Home Theater vs Historic Theater vs Megaplex

Hmm - well, I consider cinema a whole experience - the going out, the friends, the people, the SHARED experience with an audience, the coffee and chat about the film, or the meal - fun. So - for me, home cinema is a pile of ugly electrics cluttering a room, to ape in relative isolation an experience that ought to be a shared one.

IF I could hide it all away, so it was invisible most of the time, and afford it easily, well, maybe - it would be fun sometimes.

Big complexes? I know little about them - I seldom visit them - I prefer the smaller groups which show non-mass market films - although going to one of those behemoths and seeing a really good popular film with a big crowd can be great fun, too!

I hope the cinema survives the home theatre thingy, just as it did TV.

last time I went to a megaplex theater we sat through ten minutes of video commercials! Pfui!

On the other hand, just up the street from where I work is an old theater that has been restored... every third seat has been replaced by a low table, and they serve food and beverage... Not the place to see a film the first week it's out, but a good place to pick up on the ones you wanted to see...

Cheap date.

Hmm- I have availed myself of all three venues. In Tampa, there is a theatre that is part of the National Register of Historic Places.

http://www.tampatheatre.org/history.php

They show old movies, indies, and other films that don't make the regular circuit. Before each show, there is a concert that is played on "the mighty Wurlitzer". Last year, I went to a showing of a silent movie, complete with organ accompaniment! We were instructed to cheer, boo and hiss at the appropriate places. What a hoot!

I have a 20 theatre multiplex that shows all the run of the mill movies. It has stadium seating, which is nice. I will NEVER go to any movie in its first week of release. It is like a zoo in the theatre. Also, as I am retired, I like to catch the twilight show (Starts from 4-6 pm.) The price to get in is cheaper, and the theatre is usually quieter at that time. I don't like lots of crowds.

We don't have a "home theatre" per se, but we do have a 50" TV which is connected to external "medium fi" speakers. We buy a lot of used DVD flicks from Blockbuster. We also have about 1,000 VHS tapes (both bought and copied). It IS nice to watch something whenever you want.

As for my preference, I suppose I like all three, but at different times!

Hmmm. If theaters are suffering (?), I'm not entirely sure it's not due to the quality of the movie's they're showing...

Drive-ins are my favorite :-D

The local Krikorian Multiplex just opened and I have been going to more movies (I have Mondays off, so the matinee isn't crowded). Just saw "Secondhand Lion" and I must say that next to my new Mitsubishi Hi Def TV, even though the DVD is only 480 lines, the resolution is far superior to the large screen. I guess only spectacular epics don't fare as well on the small screen but with the small, stadium seating and the image being blown up to what is almost IMAX size, the projection technology will have to improve IMO.