“The Hollywood director, Ridley Scott, warned yesterday that new technology is killing off the big-screen experience. The Oscar-winning County Durham-born movie mogul said mobile phones and computers threatened movie-making on an epic scale,” Raymond Hainey reports for The Scotsman.
“He insisted that the best way to experience great film was still in a cinema with a big screen and state-of-the art acoustics,” Hainey reports.
“Scott launched the attack at the prestigious Venice Film Festival, where he unveiled a newly remastered version of his 1980s sci-fi classic Blade Runner,” Hainey reports. “He said: ‘People sit there watching a movie on a tiny screen. You can’t beat it, you’ve got to join it and deal with it and also get competitive with it. But we try to do films which are in support of cinema, in a large room with good sound and a big picture.'”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “doc” for the heads up.]
This would all be well and good if not for these facts:
• Our 60-inch screen viewed from 10 feet away is perceptually larger than any movie theater screen this side of IMAX.
• Our 60-inch screen viewed from 10 feet away looks better than the one at the movie theater.
• Our 60-inch screen is available immediately, without a drive, parking, waiting in line, etc.
• Our surround sound system sounds infinitely better, especially since we don’t have to listen to people continually jabbering about nothing in the rows surrounding us. Movie theaters too often supply the wrong kind of surround sound.
• Our seat is more comfortable and nobody’s freakish height, goofy hair, or ugly hat is blocking our view.
• Our popcorn didn’t cost US$8 (and wasn’t stale) and our $5 large vat of Diet Coke isn’t watered down by half and we didn’t have to wait on a woefully under-staffed line for half an hour, missing the previews and the first five minutes of the movie, when – at those prices – we should’ve been served immediately upon entrance by a fleet of servants kneeling before us dispensing rose petals.
The movie business is broken. That’s why 25-cents worth of popcorn costs $8 and 15-cents of soda costs $5 and why we stay home to watch more often than we go out to the movies.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple’s famous 60-second “1984” television commercial, in which – ironically – an individual rebel destroys a large movie theater-like screen, was directed by Ridley Scott.
[UPDATE: 12:27pm EDT: Revised comments to remove theoretical names of people who may be jabbering at the movies so as to not distract some from the topic at hand.]
I have yet to be in a movie theater with “state-of-the-art” acoustics….
Fine then, kill cinema. But first kill the pile of shit they call TV
Paid 22 bucks for my wife and I to see a movie on Saturday, over 15 minutes of trailers and commercials. I kept trying to hit the menu button so I could start the movie.
Oh and the print had a big line down the right hand side and the color was off on reels 2 and 3.
Sorry the cinema experience has been kicked in the ass by my plasma and surround sound at home.
P.S. – I don’t think 3D glasses are the answer.
Funny, I thought crappy plots and over-reliance on franchises/sequels were killing cinema.
You mean the big screen experience of screaming kids and smelly parents?
You mean the big screen experience of jackasses who wont turn their phones off?
You mean the big screen experience of tiny seats made for 3rd grade pygmies?
You mean the big screen experience of 12 dollar popcorn and cups of ice with a splash of pop?
You mean the big screen experience of 35 minutes of adds before the previews even start?
I’m wondering where the hell you’ve been, Ridley, because my cinematic experience was ruined a long, long time ago.
-c
MW: ‘history’ (will teach us nothing)
It is all about money. The reason theaters have a poor experience and over charged concessions is because the movie makers screw them.
Most theaters make their money from the concessions not the movies. So they have enough to operate, but not to keep up or upgrade.
I love movies but just like the music industry, they are working on broken model, and they need to find a new model, not whining about losing their current model.
Unfortunately I do have to agree with Mr. Scott here. Cinemas are the best way to enjoy movies, even if you get strange and roudy people there as well.
And Home Cinemas with 60″ screens are great too. If you can afford it.
But I think Ridley Scott’s problem is with ‘TINY’ mobile phones and computer screens. That I can understand.
I mean Films (even if they are rubbish) like Transformers do impress more on a big screen with great sound, be it cinema or Home Cinema, rather than a mobile phone with tinny speakers, or even watching it on an iPod.
Now tell me, that’s not true!
I agree with MDN, and would add that the movie theater experience is stuck in the ’80s, just as the music industry, and indoor malls.
I would HAPPILY pay $8-$10 (or, say, $20 or so for a ‘site license’ to invite peeps over) to watch first run movies AT HOME on my fantastic 1080p LCD. My couch is infinitely more comfortable than any friggin’ seat in a movie theater!! And, I don’t have to constantly “shush” people (or tell them to STFU if shushing doesn’t work). On demand first run films, movie studios, that’s where it’s at!!
