John Scalzi - Do Science Fiction Movies Still Need Theaters?
The folks at Pixar sent me the DVD package for WALL-E last week, a three-disc set which includes the movie, an extra disc of goodies, and a version of the film compatible with portable viewers like the iPhone (so, presumably, you'll resist the temptation to find a pirate version online). In addition to giving my daughter something to brag about to her friends because we got the package early (it comes out Tuesday), the two separate versions of the movie -- one for the home and one to take with us wherever we go -- reminded me of how film viewing really has changed, particularly since the advent of portable media players. Go to an airport these days and watch people as they wait for their flights, and you'll see a good percentage of them staring down into a tiny screen, watching a movie or a TV show.
People love their movies; we've known for years (much to the economic joy of the studios) that they love to bring them home, and we know now that we love to take them with us when we go places. But this also makes me wonder if we still need the theaters that are films' first homes. What do the movie theaters still offer us that we can't get at home?
What Movie Theaters Offer
For the studios, of course, the answer is obvious: The theater represents their first revenue stream, the place where they can make back some of the outrageous cost of making and marketing a movie. People like to speculate about the death of the movie theater, but they've been speculating it since the birth of the television era, and very likely they will continue speculating about it for decades to come. Studios keep finding new ways to draw people into the theaters -- or at the very least, new spins on old ways: The current rage for IMAX and/or 3D versions of movies recalls CinemaScope and, yes, 3D films in the 1950s.
Given what the studios do to keep bringing us to the show, you would think that the main advantage that movie theaters have over home viewing is technological, but this is not entirely true. Chances are you don't have an IMAX theater in your house (and if you do, I'm offended you haven't invited me over yet), but on the other hand it's not at all unlikely that you might have a large screen HDTV-capable television with a Blu-ray disc play and a 7.1 digital theater sound setup -- or will have such a setup within a couple of years, as prices for all of these things drop. WALL-E or 2001 or Star Wars or Iron Man any other science fiction movie you might think of looks great up there on a theater wall, and sounds great too, but for all practical purposes you can create a nearly equally stunning cinematic experience at home... and many people have.
So what does the movie theater still offer viewers that you can't get at home? I'm going to suggest something that I think is counterintuitive: It offers lack of control.
What It's Like to Watch at Home
Take WALL-E
(again). My family sat down to watch it the other night, but we came
nowhere near close to watching it interrupted all the way through. The
phone rang and it was my wife's mother on the phone; we paused it so
she wouldn't miss something. Then at some point we all decided a
bathroom break was in order. Another pause. Later, snacktime. Pause. At
various points we skipped back a bit because we missed something
someone was saying or because we wanted to look at something in the
background (for example, the "Pizza Planet" truck that's in every Pixar
film).
Contrast this with how I saw WALL-E in the movie theater. Once the film started, it was out of my control: The story unfolded at the pace the filmmaker chose, and the story's emotional beats came in a rhythm uninterrupted by my personal life and preferences. Short of walking out of the film entirely, I had to take it on its own terms -- surrender my will to the story, as it were. As a result, the emotional highs of the story were higher, the funny parts funnier, and the wrenching parts (yes, there are wrenching parts in WALL-E) that much more affecting. In the theater, you are able to approach the movie as a complete work, and as complete experience in itself. How we know WALL-E or any other film is a really good film is by how it makes us feel -- which is to say, how much the film sweeps us along and makes us a participant in its story.
Being able to pause and rewind and such is all very cool -- they're part of the reason people like to watch movies at home, and it's especially fun with science fiction films, because thanks to special effects there's usually something cool to stare at in the background. Frankly, looking at the cool stuff in the background was just about the only way to enjoy the Star Wars prequel trilogy at all, and I know I had fun recently pausing the heck out of Iron Man to get a gander at what was popping up on Tony Stark's helmet display. But these features come at a cost: Each pause and skip degrades the actual viewing experience. Each pause and rewind draws you out of the story and makes you aware of the separation between you and what's going on in the movie, and that keeps you from getting everything you can -- or everything the filmmakers hope you can -- get out of it. You're never more aware that you watching a movie than when you're watching it at home, because you have control over how it plays. The extra bits and the commentary tracks and everything else that comes with DVDs these days are all super cool, but they're not really "extras": They're compensation for what you lose.
