A lot of movies this fall have something to do with The Magic of the Movies.

Filmmakers are made in “Armageddon Time” and “The Fabelmans.”

Early Hollywood invents “The Movies” in “Babylon.”

And this British awards season contender, with Olivia Colman, Toby Jones et al, is centered around the sort of carbon arc projector single screen cinema that lured in audiences before the cineplex, digital projection and Maria Menudos commercials were invented.

I worked in such a cinema in college, keeping the tips of the spark-jumping carbon arc lamps lined up, manually switching projectors and reels, trying to do it gracefully enough so that the audience wouldn’t notice, fiddling constantly with a balky sound system.

The good ol’days, in other words. Looking forward to Sam Mendes’ memories of cinema past, “Empire of Light.”