I was having an interesting conversation with some friends recently about going to the movies. We were talking about how most of us had seen Serenity twice already, and trying to recall the last movie we'd gone to see more than once in the theaters. For a lot of us, it was very difficult. I'm not sure I remember myself, outside of Serenity. The Sixth Sense, maybe? In any case, it's been a truly long time.
This struck me a little odd, because I have such vivid memories from 10-20 years ago of going to see some movies two, three, four times or more in the theater. Back to the Future I saw twice in one day. So what's changed? Here are a few of the theories we floated:
It used to feel more like if you didn't go see a movie again in the theater, you might not see it again, ever. Renting wasn't all that common, it seems to me. And buying movies was unheard of, with commercial copies of movies on VHS running around $80-$100 a shot.
The movie theater used to be far more technologically sophisticated than the home. But now I can get a decent-sized picture and kick-ass sound right at home. I only go to the theaters because I can't watch brand new movies at home instead. Going back to see a movie a second time in the theater? No way. Especially when...
It'll be out on DVD in about four or five months anyway. And it'll probably only cost around $15-$20. That's roughly the cost of a movie ticket and a trip to the concession stand.
Cell phones and talkers. As Shepherd Book of Firefly said, there is a special hell reserved for people who talk at the theater. And that hell is going to be overflowing, because I can't remember the last time I went to the movies (again, outside of the Serenity sneak previews) that didn't have people talking, babies crying, cell phones ringing, or some cacophonic cocktail of the three.
In short, it seems to me that the reasons I'm not going back to see movies in the theater multiple times are the same reasons theater attendance is down in general these days. Hollywood must be grateful for inflation, because only the soaring costs of tickets gives any of today's movies a prayer of pulling in box office grosses that compete with the movies of decades ago.
And by the way, yes I am aware that the line "play it again, Sam" is not actually spoken in Casablanca. But I figured no one would understand the reference I was alluding to in the title of this post otherwise.
10 comments:
when I was younger there was more free time, especially during summer vacation. movies filled a bit of that gap, and if only one good movie was out you would see it a few times. I'm sure that kids make up a majority of the repeat viewers, that's how the prequel star wars films make tons of $$.
nowadays I'm too busy to bother with seeing a movie twice (for all the other reasons you mentioned), unless I really really enjoyed it.
-the mole
Cacophonic. Great word there.
Yep, I saw Star Wars (before it was renamed "A New Hope") 6 times in the theaters that summer. I can name lots of movies I saw twice in the same day. I can't see that happening again.
The people that make theaters seem to think the answer to their problem is to raise ticket prices and make the food cost more. Yeah, that'll increase attendance. They can't see what's happening right in front of them. Facts don't seem to matter in their world view.
I used to work for a guy like that.
"So what's changed? "
Perhaps you are just old now? ;)
I think the last movie that I saw more than twice in a movie theater was Episode I. We stood in line for like 14 days and then went to the first three showings back to back to back. The last movie I saw twice was Revenge of the Sith.
Someone tried to convince me that theatre manners are on the decline because of easy home access to movies and quality equipment. I find that hard to believe, because I think the same groups of theatregoers, e.g. the hard-of-hearing elderly, tweens, teens, and the self-absorbed, are still the greatest contributors to theatre cacophony. They just have a new-fangled technology that can more efficiently annoy others. (The elderly were thrown in there because there's a lot of them in Chicago, and we always sit near a couple where the wife has to recite the movie to the husband.)
I wish the average person realized that Hollywood accountants are full of shit. They have been for decades, deliberately manipulating the books to the whims of the studios. Not once in the mainstream press are inflation-adjusted box office sales provided. Our vapid culture just wants to be excited by "beat the record" bullshit. No one seems to appreciate how films are marketed and released -- marketed until our eyeballs and ears bleed then released to as many screens as possible to make the most profit in the shortest amount of time, so that (heaven forbid) word-of-mouth doesn't ruin anything.
Paul Tatara was always right. The 1970s will very likely be the only apex in American cinema. Quality films are still made, but there's much more noise. Thanks, George Lucas, for creating a monster.
I can tell you the last movie I wish I'd seen more than once in the theater, but didn't get a chance to. Betcha not everyone knows that one for themselves.
For me, it's Two Towers. That unrequited second viewing may well be part of the reason it's so high up on Kathy's 50.
I saw Phantom Menace three times in theaters, largely for the lightsaber battles. Lord knows it wasn't to see Jar Jar or Anakin.
Aside from that, the only movie I can remember seeing multiple times in the theater was the original Star Wars.
I was gonna comment on "cacophonic" but Shocho beat me to it!
I saw Hithchiker's twice, but I had nothing else to do 2nd time. Prior to that it was The Two Towers (but my first screening was free, which justified it) and Fellowship, which blew me away so much I saw it 3 times. Prior to that I can't remember a repeat visit to the cinema.
I love movies but only have 30 or so on DVD. It's really gotta be special for me to get enough out of a second view. Comedy is right out, because jokes aren't as funny when you already heard them. I tend to buy animation and other "visually rich" movies. Or TV shows with complex arcs that benefit from repeated viewings.
I'll go with the rapid-availability-of-the-DVD/video option. Once upon a time films were only reliably available through the cinemas and maybe would come out on TV a few years later. Now I have the choice - go to see it again in the theatre and spend a lot or wait for the DVD and watch it with a bottle of wine or two. And it's amazing how many movies look better with a bottle of wine or two.
I'm glad the word "cacophonic" struck a chord. :-)
Actually, I don't think George Lucas is fully to blame for the start of the "event movie" craze. It was actually Steven Spielberg's Jaws that was the first true "blockbuster" ($100 million movie).
Hmmm.... movie I wish I'd seen twice in theaters? Can't say. I do know there are some favorites of mine from the 80s and before that I wish would be re-released so I could see them at a theater -- like Raiders of the Lost Ark, say. But there's something you never see anymore, a re-release. Used to be fairly common for majorly successful films. Again, before the home video market took off.
Still, I don't think I'd trade away my DVD collection to see Raiders on the big screen.
I'd trade mine to see Aliens once on the big screen. Missed it in the theater.
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