Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 5, 1991 TAG: 9104050540
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Chris Gladden
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Now, there's another important Roanoke area landmark that may go the way of the Norfolk Southern water tower and the art deco A&P building - interesting edifices flattened by progress.
Flaked by acid rain, faded by the sun and deteriorating from the lack of use is the Shenandoah Drive-In sign. To my knowledge this is the last piece of drive-in art left in the area. The site of the Shenandoah (on Shenandoah Avenue) is itself some kind of post-apocalyptic landscape out of the Road Warrior. Speaker posts bristle in the pocked lot like lead tombstones. The screen is rubble, and the whole barren atmosphere is impressive in a surrealistic way. The sign still stands, though its neon star is dark. One area neon connoisseur says it was converted from a vintage Holiday Inn sign.
There will be no more drive-ins around here - killed by suburban sprawl and the hunger of multiplexes for product to put on their screens.
So the sign itself is an important statement - a signature of an entertainment institution that has passed into history. Its neon lights beckoned movie-goers to such classic sun-belt fare as "2,000 Maniacs," "Endless Summer" and "Hell's Angels on Wheels."
Perhaps the sign could be restored and moved to the After all, it's a monument to a time when Americans dined in their cars, courted in their cars and watched movies in their cars.
And that's transportation.
Perhaps you've noticed a new doohickey next to this column that looks like a torn movie ticket over a film strip. This is a new guessing game, my attempt to predict the best movies among the week's premieres.
However, keep in mind that it's pure speculation. If I could accurately guess movie successes with any consistency, I would be putting my money into studio stock and lounging someplace where there are a lot of palm trees and thong bikinis.
This is just an attempt to handicap the movies that are opening each Friday. Sometimes there will be comments about more than one, sometimes none, depending on each Friday's release situation. I look at the director, the subject matter, the actors and whatever industry rumble that emerges from the trades and try to put it all together before I've had a chance to see the movie.
Easy, huh?
Well, look at "Havana." It starred Robert Redford, had a big budget and was directed by Sydney Pollack, who made "Tootsie."
An instant classic, right? Wrong. A slow movie with Redford's most uncomfortable performance to date.
Keep in mind that there are no sure things when it comes to movies.
by CNB