Skip the theater, Get the DVD? (1 Viewer)

[JakeR]

Great topic.

I used to go to the movies weekly or bi-weekly, years ago. Then DVD came along. I'd say by around 2000, my theater visits were cut in half. By now, I will see a movie once every 4-6 months.

A few reasons:

1. If I'm going, I'm usually treating someone, which means two $7.50 tickets. $15 for the privilege of watching an underlit movie that will almost certainly be heckled by the emotionally stunted members of the audience.

2. Yes, I like to snack during a movie, and don't always feel compelled to smuggle in tacos. And paying $20 for popcorn and soda, with a net value of .75, is not pleasant.

3. Frankly, I have a decent HT set-up that I'm perfectly happy with.

4. Sometimes, I have no other choice. I would've made an exception for Memento, but it wasn't playing in my area. Boondock Saints never got a wide release. Etc, etc.

5. I'm a collector by nature, and I prefer to simply buy, rather than rent, discs.

I actually skipped Star Wars II this summer, which would've been unthinkable just a few years ago. But the ever-maddening crowds (and a healthy pessissm cultivated by Episode 1) kept me at home. I'll buy it in the winter.

Reign of Fire, I'll make time for, however. And Austin Powers 3 is the kind of film best enjoyed when you're having the communal experience of laughing at fart jokes. Otherwise, my butt is home.

 

[gregstaten]

Though I still go to the theater to see movies, I don't have the easy ability to see the smaller independent and foreign films. I live about an hour north of Boston in New Hampshire and if I wanted to see most independent/foreign films I have to drive to Boston. If you add up time, gas, parking, tickets, and so on, buying the DVD is a lot less expensive and a LOT easier.

Sadly, I usually drive into Mass (just over the border to Methuen or Lowell) to see a movie as the theaters in New Hampshire absolutely stink. I'm convinced someone could make a lot of money putting in a modern megaplex up here, but no one has even tried.

-greg

 

[Clint B]

I'm usually with the "wait for the DVD" crowd. I "had to see" AOTC in the theatre, but that was an exception. I've got a good (if small) home theatre that often looks and sounds better than the theatre. I just get sick of people treating the theatre as if it was their living room so they can do whatever they want to.

**To my fellow Dallasites on the board--I agree about Northpark; it was great! I remember seeing Raiders there and it blew me away. A lot of the newer theatres are nice, but Northpark was hard to beat. It's a shame it's gone.

 

[Carl Johnson]

I average about a trip and a half to the movies per year while I buy around 20 times that many titles per year on DVD.

 

[John_Berger]

I think that the cost argument is VERY valid though. Given that for my fiancee and I to see a movie will cost $25

Excuse me?? Two tickets to a matinee with no purchases at the concession stand should cost $10 or less, depending on the theater. If you go to second run theaters, the cost for two tickets should be less than that.
You're complaining about spending $25 to go to a movie. You're obivously not taking advantage of second run or matinee prices, so you'll forgive me when I say that you have no one to blame for paying that much but yourself.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

For me it's not the cost but the inconvenience and scheduling for films that makes me wait for the DVD. I'm getting older (49) and I can't stay awake through a late-night showing anymore. I need to completely control the start and end times of a film. And I'm too busy on weekends to sit through a matinee showing. I'm even waiting on AOTC to come out on DVD, which would have been heresy years ago. But then again I have a 100" CRT front projector system so the quality hit isn't that great compared with a "public theater". I may even wait for the DVD for The Two Towers and Return of the King - I know now that there will be an extended take of the films when they come to DVD and Tolkien is meant to be slow paced.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

LOTR was the last movie I saw in a theater. It had been out for a month or so and the picture was lousy. The "THX certified" theater I saw it in apparently did not turn on the subwoofer. To save some money we went to the matinee on a Saturday and had to put up with 3 5to7 year old kids constantly wandering up and down the aisles.

