Why people would rather have DVD's... by UnregisteredCompanion

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Why people would rather have DVD's...

POSTED BY: UNREGISTEREDCOMPANION
UPDATED: Tuesday, December 27, 2005 20:47
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Monday, December 26, 2005 11:17 AM

...rather than sit in a theater.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/columns/grove_display.jsp?vnu_con
tent_id=1001737101

I think this may (in part) explain why Serenity was not a box office hit, but is now flying off the shelves.

~~~~~
"Funny and sexy. You have no idea. And you never will."

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Monday, December 26, 2005 12:04 PM

CBY

There's a lot of truth in this article.

Also I have another pragmatic reason: I want the original, english voices, no crappy translation delivered by misplaced speakers (the dubbing studios constantly try to lower their costs these days). This option is sometimes available at certain theaters around here but still very uncommon

°°°°°°°°°°°°
http://www.byond-trax.com - my selfmade ambient/lounge/chillout music

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Monday, December 26, 2005 12:25 PM

UNREGISTEREDCOMPANION

I would rather read subtitles than watch a dubbed movie. When the lip movements don't match the words, it gives me a headache.

~~~~~
"Funny and sexy. You have no idea. And you never will."

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Monday, December 26, 2005 4:43 PM

NCBROWNCOAT

The article really hit the mark.

I can't afford an evening movie at $8.50 a person plus concessions so the Saturday or Sunday matinee is the only time I can afford to go (or Christmas afternoon as it was yesterday).

Here's another problem-people talking. Went to see "King Kong" yesterday with my daughter. Spent lots of money not even counting the concession stand (had to wait 15 minutes in a long line just to get an overpriced soda and missed the commercials thank goodness and the first 5 minutes of the movie).

There was a couple next to us that made remarks about the movie during every single scene. It wasn't just the usual "oh no" or gasp. It was loud stupid commentary on every little thing. They were louder than the 2 kids they had with them. I wished them into "the special hell" but it didn't help.

As a result of these factors movie theaters are reserved for special films like the BDM. I then either rent/buy a DVD to watch it again and hopefully again. Then there are the special features on the DVDs which I love to watch.

At an average of $20.00 to buy a DVD or $19.99 a month for Netflix (that's the price for 3 DVD's at a time)DVDs come out a lot cheaper in the long run and are more pleasant to watch even if I didn't get the 32" LCD TV with surround sound that I wanted for Christmas.

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Monday, December 26, 2005 5:06 PM

J6NGO1977

In Liverpool we have an 'Art' cinema. Anyone under 18 not admitted. Which is good.However there's alot of movies they don't play. The brothers Grimm is the only movie I wanted to see recently :)

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Monday, December 26, 2005 9:27 PM

GORBA916

Quote:
An indication that exhibitors are getting the message came recently when the National Association of Theater Owners said it would ask the FCC to allow the blocking of cell phone signals in theaters. But in responding to consumer complaints about rude behavior by people who talk on cell phones during films, NATO immediately prompted new complaints from others who are unhappy they might not be able to make or receive emergency calls while at the movies.

Why dont they do the ONE thing they need to do... remove ADVERTISEMENTS! I don't mean trailers. They're cool. I'm refering to all those darn Honda Civic, Youth Soccer League, Church of Later Day Saints, Pepsi, ESPN, Xbox 360, and like a quadrillion others that play BEFORE the trailers play. Here's the problem. I only have so much time in the day. If I go in to see say King Kong it's not just the 187 minute (or 3 hours, 11 minutes) running time you have to deal with. Add the 20 minute crappy previews, plus the 10 minutes of trailers. And your looking a nearly 4 hours with NO intermissions. I'm sorry but I can't handle that crap! That's why I LOVE DVD. I can pause whenever I want and pick up another time. Or watch the whole way through. Or I can go get a bag of buttery popcorn from the microwave and watch the film. AND I have 65" widescreen SONY TV, with a Denon AVR-5805 ( http://usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/226.asp), a pair of DefTech bipolar super towers ( http://www.definitivetech.com/loudspeakers/powertower/powertower.html) for the fronts, a C/L/R central ( http://www.definitivetech.com/loudspeakers/clr/clr.html) for the front, and a pair of bipolar surrounds ( http://www.definitivetech.com/loudspeakers/surround/surround.html) for the rear. And of course a Monster HTS-5000 ( http://www.monstercable.com/productPage.asp?pin=587) to monitor and regulate the voltage and amps. Put it this way it's BETTER than the theater. :)

-------------------------------
O Serenity, O Serenity! Where art thou Firefly?
Deny thy networks and refuse thy box-office totals;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll no longer be a Capulet....

