Free outdoor films glow all around Pittsburgh area
When it comes to watching movies, the appeal of the couch seems to get stronger every year. In your inner sanctum, you can have silence or chatter, snacks of your choice, Netflix, Blu-ray and high-definition, flat-screen televisions in ridiculous sizes.
Yet, for a few short months, there's an entirely different way to watch movies.
Fresh air. Picnic food. Lawn chairs or blankets. The view from the West End Overlook, Flagstaff Hill at Schenley Park or a dozen other picturesque places.
“It starts the summer for me and my husband,” says Carol Chatman, 50, of Swissvale, who attends the movies at Schenley Park. “Since I grew up in Oakland, it has a special place in my heart, “ she says.
“We use Wednesday as our date night, the view is awesome and being outdoors gives us a sense of community. It also reminds me of my childhood and going to see the drive-in movies under the stars, only without exhaust fumes.”
This year, Pittsburgh Citiparks' “Dollar Bank Cinema in the Park” will run through Aug. 30. The tradition of free outdoor film screenings started in the 1970s at Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park. Now, it has grown to include screenings at Arsenal Park in Lawrenceville (Fridays), Brookline Memorial Park (Thursdays), Grandview Park in Mt. Washington (Saturdays), Highland Park (three Mondays this summer), Riverview Park at Observatory Hill (Saturdays), West End/Elliott Overlook (Tuesdays) and Flagstaff Hill (Sundays and Wednesdays).
“Every site we have a movie in is in a park that we want to draw attention to,” says Brian Katze, manager of Citiparks Special Events. “Not everybody has the means to afford going to dinner and a movie. Here, you can go down with your neighbors and friends, put down a blanket and enjoy a movie. Bringing new releases to the public for free gives lower-income people a chance to go out and enjoy a movie as a family, without worrying about the expense.”
This week's first screening at Flagstaff Hill was pretty much ideal, Katze says.
“There were definitely over 1,000 people,” he says. “Perfect night. No clouds. It was a little overcast. If it's too breezy, the screen sways a little. Cool and clear nights are the good ones.”
Sometimes, those nights stick with you.
“When we first started dating, we went for a walk before the movie in the park with friends and just talked and laughed along,” Chatman says. “Then we ended up at Flagstaff Hill and started listening to the music from the band, after which we jockeyed for the best position to watch the movie. While the sun was setting at dusk, the park was really romantic. We stole quite a few a kisses that night, and for the life of me, I can't remember what movie was playing.”
It takes some effort to pick just the right movies for the seasaonl mix.
“We check the reviews and the MPAA ratings to make sure it's all family-friendly movies,” Katze says. “We have two locations that will show PG-13: Riverview on Saturdays, and Wednesdays at Schenley Park. Most of the other venues are no more than PG.
“Recently, the Marvel (comic book hero) movies have been a big draw. We get a lot of new-release movies, like ‘Innersteller,' and we mix it in with classics like ‘The Wizard of Oz' and ‘The Sandlot.'”
The majority of the films are recent. Last year happened to be an excellent one for family-friendly films: “The Lego Movie,” “The Boxtrolls” and “Big Hero 6.” They'll be showing last year's biggest blockbusters, too: “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Interstellar,” “Selma” and “The Hundred-Foot Journey.”
This year, there's an added effort to engage Pittsburgh's diverse and growing immigrant communities with the programming called “Spark!”
This includes films like “Cantinflas,” about legendary Mexican comedic actor Mario Moreno, and “The Refugees of Shangri-La,” about Bhutanese refugees in Nepal seeking new lives in America.
Other outdoor film series of various shapes and sizes take place in parks throughout the region, as long as the summer weather persists. Verona Railroad Park and Cribbs Field in Verona are showing movies some Fridays. The next is “Night in the Museum III” on June 26 at Cribbs Field.
Keystone State Park in Derry has movies every Friday through the summer.
Rotary Amphitheater in Cranberry is showing two films this summer, starting with “Annie” on June 16. Cranberry holds a Night Swim With a Free Movie at Cranberry Waterpark, June 26 with “Ghostbusters” and July 17 with “How to Train Your Dragon.”
You don't even need a park for outdoor movies. Take the Downtown Rooftop Shindig, atop the Theater Square Garage on Penn Avenue as an example. Hosted by Pittsburgh Filmmakers, it's a mix of live bands and films (like “Jaws” on July 1 and cult 1979 teen-gang classic “The Warriors” on Aug. 26), along with food, specialty cocktails and beer.
The only problem is that it may be getting a little too popular.
“Almost 5,000 people RSVP'd on Facebook,” says Leigh White, vice president of marketing and communications for the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, speaking before the first event of the season June 3. “We were pretty pleased that not all of them showed. About 2,000 showed up. It was packed. It went fantastic.”
People trickle in at different times, for different reasons, so it hasn't seemed uncomfortably crowded yet.
“Some come for the bands, some for the movie,” White says. “But if you're coming for the movie, get there early. We only did two events last year, and we're doing four this year. The next one (July 1) is ‘Jaws,' with a whole beach theme. (Local reggae group) The Flow Band is playing.”
Michael Machosky is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at mmachosky@tribweb.com or 412-320-7901.