You people just hate people…
Nothing beats the cinema – as long as there aren’t a***holes in the audience (and where I live they thankfully are few)
I would enjoy movies in the theater a lot more – if there were a better selection to justify the $50 I have to spend for 3 tickets, food, etc. – –
Start with banning Cuba Gooding, Jr. in movies…
Cinema is far from dead judging by the record profits of some movies today. But MDN is right as far as the food prices and the non-existent service.
Obviously, he’s been going to the wrong theaters. I recently found an AMC Premium theater near where I live (a few in the country). They only seat maybe 200 or so, but it’s only for 21 and over and has humungous seats…even has benches if you want to snuggle.
I’ve seen two kiddie crossover (Transformers, Pirates of the C) movies there and it was a fantastic experience, visually and audibly.
Well it all depends on where you live. I live in Effingham Illinois and you have to drive 23 miles to watch a movie on a decent screen with decent sound. Bad movie theaters are also responsible for killing the cinema experience
Exactly.
I’m sitting next to a big, fat, mouth breathing, scene commenting, white guy who took all the arm rest with his fatness. He kept checking his cell phone and talking and mouth breathing through the movie. He also wore his keys on a neck chain. so every time he moved his keys jiggled.
I would gladly never go to a movie again. I would pay 50 bucks to buy a HDVD or Blue Ray if they would simultaneously release movies on disc for home viewing.
Oh and I’m a white guy. So let’s keep race out of this. And if the guy was skinny, he would have still been unable to keep his mouth or his cell phone shut.
People suck. So the movie going experience sucks.
I just hate being in the cinema these days.
One, the price of admission.
Even if I only watch the DVD 3 times… it is cheaper to OWN it then go to the cinema. So I buy.
Two, even on a old 27″ CRT the picture is better.
DVD is sharp, clean and vivid colour… Yum.
Three, the seat at home is more comfortable.
No one is in my line of view, I can pause and re-start, go to the fidge or water closet on will — without missing a beat. Plus re-play something I thought was interesting.
Ridley Scott – may need an upgrade himself.
The classic, social, theatre experience is as dead as Subscription Cable. hahahahaha
Oooops, that is the only thing I miss from going to the Cinema.
Sharing the experience with tonnes of FANS who love the same movie… the fanatic social events. Cos my apartment is too small to house a hundred guests.
j
“I have to spend for 3 tickets”
Well, there you go, you’re taking one person too many
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I like watching movies at home more than the cinema because I can pause when I need to pee.
Film has a certain quality – or actually – lack thereof, and why a movie looks like a movie, the grain and the color gamut primarially.
But now, movie making has rapidly switched over to digital production, and the “film look” is added by both the camera and in post. Yes, movies are dumbed down to look like film, and not HD, because we inherently know what “film” movies look like.
But with HD rapidly gaining home acceptance, watching sports or other shows in HD is changing the way we perceive image quality.
For many, movies no longer have that great image quality we once associated “film” with. Now we see a truly 3-D like look with 1080p as being “the real thing” the “top quality image” and this is what freaks out guys like Ridley Scott.
In but a few short years, virtually anyone will some film knowhow will be able to produce the highest of high quality HD movies as good as any studio…
Add in YouTube, Apple TV and iTunes HD, independant films that show at top quality with creative non-corporate agenda’s and forumlas, will soon start springing to live – in your living room – on your 60″ HDTV.
Ridely represents the corporate big movie viewpoint, the dynasty that is about to fall to an entirely new wave of home cinemas – and we the consumers are aiding in ushering it in – and love it.
I’ve got a 92″ screen driven by a DLP front projector at 1500 lumens, my cinema experience is quite good.
I love going to the moves. Or at least I used to. You know, back in the days when people were considerate and didn’t talk out loud on their cel phones during the movie. Back when small kids were in bed with a babysitter at 8:00, not sitting next to me crying through a 3 hour movie that they get nothing out of. You remember when they had ushers who would kick people out for talking or putting their feet up on the backs of the seats next to them? Those were the good old days. Now going to the movies sucks and I can’t get any of my friends to go with me due to the aggravation of it all. So, it’s DVD rentals on the big screen at home. Even though it doesn’t totally compare to the movie going experience, it’s a lot less frustrating.
