What's with all this cheering and clapping after a movie? (1 Viewer)

[TheoGB]

I just don't get why people feel the need for an applause after a movie finishes. This happened last night in Leicester Square when I saw (the truly amazing) LOTR. It totally leaves me cold.
Does this happen all the time in America too or are the Brits just having their brains syringed out sometime before attending the screening.
If Jackson was there in the cinema, I'd applaud. If it was a play or a concert or whathaveyou, but just a movie?:frowning:

 

[Brion Lydon]

In America, if a movie is good then people applaud. Thats the way it has been ever since I was young and probably before I was born.

Brion

 

[PatrickM]

Same thing here in Canada but it has to be a pretty damn good movie for everyone to applaud. I've only been in a few movies where that happened like Raiders.

Patrick

 

[MikeF]

I think it is the most bizarre habit ever. Who the hell are you applauding for? The projectionist? There's no one there to hear it!

I could understand it if you were in attendance with people you know were involved with the film, but otherwise, what is the point?

 

[JonZ]

I havent seen it happen in a long time, since the good ole days of the "big" movies.

Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back ,Return of the Jedi,Jaws, ET,Raiders Of The Lost Ark etc

I remember the theater cheering the Death Star explosion,Luke and Hans Appearance in ESB,booing Vader etc.

I guess it only goes to show what a big deal the Lord Of THew Rings Trilogy is to some.

 

[McPaul]

We had a standing ovation for FOTR. First time I'd ever experienced that in a theater. Reserved only for Epics I guess. And I would imagine usually just on the first day, although I could be wrong.

That's when we saw it. I couldn't believe it, get there an hour early and the only seats available together were in thhe third row, bottom left. GREAT seats!! - and for anyone familiar with Paramount Chinook, theater 10, those are horrible seats - horrible anywhere though, I would imagine.

I don't really get it either. but I went with it.

 

[Bill Balcziak]

Are the Brits just having their brains syringed out...

Ahhh, how I miss punk rock!

BTW, I applauded at the end of Sid & Nancy. It's a great film, of course, and worthy of lusty applause.

My wife and I were the only two in the theater. A surreal experience to be sure, and our applause must have been especially frightening for the projectionist.

 

[Don Black]

FOTR?

 

[Greg_Y]

Fellowship of the Ring.
I remember people applauding for ID4. :rolleyes

 

[Kevin Potts]

FOTR?

Fellowship of the Ring

I can't ever recall seeing a movie whose ending generated any amount of applause, let alone a standing ovation. I personally have never felt the need to applaud a movie because, as stated by others, it just doesn't make a lot of sense to clap at a movie screen.

 

[Bill Catherall]

Who the hell are you applauding for? The projectionist? There's no one there to hear it!

Sometimes there are people in attendance that are judging the general audience reactions. I've been that person a couple of times for my dad (he works for a small film distribution company).

But I don't think that's why people clap. I think it just makes it a little more fun...like singing along with your favorite song on the radio. It can also help to bring the audience together and make it a more friendly atmosphere. There's more to clapping than just showing appreciation for a good show. Some people just can't help themselves. They feel all emotionally worked up and just have to let it out some how. Clapping can give that release.

 

[Joe_C]

Who the hell are you applauding for? The projectionist? There's no one there to hear it!

My thoughts exactly.
During Lord of the Rings, there were FOUR separate scenes that evoked a moderate to significant amount of clapping from the audience. I LOVED the movie, but I still never felt the need to clap for it.

 

[Derek Miner]

Do you laugh at comedies when you're the only one watching?

Applause at a movie is a spontaneous reaction to something highly emotional. Nobody applauded in the theater where I saw Lord of the Rings, but if it were a midnight show full of people who were REALLY excited about seeing the movie, I would figure there would be a lot of applause.

The most notable experience with audience reaction I recall is seeing Star Trek VI on opening night with a packed house. If you haven't seen it, you probably won't mind me spoiling the ending... the good guys blow a Klingon bird of prey to Kingdom Come. But it came at the end of an elaborate suspenseful scenario, so I think the audience just needed to cheer, much like if you chuckle at something small during a tense moment. It's just human nature. Anyway, the scene in question during Star Trek VI was pretty potent, because I saw the movie two weeks or so later with only about 20 people in the theater, and there was still applause.

 

[teapot2001]

People cheer and applaud when watching sports on TV.

~T

 

[Keith Paynter]

It's true that applause is an appropriate response in a large crowd. It just doesn't happen often in a movie theater because there is no interaction between the audience and the celluloid.

I'm sure people applauded when The Empire Strikes Back, Return Of The Jedi and The Phantom Menace were seen theatrically by an audience for the first time - when the title theme came up and the logo appears people went nuts. It has a lot to do with anticipation and expectation.

For it to happen during a movie is no different if the audience is so absorbed by the movie that they feel a part of it. You can't say that for most movies. Concert movies couldn't even do this.

If you don't dig audience involvement, stay away from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It's the King (or is that Queen?) of audience interactive movies, and though often rehearsed and known by heart by many, invokes a communal response nonetheless.

LOTR has a huge following in print and transcends generations. For such a film to meet and/or exceed their expectations to the point of applause is a token of respect that the filmmakers have done their job well - they should be applauded, and not just at a star-studded premier

 

[Steve Christou]

I remember seeing 'Star Trek-The Motion Picture' at a West End cinema back in 1979, and when the credits came up at the start of the film there was loud cheering and clapping when each name came up William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy etc.
And when Kirk and Spock appeared there was more clapping and cheering, even the Enterprise had deafening applause when it made its appearance, it shocked me, I was a fan but I never expected this response, ofcourse by the end of the movie there was silence, and we all walked out slowly and silently as if we were going to a funeral, not daring to look at or talk to each other.

 

[tyler O]

I don't like to applaud, not even at a location where there is a miniscule chance that the live performance artist in the vicinity may hear me over the cacophony of other hands combined.

I like to bow at the end of a movie. Sometimes just my head, sometimes my whole body. This is a gesture which is not really seen or noticed by anyone (except the people thinking I'm some kind of bizarro freak (like most people)) but to me, it is much more personal of a statement. It is an acknowledgement of the personal work and dedication that went into such a work of art, whether it be a concert, play, movie, painting, whatever. It is my recognition of the fact that I honor them and the work that they have done. More than applaud their egos, I want to honor their spirits. I want to send my energy in their direction to try to cause the work to continue, in whatever shape or fashion.

But, as I said above, I'm just a bizarro freak.

 

[Don Black]

Nothing beats the audience's reaction to the green LucasFilm logo... Or Jar-Jar Binks for that matter!

 

[Bill Balcziak]

I want to honor their spirits...

That's mighty Buddhist of you.
Namaste. (Which means, in effect, "I bow to the divine in you.")
Right on.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

If I'm really pissed, I tend to yell out "WHY ARE YOU CLAPPING? THEY"RE THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY!"

It also bugs the hell out of me when people clap at musicals after every solo or number. Very very annoying. As a performer I want you to shut the hell up until it's over