Back in July, I did an episode of the podcast on the current state of movie theatre etiquette. One of the things my guest, Austin Belzer, and I discussed was the fact that general audience etiquette has been on the decline since movie theatres opened back up after COVID. Yes, there have always been unruly teenagers disrupting moviewatching experiences, but in particular, the use of cell phones during movies- whether to scroll on social media or record the screen to capture a moment to post online (a literal crime, by the way)- is out of control. If you are the only person in the screening, that is one thing (on general phone use), but if you are sharing the showing with people, please do them the courtesy of staying off your phone. I am on call for work constantly- if I can do it, so can you.
This blog is not about the etiquette that should come with watching a movie, however; it’s about whether there is one definitive way to watch a movie in the age of streaming. When Austin and I recorded our discussion, it was the Saturday that Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” came out in theatres. As pretty much every pre-release article about the film pointed out, it is the first feature film over an hour to be fully filmed on IMAX film cameras. Advanced tickets for IMAX film screenings went on sale a year before release, and the first few weeks of the format sold out. But is it the only way to watch the film to appreciate it? Much like Ryan Coogler did with “Sinners” the year before, Nolan and co. presented videos online explaining the differences between the formats available to audiences. Letterboxd even allowed users to log which formats they watched the film on; my scorecard is the featured image of this blog. It’s been interesting seeing the discourse about “The Odyssey” online, and which formats people prefer. This is not to convince you that one format is better than the other, but to explain why the formats I prefer are meaningful to me.
I was a projectionist during the 35mm to digital transition that started in the mid 2000s, and was basically completed in the early 2010s. There are still theatres that run film projection, but it is usually art houses, and even then, it is only on special screening events. I’ll admit- when I started watching movies on digital projectors in 2007, I loved the crispness of the image. No scratches. No “cigarette burns” signifying the reel changeover. No worries of threading irregularities and “brainwraps,” which is when film wraps around the platter system’s payout assembly, which controls the speed of the platters, and causes the film to tighten, and get damaged. The film looked…perfect. In a way, digital projection removed a lot of the guesswork from a projectionist’s job, including not having to get the foil cues just right so the automation works just right. The further I got away from working with film on a regular basis, the more I became accustomed to appreciating what digital brought to the table.
Regardless of what you say about Christopher Nolan as a filmmaker, I will always appreciate this from him- he has practically willed keeping film projection alive when it comes to new releases. He’s not the only one- I remember watching Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight” in its 70mm “roadshow” presentation in 2015, and filmmakers as diverse as Coogler, Chris Miller and Phil Lord (“Project Hail Mary”), and even Olivia Wilde (whose acclaimed “The Invite” has had select 35mm screenings), have given audiences a chance to watch their films projected through film. For Nolan, however, it has always come down to IMAX. From the first time he partially shot a film in the large screen format best known for documentaries with “The Dark Knight”, he made going to IMAX an event, especially when it comes to 70mm IMAX projection.
In Georgia, we are very fortunate to have art houses (the Plaza in downtown Atlanta and the Tara in Buckhead), as well as Regal Mall of Georgia in North Georgia, that can provide us film projection. Mall of Georgia is one of 41 IMAX locations in the world that are capable of showing film IMAX presentations; as with regular theatres, IMAX transitioned to digital projection, as well, and while it’s still impressive, it doesn’t have the same impact as 70mm IMAX presentation. I vividly remember going to Mall of Georgia to watch “Fantasia/2000” on IMAX, and it’s still an experience I will never forget. The sheer volume of the image on the screen; the all-encompassing sound (perfect for the classical soundtrack)- it was…breathtaking. Mainstream movies began to play at Mall of Georgia the next year, as well as documentaries (including two by James Cameron), and it became a regular trip for my friends and I to watch the biggest movies.
