Christopher Nolan Urges Fans to Watch Films in Cinemas, Not Netflix

westrock2000 said:
I'm not sure how you can ignore the spatial aspect of being in a large open space with a 75 to 100+ foot screen and sound that can naturally diffuse.

I have a 82" television. It's not the biggest, but it's certainly larger then what most people have. It's not even close to the same peripheral vision experience of going to a movie theater. a 100" screen isn't going to do that either.

And neither are speakers that are all 10 feet away from you. The sound doesn't have room to diffuse.

Saying that watching a movie is 10x20 room on a 100" screen can ever be superior, is as confusing to me as people claiming headphones provide a more realistic sound that actual speakers sitting out in front of you.

Movie theaters have a lot to be desired, but effect is not one of them.
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Not all theaters are built the same or have the best equipment.

also having a 1080 screen stretched to 100feet and only a small row of chairs is actually set up so you can comfortably watch it? Nah i am good with my setup and 5.1 at home. That is what is great though, everyone can enjoy different things and it doesn't matter.
 
westrock2000 said:
I'm not sure how you can ignore the spatial aspect of being in a large open space with a 75 to 100+ foot screen and sound that can naturally diffuse.

I have a 82" television. It's not the biggest, but it's certainly larger then what most people have. It's not even close to the same peripheral vision experience of going to a movie theater. a 100" screen isn't going to do that either.

And neither are speakers that are all 10 feet away from you. The sound doesn't have room to diffuse.

Saying that watching a movie is 10x20 room on a 100" screen can ever be superior, is as confusing to me as people claiming headphones provide a more realistic sound that actual speakers sitting out in front of you.

Movie theaters have a lot to be desired, but effect is not one of them.
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Too many people on the internet already know better.
 
Personally, I prefer watching a movie at home even though I do not have any great hardware.
It's significantly more comfortable than the cramp seats at the theaters.
 
westrock2000 said:
I'm not sure how you can ignore the spatial aspect of being in a large open space with a 75 to 100+ foot screen and sound that can naturally diffuse.

I have a 82" television. It's not the biggest, but it's certainly larger then what most people have. It's not even close to the same peripheral vision experience of going to a movie theater. a 100" screen isn't going to do that either.

And neither are speakers that are all 10 feet away from you. The sound doesn't have room to diffuse.

Saying that watching a movie is 10x20 room on a 100" screen can ever be superior, is as confusing to me as people claiming headphones provide a more realistic sound that actual speakers sitting out in front of you.

Movie theaters have a lot to be desired, but effect is not one of them.
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Well on the headphones... sure sure a good speaker is fantastic, still you have clearly never listened to music on a high end pair of grado or shure phones.

As great as theaters are there are very few that honestly have super top of the line setups. Those that do in general show nothing but the weeks latest hollywoo blockbuster, to rooms full of texting teens.

Sure not many of us have the absolute top of the line home projector systems in rooms built for it. I can tell you as someone who worked for a long time in high end electronics (years back now) and still has lots of friends from back then who are hard core audiophile types. There are some people in this world who really do have 100k+ pumped into their home theater systems that destroy all but the best theaters. One of those guys I used to work with has almost 100k worth of audiophile level sound equip alone... going over to watch something at his place is far beyond any theater experience I have ever had. Granted most of us aren't that insane and tend to spend our monies on families and other things. Still to suggest that high end home theaters aren't capable of great things is untrue. If you are willing to spend the money and have the know how (or hire someone who does) when it comes to picking the right gear for the space, what is out their today is capable of a fantastic experience even if your budget is 5 or 6k and not 100. I moved on to other things but the friend I am speaking of founded himself a super high end audio installation company... now and then he calls me up to come and check out one of his latest installs and what he can pack into fairly small spaces sound wise is amazing. Big theaters tend to opt for LOUD half decent sounding options where as many higher end home theater setups go for quality reproduction as they don't need to fill a massive theater with sound. Even in the fairly small city I live in I was amazed at how many "high end" (to me anything over 50k is high end) installs they have done.

There is a real market for high end theater quality streaming... which is what the movie industry is starting to look at doing. (and I think what really freaks someone like Nolan out) Some of my friends clients who have spent a 100k and in some cases more on their home theaters wouldn't bat an eye paying some of the crazy prices I have heard thrown around for first run digital streaming.
 