And this is why science fiction movies -- and all movies -- still need to be seen in theaters: Because they're the places where the movie is still the most important thing, not just something else we do. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to have the WALL-E DVD package, as well as the other DVDs in my collection. But I'm even more glad I got to experience it in the theater first.
Winner of the Hugo Award and the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, John Scalzi is the author of The Rough Guide to Sci-Fi Movies and the novels Old Man's War and Zoe's Tale. He's also the editor of METAtropolis, an audiobook anthology on Audible.com. His column appears every Thursday.
The other experience in the theatre is the community one - the popcorn smell may be annoying, but there's a synergy in a good audience, especially if it's a special showing with many fans attending. The fact you can hear everyone else's gasps and laughs amplifies the emotions as well.
Unfortunately, there's no way of knowing in advance if you're getting a good audience or a terrible audience. I see Scalzi's point on lack of control in theaters being a good thing (sometimes), but That Guy on his cell phone behind you, or a kid kicking your seat, or the random person who brings a baby is all more distracting than a phone call from Mom when you can pause the movie. OTOH, Dark Knight in IMAX was pretty awesome. ;)
Also, popcorn. I love movie popcorn so deeply that I have been known to attend movies I didn't even want to see just for that. Found some good movies that way, too. :)
I feel your post acutely: after a year away from theaters, I watched the latest James Bond flick with my extended family on a full bladder and could not escape until he finally blew up that last hotel. No need to say I cheered him enthusiastically!
One solution to the problem of interruptions at home is to disallow them. We on occasion decide that for a given movie we were "at the movies" and do not get up to answer the phone, etc. We also turn down the lights to avoid distractions. This works in part because we are only two people with no children.
I can't remember the last time I saw a movie in the theater with an audience that wasn't infuriating. People chat loudly with each other or talk to the screen, they talk on cell phones or hold them up to take video of the screen, they bring babies who cry or children who kick your seat. To me, that's far more damaging to my immersion in the story than pausing the DVD to go to the bathroom.
My family knows that when we sit down to watch a movie (A new movie anyway) that there are no phone calls, no questions, no nothing. "Pretend you're at the movie theater". Yes I'm a jack-a**. We have a very nice HD TV and a surround sound audio system. If everyone participates it's awesome. Popcorn made before, everyone gets a drink and gets settled in on the couch. Perfection.
You can pause for bathroom breaks (see I'm not a total douche). You can watch it AGAIN; which is fantastic. Something I never do with theater movies. One mugging is enough.
I do still go to theaters for some especially "large" movies. Iron Man, Hulk, Transformers. My screen isn't as big as there's and, while I can shake the walls of my house, my audio can't shake a stick at true theater audio.
I feel like movie theaters are amazing for one more reason: sheer size. Even at my friend's house, with a built-in home theater system, the size of the screen is only half that of an actual movie theater's screen. The sheer size of the scren adds so much because, no matter where you sit in the theater, you can't escape the film, unless, as you have pointed out, you leave.
MikeT, you're right about the sound, but the visual scale is what still gets me into the theater, in spite of the noise from the audience.
Some movies I have to see in the theater to get the visual impact. The little computer screen, or even smaller phone screen just doesn't do it for me when I see a movie for the first time.
I read somewhere that some theaters in England are going to have "adult only" screening of movies that are "PG" and over. They will have general screenings of the same movies, too. I think there are many people who are tired of the crying child or talking teenagers at a PG13 or R movie.
Last night I saw "REPO: The Genetic Opera" at the Music Box Theater in Chicago -- a classic old movie house (surprising how small the screen for so big a theater). I didn't love it, but I know I would have switched it off completely hating it if I were watching it at home from the local DVD rental or cable. The audience definitely makes a difference, rooting for the heroine, booing the villains, etc.
