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Topic: Intermissions in 2017

Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 09-11-2017 11:21 AM

quote: Mike Blakesley
I think any movie 135 or more minutes ought to have an intermission. I can see the whole "pack more showtimes into a day" argument but I would bet the customer satisfaction combined with more concession sales would easily make up for the lost revenue from eliminating an early afternoon or late evening show.

I agree. Plus there is the very real factor of bladder pain. Most people can sit through a 90-120 minute movie without having to make a trip to the restroom, as long as they didn't load up big time on the soda pop. When the movie goes past 2 hours and 30 minutes it really puts a strain on bladders. At the 3 hour mark lots of people could be squirming painfully trying to get through the movie's climax.

Few movies these days go past the 2 hour mark, thanks in part to the suits trying to make new movies the same as other movies, forgettably unremarkable. But if someone really wants to do so he can make a movie unspeakably long. Modern DCPs and hard discs have the capacity to hold movies running many hours in length.

In the past an intermission might be unavoidable. I remember Titanic being on the outer limits of what could run without an intermission stop. A 35mm film print would run almost to the edge of a standard platter. DTS could hold 100 minutes of audio per CD. Titanic was just 14 minutes short of requiring a third CD. Gettsyburg had a whopping 271 minute running time. It required 3 DTS discs and 2 platter decks to hold. An intermission was unavoidable (thank God).

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-11-2017 11:36 AM

quote: Bobby Henderson
Few movies these days go past the 2 hour mark

While the majority of movies are under 2 hours, quite a few of the blockbuster movies extend over that mark....superhero movies are notorious for coming in at 135 or more minutes. The current big-shot movie, "It," is 141 minutes.

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Martin McCaffery
Film God

Posts: 2481
From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-11-2017 11:53 AM

I see very few pop films, but they all seem to be way to long. Superhero movies particularly can all loose about a half an hour of fight scenes.

My favorite bladder buster is The Right Stuff. Right about the 90 min mark is the scene where Grissom is stuck in the capsule and has to pee. They then start cutting to water coolers and other water sources. I showed that to full houses when it came out and you could hear the audience squirm.

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Martin Brooks
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 900
From: Forest Hills, NY, USA
Registered: May 2002

posted 09-22-2017 07:34 PM

When I was a kid, I projected 16mm movies in a bungalow colony. Most movies were three reels, so there were two intermissions (one projector). I had a little problem with the projector one time so the person in charge brought a second projector as a backup. I got the bright idea of setting both projectors up so I could run the movie without breaks. It wasn't an invisible transition, but it was pretty close. I'd get another kid to shut off the first projector on my signal.

The place wanted to kill me when I did this. The room where we showed the movies was connected to a "concession" and they lost sales. And the audience wanted the two breaks so they could stuff their faces or check with their baby sitters. So it only happened once. You'd think these people never went to a real movie theater.

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