# Last (Hollywood) movie with an intermission **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 2, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-hollywood-movie-with-an-intermission/505086 "2009-08-02T19:33:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-hollywood-movie-with-an-intermission/505086/41 "2009-08-03T19:18:10Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I don’t understand why U.S. theaters stopped using them; don’t they want to sell more popcorn? They probably figure that by eliding the intermissions they can get in one extra showing, so there’s a whole new group of people to sell popcorn to. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-hollywood-movie-with-an-intermission/505086/42 "2009-08-03T19:32:54Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince_, last Thursday. > > Most Israeli theaters have intermissions (and reserved seats, too). If there isn’t one built into the movie - which is rarely - they just stop at the end of a scene and continue five minutes later. I don’t understand why U.S. theaters stopped using them; don’t they want to sell more popcorn? I was in Israel last year with a large group of Americans & other people that were not from Israel. We all went out to see a movie one night (“The Band’s Visit”), and in the middle of the film when the movie suddenly stopped & the lights came on, we all thought the film had broken. It wasn’t even at the end of a scene, it was in the middle of a sentence. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-hollywood-movie-with-an-intermission/505086/43 "2009-08-03T20:29:42Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I wish they would bring back intermissions for long movies. Large drinks and 3 hours don’t go well together, and invariably when you get up for a bathroom break it’s during a crucial scene. Problem solved. Before visiting the theater always check out [RunPee.com](http://RunPee.com) for the best times for bathroom breaks. > **[RunPee – The app that tells you the best time to run & pee during a movie so...](https://runpee.com/)** ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-hollywood-movie-with-an-intermission/505086/44 "2009-08-03T21:08:28Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > It wasn’t even at the end of a scene, it was in the middle of a sentence. That’s strange, especially if intermissions are customary. IIRC, the Hulk had an intermission put in after the end of the scene. Then when the movie started again, the movie would re-play that last scene and go from there. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-hollywood-movie-with-an-intermission/505086/45 "2009-08-03T21:19:08Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I was in Israel last year with a large group of Americans & other people that were not from Israel. We all went out to see a movie one night (“The Band’s Visit”), and in the middle of the film when the movie suddenly stopped & the lights came on, we all thought the film had broken. It wasn’t even at the end of a scene, it was in the middle of a sentence. Yeah, sometimes the projectionists don’t really care. Still beats not having an intermission. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-hollywood-movie-with-an-intermission/505086/46 "2009-08-03T21:42:53Z")
American speaking here - I went to a movie in Zurich, Switzerland during my first trip abroad several years ago. About an hour in, right in the middle of a big fight scene, the film stopped and the lights came up. (As a former projectionist, I recognized that it was at the end of a reel.) I was told that this was a common practice there, to create an ‘intermission’ of sorts at the halfway point. Ideally, if they’re going to do this it should be at a better breaking point, but the end of a reel is easiest. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-hollywood-movie-with-an-intermission/505086/47 "2009-08-03T23:41:59Z")
Didn’t Steven Soderbergh’s _Che_ from last year have an intermission? Or was it actually considered 2 separate films? IMDB has it listed as “part 1” and “Part 2”, but I didn’t see it, so I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-hollywood-movie-with-an-intermission/505086/48 "2009-08-03T23:57:50Z")
> [@Proudest\_Monkey](#): > > Looks like I’ll have time to pee AND refill the popcorn bucket. > > 😃 Mmmm, yellow buttery sauce! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-hollywood-movie-with-an-intermission/505086.md?page=2)