Even with a 52" TV, I still go to the big screen for the big releases: I want to be awed. I'll sit in the 3rd to 5th row, so I have to turn my head to see stuff on the sides. That's what makes it a movie experience, not the popcorn. We make better popcorn at home anyway.
I think almost any movie is better on the big screen. Yes it's out of your control but it does feel more like a ride. Some movies however I feel it doesn't really matter, while others if I only see them at home I find myself upset that I missed it on the big screen. Examples Titanic, Spiderman, Pitch Black, Alien vs Preditor 1. But a movie like Solaris, a movie I really liked, I didn't feel like I missed anything by only seeing it at home.
Good Topic!
I prefer the theater experience over the home experience precisely for all the reasons you mentioned, John. But on top of that, like others have said, I go for the atmosphere.
There's something so magical that I associate with going into a large space with stadium seating, watching the lights dim low, and then having the big screen open up before you and getting the full effect of THX surround sound hitting you from all angles!
And of course, there is the movie popcorn. As expensive as it is, good movie popcorn is like an addictive drug for both me and my wife. It has a quality and texture you simply can't recreate with take-home microwave poppers. Yum!
Watching a movie in the theater is the equivalent to listening to the griot around the campfire. It's a combination of the communal response to the story and the storyteller having control rather than you.
On the other hand, a really good home theater (as opposed to just having a cool setup in your living room) is pretty damn fun.
I think SF movies in general benefit from the large screen because they tend to have a visual component that adds to the story, and often have the sort of larger than life scenery that really needs the theatre for the big impact. The immensity of space, the giant starships, the details on the killer robots, the acid alien drool eating through the metal floor drop by drop--it just doesn't have the same effect when you watch on a TV or a laptop, let alone squinting at a phone screen. In my opinion, anyway.
SciFi movies are just about the ONLY movies we go to the theater for. Romantic comedies (yes, I'm married, so I do occasionally watch one)? Nah, they get rented/OnDemanded. Most genres are fine on my TV screen. SciFi movies often have that epic scope that you really NEED a huge screen to appreciate. Plus, while I do have a Dolby surround sound system, it's nowhere near the awesomeness of the system at the theater... and I have a toddler who goes to bed at 8, so watching a movie that vibrates your guts isn't something that happens much at my house.
And that's the other thing. Going to the theater makes it an "event" and makes it more meaningful. I actually had to get off the couch, drive somewhere, pay someone, find the optimal seat, and hope that there are no loud/stupid people in the crowd with me to enjoy this movie. It sets it apart from me just clicking some buttons on my remote and watching the film.
Iron Man in the theater was awesome, BTW :)
What movies theaters have you been going to? All those interruptions you have at home are there in *spades*, except there are a) 57 other families all doing them around you, and 2) you don't get to pause the film when they happen.
Barring times when you get lucky (no kids, few other people, back row, make it through the film w/o needing to go to the bathroom), the home experience is, IMO, vastly superior. As HD technology gets cheaper (and it will), this will only become more apparent.
Most theaters have made it very clear that they do not value my viewing experience. Good riddance to them.
The movies I go to see in the theatre are musicals like Sweeney Todd, Dreamgirls, etc. Simple plots, noisy production numbers.
People around me can make their usual noise and it's no biggie. Same with mostly action oriented SF films, though I still mostly like to watch them at home, so that on second viewing I can pause and reference actors, storylines and a bit of production history and background. (Just sort of my own enjoyable "trivial pursuit.")
Anyway, for me and most people I know there is no "communal" experience in the theater, because we don't consider ourselves sheep: filmmakers' button pushing to get the masses' ducts flowing and hearts fluttering only occasionally works on us.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not some heartless critic or Grinchlike viewer. There's a great scene showing the power of the movies in Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show, where two male friends at the crossroads of their lives are watching John Ford's Red River. We see the scene where the cowboys are about to go on "the big cattle drive." With one of the boys going off to the Korean war and the other facing an unknown future, the way the movie screen echoes their own journeys is touching and magical as only film can be.
