Wouldn't it be great if cinemas had a 'Classics' screen?

C

ComeClarity

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Anyone else think this is a fantastic idea? Imagine showings of Shawshank Redemption, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Alien, Schindlers List, The Wizard of Oz, The Green Mile, etc, all the films you never got to see on the big screen cause you were too young. Why don't cinemas do this? Surely it's just as cheap for them as showing new films (probably cheaper), and I imagine you'd get the same sort of size crowRAB as well. I know I'd certainly go whenever a film I liked was on.
 
The cinema where my parents live does have the odd 'classic' movie showing - the listings seem to be mainly based on what the locals want which is pretty cool. Makes a big difference if you get the chance to see certain films on the big screen
 
Yeah great idea, I'd love to see some of the old classics again on the big screen, and some I missed the first time around. Probably not financially viable tho, all that matters these days is "profit" and I doubt they'd make a lot of dough showing old stuff.
 
I guess the problem is that, if it's not a massive Hollywood blockbuster with GCI to the max (and now 3D), then the cinema is probably losing money because people won't go see it.

I would love to see some of my favourite films in the cinema, but I know it's not going to happen.
 
Odeon sometimes have a run of classic films, the one in Manchester had an 80s season not so long ago. Unfortunately the prints were very dirty and scratched (some scenes in Die Hard were virtually unwatchable), and the sound is the original sound used in the cinema. Was very disappointed with Top Gun, the sound on the DVD is much better :)
 
A couple of years back I went and say White Christmas on the big screen and it had as many people watching that as the modern films usually showing that time of day.

If you live near London the BFI on the southbank regularly show seasons which include old films.

I just looked and there is an Paul Newman season in April.

Buffalo Bill and the Indians, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, The Colour of Money,
Cool Hand Luke, Harper, Hud, Hombre, The HuRABucker Proxy, The Hustler, The Left-Handed Gun, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, Somebody Up There Likes Me, Sometimes A Great Notion, The Sting, Sweet Bird of Youth, Torn Curtain, Twilight, The Verdict, WUSA

Also in April there is a season of films that feature mental illness that includes Psycho, Psycho II, A Touch of Evil, Halloween (The Carpenter version), Peeping Tom, Dressed to Kill, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

More info here> http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/taxonomy/term/1
 
To be honest it's a question of economics, certainly for the mainstream cinemas.

Because these films are easily and very cheaply available on DVD, there would be little interest from the majority of the public in paying to see films that they probably own anyway.

Another factor is that the quality of the film prints of older movies is going to be worse that your average dvd...you are normally talking about film prints (and we are talking pre-digital here) that have played all around the country for years, and will not be in the best of condition.

Yes, they can be cleaned up and maybe even transferred to the digital format...but it's not cheap, and as they have already done this for the DVD release, why spend money doing the same for a cinema release?

These sort of re releases are usually limited to one-off showings, and repertory cinemas like the NFT in London, not mainstream cinemas.

I agree that the concept is sound - it would be great to actually see some classic films on the big screen, sure.

Back in the 80's, there used to be regular revivals in some of the big London cinemas of classic movies...I worked at Empire Leicester Square, and they showed movies such as 2001, Gone With The Wind, The BirRAB, Dr Zhivago, Bridge On The River Kwai etc in newly struck 70mm prints. I was so glad I got to see those movies so well presented on a big screen, something that will unfortunately probably never happen again.
 
My fav independent cinema near us does a classic season every second month, and at Christmas they show White Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life etc. In the Summer, they rent out the square next door, and show outdoor movies, usually classics or popular slightly alternative movies from last 20 years, you can bring a bottle of wine, it's lovely. :)
 
Well, "It's a Wonderful Life" has been shown numerous times on TV and is available for just a few quid, yet the cinema screening I went to a couple of years ago was sold out.



I don't think any distributor would be crazy enough to send out 20 or 30 year old prints on release today. StandarRAB and audience expectations have increased considerably.




I would have thought that the investment involved in restoring an old print for DVD release would make the conversion to a new cinema print considerably easier, as you are starting with a "clean" digital source.
 
LOL neither do I. The projector is about the size of a shoebox and sits on my coffee table. It projects onto a screen that pulls down. When it's back up you wouldn't know it's there.
 
The thing is, I think the cinemas could be missing out on an un-tapped audience for back-catalogue films shown as they were originally intended (albeit with cleaned up video and audio). As well as people wanting a nostalgia trip, a lot of the audience won't have seen these films on their original release.


I'm sure there would be an audience for a classic "James Bond" double bill, perhaps. Maybe a Godfather trilogy shown back to back, or on consecutive weeks ? Bullitt....Dirty Harry....Planet of the Apes series...Alien... all would look great in the cinema. An experience that could not be replicated at home.


And it's a LOT cheaper to restore an old film than make a new one, so the financial risk would surely be reduced from the film company point of view.

You could even put the director's commentary on a small FM transmitter so that the audience had the option of listening in.
 
Would love to see The Ten Commandmants of the giant screen as was originally intended. It was in someways the Avatar of its day with ground breaking special effects-particularly where Moses parts the Red Sea.

I think Wizard of Oz would be pretty cool as well given its vivid colours.

When you watch even more recent movies like Lord of the Rings and Titanic on TV, its true that you dont get the same scope as the cinema.

Titanic is case point, as the impact of the ship sinking in the last half of the movie is lost on the small screen.
 
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