After living in Astoria, Queens for a year and a half, you'd think I would have gotten myself to the Museum of the Moving image at least once - but no! This place is just a 25 minute walk from my apartment, and after consistently hearing how phenomenal it is, I finally decided I needed to see it for myself. As it turns out, the rumors were true.
The museum is as interactive as it is informative, injecting quirky nostalgia into an impressive and really varied collection of artifacts from the history of the film industry. They've got set pieces, wigs, masks, cameras, memorabilia, and props from films ranging from Star Wars to Mrs. Doubtfire to Citizen Kane, plus a whole room full of arcade and console video games that you can play to your heart's delight (and my heart really delighted in crashing and burning on Star Fox for SNES). They also really get interactive technology right: you can create your own stop-animation in seconds and email it to yourself or friends, and you can over-dub a classic movie with your own voice. It's awesome.
Check out more photos from the trip!
One of the Chewbacca masks worn by Peter Mayhew in Star Wars Episode IV!
A replica of the mask worn by Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire
Original Pong arcade machine from 1972
Winona Ryder's prosthetic legs from Black Swan!
My dear old friend of many car trips, plus some Metroid II: Return of Samus.
Star Wars toys from 1977-78
My roommate inspects the recreated version of a GINORMOUS PDP-1 computer from 1961. It was about as deep as three refrigerators. My Macbook Air weighs 2.96 pounds.
Until next time...
The Museum of the Movie Image costs $10 for adults, $7.50 for students and seniors. Fridays from 4-8PM is free!
I wish you had posted this earlier! The video game exhibit looks awesome but I don't think I'll be able to make it before it ends. :(
ReplyDelete-Ear Boy