I do not care. I would rather (and have) watched cinematic shit on my phone rather than wasting my money in a movie theater. Sure, some blessed few in certain locales may have lucky access to better curated and controlled theaters. I do not. The movie going experience is no fun at all for me nor my friends. That is before the issues of pricing and convenience.
 
I don't usually go to crowded places during my free time, fighting against other people (figuratively), standing in long queues and being squashed by the sheer amount of people is not my idea of relaxing.

If I wanted to do that, I'd take a leave during a workday to do it, my freetime is worth too much to be wasted in standing in a queue.

So time factor is one of the primary reasons I don't go to cinemas on weekends.

I haven't really run into any movies where I'd take a leave day just to watch. Neither star wars movies did, and I am a pretty big fan of Star Wars.
 
chenw said:
I don't usually go to crowded places during my free time, fighting against other people (figuratively), standing in long queues and being squashed by the sheer amount of people is not my idea of relaxing.

If I wanted to do that, I'd take a leave during a workday to do it, my freetime is worth too much to be wasted in standing in a queue.

So time factor is one of the primary reasons I don't go to cinemas on weekends.

I haven't really run into any movies where I'd take a leave day just to watch. Neither star wars movies did, and I am a pretty big fan of Star Wars.
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All of those problems are pretty much solved by buying your ticket(s) online, which I'd say almost every theatre does now. I never wait in line, yet I see tons of people in line every time I go, I don't really understand why they'd waste their time.
 
BiH115 said:
All of those problems are pretty much solved by buying your ticket(s) online, which I'd say almost every theatre does now. I never wait in line, yet I see tons of people in line every time I go, I don't really understand why they'd waste their time.
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Never thought of it, I'll look at see if my local cinema allows for this.

Still, not a fan of the crowd IN the theatre itself, but that's usually less problematic.
 
I've calculated the cost to go to the theatre as around $100-$150 for us for a single movie. Just not worth it.

~ $12-$21/ticket * 2
~ Food: $13-27
~ Babysitter that has special needs child experience $15-$20/hr. * 4 hours = $60-$80
~ Parking: Free!

At a minimum that is $97
At a maximum that is $149

OR

Wait until we put our son down.
Pop in the blu-ray we bought from amazon for $5-$15
 
Screw the theater... i hate people, and their rotten ass kids, shity ass popcorn for $5. I can sit in my favorite chair, big screen bose sound system, pause, take a shit, drink and eat great food. Screw the theater.
 
If he didn't make more money in one movie than I'll make in a lifetime I might consider his options; otherwise, quit being a greedy bitch and take a pay cut to help your bleeding industry.
 
DPI said:
Hes not talking about people with proper home theater equipment.

He's talking about the masses with a bing bang chinese TV from Costco with 2Watt squeakers and Netflix built in. And he's got a point. Watching a great film on peashooter video/audio is like listening to your favorite CD on a $10 mono bluetooth speaker.
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I understand his point but he's also out of touch with global economy. Much of these 'masses' are families of 3-4 who end up spending around $50 minimum for a budget showing and upwards of $100 for premium. For the ones strapped for cash its not hard math to realize how much they're going to save by the cheap systems. Our family started out with cheap things and over the course of 6 years we were able to upgrade by the money saved.
 
About once or twice a year we still attempt a theater experience. For us, this trend started around ten years ago after numerous bad experiences-pretty much all the same as others have listed above. On those occasions when the crowds are nice, the sound is properly calibrated, the venue is clean, parking isn't a nightmare, its a nice experience. That only happens about half the time. At this point our home theater is 7.1 Atmos-32bit/384khz and ~160" projection 1080p/3d. A long way from the first 22" flat screen TV we had 10 years ago. At this point the $50-75 for 3d or Imax rarely justifies not waiting till the disc comes out.

Nolan isn't the only one who's made these kinds of statements. JJ Abrams said something similar after Star Wars. I like the vision of these creators but I firmly believe that they and much of Hollywood are out of touch with the realities many of us have to endure to enjoy their escapist dreams.
 
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Exavior said:
what do you mean they don't allow anyone under the age of 18? Which location do you go to? I haven't seen that at the 4 cities I have been to. All of them play kid movies and have allowed kids. Unless you just mean in an R rated movie
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The two in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are strictly 18+ only. In fact, they actually do have special, early, screenings of very few movies that allow kids. The most recent one of those was for Beauty and the Beast. But it's funny that they have to specifically note which showings are for all ages.

