Big and Small

I watched Dune.

It was interesting! Not amazing, and it felt incomplete, but I liked how it tackled imperialism. It’s also nice to see an inspiration for the Star Wars franchise not be panned. (I’m looking at you, John Carter!) So yes, definitely worth a recommendation.

Unfortunately, the movie’s existence has fed into resurgent toxicity. It’s not helped by several directors opening their mouths. These include Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve, both of whom believe you should watch a movie on an IMAX screen. That, according to them, is where they’re at their best. But are they?

I’m not one to judge preferences. Remember, I like The MCU! And I get the sentiment for wanting a theatre experience. There’s an energy to watching films with an audience: you can laugh when they laugh, cheer when they cheer, gasp when they gasp and cry when they cry. It’s something you don’t get alone.

So yes, I see where they’re coming from. What bothers me is when that’s matched with how it’s “the only way”. To quote Villeneuve from August of this year:

“Frankly, to watch Dune on a television, the best way I can compare it is to drive a speedboat in your bathtub. For me, it’s ridiculous. It’s a movie that has been made as a tribute to the big-screen experience.”

Like I said, far be it from me to criticize preferences. But insisting the only way to enjoy movies is in theatres bugs me. It assumes everyone can make it there, which is a big ask, and it implies that a movie doesn’t work in other formats. If the latter were true, many classics wouldn’t have survived the era of VHS. Yes, the format with piss-poor sound and image compression.

I’ve heard this before, though. I’ve heard that streaming is “killing cinema”. And I’ve heard that more people need to “watch movies in theatres”. I’ve heard these claims so frequently that it’s tiresome. So let’s do a mental exercise, shall we? Let me walk you through my cinema experience pre-COVID:

It begins days before I go to see the movie. Because I’m financially limited, I often read reviews in advance. If the reviews are strong, I’m interested. If not, I either avoid it, or wait until I have a free movie from the SCENE points I’ve accrued. I wouldn’t want to waste my money.

But let’s say I decide to see the film. I have to look for a date, time and location that works. Because I can’t always see something immediately, I need to block off part of my day. And because I can’t drive, I have to check the transit schedule. This could take up to an hour, and that ignores transit delays.

Okay, I’m at my destination. I now must walk to the actual theatre, climb the stairs and, depending on popularity, wait in a long line for tickets. (I know digital kiosks exist, but often there are lines there too.) Many of the other people are rowdy and annoying, and sometimes they block access to the line itself. It could take a while before I purchase the ticket, and occasionally the showing might even be sold out.

If all goes well, I pay for my overpriced ticket and make my way to, assuming I’m interested, the equally-overpriced concessions where-you guessed it-there’s another line of rowdy and annoying people. This also takes a while, leading to anxiety. I swipe my debit card, get my SCENE points and retrieve the concessions. Now it’s off to the ticket booth. Sounds simple enough, right?

But wait! I forgot to go to the bathroom! Now I have to ask an employee where the washrooms are, tuck away my concessions-unless I got popcorn, in which case I’m screwed-and head to the nearest stall. Assuming I’m not grossed out, I do my business and proceed to wash my hands with a dispenser that barely gives me soap and a tap that often doesn’t work. This doesn’t account for there being no paper towel, in which case I use the air dryer.

I finally get to the auditorium, find a seat at the back, because I don’t like the front, and wait for the previews. After what seems like forever, and more people pile in, I then am barraged with advertisements and car commercials before the trailers. And once the trailers, which take about 15 minutes, are over, I can finally enjoy myself for 2+ hours…assuming the lights from people’s phones, the loud noises of chairs, the interruptions of late-arrivals looking for seats and the sounds of kids and babies don’t pull me out of the experience.

If I’m being unfair, it’s to prove a point. I love the theatre! I used to go often before the pandemic! But I had to turn a blind eye to what came with that, and most of it wasn’t fun. I’m not alone, as theatre attendance has been dwindling over the last decade. And with streaming eliminating the hassle of the theatre experience, I’m not surprised that venues are in trouble.

So with all due respect to Denis Villeneuve, I don’t agree that the only way to experience a movie is in theatres. Does that mean streaming doesn’t have its own problems? No, and I’ve covered that before. But the trade-off’s noticeable, and that needs to be acknowledged here.

Besides, a movie’s true test is if it can be watched at home anyway. Remember, movies only run in cinemas for so long before they’re moved to streaming, where most of their viewing takes place. A movie has to endure that too. And if it can’t? Then it was never that great to begin with.

Ultimately, I don’t like the assertion that movies only work in theatres. If that makes me a heretic, so be it! I’ll live with that!