This past Sunday, I got a group of friends and myself together to finally go watch “The Odyssey” at Mall of Georgia. It was my second film presentation of the film during its theatrical run- my first viewing was in a Dolby Cinema house- and there’s just a tactile beauty and sense of depth to the image on film. It’d been too long since I’d seen a fully film presentation on IMAX, and Sunday night, watching “The Odyssey”, just reiterated my adoration for the film, and my love of watching movies projected on film, as opposed to digital. I get why people would prefer something like Dolby Cinema- the crispness of the digital image, the immersiveness of Dolby Atmos audio (although to my ears, the Atmos presentation on “The Odyssey” was rough)- but since COVID, which has also allowed me to watch all-timers like “Lawrence of Arabia” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” in 70mm, I think I just will never let go of the personal nature of a film projected image. I also reached out to the IMAX projectionist at Mall of Georgia, and was able to arrange of a tour of the IMAX booth; it was my second time in that booth (the first was after a screening of “Poseidon” in 2006)- I’m glad my friends had the opportunity to see what I was able to experience in person when I trained on IMAX projectors back in June for work. I didn’t get to work IMAX during this run of “The Odyssey”, but that I was able to share part of that experience with those closest to me meant a lot.
Does this mean that to get the most out of “The Odyssey”, one MUST watch it at one of the 41 IMAX 70mm locations in the world? No; Nolan’s film rewards its viewer with its narrative and cinematic experience, regardless of format. Sure, if it’s important to you to watch “The Odyssey” the way Nolan intended, go ahead and make the pilgrimage. That being said, if all you can watch it in is a standard digitally-projector auditorium, or Dolby Cinema, or digital IMAX, or a premium format like RPX, 4DX or Screen X, take that opportunity. I ended up seeing “Project Hail Mary” simply projected regularly earlier this year, and while yes, I’d gladly take the opportunity to do a large format showing in the future if it gets rereleased, the movie had its impact on me, nonetheless. Great films transcend presentation, not because of how they are shown, but what they show you.
When it comes to watching a movie at home, the same philosophy presides. However you are able to watch the movie, just watch it. If you have a working VHS player and have your copy before DVDs took over, watch it that way. Have a DVD of the film? That’s fine if you haven’t upgraded. (Especially if it hasn’t been upgraded itself.) If it’s streaming and you can’t afford a physical copy, watch it that way. Hell, if it’s even on YouTube because someone ripped it on to there, if it matters to you to watch the film, do so. The important thing is to watch what you want, with the options presented to you. Personally, I’m going to upgrade as much as I can to physical media as possible, especially if it’s a movie I love. Whether it’s readily available for streaming or not, I want to actually own that film. Going back to “Fantasia/2000” for a moment, one of my first DVD purchases was the 2-film “Fantasia” Anthology box set; briefly, both films appeared on Blu-Ray, but I never purchased them because the multitude of great bonus features were not easily accessible. I will cherish that release, unless a 4K release comes out with the comparable extras.
One thing to keep in mind when you “buy” a movie digitally- you don’t actually own that film, the way you do with physical media. A digital purchase is nothing more than a license, and it can be revoked by the company putting it out. Having said that, I do have a few digital-only buys I’ve added to my collection, in part because I want access to them digitally more than a physical copy, and also, my enjoyment of them is not quite on the level of a physical purchase…yet, in some cases. I don’t castigate anyone watching a film on their phone; their laptop; their TV or in a movie theatre. The important thing is that they are watching.
That said, there are some experiences, I think, that are meaningful to have. In the past 25 years, I’ve watched “Lawrence of Arabia” in 70mm in a theatre; “2001: A Space Odyssey” multiple times in theatres; and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” at the Fox Theatre in downtown Atlanta. (I also watched Buster Keaton’s “The General” at the Fox, with a live organ accompaniment.) I complimented my IMAX “Fantasia/2000” screenings with a viewing of the 1940 “Fantasia” theatrically a few years ago. I watched Andrei Tarkovsky’s “The Mirror” in a drive-in setting. And a few years ago, I got to watch John Woo’s “Hard Boiled” in 35mm. If you have a great repertory cinema, it’s worth seeing what they have in store. You’ll never know the experiences you’ll get to have. The important thing is to watch what means something to you. That’s what being a fan of film is about.
Thanks for listening,
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
