tinsel
December 27, 2024 4:15 AM Subscribe
“we’re not just talking about the successful re-releases of Interstellar and Coraline. As some theater chains in North America contemplated evolving... rep theaters saw a surge in popularity. Meanwhile, as everyone waxes nostalgic about going to Blockbuster, indie video stores are giving cinephiles the real deal” [av club]
title [wiki] on dvd, previously
title [wiki] on dvd, previously
One weird thing is that the author of this piece doesn’t mention non-streaming digital options at all. Every DVD they mentioned is available on iTunes, Amazon, etc. at modest prices (e.g. the Indiana Jones series is $25 for all of the original movies). I think that’s the more interesting angle than physical media which requires keeping antique hardware alive because it avoids the confounding question of streaming service’s “all you can eat pricing”.
What’s more worrisome to me are the movies which are never released outside of a streaming service, which may disappear without any option.
posted by adamsc at 5:49 AM on December 27 [5 favorites]
What’s more worrisome to me are the movies which are never released outside of a streaming service, which may disappear without any option.
posted by adamsc at 5:49 AM on December 27 [5 favorites]
Mod note: One comment removed. This thread is about artists creating media that people pay for so lets avoid derailing the thread to champion torrenting.
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 5:54 AM on December 27 [4 favorites]
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 5:54 AM on December 27 [4 favorites]
For me, every time I read one of these articles, and there are plenty of them, one villain is always left out: theatres.
I used to go to the theatre a lot. For more than a decade I watched at least one movie every day. I'd watch at least two every Tuesday, when entry fees were discounted. I'd watch 50 in ten days during the film festival.
Begrudgingly, I stopped caring about the theatre because the exhibitors stopped caring about me. They'd let people talk and text and eat their lunch or pretty much anything else they wanted to do until people like myself just decided to buy a projector and watch from home. Now, I can literally go years without setting foot in a movie theatre and I never go to see anything there that a major studio releases as I know I can watch it at home later. The only time I go is to see a foreign film which I know will be hard to source. Further, the people surrounding me at those screenings are respectful of their fellow audiences.
Had theatres not stopped the practice of tossing out the unrulies, I'd still be their happy patron.
posted by dobbs at 6:12 AM on December 27 [6 favorites]
I used to go to the theatre a lot. For more than a decade I watched at least one movie every day. I'd watch at least two every Tuesday, when entry fees were discounted. I'd watch 50 in ten days during the film festival.
Begrudgingly, I stopped caring about the theatre because the exhibitors stopped caring about me. They'd let people talk and text and eat their lunch or pretty much anything else they wanted to do until people like myself just decided to buy a projector and watch from home. Now, I can literally go years without setting foot in a movie theatre and I never go to see anything there that a major studio releases as I know I can watch it at home later. The only time I go is to see a foreign film which I know will be hard to source. Further, the people surrounding me at those screenings are respectful of their fellow audiences.
Had theatres not stopped the practice of tossing out the unrulies, I'd still be their happy patron.
posted by dobbs at 6:12 AM on December 27 [6 favorites]
(pours out a 40 for Pleasant Street Video in Northampton, Massachusetts)
posted by Lemkin at 6:19 AM on December 27 [4 favorites]
posted by Lemkin at 6:19 AM on December 27 [4 favorites]
Re: noisy theater crowds. Alamo Drafthouse seems to be going strong and expanding quickly. One thing that is nice about them is that they are absolutely ruthless at enforcing relative quiet. There's a whole system of anonymously notifying staff of problematic people, and it's a simple one warning, twice you're gone situation. In this case, having all the extra people around serving food helps enforcement. But really they don't have to warn many people, it's mainly just being really obvious about the culture and expectations. Oh and now I recall they sold out to Sony, so they will probably be coming to a big city near you with a shittier version of their prior product. But it still may be better than the competition.
As for rentals, I can still rent Bollywood DVDs and Blu-rays at the Indian grocer in my college town, so that's nice.
It's interesting to see what happens to video rental places though. Our local Hollywood Video closed after many of them did, and a nice family set up a liquor store in that bay. Being smart and economical, they just took down the "Video" part of the giant sign and put up a small "liquor". Now Hollywood Liquor is doing so well that they opened up a second location, in an old Family Video building. Sadly they did not follow suit and name it "Family Liquor".
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:45 AM on December 27 [6 favorites]
As for rentals, I can still rent Bollywood DVDs and Blu-rays at the Indian grocer in my college town, so that's nice.
It's interesting to see what happens to video rental places though. Our local Hollywood Video closed after many of them did, and a nice family set up a liquor store in that bay. Being smart and economical, they just took down the "Video" part of the giant sign and put up a small "liquor". Now Hollywood Liquor is doing so well that they opened up a second location, in an old Family Video building. Sadly they did not follow suit and name it "Family Liquor".
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:45 AM on December 27 [6 favorites]
Going to Blockbuster sucked.
Alamo Drafthouse was in trouble under its original leadership (financial mismanagement, sexism and sexual harassment), was bought out, and as noted is now a Sony enterprise.
I haven't gone back to movie theaters more than a few times since the pandemic. As much because I've lost interest in every movie whose marketing manages to reach me.
