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

[Darrel Johansen]

Exactly. The best and intended presentation of any film will always be in a theater. I saw Road To Perdition last night, and I'm certainly glad I didn't have to see it on a tiny screen with low resolution video

Well, that "tiny screen" may be a difference that makes the theater experience better. But many on this forum have 55"-65" RPTVs or PJs with screens sizes up to 10' or so.
It might be interesting to hear how many of the people who prefer the theater have a large screen at home.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

I also saw Road to Perdition last night, in a 6 month old theater with THX certification.

My recent experience in theaters has been viewing films that had been out for weeks or months and the prints were poor, so I was hoping for a great experience on openning day of a new movie.

No such luck. Aside from scratches and vertical black lines there were weird sorta vertical shaded lines in the picture which on a video display would be called raster ringing. The graininess may have been intended so I won't comment on it, but the focus did appear to be off also. Sound was quite good though.

It was the 9:30 pm showing and the audience was well behaved--only a couple of cellphones rang, but fairly quietly and only during the first 10 minutes or so with no distracting conversations. It was an R film of little interest to kids, so there was no running up and down the aisles and thankfully no screaming babies.

We did very much like the film, but overall I am confident the dvd on my rptv will look better and am looking forward to it.

 

[Tom Ryan]

Well, that "tiny screen" may be a difference that makes the theater experience better. But many on this forum have 55"-65" RPTVs or PJs with screens sizes up to 10' or so.

Compared to a movie theater, any home theater screen is going to look tiny, or at least it does to me. I've watched movies projected onto the screen for a 500+ seat auditorium at my university, and it still doesn't match a decent theater.

 

[Ricardo C]

Just got home from the theater. Saw AOTC, which is entering the tenth day of its Venezuelan release.

Where do I begin?

- The print was slightly out of focus and scratched all to hell.

- One of the side speakers kept going out every few minutes.

- Seemingly a million LOUD children, whom I can only assume are orphans, as there seemed to be no one to tell them to shut the feck up.

- Despite a cool animated intro asking viewers to turn off their cell phones, the guy behind me took a call in thg middle of the show. His reply when I told him to be quiet? "Where do you think you are, your house?" Apparently, it's rude to interrupt moviehouse phone calls. Thankfully, one angry "do me a favor and shut up, I didn't pay to hear you talk" did the trick for the remainder of the movie.

- The master of the obvious chose to sit next to me. I guess I should count my blessings... Without his running commentary, I would never have known that those guys in white were clones, or that the Jedi were using lightsabers. Hell, I might have forgotten that the green muppet I've been watching since I was five is called Yoda.

- Of course, let us not forget the crying baby who accompanied the aftermath of the hangar duel...

All in all, I'd gladly trade that theater's 30-foot screen for a home theater with a screen half that size, a better sound system, and NO AUDIENCE SAVE FOR ME AND THOSE I INVITE.

If not being willing to put up with so many hindrances in exchange for the almighty "big screen" makes me a "movie lover," then that I am.

 

[Darrel Johansen]

Compared to a movie theater, any home theater screen is going to look tiny, or at least it does to me. I've watched movies projected onto the screen for a 500+ seat auditorium at my university, and it still doesn't match a decent theater.

Been to Wazoo, been to Pullman, been to my local theater, been to theaters all across the West Coast and the rest of the US.
My home theater screen provides the same field of vision as sitting in the sweet spot of a theater (if you can get it). I DO go to movies locally but still compare them as seen on my set up. It's only my opinion, but it's a better experience.

 

[RichardMA]

In most cases, yes, I do skip the theater and go for the
DVD. Why? Well, there are numerous reasons that most of
us are familiar with, but suffice to say I do still go
to the theater when the movie (because it's spectacular)
demands a large screen treatment. But most movies don't.

 

[Tom Ryan]

Been to Wazoo, been to Pullman, been to my local theater, been to theaters all across the West Coast and the rest of the US.
My home theater screen provides the same field of vision as sitting in the sweet spot of a theater (if you can get it). I DO go to movies locally but still compare them as seen on my set up. It's only my opinion, but it's a better experience.

Field of vision is one thing, but no home theater (unless you're Bill Gates, in which case your home theater is the same as a REAL theater) can match the size of that bead of sweat rolling down Tom Hanks' face in Road To Perdition! I might add that no matter what size your HT setup it, it will never eeeeeever match the quality of real film, at least not with DVDs. In fact, the bigger you blow it up, the worse it's going to look. I'm actually thinking of skipping the next wave in home video after DVD, in hopes that the wave after THAT may achieve same-as-film (or better?) quality.
Incidentally, when and why were you in Pullman? I can vouch for the fact that all the theaters there and in Moscow do, in fact, suck, but I go to Spokane to see a real film .

