Renting movies at the local Blockbuster or Rogers Video is indeed a wonderful experience and it’s a pastime in which I regularly partake.
However, I must admit there are just some movies that should be seen on the big screen.
Last week I enjoyed James Cameron’s new flick Avatar at a local theatre and that was certainly a fun experience. The surround sound and overwhelmingly large theatre images enhanced the movie so much, I’m certain it wouldn’t be nearly as grand an experience as if I just waited until the DVD release (although I’ll probably buy it on DVD).
I think it has largely to do with so much of a person’s field of vision being used up by the movie screen, as opposed to a relatively narrow image coming off the TV set. Perhaps more of the brain gets stimulation from a big screen.
It’s amazing how movies I found somewhat boring to watch at home were much more impressive at the theatre.
For example, I remember watching Spider-Man 3 in theatres a couple years ago and, although I didn’t understand the purpose of the scientific test that accidentally turned Flint Marko into Sandman, I still walked out of the theatre satisfied with my moviegoing experience.
However, later attempts at watching this particular film on DVD have inevitably led to naps and channel surfing.
Not all movies are natural theatre fits. There are some cinematic adventures that I believe certainly belong on the small screen and, as is my preference, I wait until DVD release before watching them.
For example, I’ve never understood why someone would want to see a Michael Moore documentary in theatres. I simply don’t understand how the big screen can enhance a documentary experience.
As well, unless romantic comedies involve some sorts of explosions or alien invasions, I’m likely to save those for DVD rental as well.
But the big destruction epics like recently released 2012 or the 1996 film Independence Day should always be seen first in theatres (in my opinion). Visual playgrounds such as District 9 or the latest Star Trek film must also be enjoyed in a dark room with 50 other people, while consuming mass quantities of hot popcorn.
And that’s another thing about the theatre experience — the food. Anyone who has ever been on a diet (myself included at times) knows what it’s like to prepare himself or herself for the intoxicating aroma upon entering the theatre lobby.
If there’s anything harder to avoid consuming than fresh movie popcorn smothered in creamy butter, it’s probably illegal. I don’t understand why it’s so impossible to make similar-tasting products at home.
Unfortunately, I’m too young to know what it would have been like to see a grand Charton Heston epic in its full cinematic brilliance. Like most people, one of my favourite movies is Planet of the Apes. I still get goose bumps when I think about Heston’s “Damn you all to Hell” emotional blow-up scene.
Unfortunately, that movie came out in theatres 11 years before I was even born, so chances are I will never know what it’s like to see that final scene when the camera zooms out on the tattered remains of Lady Liberty, when we finally know he was home all along.
Twenty-three years before I was born, Heston starred in another of my favourite movies, The Ten Commandments. This Cecil B. DeMille classic, co-starring Yul Brynner, is an impressive visual and emotional experience for believers and non-believers alike.
Unfortunately, Mother tells me the famous parting of the Red Sea scene can only be fully appreciated on the authentic theatre screen. If there’s a cinema in the area that plays old epics, I’d sure like to know about it.
Anyway, that’s my column about going to the theatre. In Moose Jaw, Galaxy Cinemas admission prices are quite reasonable and I personally can vouch for the local popcorn quality.
See you at the movies.
Carter Haydu can be reached at 691-1265.