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Tuesday, December 27, 2005 12:55 AM

VIKING

i really dont recognise this descripton

Cellphones = this was a small probelm some years ago do i have hardly ever heard a phone go off in the last couple off years while i have been to the movise. and i can not remeber anyone talking in a cellphone in the theather ever

Ads= yeah can be sligthly annoying do not a real probelm if you wanna totaly avoid them come a few minutes after it says the movie has started

Seats= never had probelm with having to meat up early to get the seat i want since the cinemas her sell tickets with seat placing

Prices= can be a bit steep woude be nice if they were lowerd some

Better tvs and sound at home = not an issue for me since i cant afford the new expensive tv and sound systems

i probebly go to the movies àbout 2 a month

for the record i am from Norway so things migth be diffrent in the US i woude n not know

The wages of sin are death, but the hours are good and the perks are fantastic.

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Tuesday, December 27, 2005 3:02 AM

GORBA916

Of course the bottom line is most of the movies are total crap and not worth the price of admission.

-------------------------------
O Serenity, O Serenity! Where art thou Firefly?
Deny thy networks and refuse thy box-office totals;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll no longer be a Capulet....

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Tuesday, December 27, 2005 3:18 AM

BROWNCOAT1

May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

I think the article makes a lot of valid points about the drop in ticket sales this year. I for one don't go to see as many movies in the theatre as I used to. People talking too loudly, crowds, high prices for tickets & concessions, and poor quality movies has kept me at home more waiting for the DVD release to rent or for the movie to come out on tv.

I have not noticed any real issue w/ cell phones personally, so I have no problem w/ them.

I find I am a bit more picky about where to spend my money at the theatre. I see movies I really can't wait to see, like the BDM. This year I think I have seen maybe five different movies in theatres.

__________________________________________

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

Richmond, VA & surrounding area Firefly Fans:

http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/richmondbrowncoats/

http://www.richmondbrowncoats.org

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Tuesday, December 27, 2005 4:12 AM

HOGWAFFLE

a lot of people i know, especially married or really tight couples just wait to buy the dvd cause you figure 2 movie tickets costs about 16 dollars in most places. and hey buying the dvd? about 16 dollars and u get to keep it forever.

Me? personally i want the BIG screen experience=)

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Tuesday, December 27, 2005 4:41 AM

SPINLAND

My wife & I are addicted to the big screen experience, too. Fortunately we live in a very small town with one small cinema and people tend to be more polite, methinks. What those big cineplexes need is a return to staffs of ushers to keep order. To modernize, they should be equipped with those little guns that shoot a needle on an electric wire; zap the noisy bastards senseless and leave them in their seat until after the movie, where they can lug them out with the rest of the garbage. Another cool tool would be a directional electron gun that zeroes in on cell phones that are turned on; zap and slag them into melted puddles of goo.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"That's what governments are for, [to] get in a man's way." -- Malcolm Reynolds

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Tuesday, December 27, 2005 4:59 AM

EMBERS

Yeah I think the article makes very valid points about the lowered quality of the movie going experience...

ad to that the heightened expense

and in many (my local) theaters you have bad sound & picture...to get to a theater with great sound and stadium seating I have to drive a 1/2 hour each way, which keeps me from going as often as I might if a good theater was closer

but frankly, most movies now days are not really worth watching in a theater. A movie like 'King Kong' (over 3 hours long) is a big commitment when you don't care anything about the story, at home you know you can fast forward or walk out of the room to get things done....
There are a lot of films when (IMO) the director really dragged things out that could have been cut...
Or where the jokes were too obvious and low brow

Too many movies now days are trying to appeal to everyone, and they end up not being all that appealing....

So I decide to save the money, and my time, and the trouble, and see it later on DVD....

Obviously that was not the case w/'Serenity' which I saw 8 times in spite of having to drive a long way each and every time I saw it... but I could understand the people who didn't do that.

**********************************************
watch the R. Tam Session vids: http://www.hittarivertam.nu/
and buy the 'Serenity' comics published by Dark Horse,
and have you joined the Browncoats yet?
http://browncoats.serenitymovie.com/serenity/?fuseaction=tools.invlink
&u=embers&linkID=36

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Tuesday, December 27, 2005 5:11 AM

DANTE144

Its all in the news lately..The film industry is in a funk.

