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Topic: Intermission

Ron Curran
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 504
From: Springwood NSW Australia
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 10-17-2009 10:49 PM

Intermissions are banned in Australia too. So we must be as cultured as Hollywood.
Breaking the film is far more disturbing than queues of patrons walking in and out to the toilets at their own intermission.
I believe that the real reason is that the cinema might be able to fit in another session, thus more film hire.

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Paul J. Neuhaus
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 126
From: Iraq.. Again!
Registered: Jun 2005

posted 10-18-2009 04:11 PM

I just don't see anything wrong with an intermission!

It sparks conversation that about things one person saw in a film that somebody else didn't. "hey did you see that", or "I thought that was great when this happened". Gets the viewers reved up to watch the 2nd half.

Also, what better time to go to the bathroom and get something fresh from the concession stand!!

Lets face it. for a 3 hour movie you just need a damn break! And I think I can speak for the majority here and say that after you suck down a large drink that your bladder would appreciate it too.

A buddy of mine had a theatre where they had short platters. When they got Titanic they had to run an intermission. Their Per Cap soared!!

There is just nothing wrong with a good old intermission and if the film companies can supply a clip that explains what is about to happen instead of just stopping the projector then it looks professional. This should be the exhibitor's option. [thumbsup]

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 청주시, 경북도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 10-18-2009 04:51 PM

quote:
Lets face it. for a 3 hour movie you just need a damn break!

A lot of these Bollywood movies that are ~4 hours long simply wouldn't need the intermission if someone actually edited them. Some of them are good at that length but most simply could do with quite a bit of trimming.

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John Wilson
Film God

Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 10-18-2009 04:59 PM

quote: Ron Curran
I believe that the real reason is that the cinema might be able to fit in another session, thus more film hire.

I'd believe that if they kept them to a decent running time in the first place.

2012 has just clocked in at 158 minutes. [Roll Eyes]

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Karl Borowski
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 161
From: Sulking in GameFAQ Forum
Registered: Sep 2009

posted 10-18-2009 05:16 PM

I think even the short movies need intermissions these days to help offset the impact of a 42 fl. oz. beverage!

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 청주시, 경북도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 10-18-2009 05:18 PM

As opposed to the short movies a few years ago dealing with a 42-ouncer better? [Wink]

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Ian Parfrey
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1049
From: Imbil Australia 26 deg 27' 42.66" S 152 deg 42' 23.40" E
Registered: Feb 2009

posted 10-18-2009 10:31 PM

Agree up to a point but who could justify shortening, say, Pulp Fiction or Ben Hur in order to fit in more sessions? I guess some stories need more screen time to develop.

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Allan Riddelll
Film Handler

Posts: 33
From: msida , malta, europe
Registered: Jan 2009

posted 10-19-2009 11:11 AM

Intermissions have always been a fact of life out here in Malta. Up to 6 or 7 reels we always splice an intermission title after reel 3, anything above and its reel 4. Personally its a practice I abhor but there you are. As our older f/t guys know intermissions were fairly standard years ago on long films. Generally the music before an intermission would build up to some crescendo and the intermission title would fade in followed by the entr'acte in part 2. Try that nowadays with some of the booth monkeys in the multiplexes and the next exhibitor down the line would end up minus intermission title, overture and all the other refinements that made projecting 'roadshow' movies so enjoyable.
Nowadays I completely agree that all movies over say 140 mins have the option of an intermission whether the platter or tower equipment can accept them or not. I for one would have liked to have had the Harry Potter font intermission title but we were never offered it {and we mostly get our prints from the UK). As an afterthought the last movie I remember with an intermission was HEAT and it came right after the famous DeNiro/Pacino scene in the diner. It was at just the appropriate moment and was a fitting and convenient end to the first half.

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Mark Ogden
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 943
From: Little Falls, N.J.
Registered: Jun 99

posted 10-23-2009 02:45 PM

As it turns out, there is still an American cinema that stops the show in the middle for an intermission: the Reel Pizza Twin Cinerama , a theatre/pizza parlor in Bar Harbor, Maine. I saw a movie there the other night, and right at the middle up pops a really filthy Pike Productions intermission dater that I remember running myself back in the seventies. I guess the point is to go out and order another slice, but part of the reason is that they have only one projector per side and no platters, just 6000s, so someone has to haul ass upstairs and put up the next reel. I guess if its a long picture, there must be more than one intermission.

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Caleb Johnstone-Cowan
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 593
From: London, UK
Registered: Mar 2006

posted 10-23-2009 08:01 PM

quote: Chris Slycord
A lot of these Bollywood movies that are ~4 hours long simply wouldn't need the intermission if someone actually edited them. Some of them are good at that length but most simply could do with quite a bit of trimming.

From the films I have watched the length seems to come from trying to cater to everyone with drama, musical and comedy sections coming out of nowhere. Most could go on no longer than two hours and be better films for it.

Might have mentioned it here before but what really hacked me off was when some Bollywood distributors started putting trailers on the front of the second part of the film, has anyone else seen this?

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Chris Slycord
Film God

Posts: 2986
From: 청주시, 경북도, South Korea
Registered: Mar 2007

posted 10-23-2009 10:59 PM

Yeah I've had that happen. Worse was the time when it wasn't a trailer but an ad for some casino or video game place that I presume was in India.

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Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 10-24-2009 03:48 AM

quote: Ian Parfrey
...but who could justify shortening, say, Pulp Fiction or Ben Hur in order to fit in more sessions?

Hmmm, would you believe greedy studio/distribs and greedy exhibitors? They did it all the time to just those kinds of pictures, usually when they were re-released. You don't see it much nowadays because 1) the concept of re-releasing titles a year or so after the initial release is dead since video and 2) the directors have much more power today. Cameron would have people beheaded if they were to suggest cutting 20 or 30 minutes from TITANIC, being king of the world and all.

Many times we would run re-releases of the big titles and large chunks would be magically missing. The Roadshow epics faired the worst along with most any film that had a long running time. Not only did they edit them, but in lots of cases they would just junk the excised footage and all that would remain in the inventories would be the cut versions with no hope of restoring them without actually striking new prints, which would hardly ever happen. Just ask any retrospective art house operator how difficult it is to get a full length version of A LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT or FIDDLER ON THE ROOF or CAMELOT or BEN HUR for that matter.

And in the wake of all that footage distruction, comes the realization that unless you are getting sold-out houses for all shows for the older classics (which almost never happens for any decent size house), being able to squeeze an extra show in is rarely effective in uping the BO. Most people who go to see retrospective titles are not as convenience-oriented as the general population moviegoer. They are going to see a particular film and they will go to whatever show times you run. Classic films are like special event concerts -- the audience for them is made up of diehard "fans;" they are rarely concerned about convenience times -- they are just happy the thing is playing and they will pretty much go to any show that's available.

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Geena Phillips
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 198
From: Norcross, GA / USA
Registered: Apr 2006

posted 10-26-2009 07:49 PM

quote: Caleb Johnstone-Cowan
Might have mentioned it here before but what really hacked me off was when some Bollywood distributors started putting trailers on the front of the second part of the film, has anyone else seen this?

That's pretty common on big Bollywood releases. I actually like those better than the ones at the start of the movie, because the beginning of a Hindi trailer is often indistinguishable from the beginning of the movie (I usually try to read the IBFC certificate). At least with the post-intermission trailers, I KNOW they're there when I see an IBFC certificate (which I promptly remove).

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