Other than those special kids showings, 100% of the time its 18+ only.
 
Movie goers and hollywood have killed the cinema experience. Used to release all the season movies almost all at once. That prevented theatre from being over-crowded miserable experiences. But not they take turns and pace releases in a kind of probably unspoken collusion. They pack the theaters for a month give or take. then attendance craters. People don't like either, going to a elbow to elbow theater or a nearly empty one. But that's the situation Hollywood cultivates.
 
The home experience is way too good these days. You don't have to be rich to have a large TV and multi-speaker surround setup anymore. It might not be as awesome as what the local theaters have, but you aren't stuck in a crowd with sticky floors, no pause button, expensive snacks, uncomfortable chairs, etc.

The only theaters I'll go to anymore are Alamo Drafthouse. That's as much for the food and beers as anything else. The movie is almost like an extra rather than the main reason for going.
 
My previous job was doing IT work for a company that sold lightbulbs. My job was largely selling over the internet but the original customer base was selling lighting products to the big theater chains. Movie theaters are getting squeezed big time by the film studio's and operate on "very" low profit margins and many, even the biggest, are on the brink of bankruptcy.

Just another example of Hollywood's "let them eat cake" elitism...
 
...it's a little easier to just order a few pizzas & have everyone watch together at home, than go out to the movies, and a hell of a lot cheaper too. :)
 
Riccochet said:
I'd go to the cinema if any of the local ones I've been to could calibrate their fucking audio to anything other than ear piercing loud.
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Yea, the folks who decide on the volume in theaters must have ears full of wax or slightly deaf... it's always way louder than it needs to be
 
I stopped going to the theaters for one simple reason...

I'd rather not give people to a group of people that are pushing communism and think they are entitled to tell me what to think. The best part is they probably couldn't get a job outside of hollywood.
 
This is the same endless tug-of-war between TV and Film that's been going on since the 1950s. Cinerama, 70 mm, Sensurround, Dolby Stereo, DD/DTS/THX, HFR, IMAX and 3D are just a few of the tech morsels Hollywood's spent Billions of dollars trying to get butts in front of the big screen instead of the small screen. Coppola and Nolan aren't saying anything new, and wouldn't be saying it at all if neither had blockbusters on queue for the summer.

Sonicks said:
I agree, there is nothing quite like a good cinema experience.<snip> It's all about finding the right theater.
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I agree, but finding a good theater is hard. Most people aren't even going to "shop", just pick the showtime closest to them at a 24-screen multiplex with 200 seat auditoriums and 30' screens and walk away pissed.

dandirk said:
The GF and I go to early sunday showings or 4pm on a week day... Usually a very good experience in my area.
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I will usually dodge the 5:00 and 7:00 showings entirely because of teens and families. (who have ruined more theatre going in my experience than any other factor)

n3ckcutta said:
All the vibes I'm getting from this thread is how much bigger and more expensive MY home theater is...
Ducman69 said:
Spoken like someone that hasn't installed an ATMOS surround system and projector screen in their living room yet. Nothing quite like Mad Max with your pants off.

*oh snap, speaking of, I need to update my sig, I have new hardware for ages now including a better projector*
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[H] wouldn't be [H] if somebody wasn't flaunting epeen. The Media Room is as much a status symbol as luxury cars and big ass trucks. I've had home theater since the 90s when Laserdiscs, Dolby Pro-Logic and 50" rear projection TVs were the norm. It's all still "small screen" to me compared to actually seeing it on a 70' big screen in a theater.

But not all films warrant a trip to the theater for that experience. I think I enjoyed the last MCU movie as much on the small screen as I ever would in a theater. That's something we've lost with the current batch of film auteurs. No huge epic cinematic big screen moments like the lit-match-to-sunrise-to-desert in Lawrence of Arabia, the Star Destroyer flyover from Episode 4, or the thousands of Orcs charging the Elven line at the foot at Mordor in LOTR.

I don't think I've ever had scenes like that burned on my brain watching in my theater at home.
 
Saturn_V said:
[H] wouldn't be [H] if somebody wasn't flaunting epeen.
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Don't act like you're not impressed.
ejaqlg.gif
 
ruffbytes said:
^THIS!

