There were two ways to see movies in those days: in the theater or on network TV, whenever the networks decided to bring them out, usually a year or so after the theater release. There was no way to own a movie in a home library—no VHS cassettes, no DVDs, no streaming. Video stores hadn’t yet appeared. Particular movies were wondrous events that bloomed like rare flowers, and you had to be there when they did.
Films as primary sources might not be understood correctly by students
Such things simply <em>had not been shown</em> on a screen before.
This is a suspect claim - check out Bonnie and Clyde