Watching, Not Seeing
What we lose with the decline of the movie theater.
Within a few minutes of watching A House of Dynamite on Netflix, a sinking feeling hit my stomach. Kathryn Bigelow may have intended to have the film screened as a theatrical release, but this was a film shot to be seen on a television. And I imagine (having seen such screens in bars) that maybe it did look pretty awesome on televisions larger that my 42” TV. But that is not the point-or to be more specific, that is not a cinematic experience. That is television.
One of the most often cited (but off-target) positive remarks made about going to the movies in a theater revolves around the “shared experience.” It’s not entirely wrong; there was something to seeing Beverly Hills Cop in a packed San Fernando Valley theater and hearing the audience en masse, laugh at the hijinks of Axel Foley. I remember seeing Rocky II at a drive-in and will never forget the car horns honking and people screaming when Rocky wins the fight. But that experience is not what is being lost as we see the entire theatrical film industry hang on for survival. What is being lost is the canvas. Remember the old VHS days?
Is this warning even necessary anymore-isn’t it all now filmed to fit your TV? Or worse, are we now long past TV and now thinking in terms of phone screens? Guernica is 11 ft .5in tall by 25 ft 6 in wide. You may know what Guernica looks like, but if you haven’t visited Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid…you haven’t seen it. We are facing a similar dilemma in film.
If I were teaching film or trying to convince the non-believers I would point to perhaps my biggest regret in film viewing. I have watched Lawrence of Arabia many times; I have never seen it. 70mm Super Panavision. Seeing this at home is the equivalent of only be able to see Guernica in a poster print. Are we telling our artists in cinema that the mural size is no longer possible or wanted?
The sad irony in all of this is that the audio/visual quality and comfort given to us today in the theater has never been better. Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere and One Battle After Another were great cinematic experiences at my local theater. And in watching the preview for the upcoming Wicked film, I was truly taken aback at how stunning it looked. One thing Hollywood isn’t lacking of is talent and vision.
There is a lot of chatter about the cost of going to the movies-I get it, it can be costly for a family of 4. But on the other hand Americans spent $125 billion on Powerball tickets in 2024; $150 billion on sport wagers. The total US box office gross for 2024 was an estimated $8.7 billion. What does that say about who we are and where we look to find hope in the American Dream.
It’s a Wonderful Life?