Cinema elitism

[SymphonicX]

Just reading another thread and thinking - what exactly makes seeing a film at the cinema better than watching it at home after its release? Is it just knowing what is happening at the times, socially, that somehow gives you a better insight into how it came about?

Aside from having a much bigger picture, personally I don't see the relevance of people saying how seeing a film in the cinema somehow gives them a better understanding of a movie? I mean I never saw Dawn or Day at the cinema but I'd tear the ears off anyone who said I didn't have a grasp of the movie simply because I wasn't around for its release....

[MinionZombie]

Two very different ways of watching a flick, either in a group or on your own. Comedies work better perhaps in groups, I'll still laugh and enjoy a comedy on my own, but do so much more with at least one other person present.

When I saw Shaun in the cinema it was great, everybody was into it and having a ball, so it was a really good viewing.

It's also cool to go out with your mates, all bundle in a car, music going, chit-chat going, laughs-a-plenty, rock up at the cinema, all sit down in a dark room with a huge screen and comfy seats, enjoy a flick, then drive home and get back after midnight when everybody else is asleep...I dig it.

I've been t'cinema four times already this year, probably going again this Sunday to see "In Bruges", and "Pineapple Express" is an absolute must...oh and "Iron Man" will be a must-see too, and the new Indiana Jones flick ... and "Zack & Miri" when that comes out...a lot of cool movies. :D

[Danny]

i just cant stand people who use the term "true fan" in any way. period. its allways soemthign like "oh, well only a TRUE fan would understand" or "they dont like it as much as a true fan like me". its straight up egotistical and its for egomaniacs, you either like somethign or dont, theres different degrees of like or disslike but "true fan" is the tadpole to the stalkers frog.

[Mike70]

i just cant stand people who use the term "true fan" in any way. period. its allways soemthign like "oh, well only a TRUE fan would understand" .

amen. i have always wondered just what the hell "a true fan" was anyway. to me anyone who loves/enjoys something, whether it is movies, music, books, etc., enough to go back and watch/read/listen to it over and again is a true fan. to be a fan doesn't necessarily mean that you have to delve deep into every single aspect of whatever media you enjoy and learn every single factoid and desconstruct every single facet of it. being a fan simply means (to me at least) that you love something enough to continue digging it over time and will go back to it often.

i really, really have a gigantic problem with purists. they suck the life out everything they supposedly love - this is one reason why i love star trek but cannot stand 95% of star trek fans.

as for the cinema thing - as i have said over and over again in the thread in dead discussion, it is a massive non-sequitur fallacy to take the position that seeing a movie in a theater gives you a better appreciation for it or that the age at which you first view it makes your opinion more valid than someone else's.

many a time i have loved a movie in the theater, bought it on DVD, watched it a few times and ended up wondering if had been shooting up draino when i first saw the movie. the reverse is also true.

[SymphonicX]

yeah I agree with all posts so far...

I particularly get enjoyment from going to the cinema....its just whether I think somehow my experience of it on the big screen outweighs the experience, and therefore the opinion of anyone who's only watched it at home....and to be honest I can't see any realism in that....

As for being a true fan - I think its just a monnicker people like to adorn themselves with to assert the fact that they are so sure of their opinion on a certain thing, that any counter opinion is therefore irrelevant....all it serves to prove is that the person spewing that crap is just arrogant and doesn't want to HEAR any other opinions....it's like that old adage of having freedom of religion, only if it's the same relgion as me....pure hypocrisy...

[bassman]

I don't think seeing a film in the cinema helps the viewer get a better understanding of the movie itself. That just really wouldn't make any sense, anyway...

I'm all for going to the theater for the experience of the theater itself. Just as MZ said, it gives you a certain vibe. Other than the fact that the screen is larger and the sound can sometimes be better, there's nothing better than buying a ticket, waiting in the lobby with all the posters, walking into a dimmed theater, and getting a bit excited as the lights go down for the trailers and film. It's a package experience.

But does it change whether or not someone "gets" a film or is a "true fan"? I definitely don't think so...

[MinionZombie]

They're two quite different experiences.

A cinema trip is like a package deal and usually connected to something a bit more special. You've made the trip out, you've bought a ticket, you're in a dark room looking at a massive screen with sound that rocks your heart inside your chest (like with Rambo...bloody nora it was LOUD :D) ... and often, for me at least, I go to see films I really wanna see ... sometimes I see something I'm either way about, but go just so I can hang out with mates and enjoy the over all experience.