I personally won't pay full retail for a movie unless I love it.. ie. Serenity, Star Wars, Narnia.

The rest I'll see at the dollar movie.

Theater is always better than video!

"Jesus saves, everyone else takes damage" -tee shirt some girl was wearing at Megacon.

http://dantedreams.com <-my webcomic

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Tuesday, December 27, 2005 5:52 AM

VIKING

not t be an ass but what did you like about narnia ?

i was reallylooking foward to the movie and was so disapoited that i can hardly find a good thing about it.

so maybe you saying what you like migth help me get a more balnced view o the movie

The wages of sin are death, but the hours are good and the perks are fantastic.

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Tuesday, December 27, 2005 6:51 AM

SAMEERTIA

First: Spinland, you owe me a new blouse seeing as I just spilled tea over mine while laughing at your post.

Second: I have to agree with everything the article says.
I just moved out of the San Francisco area, where the cell-phone/pager problem is rampant! Every single programmer/sys-admin/executive, etc has their cel-phone on, ringing, answering it, discussing "The problem at hand" while you're trying to listen to the film.

You cannot go to a film for under 10$, unless you get to the theater at 10:00 am for a matinee, and usually the movies being shown as matinees aren't films I would choose to watch.

Films that rely on special effects I see in the theater. "Star Wars", "Harry Potter", "Serenity"... I wanted to see Serenity against the black on the big screen. And now that I see the dvds, where she looks so small and ineffectual, I'm so glad I had that moment in the theater where I got to see her soar.
Anything with epic cinematography - Films like Narnia, to name something recent, and "Unforgiven" to name something older, lose their epic impact on the small screen.

"The Family Stone"? "Diary of Bridget Jones"? Is there any reason to see them on big screen? It's the dialogue that's the import there, not the visual effects.

As for "Chronicles of Narnia"... what was not to like? The CGI wasn't as good as it should have been, certainly, but the acting was very good. (although I kept listening to Ray Winstone and hearing, "It's like a babies fist, 'oldin' an apple!").
It really captured the book very well, I thought.

There's been some dissing of the casting of Aslan, but I loved Liam in the role. Aslan is gentle, forgiving, and extremely powerful. I felt that through Liam's voice.

I also love the translation of Peter's knowledge of the Blitz into the stone air drop in Narnia. It was a whole new way of fighting back then, and for the directors to make that choice, to show that Peter was learned in something that the Centaurs couldn't teach him, helped fill a gap that I feel C.S. Lewis left out of the books.
In the books, one day, Peter kills a wolf and then he fights a battle that you do not see, only hear described later, and then, he's High King of Narnia.
In the movie, Peter kills the wolf, then organizes his troops, and then shows them something new. A youth deserved of the title of High King, I think. I liked that decision on the part of the filmmakers alot.

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Tuesday, December 27, 2005 7:41 AM

UNREGISTEREDCOMPANION

Maybe people are more polite in Colorado, but I haven't really experienced the cell phone issue. But then again, I go to matinees because I am so cheap.

I do like a HUGE WALL of images flying at me, but half the time the print is scratched. Big giant fuzz balls kind of ruins the effect. Plus, the concessions are so over priced it's just stupid. $5 for a dinky bag of popcorn? $4 for a soda???

I smuggle in snacks when I go. I haven't been busted yet...and I have been doing this for over 30 years :)

You can get drinks and dinner at a nice restaurant for the price of a family going to the movies.