 

[VinhT]

For me, going to the theater is assumed. I watch every movie I want to see, which means going probably once or twice a month. This summer however, is simply awesome. There's a movie I've been waiting for opening nearly every week.

What about DVDs? Well, I barely own any (just the reference ones for demoing purposes), because I'm not really a repeat viewer. My home theater is basically so I can rent DVDs from Blockbuster and watch movies that I might have missed somehow. Sadly, it's gotten to the point where I can't really rent movies anymore because I've already seen all of the movies that were of the slightest interest to me. And since I've been keeping up with all of the new movies, my home theater equipment sits unused...

 

[BarryR]

You should try discovering Hollywood history then!

 

[Patrick Sun]

FYI: I do own over 300 DVDs, so it's not like I'm totally down on HT. If you have access to theaters with good projection and sound quality, why not take advantage of it? I am totally sympathetic to those who live in areas with crappy theaters (and/or clods for fellow film watchers) and find their HT to be of better value for their entertainment dollar. Do what you have to do. But in a "perfect" setting, I would still prefer to watch films on the big screen with a good sound system over watching them in a HT.
What can I say, I enjoy OTP (Original Theater Presentation).

 

[Neil White]

Well, went to see MIBII at the local AMC multiplex last night at 10am. No one's cell phone rang this time but, as soon as the feature started, some idiot behind me MADE A CALL on his cell phone and proceeded to have a conversation loudly. What the f*#!?

I give up.

N

 

[Darrel Johansen]

Field of vision is one thing, but no home theater (unless you're Bill Gates, in which case your home theater is the same as a REAL theater) can match the size of that bead of sweat rolling down Tom Hanks' face in Road To Perdition! I might add that no matter what size your HT setup it, it will never eeeeeever match the quality of real film, at least not with DVDs.

All quite true. Still, I find that in the real world, my HT is usually comparable in PQ to the films I see --largely because of wear and tear on the film stock, sometimes because of equipment problems. As was pointed out this thread is about people's opinions. You've got mine: I usually enjoy a movie more on DVD than in the theater.

FYI, I went to WSU some years ago --didn't graduate from there, though. I dropped out, went on to the Air Force and finally back to college to get my Masters degree in California.

 

[Sean Aaron]

Well, I live in Glasgow, Scotland and the audiences here are very much more polite than what I experienced in SF Bay Area. In fact opening day for Attack of the Clones (which I didn't have to wait in line for and for which there were reserved seats with ushers to guide you) the audience which was mostly college students was quite reserved compared to any event film I went to in San Francisco or San Jose.
Admission was a mere £4 (about US$6) for normal admission...matinee is £3.50. Having said that I've only been to two or three films since moving to Scotland a year ago because I just don't give a toss about the stuff coming to the cinemas. I just can't be bothered to go; I'd rather take a walk in the botanic gardens. The thrill is gone. I have an 80cm widescreen CRT at home and I find that to be quite satisfactory for most of the crap that comes out.
Eight-legged Freaks looks quite fun, but stuff like Minority Report is just leaving me cold...I'm curious, but like Lord of the Rings I just cannot be bothered to go until the last week of showing.
Ironic that I live in a place that is generally cheaper and more pleasant to see films in and I just don't care .

 

[Qui-Gon John]

Sadly, it's gotten to the point where I can't really rent movies anymore because I've already seen all of the movies that were of the slightest interest to me.

Exactly one of the reasons I don't try to see too many movies in the theater. So I can look forward to renting them.

 

[Kevin Coleman]

I agree with Pat,
Nothing beats a good theater presentation I don't care how nice your home video setup is.
Here is where I go to see all of my movies.
Check out the pictures section.
http://www.warrentheatre.com/default.html
Kevin C.

 

[BrianB]

Well, I live in Glasgow, Scotland and the audiences here are very much more polite than what I experienced in SF Bay Area.

What cinemas have you been going to in Glasgow & at what times? Because that completely & utterly goes against my experiences of the mainstream cinemas in & around Glasgow. All the city centre 'multiplexes' attract too many "neds". The Renfield street Odeon ruined the experience by literally halving their screens.

Of course, the GFT is a BIG exception to that - my fav cinema.

