Movie Theater Experiences

[pistolwink]

There was (and maybe still is) a regular at UW CInematheque screenings in Madison, Wisconsin unaffectionately known to other regulars as "laughing man." He would laugh, most notably and enthusiastically, at any scene of sexual degradation or predation—specifically male-on-female variety. He found Oshima's Violence at Noon a real riot. At one screening he prompted the usually cool-as-a-cucumber David Bordwell to yell "Will you shut up?!" I hope that guy's on some kind of list. (Hell, maybe he's on this board!)

[hearthesilence]

I might've posted before about the loud, purposeful (and solitary) clapping that I've encountered in the past - specifically when a certain character gets hanged near the end of one Holocaust film and when a teen bully gets stabbed to death near the end of one dark comedy. I encountered the same thing again at the NYFF this week, but with a documentary - when the epilogue mentions that one of the murderers died from COVID, one solitary audience member clapped, except instead of a loud and purposeful clapping, it was a small, light and really fast clap, like something out of a cartoon where a child or baby applauds enthusiastically to whatever they're approving. Anyway, this time, the rest of the audience didn't remain silent, it erupted in laughter in response to the clapping.

Should add, each of those experiences was enhanced by a big audience - one in a high school gym packed with the entire student body of two schools (had to be well over 1000), MoMA's T1 theater (at full capacity of 400 seats) and Alice Tully Hall (over 1000). I imagine if it were just, say, ten people in a small theater, having one person clapping wouldn't have come off as memorable.

[Matt]

There was (and maybe still is) a regular at UW CInematheque screenings in Madison, Wisconsin unaffectionately known to other regulars as "laughing man." He would laugh, most notably and enthusiastically, at any scene of sexual degradation or predation—specifically male-on-female variety. He found Oshima's Violence at Noon a real riot. At one screening he prompted the usually cool-as-a-cucumber David Bordwell to yell "Will you shut up?!" I hope that guy's on some kind of list. (Hell, maybe he's on this board!)

That might be the same guy I mentioned in this post!

[Lowry_Sam]

Just looked online to see if I should buy a ticket in advance for a 70mm screening of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair. $30 (plus fees) for a 1pm weekday matinee (no senior discount). Are movies getting algorithmically priced (like concerts) now too? I will probably splurge for it since I actually never went to part 1 or 2. I can see charging more as it takes up 2x normal screening, at the same time paying more for a movie than you would spend on a UHD seems a bit much.

[therewillbeblus]

The theatres around here that show movies in 70mm or VistaVision hike up those ticket prices to that amount too for these 'special event' screenings. I'm happy to pay it - theatres struggle, and that's probably the regular price of a movie in NYC anyways

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

While I'll agree $30 is way too expensive, it is four-and-a-half hours of movie. They easily could've just played a two-hour DCP twice in that time frame.

[yoloswegmaster]

Crazy to me that it costs $30 USD for a 70mm screening of Kill Bill. A indie theater in Toronto is charging $21 CAD for it, though senior/student prices are at $18.50.

[Lowry_Sam]

...and $30 is the matinee price! It's closer to $40 (with fees) for an evening screening with no discounts.

[Monterey Jack]

The Alamo Drafthouse in Boston's 1:00 PM matinee price is $20 after an online pre-order "convenience fee".

[hearthesilence]

I don't care for this film, but if I did, I'd splurge on a $30 ticket given that it's a unique experience that's likely the best way to see this work.

[flyonthewall2983]

Does anyone stick around until the very end of the credits? I still do this from time to time but I realized from watching so much on television how nice the music is or how it’s interesting to read all the names and the typeface.

[soundchaser]

Does anyone stick around until the very end of the credits? I still do this from time to time but I realized from watching so much on television how nice the music is or how it’s interesting to read all the names and the typeface.

Not that I've been viewing a lot in the theater lately (or at home, tbh), but I usually try to. Maybe it's silly, but I feel like the people in the credits deserve someone sitting there for them. Sometimes you get fun easter eggs, make an interesting connection, or spy a name you recognize. My girlfriend doesn't quite get it, but she hangs around with me. The theater ushers are almost always baffled.