Having some friends over, a DVD, a big screen tv, home-made nachos and cold beer, not having to pay a baby sitter...much better.

~~~~~
"Funny and sexy. You have no idea. And you never will."

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Tuesday, December 27, 2005 8:19 AM

DUG

My wife and I had stopped going to movies. The crowds were rude; cell phones used during the movie; people had open discussions with the characters on the screen. In essence all of the horror stories about over priced movies. We even tried going VERY LATE. The 10:45 start times didn't stop people from bringing their babies and negelecting them while they had full volume conversations with their friends.

Then we moved away from Tallahassee. In the small town we're in now the prices are lower, the people actually are QUIET during the movie and the whole experience has returned to being "movie magic". The problem seems to be very location dependent.

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Tuesday, December 27, 2005 1:26 PM

DC4BS

I work 3-11 PM so other than during holiday seasons when early matinees are avaialble, I can only get to movie theaters on the weekends.

Some movies are just always going to be better on the big screen.

I use 2 methods to chose what to go see:

1: watch comercials, read the reviews and try to be very choosy about movies I go see (EG: Serenity, Narnia, etc...) and just grab DVDs of the rest I'm interested in as they come out or later when they drop to the $10 bin.

2: On rare occations I'll just go to a random theater and buy a ticked for whatever movie is next starting after I arrive. I've seen some very good movies as well as very bad ones this way. It's fun to see a movie with absolutely NO expectations going in the door because you have never even seen one commercial for it. Lets you really see it for what it is rather than what you think it should be. I would have NEVER seen "Gridlock'd" (Tim Roth - 1997) and almost walked out of the theater during the first boring/very depressing ten minutes or so. I decided to stick it out and gave it just a few more minutes. Once the movie gets going, it turns out to be a really fun movie to watch. Just really slow and depressing to start off. If you happen to stumble over it at the video store, give it a shot. It's tough to get through the first 10 minutes but I think it's WELL worth it.

I liked Narnia for the most part. I have the complete set of books from when I was a little kid and purposely DIDN'T re-read any before seeing the movie. As far as I could remember, it followed the storyline prety well.

I made the re-read the book mistake before going to see The Bourne Identity... Other than the names of most of the characters, a few random plot points and the title, the movie had practicaly NOTHING to do with the book. I was hugely dissapointed when I went to see it. After waiting a while, I saw it again on DVD when my sister rented it and enjoyed it much more. Once I decided to accept it on it's own merrits and didn't try to compare it to the book, it really wasn't all that bad. Wasn't great either but, there you go. If they had called it something else or advertised it as "_V_E_R_Y_ LOOSELY based on the book" to warn me, I would probably have enjoyed it from the start. Then again, I would probably have only seen it on DVD then.

------------------------------------------
dc4bs

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Tuesday, December 27, 2005 2:32 PM

GIXXER

The food.

I don't like the sound of someone eating noisily, and I really don't like them doing it in my lugs for the whole two hours (at least) that you're trapped in the cinema.

I'm amazed how people starve themselves and their children for weeks at a time, and miraculously choose that particular day and cinema to catch up. (Hint. It's probably cheaper, and almost certainly healthier to buy food from...you know...shops.)

And the mobile phone thing. I'm almost on board with the possibility of receiving emergency calls while at the theatre. But making emergency calls? Not so much.
"Help! I've run out of popcorn." "Help! It's gone really dark." "Help! I'm in a big room, and there are hundreds of pissed-off looking Orcs running towards me." "Help! The guy next to me has had a heart attack." (OK, maybe the last one...)

And double features. They used to be good. The only proper one I can remember seeing was with "Silent Running." Outstandingly dull film, especially as that was the one I'd gone to see. In the event, the supporting feature, "American Graffiti" was a lot more fun.

Finally, though many mention the days of the double feature and the present ads + film situation you get now, there was a weird transitional period during which you got these really crappy half-hour 16mm travelogues with cheesy 1970s porno soundtracks: "Telly Savalas Goes to Portsmouth" or "Telly Savalas goes to St Andrews" and no doubt elsewhere too. Maybe that prompted folk to think "Ads may not be such a bad thing after all." Weren't they ever wrong.

G

Ranting. Something you only realise you've been doing after you've hit the "Post" button.

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Tuesday, December 27, 2005 4:17 PM

NCBROWNCOAT

I didn't address the cell phone problem in my earlier post. I live in a small town with a small 6 screen theater and no problems there except outdated seats (no stadium)and old screens. There's no cell problems here.

If I go half an hour up the road to a larger university town a with big new multiplex (where I saw King Kong)there are usually no problems with cell phones despite the large student/faculty population. There is also a large population of doctors too (the university has a medical school and large regional hospital) and I don't remember ever hearing a cell phone or beeper-the multiplex has a reminder after the ads and before the feature to turn off your cell phones.

Personally I put my cell phone on vibrate as I have an elderly Mom that needs to be able to call me. If she would call I'd go outside the the theater.

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Tuesday, December 27, 2005 8:47 PM

CAIUS

What with wife and kids it's just mutch more convienient to wait for the DVD. The last movie I saw on the big screen was the BDM. I think the last one before that was Black Hawk Down.

I will on ocasion go to the drive in, we have a 6 screen and a 9 screen in the Phoenix area, and every show is a double feature. The sound is on FM so if you don't like the second film you can fiddle with your radio and watch the film to your right or left instead.

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