Many moviegoers would agree that part of the magic of seeing a film is the theater experience: popcorn, big screens, dramatic lights and, most of all, community. Sometimes, microwave popcorn and 13-inch computer screens make for unsatisfying substitutions.

The UCLA Film & Television Archive has partnered with the Million Dollar Theater located on Broadway Avenue in downtown Los Angeles in order to revive classic films from the past 80 years in a program titled “UCLA Film & Television Archive on Broadway.”

“We picked films that are important – that were, in some cases, popular films, (and) that deserved to be seen on a big screen in a movie palace and not just on your iPhone,” said Jan-Christopher Horak, the director of the archive.

The UCLA Film & Television Archive is the second largest collection of moving images in the nation, preceded only by the Library of Congress. The mission of the archive is to restore moving pictures by locating lost films, refurbishing them and re-establishing the original vision behind the pieces. The Million Dollar Theater, built in 1918, was Sid Grauman’s first movie palace, predating the construction of both the Chinese and Egyptian theaters. It hosted movie premieres, live performances and celebrity guests.

“We really wanted to partner with the Million Dollar Theater because, for us, it’s important to not only (preserve) films, but really (preserve) the experience of watching films on a big screen,” Horak said,

The theater features a live stage as well as a large viewing screen. Additionally, a coffered dome ceiling sits above the orchestra, which seats 2,345 people, adding to the expanse of space. The entire building is adorned with deep-set carvings reminiscent of the Spanish-colonial style. According to Jonathan Kuntz, a UCLA film professor, showing these archived films at the Million Dollar Theater brings life back to films in a way that can’t be achieved at home. Usually movies are created with the intent that they will be seen on big screens in a communal atmosphere.

“It’s really different seeing a movie in a big crowd on a big screen. You have people laughing along with you, making fun along with you, being engrossed along with you, and I think it adds to the entire motion-picture experience,” Kuntz said.

The program runs every Wednesday night, usually showing double-bills and features all genres of film including comedy, horror and drama. For example, Alan K. Rode, film historian and writer, introduced last week’s double feature of “The Big Combo” and “Pitfall.”

Of all the scheduled films, Horak said that the screening of “The Bridge on the River Kwai” on Wednesday would be especially fulfilling for students.

Kuntz said that this Oscar-winning film lends itself to the big screen with its large scale cinematography and huge cast of thousands.

“There is a whole historiography in downtown Los Angeles … and I think it’s important to repertory cinema to show vintage films as a renewal role, and I can’t think of any better entity than the UCLA Film & Television Archive to provide that repertory footprint,” said Rode.