Big Screen Extravaganza: 5 Films You Must See in a Theater

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THERE'S ONE UNDENIABLE truth about going to a movie theater — well, other than the fact the someone will undoubtedly talk during the flick — and it's this: Seeing something on that big, wide screen will always be better than checking it out on your television at home.

It doesn't matter how big or flat your TV is, it's just not the same. And if you're one of those handheld-DVD-player people, forget it. Films are meant to be a visual spectacle, a feast for your adoring, amazed gaze — and the best of the best comes in the form of "Lawrence of Arabia."

Director David Lean's 1962 masterpiece won seven Oscars that year, rounding up every category that affects a moviegoer's eyes and ears (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, Best Music and Best Sound), and earlier this year, "Lawrence" was named No. 1 on the American Film Institute's "Best Epic Films" list.

Do yourself a favor and stop by the AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring, which has made an annual event of showing the film on 70mm. From Aug. 8 to Aug. 14, you can catch Lawrence in all its glory — from the perfection of Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif and Alexander Quinn as (respectively) T.E. Lawrence, Sherif Ali and Auda abu Tayi to the beauty of Maurice Jarre's dramatic-as-hell score. They also incorporate an intermission, just like when the film was first shown, so your bladder doesn't have to suffer the full 216 minutes.

While "Lawrence" is indisputably the best film to see on the big screen, however, there are others we wish we could have seen the first time around: The shocking Technicolor of Italian horror film "Suspiria"; the pitch-black climax of "Wait Until Dark"; the musical menagerie of Disney's "Fantasia." But in an attempt to be realistic, we gathered the five films you'd most likely be able to see on the big screen in the present (on college campuses, festivals, film retrospectives at your local movie theater, whatever) and broke them down for your movie-geek pleasure.

You may not be surprised at the picks, but hey — it's hard to argue with the classics.

» "JURASSIC PARK"
Based on Michael Crichton's 1990 novel by the same name, Steven Spielberg's blockbuster made more than $900 million and solidified the awesomeness of dinosaurs. And who cares if Spielberg's depictions of most of them weren't scientifically or historically accurate? He managed to thrill everybody. From the classic water-ripples-in-a-cup-mean-the-T. Rex-is-coming scene to watching Lex and Tim try and outsmart raptors, practically every frame of "Jurassic Park" is an exercise in wonder. Empire magazine didn't list the first time moviegoers see the Brachiosaurus extending its put-giraffes-to-shame neck as the 28th most magical moment in cinema for nothing, you know.

» "THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK"
Back in 1977, George Lucas blew people's minds with "Episode IV: A New Hope" — the intergalactic chase scenes, the TIE fighters and the destructive force of that barren-looking Death Star were like nothing anyone had ever seen before on the big screen. And three years later, with "Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back," Lucas built on those visuals, adding grit with Hoth, AT-AT walkers, Yoda and Cloud City and crackling intensity with the final lightsaber duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. The film's content would change the series' tone — abandoning the somewhat happy-go-lucky cheesiness of "A New Hope" for a harder, more introspective feel — and its cinematography would affect Hollywood forever.

In a way, it all seems to have come full circle — visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic studied how elephants move before creating the AT-AT walkers, and nearly 30 years later, MAD magazine compared the oliphaunts of Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and "Return of the King" adaptations to AT-ATs. All three films look great on the big screen — but "Empire," as the groundbreaking original, will always be a step above.

» "JAWS"
The 1975 film may be easy to stomach on your TV screen (after all, it is on basic cable channels such as American Movie Classics more often than not during the summer months), as the great white in question may seem manageable when all pixelated and small. But on a huge screen, with Surround Sound blasting that nail-biting-inducing soundtrack, the shark — described as weighing 3 tons and measuring 25 feet — is a monster, and (if you didn't already) you'll suddenly understand why Bravo chose its opening attack on a pretty young swimmer as the scariest movie moment of all time. And why beach attendance was down in the summer of 1975. And why Shark Week is so popular. You're gonna need a bigger boat, indeed.

» "BLADE RUNNER: THE FINAL CUT"
Do androids dream of electric sheep? Who knows. Is Ridley Scott's 1982 film, an adaptation of the novel by Philip K. Dick that poses that previous question, one of the best modern science fiction movies? Probably. Though there are multiple versions of "Blade Runner" floating around — seven in total, including an original version, the United States' theatrical version and a "Director's Cut" with which Scott had little actual involvement — the one to see is Scott's "The Final Cut." Released last year, it's the only version of the film that was under the director's total artistic control; there are tons of little changes, but most important is that there's no narration from Harrison Ford's Rick Deckard character, and the crucial unicorn dream, which wasn't available in any public version before this one, is included in full. It's that dream and the film's surreal, noir-inspired visuals that earn it big-screen status.

Try watching the 700-story Tyrell Complex, Sebastian's abandoned, dystopian apartment building and those advertisement-laden skyscrapers on a small screen or listening to composer Vangelis' eerie, synthesizer-laden soundtrack without a full sound system and you won't even know how much of Scott's painstakingly detailed, darkly designed future you're missing.

» 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
Did Stanley Kubrick ever disappoint? Oh, yeah, "Eyes Wide Shut." But not in the 1960s, he didn't. After "Spartacus," "Lolita" and "Dr. Strangelove," Kubrick released "2001: A Space Odyssey" in 1968, a film that was leaps and bounds ahead of its time in pretty much everything — from subject matter to cinematography to music. The mysterious monoliths; the blinding white sterility of the space station and HAL; the acid-trip-like montage of bright colors and lights during the "Star Gate" sequence — such impactful scenes deserve accommodation. You may not understand Kubrick's vision (does anyone, really?) but that doesn't mean you can't watch it.

Written by Express contributor Roxana Hadadi