I had seen previews for LOTR on HDNet, and believe me the picture on HD was much better than what I saw in the theater. I strongly suspect the picture and sound on my system will also beat the theater.



I can honestly say the last time I saw a decent presentation of a movie in a theater was Titanic back in 97--picture and sound were great even though it'd been out for 3 weeks when I saw it.

Every film I've seen in a theater since then has looked and sounded better at home than in the theater. I blame this primarily on the total lack of interest the theaters seem to have in maintaining a technically decent presentation for the movies they run.

That being said, my ex and I plan a latenight viewing of Reign of Fire tomorrow night, though I will probably definitely buy the dvd.

 

[Neil White]

I second the comments above about the condition of the films at the cinema. Maybe I have become more aware of these things since getting involved in HT but it drives me NUTS to see scratches and dust and crap all over films that are only just out. I really do believe, as others have said, that many movie theatres just care about those popcorn dollars.

Many moons ago, when I still lived in England, I went to see a movie (wish I could remember what it was) at the only multiplex in the dump I lived in (Basingstoke for those who care - we lovingly referred to it as BasingGrad). A hair was occupying the bottom right of the picture. I waited for it to clear itself but after 10 minutes it hadn't so I went to complain to the manager. About 5 minutes later, the movie came to a grinding halt then it was started again. The offending hair was gone. Yes, they took care of it but we had a break in the movie, they didn't restart it and it should never of happened in the first place.

On several other occassions, one in the same place and another in a premier theatre in London, I've nearly melted with the heat in the auditorium.

Then there's:

1. The gum on my shoes;
2. The incessant talking;
3. The cell phones ringing even after the short before the movie politely asks people to turn them off;
4. The one group who always arrives after the film starts and insists on walking past me even though there are 500 other open seats free;
5. The couple who will NOT move along one seat to make two seats together in the row free for another couple;
6. The guy who insists on sprawling across two seats;

Other than that, it's usually a pleasant experience.

N

 

[Rob Tomlin]

For me it comes down to convenience, quality, and atmosphere. The atmosphere at the theater is a gamble. It sometimes helps to enhance the experience with a group that's really into the movie.

Well said!

My wife and I rarely go to the movies anymore mostly because of convenience (or lack thereof), cost (knowing we can eventually buy or rent the dvd) and atmosphere, which, more often than not, means people talking during the movie.

If I had a dime for every time I sat right in front of someone who was compelled to talk to the actors on the screen during the movie I would be a rich man indeed!

 

[Edwin-S]

Actually I have had just the opposite effect. I attended very few movies at the theatre prior to getting home "theatre" equipment. I have found that since buying home theatre gear, I have been going to the theatre more often. The home experience is good but it has piqued my interest in movies enough that I like to see at least some of them in the place they were originally intended to be shown. I generally go to watch almost all theatrical animated features at the theatre first......at least the ones that I think are not completely child orientated.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

I would Say Yes, there's so many film's I'm interested in seeing and so little time. That and the fact I can buy the disk for what I would pay to see the movie with my wife, that it makes it OK to see it on my HT. I Still go to see event movies like Spiderman, AOTC, Nemesis etc but for most releases there'll be homeward bound.

 

[Dennis_HT]

I would still see a movie at a DLP theater. That is a great experience - tremendous video and audio quality. However, regular projection theaters are not worth the hassle for me. The prints are often scratched or dusty.
I can't get into a movie with the distractions of people talking, using cell phones, or kicking my seat. I think some people get confused at the movie theater and think they are at Starbucks.