[Brian C]

I always have. I just enjoy it, it’s a habit I picked up while working at the theater as a teenager and enjoying the music as I swept up or waited for people to leave. A professor back in the day called it an “emotional coda” to the film, and while that seems a bit grandiose for most films, it’s just nice to sit with the movie for a few minutes before getting up.

[Matt]

The theater ushers are almost always baffled.

I feel bad when they stand around waiting for me to leave. I tell them to go ahead and clean. I know they've got limited time to do it.

When I was younger I never used to stick around through the credits, but my husband likes to so now I do it all the time. I often like to see where the filming locations were or what songs were in the film.

[Brian C]

I feel bad when they stand around waiting for me to leave. I tell them to go ahead and clean. I know they've got limited time to do it.

Having worked in a half-dozen theaters as both a teenager and later as a manager, we were never all that worried about it. Credits are baked into the runtimes and therefore cleaning schedules, so the time crunch isn't really all that severe in most cases, and even when it is, I don't remember anyone being mad about a few stragglers. It's all good.

[Monterey Jack]

For a film score nut like myself, I always sit through the credits to liger in a movie's "mood" for a few more minutes and listen to the music (even if there are precious few good films scores being written these days). I consider it gauche to immediately spring out of one's seat and bolt from the theater the second the credits start. Granted, it can be a slog for certain movies...the end credits of the last Venom movie ran for SEVENTEEN minutes!

[beamish14]

Does anyone stick around until the very end of the credits? I still do this from time to time but I realized from watching so much on television how nice the music is or how it’s interesting to read all the names and the typeface.

Not consistently. I certainly won’t with a Christopher Nolan film, as I think Hans Zimmer really will reach the brown note sooner rather than later, and I don’t need to see names from 15 different VFX houses

Still, I do sometimes enjoy tags at the end like “When in Hollywood, visit Universal Studios.”

The new Naked Gun has excellent gags in the credits, much like the 1988 film

[swo17]

I don't stream movies on Netflix very often, but it's infuriating to me how hard they make it to sit through the credits

[flyonthewall2983]

The Twister end credits, with Eddie Van Halen bluesing over a montage of real storms as filmed during the production I believe, is almost better than the whole movie before it.

[Brian C]

The Twister end credits, with Eddie Van Halen bluesing over a montage of real storms as filmed during the production I believe, is almost better than the whole movie before it.

Very true. In fact, now and again I’ll dial up that track on Spotify just to listen to it. It’s the only Eddie Van Halen guitar work that I really like!

[soundchaser]

I don't stream movies on Netflix very often, but it's infuriating to me how hard they make it to sit through the credits

We’re almost through a rewatch of LOST, and Netflix insists on putting up a blinding white “SKIP INTRO” button on the inky black of the *15-second* opening titles. Every time. Drives me nuts.

[Monterey Jack]

I don't stream movies on Netflix very often, but it's infuriating to me how hard they make it to sit through the credits

We’re almost through a rewatch of LOST, and Netflix insists on putting up a blinding white “SKIP INTRO” button on the inky black of the *15-second* opening titles. Every time. Drives me nuts.

I will never, EVER, get used to being forced to keep my finger hovering over the remote when a movie or TV episode is about to conclude on a streaming service so I can watch the damn end credits. Reminds me of THIS insult:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiiC-2gwuyo

[Lowry_Sam]

Ironic that someone is using Youtube to show how Netflix ruins something, when Youtube covers up the whole screen before the end of a video with a bunch of selections to choose from.

[Finch]

Glad it's not just me. I'm so grateful for YouTube for a lot of things but the intrusive linking to other videos in the last 10 seconds is annoying.

[Roger Ryan]

I haven't been able to figure out how to continue individual episodes on Netflix in order to watch the credits - two seconds into the credits, the screen cuts back to the menu for the next episode with no option to continue watching the episode you had just viewed. I hate it.

I always stay for the credits in the cinema; to me, the film isn't over until the screen goes blank. This routine resulted in a unique experience when I went to an evening screening of Furiosa last year at a multiplex in a small town I had been visiting for work. Needless to say, I was the only one to stay for all the credits, but when I stepped out into the theater lobby after the end of the film, I quickly became aware that I was the last person left in the building - the remaining employees had all left and turned off the lights! Fortunately, I was still able to exit without setting off an alarm. I briefly had visions of being trapped in the building until the next afternoon with only stale popcorn as sustenance.