I had the pleasure last night of doing what few Bond fans in this day and age can, and that was watching two Connery Bond films on the big screen! The films were Goldfinger and Thunderball and I know now that you haven’t experienced a Connery film to the fullest unless you’ve seen it on the big screen and with an audience.

An audiences reaction to the films is amazing. Parts of the films were taken completely differently by an audience receiving full laughs and a few groans here and there. Most amazing was the size of the audience. The film was hardly scheduled on at the best time, 7:30pm to Midnight on a Sunday night, but the upper house of the Astor Theatre still managed a three-quarter full audience!

The film prints sadly weren’t the best, they got scratchy and times and I noted a few frames were missing here and there. Out of the two, Thunderball was the best print and fantastic to watch on the big screen!

I snapped a few pictures with my Sony Handycam (thank God for Memory Sticks!!) So here they are with a comment or two.

The old United Artists logo slowly turns and the tension builds.

Connery’s Gun Barrel Opening, as few people have seen it!

The Golden Girl, twice the babe on a big screen!

And that’s all I can show you. There were others but they didn’t turn out as well!

All in all it was a fantastic night! And The Astor, true to form, should hold another one in about 3 months so I’ll see you all there!