I have just seen 'Quantum of Solace' for the second time and I don't want to discuss the film (which I enjoyed) so much as the cinemas I saw it in. One was the local Empire multiplex, which is much the same as multiplexes anywhere: arena seating, loaRAB of legroom, air-con, the all-pervading smell of popcorn and a screen every bit as vast as the ones they used for 70mm epics back in the 1960s. The other was the Tyneside Cinema, an independent venue that dates back to the 1930s, although it has recently undergone a major revamp that has seen its screens rise to four (from two). The main auditorium, however, is still the art deco original - albeit spruced up, given modern seating, air-con and surround sound. Its screen is barely a third the size of the Empire's, although it is big enough, given the overall dimensions of the cinema.
Which was the better experience? Actually it was the Tyneside, and this is why. Modern widescreen films are no longer shot in CinemaScope (aka Panavision), which used the full 35mm film frame. Instead they shoot in Super 35, which uses half the frame. The degree of enlargement required to fill a screen like the Empire's is, therefore, enormous. Sitting half way back, I could virtually count the grains, the static moments were never better than adequately sharp and the furious, rapidly-cut action sequences were reduced to little more than a blur. At the Tyneside, however, with around a third of the enlargement, the image was crystal clear at all times.
The moral of this tale is simple. If you cannot get to a cinema like the Tyneside to watch your chosen blockbuster, wait a few weeks until it has transferred to one of the local multiplex's smaller screens. Only then will you see it as it should be seen. Things may change when film finally gives way to digital altogether but, as the owner of both film and digital SLR cameras, I have my doubts.
Which was the better experience? Actually it was the Tyneside, and this is why. Modern widescreen films are no longer shot in CinemaScope (aka Panavision), which used the full 35mm film frame. Instead they shoot in Super 35, which uses half the frame. The degree of enlargement required to fill a screen like the Empire's is, therefore, enormous. Sitting half way back, I could virtually count the grains, the static moments were never better than adequately sharp and the furious, rapidly-cut action sequences were reduced to little more than a blur. At the Tyneside, however, with around a third of the enlargement, the image was crystal clear at all times.
The moral of this tale is simple. If you cannot get to a cinema like the Tyneside to watch your chosen blockbuster, wait a few weeks until it has transferred to one of the local multiplex's smaller screens. Only then will you see it as it should be seen. Things may change when film finally gives way to digital altogether but, as the owner of both film and digital SLR cameras, I have my doubts.