The Movies Return to the Plaza Theatre was the name of the first festival, which ran August 14-24. It was inspired by numerous community members who had recalled their experiences in the historic movie palace, which the El Paso Community Foundation helped restore in 2006. After the Foundation installed new 35mm and digital projection equipment in the theater, its vice president, Eric Pearson, and classic film buff Charles Horak filled the house with more than 60 movies, including Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, Giant and The Exorcist. More than 25,000 people attended the first-time event, which included appearances by actor Robert Nichols and composer John Scott conducting the El Paso Symphony Orchestra in a program of famous movie themes.
Guests
- Actor Robert Nichols
- Conductor John Scott
- El Paso Symphony Orchestra
Events
- “The Movies Return: A Symphonic Concert”
Movies
- 1941
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
- The Adventures of Robin Hood
- Alien
- An Affair to Remember
- The Astronaut Farmer
- Best of the Border: A Night of Short Films by Area Filmmakers
- The Black Stallion
- Blade Runner
- The Blues Brothers
- Bonnie and Clyde
- Buck Privates
- Casablanca (two shows)
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind
- Curse of the Demon
- The Day the Earth Stood Still
- Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
- Enamorada
- Escape From New York
- The Exorcist
- Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill!
- Fight Club
- Frankenstein
- From Here to Eternity
- Giant (with Robert Nichols)
- The Good, the Bad, the Indie, Vol. 4.0
- Gremlins
- Groundhog Day
- The Iron Giant
- I Was a Male War Bride
- Jason and the Argonauts
- Jurassic Park
- King Kong
- The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
- L.A. Confidential
- Lone Wolf McQuade
- Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
- The Man From Laramie
- Manos, The Hands of Fate
- Matinee
- The Matrix
- North by Northwest
- The Omega Man
- The Philadelphia Story
- Planet of the Apes
- The Princess Bride
- Rear Window
- Rebel Without a Cause
- Saving Private Ryan
- The Secret Garden
- The Secret of NIMH
- Shut Up and Sing
- Singin’ in the Rain
- Them!
- The Thing From Another World (with Robert Nichols)
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
- Thunder Over the Plains
- Titanic (1997)
- To Catch a Thief
- Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
- Wicked Lake
- The Wizard of Oz
- The Wolf Man
