MOVIES TAKE PLACE IN THE AUDIENCE’S IMAGINATION. David Denby has an interesting article in the New Yorker about the changes that are taking place in movie media. He describes himself as one of the “fervent believers in the theatrical experience†for movies and laments the fact that young people are eagerly watching movies on miniature computer screens. I submit that watching miniaturized movies is evidence that a movie or play can work without being a perfect production or reproduction. For years people watched movies on relatively small television screens with commercial interruptions. Before multiplexes, which have long pauses between showings, enough people used to show up at movies in the middle that the phrase “This is where I came in,†entered the language. Experiencing a movie would thus involve changing the time sequence in which you saw the movie. Since watching a movie requires the imaginative leap of pretending that the flat screen constitutes three dimensional reality, lesser leaps of the imagination should not surprise us.
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I think the addition of movies on the iTunes Store was the harbinger of the Apple TV. The movies are intended to be streamed from computers to home theaters instead of watched on the video iPods. Regular shows work well on the iPod’s screen. I do agree that a great story will draw you in no matter how you view it. Epics that are thin on story or pictures where visuals are just as good as the tale (Lord of the Rings) are best served by bigger screen sizes.
I think the emergence of high definition, widescreen televisions are a big threat to regular theaters, though. I would much rather watch something at home on a 1080p set of any decent size than go to a theater. Unless theaters think of some way to keep up, I see them losing more and more money. With movies and shows on iTunes, and Netflix starting download services we’re seeing the beginning of content delivery to the home. Perhaps first-run films will come soon.
Finally, I have to chime in that I can stand watching downloaded movies on the computer if they’re decent enough quality. The computer’s not really something you can crowd around with friends and enjoy a great movie at, though—not for anyone older than a college student, at least.