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What keeps you coming back to the Marathons? What part (or parts) or them enabled the Great Marathon Machine to really get its hooks into you, turning you into a devoted member of our cinema cult? Why do you find it impossible to tear yourself away from these events? And for some of you, what motivates you to travel great distances just to come back each year?
I've been obsessed with all kinds of movies for almost as long as I can remember, but I only found out about the marathons about 3-4 years ago. Since then I've looked forward to them each year, and I've attended whenever I could make the trip. It's like a mini-vacation for me. I attend primarily for the experience of seeing a number of classics all at once in a theater setting - there are so few repertory screenings within driving distance (the Athena Cinema, which is only an hour away from me, is the only other theatre I can think of that schedules older films somewhat regularly). Seeing 2001 on a big screen a few years ago was a great experience - no one riffed, thankfully - as well as The Exorcist, Dr. Strangelove, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and others. Each year I keep hoping I can convince other fellow film fanatics from my hometown to make the trip with me, but so far it's just been myself and my sister. This year's lineup sounds like the best since I started attending (The Shining, The Wicker Man, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Invisible Man, Nosferatu, Demons and Tenebrae - and even the premieres sound really good), so I'm hoping that perhaps this year I'll finally convince someone else to tag along.
-S.