 

[Marc Colella]

I've only seen 1 film at the theatre since '94, and I don't miss it one bit.
Home Theatre is the way to go for me.
I don't care about big spectacle-type movies. I don't usually watch them, so the big screen and spectacular sound system some theatres offer mean nothing to me.
I have a nice HDTV with progressive scan DVD player that really gives DVDs a film-like appearance. My 5.1 sound-system is very good, and for most of the films I watch (drama) it's more than enough.
- Purchasing a DVD is cheaper and I can sell/trade it if I don't like it.
- No screaming kids, cell phones, chatting, seat-kicking to contend with.
- The theatre keeps the movie schedule, so I have no say on when to start a movie.
- I can't pause the film to go to the bathroom, or rewind if I missed something (real handy with subtitled films).
- When the film is over, you have to leave the theatre. With DVDs I can rewatch certain parts (or the whole film).
- DVDs offer much more "bang for the buck" since I can watch anywhere from 1-4 hours worth of extras (sometimes more).
- I know I'll get ideal picture and sound from DVD, whereas there's no guarantee with movie theatres.

 

[Scott-C]

For me, here are the top two reasons why I'm really getting disillusioned with commercial movie theaters:

1. Patrons who are either rude or distracting in some way
2. Low quality level relative to my home theater

Honestly, I think there's been a pretty annoying problem in many of the movies my wife and I have seen in the past year. Some examples:

* Men in Black II - film breaks near end of movie (sound is still running). Projectionist finally realizes it after everyone in the theater has been screaming for 5 minutes. When the film is rewound, all we get to see is the last 60 seconds of the film. To this day I am able to tell my friends that I saw Men in Black II but I have no idea what happens because I don't know how much of the ending I missed!

* Star Wars Ep. II AOTC - A young man enters the theater and apparently is either coming off a drug high or has a physical problem, because he grunts, convulses, and alternatively stands/sits every 30 seconds for the entire show. We saw this in an AMC "Premiere Theater" which was just small enough that everyone in the theater noticed this guy. Now, if he had a physical problem I feel very badly for him, but nonetheless it was a distraction.

* About a Boy - Two elderly women enter the theater and sit in the row in front of us, two seats to our left. One of them has some sort of headphone-based hearing device that she intermittently uses throughout the show, presumably to aid her in hearing the soundtrack. Problem is, when it's in use it makes a noise similar to and as loud and high-pitched as a camera "auto-rewinding" at the end of a roll of film. We heard this every 15 to 20 minutes for the duration of the film.

* Lord of the Rings - A group of kids AND THEIR MOTHER yell and scream for the entire film. My brother-in-law and I "shssh'd" them several times, and one of the small kids even swore at us when we did. In retrospect, I have no idea why I didn't get the theater manager.

In general I find the movie experience to be of far lower quality in a commercial cinema when comparing it to a home theater experience. By "quality" I'm referring to the picture and audio quality, and well as the "experience value." I'm just about to the point where I've almost given up, except my wife still cherishes the experience of going out to the cinema. As a compromise, we primarily see "event" films and a few others, maybe amounting to 15 - 17 films per year.

 

[Sean Aaron]

What cinemas have you been going to in Glasgow & at what times? Because that completely & utterly goes against my experiences of the mainstream cinemas in & around Glasgow. All the city centre 'multiplexes' attract too many "neds". The Renfield street Odeon ruined the experience by literally halving their screens.
================================
Well, to be fair I haven't seen that many. I've been to the theater on Ashton Lane where the seats are so narrow you couldn't fit anyone older than 12 in them (closed for remodeling) and that was for Mothman which was mostly empty, but pretty quiet folks.
I've only been to the Renfield Street Odeon once and that was for Monsters Inc, and had some kids, but not a bad experience.
The one where I've had the positive Star Wars experience (twice, the second time being on a Sunday Matinee) was the UGC (the giant, glass 6 storey one up the street from the Odeon), which I found to be quite nice...of course it's a French chain, so that might explain it .
Now, I should point out that I've not been to the cinema on a weekend evening (the wife refuses to see movies on the weekend and probably rightly so) and mainly go for matinees, so with the exception of Star Wars I've not been in a full house, but I would think of all films that an "event" film like Star Wars would bring out the worst and it didn't. I'm sure an American up for the big crowd experience would have been sorely disappointed as there was no applause, no cheering, no real reaction to anything: people were quite stoic, but when comparing notes with co-workers I was told that was par for the course.
I may take in Minority Report this weekend (if i can see it at the UGC) and I'll let you know how it went if you like.
Really the only thing I'm interested in right now is more Star Trek, Simpsons and Futurama on DVD -- and I'd really love it if Channel 5 licensed Law and Order for DVD release. I mean, if CSI can make it to series box sets for R2 why can't Law and Order?

 

[David Susilo]

quote:

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Most of you seem to be implying that the money saved by not going to the movies will somehow make a financial difference in the future.
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Actually, it does. From my daughter's birth till today (less than 4 years), I've bought almost 1000 DVD. For each movie I do not watch in a theatre, I saved around CAD$12. Therefore so far I've saved around CAD$10K. That's a LOT of money saved.