@Hey hey hey
rofl- too funny! thanks for the perspective
FWIW, the cinema experience in my town is not too bad (Cineplex-Odeon Galaxy), other than the cost of snacks. 10 bucks flat fee to get in, high back stadium style seats, surround sound, some films shown using DLP. And at the Galaxy in the next town over, I can get a pizza delivered fresh from the lobby pizzaria, to my seat in one of the 10 theatres.
However, I do limit my trips to the Galaxy to seeing movies that need large screens. And Ridley Scott films would be in that group.
GIRL, you said it BEST!!!!!
Mr.Scott is only realizing this now?
He needs to get out more, or get with the times.
Oh — and WOW — gee wiz, a remastered version of BladeRunner.
THE REMASTERING new technology must of RUINED his vision of the classic master? Tech-no-good.
j
Great take on the “cinema experience”. I gave up long ago for all the reasons stated (don’t forget ‘parking’ and the general mall, inner city experience. Ridley Scott can continue to give us big screen thrills, only we’ own the screens.
Lets not forget popcorn kernels, milk duds, and gummi bears stuck to the screen. Oh and screaming kids, the old lady sitting behind me that needs to talk all the way through the movie, rotten little snought nosed kids running up and down the aisles, the security guard going and checking the exterior door mulitple times – my personal favorite is when he or she decides to open the door. Oh, and crappy out dated movie projectors where I can see “trailing” or “ghosting” because the frame is not in synch.
No I’ll take my 1080P HD TV and home theater system any day.
So Ridley Scott, the once visionary film maker attends the festival, showing a remastered version of ‘The Blade Runner’. Didn’t we have a ‘Director’s Cut’ re-hash, just a few years ago?
I mean, there are tons of uninspired, predictable sequels and remakes thrown at us on a regular basis. Mr. Scott does not even go through this effort. He just feeds us reruns of his old movies.
That, Mr. Scott, is why movies and movie theatres are dying: the movies are not worth the effort of going to the movies. Once or twice a year, a real gem comes to the theatres. But the rest is run-off-the-mill stuff that has to compete with free run-off-the-mill stuff on TV.
I really think you guys are missing the point. Cinema isn’t just a USA thing. Theaters are very different around the globe and not all of them are like they are in the USA. The point was from an artists perspective not the concession stand and staffing. You should really redirect your complaints about that to theater operators. I agree with Scott , from a cinema experience, and I also agree with MDN from a USA theater going experience. But the problem is much deeper than just technology.
I love going to the movies…absolutely love it, but nowadays, I can’t stand going there because of the:
1. Prices
2. People being rude
3. Service is so slow and sucky (AMC is probably best…but it is still weak)
4. Quality of picture (this autofocus deal is so no-auto)
Luckily, recently South Florida has started getting DLP cinemas (we had them in Cleveland over four years ago) which really takes the experience to another level.
They said the same crap about VCRs a gazillion year ago, right?
“The videotape will kill the movie business”
But I see the theaters full of people and movies making millions.
As long as there are people enjoying the movie experience, there’s a market. I like to go to the movies (despite all the cons.) There’s something about the big screen and the projection that I still feel a TV can’t replace as state of the art as it can be. It might just be the fact that you are changing your environment or the fact that you’ve been waiting for a movie and you don’t want to wait for it to be released on DVD, or it becomes routine to watch movies at home.
But whether you agree or not, the hard fact is, as long as there are people liking the movies, there will be a market. Ridley Scott is speaking nonsense.
There is still nothing like seeing a great movie in a crowded theater on its opening night… that’s one thing that at-home digital theaters will never be able to replicate. Fortunately, I happen to live near a complex with great a screen/sound experience — they even a deluxe auditorium with leather oversized seats and small tables between every two people… it seats around 200.
WRONG!
Just because the relatie size of the screen at 10 feet is bigger than a movie theatre’s screen does not mean its a better experience. A RC Car can have a higher relative speed than the real thing but it is absolutely not the same or better experience.
The theatre is and always will be the only proper venue for a movie.
That said. Sound should be improved and I could do without the sticky floors and people who talk in the row behind me after the previews are over.
As long as people like Rob Schneider make movies I’ll stay away.
Re: MDN Take: And I thought this only happened in the UK where I live. I’ve stopped going for all the reasons listed, plus a projector at home and a comfy sofa and beer in the fridge is what the cinema experience is really all about!
Having said that, I ventured out last week to see Borne Ultimatum at the Odeon on a Digital screen. Great seats, great picture, great sound. The price of popcorn still sucks though, so I went without. Mental note: must remember to stash own snacks inside jacket pocket before going
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@ Toasty!
Nay, it’s the same shit here in the EU. They’re probably different in Romania but the moment there is money to be made the big cinema chains will dominate the markets.