WTF is so fuckin' funny?!?

Probably has nothing to do with the movie.
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Nothing is funny, its done for attention. They aren't there for the movie, they are there to be seen going to the movies and be noticed, its a social thing. So they fake laugh and are loud and obnoxious as a form of peacocking.
 
I'm sitting 9-10 feet from a 2.40:1 120" screen, 7.1 (The .1 being 110lbs, max of 2000 watts, 600 continuous) in an acoustically treated, non reflective room. Other than a high end 4k PJ and Atmos current theaters offer me nothing.

I just want them to release films on BR faster, not only that but release an earlier cheaper version that has the tehatrical release only nothing else. then you can have teh directors cut with features and you may get some extra money from me.

Finally seeing Fantastic Beasts tonight and the family is very excited, felt like it took forever.
 
Riccochet said:
I'd go to the cinema if any of the local ones I've been to could calibrate their fucking audio to anything other than ear piercing loud. Even the quiet scenes where it's just people talking are ridiculously loud.

Don't get me wrong. I have $6-7k tied up in my home theater equipment, and I do watch my movies with volume up. But it's not making my ears hurt and they're not ringing when I'm done watching.
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It's sad that it's necessary but I had some ear plugs made by an audiologist. They are intended for musicians and have an interchangeable core that controls the dB reduction. I have centers for full block, 8dB reduction and 15 dB reduction I think. Use them a lot for movies and sporting events and can still hear fine and have conversations.
 
Youn said:
Yea, the folks who decide on the volume in theaters must have ears full of wax or slightly deaf... it's always way louder than it needs to be
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I agree totally. Last year we went to see Star Trek at an Imax and I swear I could hear the cones popping from the speakers and the vocals were distorted and tinned out. I was truly uncomfortable. This coming from a guy who was regularly at the front of stages for many rock & heavy metal concerts. Never going back there again.
 
Sonicks said:
The two in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are strictly 18+ only. In fact, they actually do have special, early, screenings of very few movies that allow kids. The most recent one of those was for Beauty and the Beast. But it's funny that they have to specifically note which showings are for all ages.

Other than those special kids showings, 100% of the time its 18+ only.
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I wonder if I just never noticed that then. The one I have been to the most was there in Richardson. Was there for training for a week, ate probably every dinner there haha. Never noticed the age limit. I don't have one near by (2.5 hour drive to southern Michigan is the closest). So i only get to visit them when going through an area. Just know that I have always seen them playing kids movies so never gave it much mind.
 
I forgot about the volume level watching the latest Starwars at the cinema.
Not only was there a lack of bass, it was very loud.
I'm put off going to the cinema, I feel scammed.
 
I bought my first projector back in 2004, a native resolution dvd quality Hitachi. And I found, that over the years as 1080 became the standard and my 'cheap, old' 480 system became dated, a great movie on a mediocre system beats the shit out of a mediocre movie in IMAX. And, enjoying said great movie at home in comfort with all the extras, beats the crap out of movie theater with dickheads that overcharge for snacks and other dickheads making noise during the movie. I still go to a few movies at the local IMAX during the week first showing, usually in the a.m. to avoid the assholes. But generally wait until I can watch at home. AFA film quality? My eyes are simply not that good. I've been watching film movies for 55 years. Still looks fine to me.
 
Mr. Nolan, thanks for the unsolicited and biased advice. Imagine that, a movie director wants us to see movies. Next you'll be telling me that a window salesmen is advising me I have leaky windows.
 
I might consider watching a movie in a theater if there was a movie worth watching. So according to Christopher Nolan, it's not that Hollywood makes crap movies, it's that people are doing it wrong, huh?
 
cyclone3d said:
Where do you people live where theatre goers are like this?


Granted, I don't go to the theatre all that often, but I've never once had a problem with people talking on their cell phones, being loud, poor sound, or anything else that would make me not want to go back.
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Where do you live where they are not? People munching popcorn, playing with cellphones has been at every movie I have been to in recent years, kids talking during key moments, gagging at the smell of someone who got stinky cheese topping for their popcorn etc...

I am of two views on this.

1: Crowds of people suck, because they will always contain a percentage of assholes. There is almost always some annoyance factor from them during the movie theater experience.

