with me when you filmed this. 😊

Im so happy I found your channel 🎉😮

Grease Damien omen 2 and heaven can wait were my faves

Ahhhhhhhh the $4 movie and the best part was the smell of the popcorn..... memories...

That reminded me of going to the movies at Eastland Theater here in Columbus OH, in late 1979. Our school (Groveport High School) paid for the senior class to go see a collection of I recall two or three, what would likely be called grindhouse pictures (what the hell were they thinking :)). It started right as the mall was closing and we'd be in there till 3AM, with pretty much the full run of the place. I recall sitting in the darkened theater watching these utterly stupid horror movies, while my classmates were, uh, ENTERTAINING themselves in other ways. As in, taking advantage of the dark to engage in, uh, "heavy petting" :), while another guy was setting cherry bombs under some of the seats. Many others were going around the mall itself getting drunk or high (sopors or the ever-dependable weed). And remember, kiddies....we were some of the last of the baby boomers, about to reproduce! But it was all fun, the memories I'll carry for the rest of my days...as a reminder of how crazy it could be back then :)

In 1978, the federal minimum wage stood at $2.65. Considering the video's ticket price of $4, along with additional expenses at the concession stand amounting to approximately $3, it would require an adult to work for approximately 2.5 hours to cover these costs from their paycheck.

Haha I see the john travolta inspired peeps. I was born in 79 but this is still fun to look at.

Saw many movies with my dad in 1978

I was 8 years old in 78. I'll never forget the night my mom and older sisters went to see Queen in concert. So my dad took me and my brothers to go see Superman which had just been released.

when I used to get dressed up to sit in the dark for two hours! :-0

I remember long lines at the cinema. Our ticket price was $1.50 in 1977 Houston.

4.00 for a adult ticket in 1978 was expensive

45 years, amazing gideo. Wow

I'm so impressed by how fly people were dressed, just to go see a movie back then!!!!!!

A $4 movie ticket in 1978 is equivalent to about $18 in todays money so I guess ticket prices really aren't more expensive after all if you look at logically.

This has to be very early in 1978 because the movies listed all came out in 1977

People were so much more civil and polite back then

Insane clips. Where do you find this stuff?

This must have been around January 1978 because these films were released near the end of 1977.

Great video. I have fond memories of this cinema. The AVCO Center was located on Wilshire Boulevard, on the west side of Los Angeles, adjacent to Westwood Village and near the UCLA campus to the north. The theater remains under different ownership (IPIC). Behind the theater is Westwood Village Memorial Park, the final resting place of Marilyn Monroe, Hugh Hefner, Natalie Wood, Burt Lancaster, and many other Hollywood notables.

I was a little too young to go to the movies then. Some of the earliest movies I remember seeing were ET & Return of the Jedi..in the 90’s, when I was in high school, my friends worked at the theater, so I would get in for free & get free popcorn!

There was a wells Fargo bank those days?😮😂 when it was actually SAFE to be at the movies!!