“And One More Thing…”
hen was the last time Mr. Scott watched a movie at his local mega-plex, like the rest of us? I am almost certain he has no idea what he is talking about.
“And One More Thing #2…”
We take this crap from a guy that releases products, deffective by design. How many times do I need to purchase or rent Blade Runner, to see a product that he felt was really what he wanted to create? Is he making a movie or Winodws?
Oooops, that is the only thing I miss from going to the Cinema.
Sharing the experience with tonnes of FANS who love the same movie… the fanatic social events. Cos my apartment is too small to house a hundred guests.
Would that there were more of those experiences. I’m getting to the point that I may reserve going to theaters for comedys only.
George Costanza: <i>Shut your traps and stop kicking the seats! We’re trying to watch the movie! And if I have to tell you again, we’re gonna take it outside and I’m gonna show you what it’s like! You understand me? Now, shut your mouths or I’ll shut’em for ya, and if you think I’m kidding, just try me. Try me. Because I would love it!<i>
• My 28-inch crt tv viewed from 10 feet away is invisible to the naked eye
• I buy my tickets online and walk two blocks to the theater to pick them up from a vending machine – no line
• I don’t have a sorround soundsystem at home.
Movie theaters too often supply the wrong kind of surround sound – can agree to that but anyone that talks in “my” theater will be “shushed…sch!” either by me or someone else.
• I can sit in my bed at home so thats comfy but I usualy pick a seat at the theater thats located four or five rows from the screen. Man’s got to have hair like Empire State Building to block my view.
• I don’t eat or drink when I’m at the theater and if it was up to me I’d ban celofan-bags with potatochips etc in the theater
The movie business is broken – I can agree to that. Tickets usualy cost equivalent to $13 over here so it isn’t cheap but I still prefer a dark theater with a screen that covers my whole field of view before sitting home alone watching a movie with my headphones on to eliminate the sound of my neighbors.
My theater experiences were going down hill just prior to the release of the flat screen technologies for homes. My sound system has always killed even a good sounding theater experience, and with the release of really nice flat screen technologies I’ve actually begun to loathe going to the theater. This last Cmas/NewYear’s season I went and saw The Good Shephard in a theater and after about an hour began to wonder if I was going to make it through because I was so uncomfortable. The movie is long a slow, but I really like it, but I just can’t watch it in a theater, nor will I ever again. There are still some movies I like to go to the theater for from time to time, but they’re getting fewer and farther between all of the time. And yes to the way-overpriced snacks, (I think I should be allowed to at least bring my own coffee in, if not my own snacks), the commercials (of all the damn things), and ultimately the relatively poor visual quality that even a decent theater screen provides compared to a good flat panel tv screen.
If we think getting the music industry over itself is hard, how easy do you think it’s going to be to get movie producers and directors with long successful resumes to see change as positive?
I agree with MMO… what’s up with indoor malls?
Even a mid-range home theater kicks the sh*t out of any cinema experience there is anywhere. Now with HD technology like Blu-ray available in the home, there really isn’t much reason to go out and watch a movie at the cinema any longer.
In related stories:
“Buggy builders are furious over the invention of the automobile”
“Telegraph operators plan mis-use morse code in reaction to the telephone industry.”
“Milkmen will refuse to use condoms until supermarkets stop selling dairy products.”
Just my $0.02
what i hate about the home-theater experience is that the audio tracks, specifically volume levels, are designed for the movie and not the home. The number of times I have to adjust the volume while watching a movie is making me want to quit watching movies.
Another dinosaur heard from. Here’s a tip, Ridley: Make a better product!
Oh, and prevent your scumbag theater owners from dialing down the brightness of their projector lenses to save a few pence. Every film I’ve gone to lately is dark and muddy. And just try getting them to respond if the picture is unfocussed.
I had seen Order of the Phoenix twice in theaters- once in digital, once film- with my kids. Then I took my son to see it in IMAX 3d at a Jordan’s Furniture store in MA.- I was SHOCKED at how much clearer and brighter the picture was than the 2 previous times I had seen it.
$7.50 for a ticket (what can I say, I’m cheap- I usually only do matinees), then twice that for disgusting food. Ridiculous.
Sorry, the experience at home on my $600 Vizio 32″ LCD + $50 DVD/VCR + $40 Creature II speakers- is far superior.
Far.
There are a tiny handful of feature films that MUST be seen on the big screen- then a bunch more that I want to see sooner rather than waiting 6 months for the DVD. That’s just instant gratification at work.