And to quibble ever-so-slightly with Mr. Scalzi: the extras of a DVD are not "compensation" to me, but permission to enjoy a film from different viewpoints than the single one available in the theater. You are given the option to see the true level of quality of a film -- was that scene where you were getting weepy really well done, or were you blinded to lack of quality by tear-blurred eyes? -- and there are numerous DVD commentaries where directors explicitly tell the audience to go back and check a scene for a particular detail.
But I'm not into production details as much as I am story, and recent SF films are simplistic enough that I don't feel the need to hear what the director and other behind the scenes folks have to say. Sure, I'd be interested to hear Kubrick and Clarke talk about the process of making 2001. But carve out an hour or so to listen to the director of Transformers? Not so much.
Just going to the movies is an event in itself. I can remember standing in line for the midnight showing of Spider-Man and Star Wars Ep I, and the excitement of waiting for the film to start. (Or even waiting for the trailers for Star Wars in other movies.) Would we get the same effect watching it for the first time on our HTS? Who knows, because we still don't consume movies that way yet.
But it still feels like movie theaters are a dying breed. The theaters near me have started supplementing their movie revenue with live broadcasts of other types of events, such as opera from the Met, concerts from wherever, etc.
As you said, experiencing movies at home is a different experience, especially if you're watching them by yourself. Something similar to this was illustrated in "Finding Neverland". J.M. Barrie brought in young children in order to make the elder members of the audience appreciate the humor. Sometimes, we don't know if something is funny.
I wholeheartedly agree with this assessment of theater viewing. Films/movies, no matter the genre, are supposed to be larger than life, as far as story is concerned, so a huge larger than life screening helps drive the story into the mind/brain. I love having the movies I love at home to watch at leisure (and I still fully engross myself in them) but there's nothing like being in a theater watching a good film on that huge screen! And you know the movie is good when you almost piss on yourself waiting for a slight lull in the story to run and take of business and RUN back. I love that.
I'm with sheltiequeen, et al. I divide films into two types...must see on big screen (usually due to special effects, visual impact, scope, sound, etc) and eh, rent it (good, but not particularly visually or aurally spectacular).
The "must see on big screen" movies are movies I want to immerse myself in. Maybe there's some wild scenery (Narnia) or 'splody effects (Bond) or infinitely complex alien goodness (Alien) that I don't want to risk missing out on at home. And then there's the surround-sound effects that no home system short of Trump-funded is going to recreate.
For example, in Sunshine (for all it's sins) the combination of fierce visuals and a constant, rumbling vibration lurking just under the soundtrack that you felt more than heard made the sun an entirely separate character in the movie. And a horrifyingly and terrificly (in the old testament sense) invasive character at that. The presence of the sun just outside the ship walls was something you felt throughout the entire movie - there was no escaping it.
Seriously, I swear to God I lost measurable inches in body diameter just from clenching up into myself from the suspense and animalistic terror that combined effect created. Hubs and I had to stop by a park on the way home to loosen up afterward, even though the plot itself was annoyingly predictable and, in the end, so totally wtf that we both took to focussed denial to get through it. No way you would have gotten that butt-tighteningly visceral experience at home.
I think you're missing one major factor here, and I haven't seen anyone bring it up yet: impatience. Sure I'll pay for a DVD, but I want to see the movie NOW. Until they start releasing DVDs simultaneously to the theater release, people will still pay for the privilege to see something sooner rather than later.
I like to see movies that are visually stunning at the theater, even with a big screen and surround sound at home, it is not as impressive or immersive as the theater.
Movies that are more story driven, I can enjoy just as much at home.
As for the communal experience, being retired we usually go to the movie on a weekday afternoon and rarely have more than 10 people in the theater, often we have a private showing as it were. I can't recall the last time I saw a film in the evening at a theater.
I used to go to see a new movie every week. But the whole experience was usually ruined by those people who don't have a bit of consideration for others. The last movie I saw at the theater was nearly 3 hours long and the theater was about 1/2 full. Just before it started, a man came in with a toddler (totally inappropriate movie, by the way) and sat on the far right side of the theater. The entire rest of the audience got up and crammed into the far left side of the theater. I guess the dunce got the point since he left about 2 minutes later and, thankfully, didn't come back.