As for viewing at home on DVD, you can chill out, watch on your own schedule, only watch part of it, pause it and take a piss, or stop and do something else, then pick up again. Viewing a DVD with mates isn't the same experience as mates at the cinema, but it's still fun to watch a movie with mates, especially if booze is involved - which you generally can't do at a cinema.

At home you'll never get a twat, but at the cinema you might do - although I've personally rarely experienced that.

They're both good for different reasons. Certain films are more impressive on the big screen, that's for sure, generally the big films are really impressive on a big screen...but something like Diary of the Dead, you don't have to see it on the big screen ... or would you have to do that with something very strongly visual like Sunshine - however I saw Sunshine in the cinema and was genuinely blown away, I found it quite moving at times, it left me gripped and really swept away by it at certain points, the visuals and the audio - all MUCH BIGGER than just watching the DVD, which wasn't as powerful (but still cool cos I really like that flick).

They're both groovy in my book.

[SymphonicX]

I remember when I saw Return of the King at the cinema and some jerk started talking on his phone, because the guy next to him was annoyed at his 2 year old kid for being scared....1) don't take ur little kid to a movie like that 2) just because the guy next to you is a dick, don't spoil the movie for everyone else...

People ended up throwing coke bottles and popcorn at him....brilliant.

[MinionZombie]

People ended up throwing coke bottles and popcorn at him....brilliant.

And I would have joined right in.

Generally I think the British cinema audiences are decent people en mass. They all laugh at the right times, they all stay quiet at the right times, they don't act like dicks...it's only in smaller audiences that dickishness comes forth - but even then that's rare, or so I've found.

Depends on which cinema and which city I guess.

[SymphonicX]

yep, definitely depends on the area...

I've never understood people who clap and cheer at the end of the movie...seems to be a US thing, very odd....

[bassman]

yep, definitely depends on the area...

I've never understood people who clap and cheer at the end of the movie...seems to be a US thing, very odd....


It's just sort of a way for the audience to connect with each other. Kind of like the games that people play with Rocky Horror, or the way they dress up for Rocky Horror, Star Wars, DEAD FILMS, etc...

None of it really makes that much sense. Just a bit of fun.

[Mike70]

yep, definitely depends on the area...

I've never understood people who clap and cheer at the end of the movie...seems to be a US thing, very odd....

the clapping thing is dying out here. i haven't really run it to much in the last ffew years.

as far a behavior goes i think it is mostly dictated by age. yes older people can act like morons but really idiotic behavior mostly comes from kids in my experience.

it also depends on whether the management of the theater has any balls or not. throwing a couple of folks out on their asses, in my experience, usually shuts the rest of the people up once they realize they could be next.

a few years ago the danbury in cincinnati ran a midnight movie series over the summer. classic horror at midnight on friday. first one was friday the 13th I and it was a zoo for a bit. lots of idiotic kids carrying on, commenting on what was happening on the screen. after a couple of older people complained, the management came in (with two sheriffs) and wholesale ejected about 20 people. it got real quiet for the rest of the movie.

next weekend was dawn 78 and outside of the theater was a sign that said something like, "if you disrupt this film in any way, you will be thrown out. no warnings." again it was nice and quiet.

[SymphonicX]

yeah when I saw LOTD at the cinema is was pretty similar....kids behind us screaming and yelling about stuff, making asses of themselves and generally having little "in jokes" between themselves - within the first five minutes of the movie. before I even had the chance to be annoyed my girlfriend turned around and told them all to shut the hell up...and coming from this little chick, I was expecting them to ignore her or swear at her or something - but instead they all piped down and you couldn't hear a peep from 'em for the rest of the movie.

When I saw Yawn04 at the cinema it was the same thing, a couple on either side of me were talking and chatting, whilst a whole group of girls were next to my gf doing the same...I dealt with the couple, asking them to please keep quiet, they obliged, no probs...my girlfriend did pretty much the same but a bit harsher because they were being so inconsiderably loud....ten minutes later the group of girls left the cinema....brilliant.

[MinionZombie]

When I went on Sunday, there wasn't any fuss as per the usual, everybody laughing at the right times, all had a good time and everybody respected each other.

But part way through some kid came charging down the stairs, obviously going for a piss, didn't make a noise or anything, but was clearly showing off. He must have jumped about 6 freaking steps and landed with a thud on his feet - me and my mates (and no doubt the rest of the cinema goers) were gutted he didn't fall over and make an ass out of himself. :p