It’s no wonder they won’t allow simultaneous release on screens, dvd and download- I truly think the cinema multiplexes would be in deep doodoo if they did.
Yes, Ridley, the cinema experience is broken: you and your cinema owners have broken it. What are YOU going to do about that?
I haven’t been to a cinema in the US for a long time, but if it’s anything like the cinema experience here in Germany, then it’s good that new technology is killing cinema. IMO it’s new technology that’s making watching movies fun again.
BTW, thanks MDN.
60 inches? Not really a match for the big screen IMMO
Your not in the “club” unless your 100 inches or over.
Anyone who is skeptical about how far digital filmmaking has come, only needs to check out “Zodiac” by David Fincher. The image is rich, deep, sensual and glorious. As good as any film stock (IMHO).
MDN Take = AMEN.
Now do you want to reconsider your iMove 08 take?
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@chuckie
I’m sitting next to a big, fat, mouth breathing, scene commenting, white guy who took all the arm rest with his fatness.
……
Oh and I’m a white guy. So let’s keep race out of this
Right…
Cinema has been dead ever since the “blockbuster” and the action adventure genre emerged in the late 70s. Hollywood’s second golden age of cinema has long since died. Even the remaining great directors are sell outs. Heck, Mr. Scott is a prime example. So, if people are so concerned about cinema and the movie viewing experience, why doesn’t someone throw the whole notion of “franchising” out the window and dare to allow great storytellers to do what they do best, instead of bitching that small format devices are killing the industry. The industry has nobody to blame but themselves. People are making entertaining content with the devices they have as a classic revolt. When you can’t control what is being shoved at you, the server won’t listen, you take matters into your own hand. I’d suggest Mr. Scott wake up, and try instead to shake up some of his cronies at the head of these very institutions before he attacks prospective customers for marginalizing his craft.
But does your home theater have a cup holder on your chair?
I think not.
Touche!!!
I’ve always thought that theaters should sell year-long movie passes. That is, pay one fee for unlimited movie viewing for a whole year. The idea is to increase the average amount spent per person per year at the theater. I know I would spend more at the theater with such a plan.
Our 60-inch screen viewed from 10 feet away is perceptually larger than any movie theater screen this side of IMAX.
Simply not true. I checked the last time I went to the movies. You’d have to sit nose-to-nose with your 60-inch home screen to even get close to the perceptual width of a modern, super-wide movie screen. The local movie theatre here in Fairfax, CA has a brand new, all-digital projection system which produces gorgeous images.
This being said, I don’t like paying ten bucks to see a movie either. Oh well, thank goodness for matinees!
It’s not “tiny screens” or “handheld devices” that are killing Cinema, it’s Home Theater systems.
Personally, I haven’t been to the Cinema in more than a year since I spent 6K on my Sony 46″KDL Xbr2 LCD and my Polk surround system.
Watching films from my living room (with this setup) beats any experience I’ve EVER had in a theatre.
“…I’ve got a 92″ screen driven by a DLP front projector at 1500 lumens, my cinema experience is quite good….”
Thorin :
We’re all gonna meet at your house on NFL “Kick-off” day !
You supply the keggers — I’ll bring the pretzels n brats for the BBQ !
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I think that it’s very interesting the various opinions posted here about the movie theater experience. Some people love being around other people (a shared experience), applauding together at a great scene or the end of a great movie. Others find being around rude people and the exorbitant prices to be strong negatives to stay out of theaters.
I love my 19″ TV and DVD setup. I wish that the sound was a little better, but I enjoy it, but I also love the great theater experience of seeing a movie on the big screen with good sound too. I see theaters closing down up here in Portland all the time, and Portland is a big movie town. Many theaters serve beer, wine, and gourmet foods during the movies. We love movies up here, so this is a scary sight.
I have also seen the movie “Hidalgo” on an iPod and although the movie is good, seeing those huge landscapes on a half inch screen truly sucks. There’s no comparison to the superior theater experience.
Some day I’ll buy the big screen HDTV, but will I be able to enjoy the movies as much as going to the theater? I don’t know. I worry about us NOT being able to see movies from other lands with maybe opposing viewpoints. In the red DVD vending machines, and in many video rental stores, you simply don’t find these kind of movies. I hope that maybe the Internet might correct this possible. Hopefully something like AppleTV might be the answer.
“You mean the big screen experience of tiny seats made for 3rd grade pygmies?”
Maybe I’m going to the wrong theatres, but I’ve never had this issue.
Maybe you need to lose some weight…
Not going to happen.
You do not have to leave your home at all if you do not want to.
