Golden days of movie-going?

During a family dinner, the TV popped an ad of the newly-remade "Poseidon" which Roger Ebert described as "perfunctory". My brother and I have watched the original in primary school as it was part of the - if I remember correctly - "English literature" curriculum. Dad said he watched it in the theater. His brief description of the experience was not unlike what I've read in today's Ma Ka Fai's column in MingPao. You get the feeling that going to the cinema back in those days is a very different experience from that nowadays. I was trying to ask for Mr. Ma's permission for reprinting parts of it here but I couldn't find his email address. If you do know his email address, please kindly let me know. Meanwhile, let me take the liberty to print the following excerpt:

荷李活流行重拍經典，像把果肉咬光，果核吐進泥土裡，過了一段時間便會再次發芽茁壯，只因土壤營養厚實，支撐得起幾季收成。

於是，《海神號歷險記》又來了，踏入戲院，你有機會重驗塵封了廿多年的悲喜與驚惶。

上回看《海神號》，你幾歲？恐怕比自己的孩子還年輕。好像是在銅鑼灣豪華戲院，伊斯曼七彩闊銀幕，炎炎夜裡，一家老幼在電影院門外買了一堆烤魷魚、炒栗子之類的熱燙小食，走進黑暗，張開眼睛，迎接一場海上災難。

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舊戲如今有了新顏，有若老友回魂，前世今生，你抱著叙舊的心情進場看戲，角色雖已交由不同的人演繹，但你仍然看得津津有味，因為，新戲舊戲以及你自己的戲，三齣好戲同時在眼前閃動，生命本如一場有趣的歷險，你當然看得過癮。