Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Intermissions in 2017

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Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 09-04-2017, 08:39 AM:

Having visited quite a lot of cinemas over the last decades in several roles, one thing that keeps intriguing me is something as simple as the Intermission.

The times where an intermission is a technologically necessity have long since passed (maybe with the exception of selected extra-long 15/70 runs), also with a few exceptions, Hollywood hasn't released features with intermissions for decades now.

Still, the intermission isn't dead yet. In Indian cinema, the intermission is still a part of almost every Bollywood release for example.

While most multiplex operations have eliminated the intermission entirely, seemingly to pack more shows into the same auditorium and to avoid patrons jumping shows, there are still many cinemas around this globe inserting intermissions into the features they show. This seems to be primarily rooted into local customs and expectations of the local patronage.

So, I was wondering, why not do a little "questionnaire", to get some idea of what the status of the intermission is in 2017. Below some of the questions I have, in a somewhat random order. Feel free to answer or ask new ones.

* Do you have intermissions?
* Did you have intermissions at one time but stopped with the habit? And why did you stop?
* Do you show intermissions for all shows? If not, what are the criteria?
* Why do you have intermissions? Is it, for example, because it's a local habit?
* What do you think about intermissions? Does it for example unnecessarily disrupt the movie? Or does it help to keep the room silent, because people can go to the toilet and have a little chat about the movie, without disturbing anywone?
* Does it help your bottom line, as in, do you sell more concessions?
* Since most movies don't come with an intermission and most also not with an advice for an optional intermission, how do you determine the best time to start an intermission?
* What do you think is a good duration for an intermission?
* Do you close the curtains during an intermission?
* Do your customers expect you to have an intermission in the show?
* Have people ever asked if your shows have intermissions?
* Have people complained about your shows (not) having intermissions?
* Have you ever checked your contracts with the studios and what they have to say about intermissions?

Well, I could go on for a while, but let's not do that. [Wink]

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 09-04-2017, 10:02 AM:

You may not be allowed to add intermissions here. One would have to consult the master contracts signed with each studio. Otherwise, if the movie is even slightly longish I could see where having one would add to concession sales especially on titles playing in two or more auditoria where there are already ample showtimes for patrons to choose from.

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 09-04-2017, 10:42 AM:

Arthouse theatre. No intermissions here, unless incorporated into the film. There was an "intermission" for Weiner Dog, but that was a joke in the film. Most films we show not long enough to merit an intermission (though Toni Erdmann could have used one).
When we were full time 35mm, if one of the projectors was down we would have a break in the middle of the film to thread up the second half. Our audience never complained, and many for thankful for the "potty break."

Posted by Matt Smith (Member # 9425) on 09-04-2017, 10:50 AM:

We usually only have intermissions on Bollywood films or sometimes the encore performance of theater, ballet or opera showings.

The latter usually put a whole intermission including hold card and a countdown in the middle of the DCP and give you the timings to turn the lights up and down...usually!

Bollywood features are split into two CPLs and we play a 10 minute intermission between them. I notice sometimes that part 1 will be an hour and a bit and part 2 will be 50 minutes, not really a length that demands an intermission but the audience has come to expect it. Not sure why you would try and play it without an intermission since the audience come out and top up on concessions.

We did have a Bollywood this week that was all one CPL but they had put an intermission hold in the middle (only 8 seconds) and you were expected to pause on it. The film was 2 hours 40 minutes so I just put a Dolby intermission in the playlist, would have been total anarchy if not!

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 09-04-2017, 11:10 AM:

In Switzerland, it's a countrywide regular habit to have intermissions. Patrons expect to have a glas of wine or champagne and some chat.

- Carsten

Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 09-04-2017, 03:07 PM:

In the US, the exhibitor's Master License Agreement with each studio will state something like:

quote: I can't believe this was published to the internet
Exhibitor shall exhibit the Picture without alteration or intermission, on the Screen Auditorium identified in the Booking Confirmation on consecutive days on each performance of every day stated herein from the actual hour of the opening of the theatre to the actual hour of the theatre closing.

quote: Thank you Wikileaks
Licensee may not, without Licensor's prior written consent, add or interpolate material to, edit or eliminate material from, or in any way alter, or authorize any third party to alter, any Materials. All Material shall be exhibited in its entirety, in its original continuity of subject and in the identical form in which each such copy is delivered to Licensee and/or otherwise legally obtained.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 09-04-2017, 03:29 PM:

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.

In the film days, I knew one operator who owned three single-screen theaters who had an intermission in every movie. He would just run the first three reels and put the intermission after the third reel. He said his patrons loved it. (He's now deceased and his theaters are operating under a new company sans intermissions.)

We have never had intermissions unless they're built-in.

If we had a curtain, I'd close it during an intermission. As it is, we have "curtain lights" which come on anytime the screen is blank for more than a couple seconds.

I can't even remember the last current-release movie we had that had an intermission in it.... all intermissions we've had lately have been in old movies, like most recently "The Cowboys" and in past years, "Gone with the Wind," "Ben-Hur" and "The Ten Commandments."

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 09-04-2017, 06:05 PM:

It's interesting to read those passages in the master contracts. Similar clauses are in the master contracts I've seen around here, yet there are quite a few theaters around that do insert intermissions. Seemingly, the studios don't really mind you doing it. I've never heard about a studio filing an informal or formal complaint or even going so far as threatening with legal action or contract termination.