You can work inside your house.
You can order food to your door step.
You can sleep.. drink.. f*kk.. and so on…
You can chat with people and still people want´s to go out
Two points:
1. The ‘Cinema Experience’ is WAY overpriced (touched on numerous times already here)
2. Technology isn’t going away. Better adapt to it now.
Sure, the movie cinema experience is great IF you have the perfect setting: people are quiet (except for points where it is appropriate to laugh, scream, etc.); the theater is comfortable (good seats, good sight lines, not too cold or hot); and it’s not too crowded.
However, in the few movies I have been to in the past year, the following problems are persistent:
1. The picture is not as good as my HDTV at home (whether focus issues, artifacts on the screen, or simply not terribly bright);
2. The sound is turned up to 11 (WAY too high);
3. The seats or where we had to sit were not that comfortable or for viewing the screen (too close, too far to one side, etc.);
4. Some of the movies really haven’t been that good.
Sorry Ridley, but I think you’re seeing the end of the big screen multiplex. While it will be a slow decline, once new technology develops to allow for fast delivery of HD movies to your home (and enough people have the sets), or companies figure out how to properly market and use PPV, movie theaters will die off.
It’s very hard to justify spending $80 or more to take my family of 5 to see the latest so-so Disney film when I could wait 3 months and buy it on DVD for $18 or PPV for $4.
@Call me Big Poppa
But does your home theater have a cup holder on your chair?
Hell yes, they do! All six of them have cup-holders, in fact. They recline, too. The back row is on a riser so they can see the bottom of the HD image on the 8-foot wide screen. I have sound panels on the wall so they can properly hear the sound from my 6.1 system (my room doesn’t need 7.1) and they also enjoy the bass from my two 12″ subs.
Ridley is right AND wrong. There’s nothing like a nice big screen… in a well-built home theater.
I thought the “rudeness” factor must be an American thing, until the comments from UK and German posters.
I guess we’re very lucky here (Ottawa, Canada). No major line-ups for tickets or concessions, (mostly) considerate movie goers around us, comfortable seats, accessible parking and cinemas within easy transit or bike rides. I have never seen or felt a better movie experience than a giant theatre screen with massive speakers.
Put all that together with my love for the social aspect of the theatre experience, a bucket of fresh popcorn and a jug of Pepsi, and I hope the theatres here never die.
I’m sure if I had to tolerate what many of you have posted here, I, too would discount Ridley’s criticisms and say good riddance to cinemas.
Makes me sad.
MDN Take:
Yeah, watching a big TV is better because my mom brings me fresh peanut butter and jelly sandwichs while I watch. How? DUH, cuz I still live in her basement.
I agree while going to a theatre to see some crap Hollywood drivel movie that’ll be on DVD by the time you get home (Is the uptown A train running tonght?) is pretty much pointless.
here in NYC, there are lots of excellent FILMS that may not come out on DVD in your lifetime. So, those you MUST see in a theatre. $11 per seat makes you a discerning film goer in a hurry.
The 60″ screen experience at 10 feet is *NOT* the same as the optimal distance seating in a theatre. You should be at 2x the image height on the screen. For a 60″ screen that would be NO MORE THAN 60″ from the screen!
Also unless you’re running 7.1 in your home your sound system is worse than any state of the art theatre — and that does *NOT* include the $1 theatres!
And … don’t like the crowds or the noises made by them? Go during the first Sunday matinee. There are no crowds then.
Yes, a 40-60″ screen at home viewed 7-10 feet away with a stereo sound system is “plenty good enough” for most people.
Also Windows is “plenty good enough” for most people too.
Welcome to the new age Mr. Scott. You are now facing the same problems already being experienced by other digital artists, such as as musician and still photographers. Welcome to the fight, however belated your entry. I look forward to watching the re-release of Blade on a flat screen plasma in the comfort of home. After all, I’ll bet you watch your movies at home too — and not in the theaters.
The entire movie theater experience has turned to shit.
I used to love to go to see a movie on the “big” screen.
Now it is just a painful, forgettable, expensive waste of time.
The screens suck, the people around you are assholes, the print they show is usually full of scratches, the soundtrack has hiss and pops in it, and the “management” at these theaters is a joke.
It is sad that waiting for and watching a movie on an old 30 inch tube is more enjoyable.
Bullshit movies is what killed cinema.
If you look at 24, Sopranos, Shield, etc., It’s no wonder why I spend more time watching TV-series’ than movies. They’ve come a LONG way from Knight Rider, A-Team, Miami Vice and Bonanza.
