“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.]
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!!!