In several cinemas, even multiplexes in the Netherlands and Germany there are intermissions for extra long features (e.g. anything in excess of ~140 minutes). I guess most people are grateful for that. Also, it's a great way to make up for the extra length of the movie with some additional concession sales.

For normal features, intermissions are almost extinct around here, but there are the occasional anomalies.

In the southern part of the Netherlands and the eastern part of Belgium, almost all cinemas, even most of the international chains do have intermissions in all their movies. It's a pretty localized habit and "foreigners", even those from a mere 70 miles away are often pretty bemused by the phenomenon.

About 20 years ago, most small town cinemas I visited in Great Brittan still had intermissions in all shows, although they were already gone by then in the big cities.

quote: Mike Blakesley
In the film days, I knew one operator who owned three single-screen theaters who had an intermission in every movie. He would just run the first three reels and put the intermission after the third reel. He said his patrons loved it.

It was common practice around here in the 35mm days to put an intermission after the third reel, or in some rare cases after the second or fourth.

At least most reel transitions also do coincide with some kind of scene change in the movie. While the timing could still be hit and miss, it was generally acceptable.

Once the transition to digital was made, they didn't really have such a pointer, so ever since, the timing of the intermission is a real hit and miss.

There is one local chain that really beats it all in this regard. They simply hit pause on all their screens simultaneously via a remote trigger. No matter if it's in the middle of an intense car chase scene and the wheels of the car being chased don't even touch the ground yet.

quote: Mike Blakesley
I can't even remember the last current-release movie we had that had an intermission in it.... all intermissions we've had lately have been in old movies, like most recently "The Cowboys" and in past years, "Gone with the Wind," "Ben-Hur" and "The Ten Commandments."

Apparently, there is a version of The Hateful Eight with an intermission. I'm not sure if it was ever released as a DCP though. I also remember the 2005 version of King Kong having a version with an intermission. Also, the 3D 15/70 re-release of Titanic (1997) had an intermission, also partly due to technical constraints.

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 09-04-2017, 06:10 PM:

In th days of film theatres using tower transport had to have a intermission due to the limited capacity the 3' reel could hold

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 09-05-2017, 06:53 AM:

quote: Marcel Birgelen
Apparently, there is a version of The Hateful Eight with an intermission. I'm not sure if it was ever released as a DCP though.

The "roadhshow" version of H8 on DCP did have the intermission card. This DCP was supposed to just be for the theatres that had 70mm and to be used as a backup in the event of a film related failure.

Posted by Dave Bird (Member # 490) on 09-05-2017, 10:34 AM:

We have them of course at the drive-in, as every night is a double or triple feature. I realize that's not quite the question here, you're contemplating doing it in the middle of one film, but for sure it helps concession sales greatly. Depends on the films of course, if you have a program which holds more of the family audience for a second film, that bumps it quite a lot, but just anecdotally from me looking at the "percaps" after the first show starts and then after the second, I'd say we bump up 20-25% by having it.

The mythical "Paradiso" in NZ apparently does an intermission every movie where fresh cookies are served. I have a staffer who spent a season in that town, and she claims there's hardly a patron who doesn't buy during the intermission there.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 09-05-2017, 05:59 PM:

On the topic of recent-ish films with intermissions, Gods and Generals comes to mind--there was an actual intermission reel with a title card that was supposed to stay on screen during the intermission.

Otherwise, Hateful Eight, of course. I believe that there was a rumor that there would be one in LOTR-Return of the King, but it was not released that way, at least in the US.

I know that this wasn't part of the original question, but drive-ins typically do an intermission between features. Usually, they have some trailers, a short, and a countdown clock. Most drive-in intermissions that I have seen run for about twenty minutes.

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 09-06-2017, 04:18 AM:

Technically, I think an intermission between two main features should count as "intermission", since it's part of the same show. [Wink]

The double feature is an almost unknown phenomenon around here, with the few exceptions of those "marathon screenings", where you get to see the sequel(s) before the new attraction or some specialty "film week" events, where you can "binge watch" movies at greatly reduced prices.

It's too bad Hollywood and the film industry in general focuses almost solely on the "full feature" releases, I would love to see some "new" formats, where you would get to see two separate features of roughly 60 minutes in length for example. I'm afraid such a format would not really be a hit with the general public though.

Posted by Rick Raskin (Member # 1561) on 09-06-2017, 05:33 AM:

Remembering GWTW, there was an intermission reel that played music during the intermission.

Posted by Terry Monohan (Member # 8285) on 09-11-2017, 11:03 AM:

Intermissions in the 50's and early 60's were great. Loved the old popcorn/candy ads ect. This was a great time to go out to the lobby and get some snacks. Today the average movie people run so late, plus short staff selling tickets/drinks and food, they barely get in and find a seat numbered in the dark plus they miss most of the trailers and disturb everyone the first 15 minutes of the opening of the movie. If they ran some sort of a intermission now on a long movie the same people would run late in the lobby/bathroom and cause problems getting back to their reserved seats. The kids that work at cinemas now would not know where to cut a movie break, they would just cut it up in the middle. No nice trailer that says 'Intermission Time' or curtains that close. Old Ray Syufy at his Century Domes in San Jose in the late 60's tried to cut films for a candy intermissions $ and got in trouble from the movie people.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 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).

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 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.

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 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.

Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 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.