As far as “state-of-the art acoustics” the movie industry would go alone way in making the experience a bit more enjoyable if they didn’t set the sound levels at 120% 0r 140% of normal…
There was a time when 90% was the normal…
Now days all they want to do is blast everyone out of there seats…
That must be why Hollywood just broke its all-time summer record with 4 billion in gate receipts.
Just more apocalyptic bullshit from movie execs looking for legislation to give them more control than they should have. Will we stop buying ice cream cones because we can buy it in stores? No. They said the same thing when VCRs were introduced, then DVDs. The truth is people go to theatres for an evening out and that will never stop. Teens go to movies to get away from parents and meet other teens. These things will never change.
Yeah, there are some issues with theaters. They should install cell-phone signal jammers, for instance. But there’s still nothing quite like cheering along with everyone else when the bad guy gets what’s coming to him, and other such innocent “crowd” pleasures.
As for the complaint about expensive movie food – if you can’t go 2 hours without eating or drinking pop, you have a problem, and it’s probably called “obesity.”
there is ONE big advantage of a home cinema vs a real one
PAUSE
you can pause your dvd/blu ray etc – go to the toilet , have a sandwich and a bottle of beer and not miss one second
try that at your local fleapit and you’ll miss half the film
Riddley Scott’s comments on the perceived demise of the movie experience are weird, but MDN’s take is even weirder. It’s clear that MDN – under the pretence of being evangalist on anything made by Apple (regardless of actual quality) – is solely about making money by creating as much “arousal” as they can with their venomous takes and made up headlines. A very cynical, and actually very Microsoftian business model. But we all know that, don’t we?
– It is simply NOT TRUE that the perceived size of a 60″tv from 10″ is equal or better than the real cinema. And apart from that, this kind of relativity is not all that matters: the brain also registers the physical (actual) size of things, which adds to the experience (or not when at home).
– Things that CAN go wrong in a theatre, CAN ALSO go wrong at home: kids screaming in their bedrooms, mother in law call (again), neighbour knocks at the door, traffic noise, gf or bf can’t keep his/her mouth shut or doesn’t like the movie, …..
– There is no way that the sound experience in a home can equal that of a theatre. The size of the theatre/room matters.
MDN’s take is a joke.
But MDN’s poor take doesn’t make Mr Scott’s point of view right. Some people just don’t like going out and prefer to stay at home no matter what, housebirds as they are. These are not lost customers. Other people prefer cinema no matter what and will keep coming as long as the movies themselves are of good quality.
And that is not determinded by HD-nonsense or such, but by good stories, good acting, good directing and the like. Or as someone above said: by good storytelling. And that hasn’t been the best since the 80’s.
Thus, the only thing that can blow up the movie industry is the industry itself, by delivering just poor movies.
“That must be why Hollywood just broke its all-time summer record with 4 billion in gate receipts.”
I’d like to see numbers for actual tickets SOLD. Of course, Hollywood is breaking records in revenue. First, the population, (potential movie watching audience) has grown by tens of millions in the last 20 years. Second, prices have increased three fold in the same period. That’s why the top grossing movies of all time will keep getting unseated over time.
Another point, ticket sales don’t reflect actual attendance for each film. Show me a theater that actually enforces what theater you go into. Kids buy tickets to PG films and enter R rated ones all the time. Then other films get the credit (revenue) that should have went to another filmmaker. Just another reason why the business is broken.
you know, the theater exp isn’t too bad every once in a while. if you are fortunate enuff to not have a bunch of idiots in there with you—which is not often. further more, why is it the price continually increases yet the ads do too?? i mean, i thought advertising is suppose to offset cost [to some extent anyway]. i remember a time b4 in-theather advertising, it was nice. guess i’ll continue to use my college student id until someone calls me out (the thing was issued in ’98, lol)
MacDailyNews gets it wrong. Cinema is a communal experience. I have a huge screen TV, but to really experience a film is to watch it in the dark with 100s of strangers.
While I agree with Rodley Scott that a great cinematic experience in the theatre (in theory) can be superior, did he somehow forget that the industry just set another record for attendance?
Something doesn’t jive with his statement. People ARE going to see films in theatres. If he is disappointed with attendance, then he should crusade for theatres to address the many valid issues raised in this forum.
@chuckie
I am offended by the use of “white guy”. From now on use either: “pigmentally challenged” or, preferably, “Euro North American”
Until Hollywood recognizes the talents of folks like Rob Schneider and start putting him in lead roles, I will be staying away. Whatever happened to Earnest P Worrel, seriously as Earnest goes so goes Hollywood!
