Forty-seven years ago my parents drove our family from small-town Iowa to Des Moines so we could see the movie 2001 – A Space Odyssey at the River Hills 70 mm theater. For you too young to remember, that was the biggest film format of the late 1960s, at least for commercial films. That movie made such an impression on eight-year-old me that I can still tell you what the trailers were that we saw (Ice Station Zebra and Shoes of the Fisherman)
Ever since that night, I have been in love with going to see movies in the biggest theaters with the best projection system. This last year I got to see Interstellar at a museum 70 mm film IMAX theater and Avengers 2 at a commercial digital IMAX theater. Tonight I was lucky enough to be able to catch the new Mission Impossible flick at commercial IMAX well.
(I really enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun. Though Mad Max Fury Road is till my favorite movie of the summer. )
If you really want to rediscover the magic of a movie, go see it at the best theater you can. That may not be a big one. Kearney, Nebraska, where I now live, is blessed to have The World Theatre where my wife and I can see the small movies and old movies that would never otherwise come to central Nebraska. Nearby Lexington has The Majestic staffed by volunteers so residents don’t have to leave town to go to the movies. And when I saw Gravity, it was in 3D at my local commercial theater, but it was great to see it the way the director intended it to be seen.
Movies on devices are fun, but get out sometime soon to see a movie on the best theater you can – however you define best!
(NOTE: I wrote an earlier version of this post on my Facebook page, and a high school friend of mine noted that she did not like devices for movies – theaters were best. I’d have to agree, but I do like devices for rewatching movies I’ve seen before.)
Filmmakers discovered early on that an integral part of the film experience was the surroundings. Those of us of a certain age remember the ornate theaters where we spent a Saturday morning in velvet seats surrounded by ornate plaster objects imitating sculpture. They were a continuation of the tradition of live theater making each performance, live or on film, a memorable experience. As the Multiplex took over, representing a corporate philosophy devoted to drawing as much revenue as possible, America lost that particular part of the magic, making the movie not an experience, but a venue. There seems to be a reversal now, with theaters trying to enhance the experience ( at additional cost to the movie goer ) with reserved seating, fully reclining seats and high quality presentation. The presentation of films iis now challenged with safety issues that will have a negative impact on theaters. Security guards armed with Glocks does not an enjoyable evening make.
We can see by the increasingly short time a film may run until its release to consumer controlled viewing through Netflix, BlueRay and the like has created a business model that in tandem with high resolution video and sound equipment at affordable prices for many, the Home Theater will continue to gain popularity. While it may be the death of theaters as we know it, more importantly it affects the film makers in their vision of how the ambiance of the venue contributes to the experience.
I remember as a child how majestic the presentation of ” Ben Hur” was at our local theater, one of many New York movie palaces and the disappointment of seeing the same film on TV for the first time a few years later on that small, low res TVscreen.
Even now with 50 in. HD and state of the sound systems, it’s still in my living room.
The next decade for film will challenge film makers to adapt to lesser surroundings.