 

[Tom Ryan]

Boy, step into this thread and all you see is whine, whine, whine
Now. I realize that some people will always have extra costs (kids, people they're treating, significant others, etc.), but a smart moviegoer will never have to pay more than around $5-6 to see a film.
I personally have the advantage of getting a student discount, so I always get matinee prices, but if I didn't and I wanted to get the matinee price, I guess I'd...go to the matinee!
Films are meant to be seen in movie theaters. That's their element, that's what they're targeted for. There are a million reasons to see a film in its native element, the resolution and quality of a film image being one. If I won't see a movie in theaters, usually I won't see it at all. A good movie is WORTH paying $5 to see.
How do you know if what you're getting is going to satisfy? Check the reviews. Listen to the word of mouth. See if what others are saying matches up with what you like. If it does, odds are you'll walk out of the theater with a big grin on your face.
A lot of people complain about distractions in the theater itself, from boisterous viewers to something as unlikely as gum sticking to your shoes. I don't get this. When I see a movie, people are respectful. I don't get attacked by gum or spilled pop. Nobody answers their cell phone in the middle of the film. I just watch the movie, and walk away satisfied. Maybe the people around where a lot of you folks live are a bunch of philistines, but where I live (eastern Washington State), it's not a problem. If it was a problem, I'd simply find a theater that drew crowds more to my liking.
I love home theater and all, and it's great for watching films after they've left theaters, but the cinemas are where movies LIVE, it's where they're born, and it's where they die (Battlefield Earth, anyone?). For a good film, it'll always be theaters for me.

 

[Patrick_L]

i also wait for the dvd releases of things i wish to see, although my local Harkins theater has the Texas Instruments DLP projector which is very nice. have seen The Perfect Storm and Star Wars Episode II which, for 6 bucks a ticket during matinee showings, is a bargain if you ask me.

 

[Joe Bernardi]

I used to go to the local movie theater frequently until 13 months ago, when I bought a 65" HDTV.

Since then, I've been to the movie theater once!

At home with my wife and dog and a stack of new DVDs, I find no loud teenagers, no one who's seen the movie before sitting behind me telling their companion what's going to happen next, no sticky floors.

Now if we don't quite hear what may be an important line, we've got Instant Replay!

Nowadays, we wait for the DVD to arrive.

 

[Ralph Bru]

I do as I get real tired of yelling at kids to not put their feet on my headrest of my seat. the last movie I saw was Panic Room and some chicks phone rang and she sat there talking as if she was not at a movie, this went on for 20min.

why do people go to the movies and leave on their cell phone?

anyway............ movies come on dvd so quick there is always something to buy.

why spend all that money on the movies when you can own it, an easy way to justify buying dvds.

 

[Neil White]

So it doesn't just happen in Dallas then Ralph. Phew, I thought I was going to have to move to Washington for a minute.
There must be 30+ multiplexes in the D/FW Metroplex. I've been to many of them. Fancy decor, 6 concession stands in many of them. Stadium seating in most of them. And "Philistines" visit every one of them (or so it seems)!
N

 

[Ralph Bru]

nope, kids just have no respect for anything or anyone.
this is why i stay home and do my thing, why gp out to catch a movie and have someone flip you off on the way in traffic, cut in front of you at a restaurant or get bad service food or a small portion, and on top of that deal with kids at movies. thank you but ill stay home. ive tried to hard to have one decent night out.

 

[Gruson]

For everyone in Dallas, I was wondering if anyone else remembers the Summer of 1996 when Northpark had their midnight movies. It was great. I remember seeing the following:
Alien
Aliens
Terminator 2
Star Trek 2
Lost Boys
Goonies
Last of the Mohicans
There were more too. The sound on all of these sounded incredible.
In 1993, they also showed the Star Wars Triogy at Northpark....sold out fast and was an event I will never forget. Perfection.
Jurassic Park also sounded amazing. I saw it 7 times because the sound was just unbelievable (first DTS movie)!!!
Anyway, I really miss the good, classic movie theaters. I hate the muliplexes and I hate stadium seating.
WHERE IS OUR NORTHPARK!?!?!?!?!??!

 

[Michael St. Clair]

$5 per adult, $2 per child at the drive-in. Bring your own food and drink. And I'm talking $5 for a double feature; the last one we saw was 'Scooby Doo' and 'Undercover Brother'.

'Event' and certain genre films I refuse to see this way because I want the full surround sound and better screen.