This is not an uncommon sentiment, but I happen to disagree completely.
Seeing a good comedy, with 300-900 other people, all laughing at the right parts is one of the greatest movie experiences there is. It’s like going to a good comedy club for $8. It’s therapeutic.
Personally, I don’t find the theaters too expensive. I don’t find them uncomfortable. I have 3-4 theaters within a drive of my house that comfortable, well-run, and patronized by people who aren’t disruptive.
Never ever ever at home have I really gotten that feeling that I get with certain movies. . .the feeling of being completely lost in the film, caught up in it, not recognizing the passage of time. The kind of movie that casts a spell on you, and shocks you when the the words “The End” show up. The last movie that happened with was “Before Sunset”.
That might only happen with a small percentage of films, but it’s simpy never captured in the home.
OK, let’s break it down.
Here in the Netherlands a visit to the cinema for 2 people would set you back :
2 x 9 Euro for the entrance
3 Euro for parking (at least)
8 Euro for snacks and beverages
So totalling that would be 29 Euros!!
Most movies sell on DVD for between 19.99 and 24.99.
And by the way : I can get lost in a movie much better, when I am by myself and don’t have people walking around and talking through the movie.
Of course a comedy is much more fun to watch with a crowd, but any movies that require 100% attention I rather watch at home.
Slight correction here: turning down the power supply doesn’t save them any money and using an underrated bulb (say, a 3000W where a 4,200W bulb is spec’d) gives a murky picture that is almost unviewable. Roger Ebert is on a constant tirade about this, and while I think he’s often off-base and annoying, I salute him for taking issue with this. Cranking up the midrange to compensate for a cheap DBSS and no bass is also a common tactic, leading to unintelligible dialog. The sad fact is, with that kind of anti-quality in many theaters, you can actually get a better experience at home with a good system, limitations of the small screen aside.
But a good cinema, with trained projectionists, proper sound and illumination, and quality seating? No comparison. 'Tis more expensive in groups, though.
Every time I see a movie in a theater I go “man, I should do this more often”. I only go two or three times a year tops, though. Everything has so much more impact than at home. I have a projector and surround at home (where I watch movies with my wife and twin two year-old girls so you can imagine the distraction), and it’s obviously a hell of a lot better than TV, but when I’m in a good theater I’m in this comfortable cocoon of light and sound where it’s all about the movie. It’s worth the ten bucks just to have that. Having said that, I can’t say enough about how great DVDs are, by and large.
Sometimes a film is so overwhelming in production values, whether in cinematography, art direction, scale, effects, that the experience is lost on a TV. Sometimes it’s an action film like The Matrix, or a highly visual film like The Machinist, or a film with huge scale like the LOTR trilogy, or a film with amazing effects like Sky Captain that make it worth the effort to see in a theatre.
Other times a movie is so run-of-the-mill, that it doesn’t matter if you see it in a theatre because art direction and cinematography are secondary conditions. Like any comedy I’ve ever seen.
One of the best theatre-going experiences I’ve ever had was the rerelease of 2001 into a local art house. The experience is incomparable to watching it on a TV. I can’t imagine ever watching it again unless I can see it in a theatre once more.
Obviously it’s a person bias – if you like the large screen, loud volume, dark room, the effect of the light hitting the screen – versus sitting at home in front of a little (or big) box. And sometimes the general quality or inaccessability (old, foreign, etc.) make it more viable on your TV. I try to do the one thing when I can and the other thing when it’s the only choice available.
I used to be fortunate enough so for about ten years, I got to go to the press previews of movies. That meant not paying of course. But it also meant that the theatre was quiet, with maybe 10 people in there, all sitting there for their love of movies, not to hang out.
These past couple of years have been a tremendous change in my viewing habits. I don’t mind paying to see a movie, but the discomfort is taking away the pleasure: too crowded, too hot, too many noisy teenagers who simply cannot shut the fuck up. I’m a big guy too and at about 6’4" there very little leg room. If the theatre is crowded, that means I can’t stretch out my legs to the side and that in turn means my arthritis will make the theatre visit hurt.
Another factor was getting 8mb DSL.
So I’m planning for and saving money to build a real home cinema, complete with a real screen, projector and enhancing the already considerable sound system. An 8x6 screen in my living room will make up for missed viewing in the theatre. I’ll keep my tv set though, as watching the news at ten won’t be fun on a really big screen. Playing games on GC or PC will be a whole new experience, though. Can’t wait to get a kick ass CPU with RAM to match and re playing HL2.