2: Home theaters still can't quite match the spectacle of watching a movie with on a good theater big screen, especially IMAX footage in an IMAX theater. If you have seen "Dark Knight Rises" in IMAX you know what I mean. There is no way to duplicate that at home.
 
Snowdog said:
Where do you live where they are not? People munching popcorn, playing with cellphones has been at every movie I have been to in recent years, kids talking during key moments, gagging at the smell of someone who got stinky cheese topping for their popcorn etc...

I am of two views on this.

1: Crowds of people suck, because they will always contain a percentage of assholes. There is almost always some annoyance factor from them during the movie theater experience.

2: Home theaters still can't quite match the spectacle of watching a movie with on a good theater big screen, especially IMAX footage in an IMAX theater. If you have seen "Dark Knight Rises" in IMAX you know what I mean. There is no way to duplicate that at home.
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Some of you really just need to find better times to go see movies or find another place to go. That or stop being a pedophile and going to kids movies to try to find your next kidnap victim.

Like other on here I don't deal with much trouble when going to see a movie. If there is noise it is something from the group such as everyone laughing at some part. But rarely in a way that detracts from the movie.

worse time I had so far was a guy sitting next to me at Lego batman basically asking me to explain the ending as it was happening. But outside of that personally don't normally go to shows with people talking the entire time.

I can't even think of being able to hear people eating popcorn, but then again normally the movie volume is pretty loud so maybe it just drowns that out.

I might see a few phones pop up every now and then but that is about it. I can only think of maybe 1 out of the last 50 movies i have seen in the past few years that was ruined by people there.
 
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Exavior said:
Some of you really just need to find better times to go see movies or find another place to go. That or stop being a pedophile and going to kids movies to try to find your next kidnap victim.
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WTF? No need to be a total asshat just because you disagree.

I go to R rated movies and you still have parents bringing in their 10 year olds. Unless you have a theater that forbids kids, they will be there.

Other than that, it sound like you still see the same annoyances everyone else reports, but you like to pretend they don't matter.
 
Exavior said:
Some of you really just need to find better times to go see movies or find another place to go. That or stop being a pedophile and going to kids movies to try to find your next kidnap victim.

Like other on here I don't deal with much trouble when going to see a movie. If there is noise it is something from the group such as everyone laughing at some part. But rarely in a way that detracts from the movie.

worse time I had so far was a guy sitting next to me at Lego batman basically asking me to explain the ending as it was happening. But outside of that personally don't normally go to shows with people talking the entire time.

I can't even think of being able to hear people eating popcorn, but then again normally the movie volume is pretty loud so maybe it just drowns that out.

I might see a few phones pop up every now and then but that is about it. I can only think of maybe 1 out of the last 50 movies i have seen in the past few years that was ruined by people there.
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Short version:
I want to insult you for having a worse experience than me.
 
NickJames said:
Andrew Jones Pioneer system I picked up on sale last year. I have it setup in 5.1 with 2 height satellites. I recently picked up a new receiver with Atmos support but haven't gotten around to it yet. The plan is to swap the heights to the rear for 7.1 and eventually get the Atmos setup. The only movies I bother to watch on BR are usually Sci-Fi flicks and War movies. The new Chromecast Ultra actually does 5.1 on netflix which is nice, but not like you really have a choice with Netflix Originals. My theater room isn't really built acoustically so the plan is to eventually buy a new home and remodel one of the rooms into a proper theater.
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If you want to properly utilize atmos and utilize your setup you may have to upgrade. I have a terrible footprint for surround (4 story townhome) where my main has 14-15' ceilings and a half wall that cuts off about 2 feet from where the right rear should be. I have all bi-polar deftech speakers which alleviate most of the positioning problem, but you do pay for it (not audiophile grade, ~2-6k for a 5 speaker setup... although they also include subs in the super towers and center so you eliminate that cost and positioning). Another nice feature is that the atmos speakers mount on the super towers and are seamless - would be better to put in ceiling for atmos but I'm not trying that with tall ceilings... and Magnolia gave me the atmos speakers when I replaced my center.

I actually tested a few films streaming vs. blu ray and even my wife could notice a significant difference. My setup isn't as nice as some of the guys here, and the Andrew Jones Pioneers are amazing for the $$ (I picked up some bookshelfs to see what the hype was and gifted them to a friend... only some of the Polk equivalents compete), but once you hit that next level you will want blu ray to maximize your investment.
 
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