News Flash, Ridley: Technology isn’t killing cinema. It’s the unbelievably moronic crap that panders to the lowest common denominator, is hyped as if it were the second coming of Christ (assuming you believe in the first,) that costs two arms and a leg to see only to have to suffer through it surrounded by perhaps the largest gathering of idiots and miscreants under one roof!
@Miles
Sounds like some orgies I went to back in the early 70’s.
What a crybabay, waaawaaawaaa, the movie theater is dying. Most theaters I’ve been to in recent years already smelled dead! It’s not new technology that’s killing the theater it’s old dried up film makers! Mr. Scott, if you will make a NEW compelling movie I will buy a ticket to go see it. Until then, shaddup you lazy crybaby!
MDN magic word – changes – as in Ridley Scott needs to change his diaper
We’ve been ripped off for decades and now consumers have the technology to fight back. People like Ridley Scott remind me of King Canute tryi ng to stop the tide from coming in. Memo to Scott et. alia: THE TIDE HAS COME IN. Either get with the program or retire gracefully.
Perhaps the industry has forgotten the industry maxim that without the viewing public your industry is dead. All I see is a dying industry. Next thing they’ll be asking for is special government assistance.
Give Mr. Scott his dues & don’t FLAME him! He is a director after all, not a cinema hall owner like Universal (Greedy Bastards) or MGM.
Fact is WE DO ENJOY his films whatever format we choose to view them on.
He has aired his opinion of which I for one did not ask him for, but at least I am now aware of his feelings about this issue.
Mr. Scott, I will watch what ever movies I would like to watch, when I want to and if I can afford to. I would dearly love to watch a movie at a Drive In, but them GREEDY Bastards got rid of them for real estate money! & now they are complaining????????????????
“…our $5 large vat of Diet Coke isn’t watered down by half…”
Plus, you can pause the movie when the vat of Diet Coke results in an urgent need about half way through the movie. Even better, no queue for the loo.
‘You people just hate people…
Nothing beats the cinema – as long as there aren’t a***holes in the audience (and where I live they thankfully are few)’
Most of you are missing the point: it’s a communal, shared, experience, and Ridley’s right: modern technology has definitely created more xenophobia and isolation than anything before it. Not good. Not good at all, and the MDN take pretty much confirms it. turn off the computer now and again, folks.
“Thorin :
We’re all gonna meet at your house on NFL “Kick-off” day !
You supply the keggers — I’ll bring the pretzels n brats for the BBQ ! “
Ha!, I haven’t gotten my HD receiver yet, but I’m gonna.
GO SAINTS!
“I mean Films (even if they are rubbish) like Transformers do impress more on a big screen with great sound,”
so, to summarize, crap is just great entertainment if it is large and loud and gives the illusion of meaning something.
sound and fury, in the end signifying nothing…”
There’s a movie theatre here in Denver called Cinema Grill. It’s a great movie-going experience– instead of cramped chairs, you get to sit at a table with nice, comfy seats, and before the movie starts you place your dinner order to a waiter. Food items are general grill restaurant stuff– burgers, pizza, salads, sandwiches, etc., but it sure beats popcorn and Milk Duds. You can even get beer.
The screens are a bit smaller than a movie theatre, but for the evening showings there are no kids, the crowds are very polite about not talking, the wait staff is excellent, and the prices beat out going to a regular movie theatre. I’m amazed the concept hasn’t caught on more than it has here. I ALWAYS watch movies there.
Die Hollywood, die
CG already killed cinema years ago.
Wrong. It is only helping.
And then next time I want a 75 year old opinion about new technology, I’ll ask my Pa Pa.
movies are too expensive and i hate hollywood liberals who do more than act.
sooooo, i just lay here in bed with my 17″ MBP and tell my wife, “woman, get me something to eat and drink”
life is grand!
Tell Scott to stop making ‘talkies’
Are you suggesting I watch “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” anywhere BUT in a theatre? …That I see the film without others who worship the film and dress up like the characters?
Thou speaketh Blasphemy !!!
Experiencing “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” without cinema will never be the same! 🙁
I tried for hours to get my first message to post, and MDN’s server kept giving me an error message telling me it couldn’t post the comment. I finally gave up, watched yesterday’s “event”, and posted the abbreviated comment just now.
Thanks for making me look like an idiot, MDN!
If Ridley Scott is so concerned about preserving the ‘movie experience’, why does he release his movies in Full Frame? That helps to destroy the original vision.
Don’t forget “Pause and Pee”!!!