And the smaller ones that don't I can watch at home without losing much.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:16 AM on December 27 [2 favorites]
Alamo Drafthouse was in trouble under its original leadership (financial mismanagement, sexism and sexual harassment), was bought out, and as noted is now a Sony enterprise.
I haven't gone back to movie theaters more than a few times since the pandemic. As much because I've lost interest in every movie whose marketing manages to reach me.
And the smaller ones that don't I can watch at home without losing much.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:16 AM on December 27 [2 favorites]
The theatre where I saw a 4K restoration of "Lawrence of Arabia" in 201* has been closed for a while.
I'm really not much of a movie viewer anymore, but the ability to customize my viewing (subtitles anyone?) has become more important to me than anything about the group viewing experience. The terrible sound mix on the original release of "Dune" in 2021 is just one example of why I'd rather wait for a digital version I can watch at home.
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 7:20 AM on December 27 [3 favorites]
I'm really not much of a movie viewer anymore, but the ability to customize my viewing (subtitles anyone?) has become more important to me than anything about the group viewing experience. The terrible sound mix on the original release of "Dune" in 2021 is just one example of why I'd rather wait for a digital version I can watch at home.
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 7:20 AM on December 27 [3 favorites]
Has it really gotten that bad? My local theatre seems pretty alright. There are movies like Get Out or the Avengers movies for which audience participation is pretty important, and I feel like some reacting to the screen is part of it
posted by eustatic at 7:20 AM on December 27 [2 favorites]
posted by eustatic at 7:20 AM on December 27 [2 favorites]
@eustatic: "Get Out" was definitely better seen at the theatre for that reason but films of that kind of impact are increasingly rare. "Close Encounters" comes to mind too.
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 7:25 AM on December 27 [1 favorite]
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 7:25 AM on December 27 [1 favorite]
Going to the multiplex hasn't really changed, but it continues to get more and more expensive for less and less value versus watching at home on a high definition display that mostly fills your field of view. (Or, entirely, if you want to invest in a projector.)
Which is what most people have now. Especially relative to the difference between watching a movie on a TV and VCR in the Blockbuster era.
Also potentially included in the platforms already subscribed to, or if not still usually cheaper to stream than to buy a ticket.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:25 AM on December 27 [1 favorite]
Which is what most people have now. Especially relative to the difference between watching a movie on a TV and VCR in the Blockbuster era.
Also potentially included in the platforms already subscribed to, or if not still usually cheaper to stream than to buy a ticket.
posted by snuffleupagus at 7:25 AM on December 27 [1 favorite]
Has it really gotten that bad?
“market trends and analyses conducted in January of this year actually spell out the opposite future for movie theaters. While the market currently is valued around $16.1 billion, it is expected to grow to $26.92 billion in the US alone. Globally, from 2024 to 2032, researchers expect the industry to continue to grow in a positive direction. In 2028, the industry as a whole is expected to grow to $87.6 billion.” [etownian]
Re: noisy theater crowds :
posted by HearHere at 7:44 AM on December 27
“market trends and analyses conducted in January of this year actually spell out the opposite future for movie theaters. While the market currently is valued around $16.1 billion, it is expected to grow to $26.92 billion in the US alone. Globally, from 2024 to 2032, researchers expect the industry to continue to grow in a positive direction. In 2028, the industry as a whole is expected to grow to $87.6 billion.” [etownian]
Re: noisy theater crowds :
Appealing to families, Hollingshead advertised his drive-in as a place where “The whole family is welcome, regardless of how noisy the children are.”[new york film academy]
posted by HearHere at 7:44 AM on December 27
I haven’t been back to an Alamo Drafthouse since they got rid of the Smokey and the Bacon BLT, which was ,hands-down, the best BLT ever made. I don’t know where they got their bacon from but that stuff was ridiculously thick cut. oh man, I am tearing up right now.
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 7:48 AM on December 27 [3 favorites]
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 7:48 AM on December 27 [3 favorites]
Physical video stores turn that hour you and your partner spend trying to decide what to watch into an outing. Our local shop, We Luv Video, is volunteer-run so the folks are passionate about movies and have great recommendations. There is a small theater in the back where they show the work of local filmmakers and rent to high school clubs.
posted by tofu_crouton at 8:14 AM on December 27 [2 favorites]
posted by tofu_crouton at 8:14 AM on December 27 [2 favorites]
Every DVD they mentioned is available on iTunes, Amazon, etc. at modest prices
The author mentions a substantial number of titles not available via any platform, most importantly BATGIRL, SCOOB! HOLIDAY HAUNT and COYOTE VS. ACME, which were all completed and not released on streaming, theatrically, or on physical media. It is truly bizarre that we live in a world where in this digital age of what seems like simple and easy distribution we can have lost films that had been made within the past few years.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 8:27 AM on December 27 [3 favorites]
The author mentions a substantial number of titles not available via any platform, most importantly BATGIRL, SCOOB! HOLIDAY HAUNT and COYOTE VS. ACME, which were all completed and not released on streaming, theatrically, or on physical media. It is truly bizarre that we live in a world where in this digital age of what seems like simple and easy distribution we can have lost films that had been made within the past few years.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 8:27 AM on December 27 [3 favorites]
I don’t know where they got their bacon from but that stuff was ridiculously thick cut. oh man, I am tearing up right now.
