Sonic to offer 3D download service

quasimodo on July 28, 2009 at 12:29 pm

I must be getting old. I don’t understand a word of this but am reasonably confident that it has nothing to do with historic movie theatres.

MPol on July 28, 2009 at 8:01 pm

I agree, CWalczak. Frankly, I think that encouraging this kind of piracy, if anything, will help destroy the last vestiges of movie theatre going altogether. It’s yet another example of people wanting “something for nothing”, an attitude that started in the Reagan Administration. In the early 1980’s, the SCOTUS, under Ronald Reagan, voted, by just one vote, to allow movies to be taped on video and made for videoi and VCR, which, sadly, has ultimately helped lead to all this kind of piracy.

CSWalczak on July 28, 2009 at 11:25 pm

That was my impression; as far as I know, CinemaNow is a legitimate subscription service where one is legally allowed to download films upon paying a fee, like iTunes or similar music downloading sites.

My concern was that the more these services become available, especially with enhancements in picture quality and the inevitable price reduction that comes with competition, more and more people will choose to download movies and watch them on computers and home theater systems that can play downloaded films.

Thus, there becomes increasing less reason to go to a movie theater or have interest in theater preservation. It’s like the 1950s all over again, when the TV wrecking ball hit so many theaters. Matters aren’t helped when the theater-going experience is being so often undermined by audience behaviors (like cell phone use), irritating screen advertising, and other factors that only cause people to think to themselves, “Why should I put up with this when for less than the price of a ticket, I can download a high quality movie file and watch it in the comfort of my home?”

If movie theaters are going to survive, the industry will have to learn how to provide an experience that can’t be enjoyed at home. Cinerama anyone?

MPol on July 29, 2009 at 9:10 am

This:

“Its just going to continue until they find a way to kill theatres all together. The world is headed in a direction where there will never be a reason to leave your house. You can now work from home, shop from home, download music and video from home, its just never going to end. And that’s very sad.”

is a point well-taken, movie534. Your post says it all…in a nutshell. That being said, I’m going to continue renewing my memberships to the Coolidge Corner and the Brattle Theatres every year, and patronizing those movie theatres, and hope that more and more people follow suit. There’s nothing more exciting than going to a real movie theatre, seeing movies on the great big, wide screen as they’re MEANT to be viewed, and sharing that experience with a whole bunch of other people, whether they all know each other or not.

MPol on July 30, 2009 at 6:31 am

Hi, movie534. Thanks.

Keep contacting the owner of the Ritz in Ellizabeth, NJ, about what you’d like to see. Writing, calling, emailing, or even giving suggestions to the people working the box office might help. Keep trying—don’t give up. Here’s wishing you the best of luck.