Though it may not be the same, here is some very good thick-cut sandwich bacon you can mail-order. (Though it seems only in California.) It makes great BLTs.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:54 AM on December 27 [1 favorite]
Though it may not be the same, here is some very good thick-cut sandwich bacon you can mail-order. (Though it seems only in California.) It makes great BLTs.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:54 AM on December 27 [1 favorite]
Entertainment has been moving indoors since the dawn of TV; I am surprised that theaters have lasted this long. I have a lot of love for movie theaters, but in terms of saving this art form, fixing the mess that is streaming should really take priority.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 9:27 AM on December 27 [1 favorite]
posted by kittens for breakfast at 9:27 AM on December 27 [1 favorite]
Entertainment has been moving indoors since the dawn of TV video games playing cards books chairs roofs.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 9:57 AM on December 27 [3 favorites]
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 9:57 AM on December 27 [3 favorites]
Yes, but there's a pretty dramatic difference between paying $15 - $20 per person to go to the theater, before parking, refreshments, gas and the drivetime and suffering other people to see a big movie when it comes out, vs. paying $15 for everyone in the house to watch it on the big screen you already own with no fuss and around the corner from your kitchen when it hits streaming a month later.
I suppose I'm part of the problem, if it's a problem.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:02 AM on December 27 [3 favorites]
I suppose I'm part of the problem, if it's a problem.
posted by snuffleupagus at 10:02 AM on December 27 [3 favorites]
I've been trying to go to the movie theater more; my problem is my schedule and the poor selection. I was looking forward to seeing Flow in the theater, but I was busy the handful of days it was here. When I did have free time I was amazed and frustrated: the two first-run movie theaters in town are both Marcus theaters and play the same movies; every movie that weekend was part of a preexisting IP's cinematic universe (Sonic, LOTR, Gladiator, Moana, Wicked, Mufasa). I think there's 20+ screens between the two theaters but they were only showing like 6 different films. The arthouse theater in town does have some good stuff but they try to get first-run popular films too, to put people in seats and pay the bills, so they're running A Complete Unknown and Babygirl for the foreseeable future, which are also running at the Marcus theaters. I'm going to see Nosferatu at one of the Marcus theaters tonight, though.
(I'd seen trailers for Nightbitch in the theater and was looking forward to datenight with my wife to see it, but it never made it here and now it's on Hulu already. If they're lamenting that people don't go to things in the theater, they're making it hard for me to give them my money.)
Maybe the solution is more screens, with like just 50 seats in them, and run, like, everything. A 50-screen multiplex running 50 different new-in-the-past-two-month films and you still have an empty seat between you and the stranger next to you. I saw Cuckoo, there was just me and two strangers in the theater; Anora there were like 10 people. That can't be cost-effective.
Streaming makes it too easy for things to just...disappear. Like, All That Jazz shows up as "not available anywhere" in a lot of the streaming aggregators; it's apparently free on Tubi, but it took some digging to figure that out -- but one of the best-regarded films of the past 50 years, just, inaccessible? Whoever owns Nickelodeon and MTV and all that just wiped a bunch of art from their streaming services. Some is available at other places, but, really, how would anyone know?
I have noticed, however, that since I've told myself under $5 is a reasonable price for renting something from a streaming service, I haven't to**ented anything in a couple months. For more independent films, I've even 'bought' the film, in hopes that more money trickles down to the auteur, with The People's Joker and The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed.
posted by AzraelBrown at 2:21 PM on December 27
(I'd seen trailers for Nightbitch in the theater and was looking forward to datenight with my wife to see it, but it never made it here and now it's on Hulu already. If they're lamenting that people don't go to things in the theater, they're making it hard for me to give them my money.)
Maybe the solution is more screens, with like just 50 seats in them, and run, like, everything. A 50-screen multiplex running 50 different new-in-the-past-two-month films and you still have an empty seat between you and the stranger next to you. I saw Cuckoo, there was just me and two strangers in the theater; Anora there were like 10 people. That can't be cost-effective.
Streaming makes it too easy for things to just...disappear. Like, All That Jazz shows up as "not available anywhere" in a lot of the streaming aggregators; it's apparently free on Tubi, but it took some digging to figure that out -- but one of the best-regarded films of the past 50 years, just, inaccessible? Whoever owns Nickelodeon and MTV and all that just wiped a bunch of art from their streaming services. Some is available at other places, but, really, how would anyone know?
I have noticed, however, that since I've told myself under $5 is a reasonable price for renting something from a streaming service, I haven't to**ented anything in a couple months. For more independent films, I've even 'bought' the film, in hopes that more money trickles down to the auteur, with The People's Joker and The Feeling That The Time For Doing Something Has Passed.
posted by AzraelBrown at 2:21 PM on December 27
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....However, the rebirth of Kim's Video in NYC shows promise.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:09 AM on December 27 [7 favorites]