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Ranting
By lylehsaxon (Tue May 06, 2008 at 04:01:12 AM EST) (all tags)
I was given a free ticket to see "I'm Not There", the bizarre movie about Bob Dylan, and I went out to see it yesterday evening.  I didn't know much about Bob Dylan (except that I liked some of his music), until I read about him on the Internet following seeing the movie.  I would say to anyone thinking of seeing the movie, that it will likely only be interesting if you are thoroughly familiar with Bob Dylan.  If you're not, it's probably not going to make much sense. .....

..... Personally, I like autobiographic and documentary material, and tend to despise biographies and docu-dramas.  So, for me, the movie wasn't one I was happy to have invested my time on, particularly when there is a lot of documentary material available on the man.  I did enjoy the soundtrack however.

Next issue.  The movie theater!  It was one of those new ones where they pack 8-16 theaters into a spiffy new building, and in the case of the theater I went to last night, they double up movies in the same space (making sure to kick everyone out after each showing, so you can't see two movies), with one movie playing around noon, another movie playing once or twice after that, and the noon movie showing again in the evening.  So with 10 theaters, you can pack in 20 movies.  Just the sort of thing that would look great in a suit-driven PowerPoint presentation, but the genba result is pretty bad.  At the same time home TV's and sound systems are getting larger and better, movie theater screens are getting smaller and sound quality is getting worse.

Details of the theater I went to last night:

- The theater had a nearly flat floor, and to help people see, they had very uncomfortable seats that force you to slouch (tall people no longer get in the way - they just ruin their backs while suffering through the movie in an uncomfortable position) - although there was enough leg room (there had to be - otherwise the forced slouch wouldn't work).

-The smallish screen wasn't so small as to call it tiny, but as I looked at it from the pain of the uncomfortable seat I was in, I thought "This isn't vastly different than watching a large screen high-definition television hooked up to a decent sound system - what's the point in going to a movie theater to suffer in bad seats when you could actually enjoy the movie at home from a rented DVD?"

- There was no surround sound, but at least the from-the-front-only sound quality wasn't bad.  It should have been much louder for that movie though, but they have to keep the volume down in order not to disturb the other theaters packed onto the same floor.

So I'm left with my thought originally generated by the badly designed seats and the small screen - what's the point in going to a movie theater?  I certainly never again want to visit that one I went to last night!  I'm willing to go to some expense, time and trouble to see a movie from a comfortable seat, with a huge screen, and surround quality sound played at the proper volume, but otherwise, I'd just as soon they shut down movie theaters altogether.

Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon
http://www5d.biglobe.ne.jp/~LLLtrs/

< Mea culpa | Stealthy traps >

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"Larger TVs & Smaller Movie Screens..." | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback
I did enjoy the soundtrack by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #1 Tue May 06, 2008 at 07:47:53 AM EST
Well, yeah. They even used a Dylan song in the end of last season's BSG. His work is also very cover-able. See (hear, rather), for example, U2's cover of "All Along the Watchtower". Or Jimi Hendrix's cover of that song.

re: "what's the point in going to a movie theater? " I only go if several friends are going to the opening night of a movie that we all want to see, or if the theater is especially good. So I see 3 or 4 in the theater/year.

Earth First!
(We can strip mine the rest later.)


Ignorance is not bliss... by lylehsaxon (2.00 / 0) #2 Tue May 06, 2008 at 08:32:34 AM EST
I had never bothered to find out about Bob Dylan until today.  His is an interesting story, and now I need to get my mitts on some of his CD's.  (I have one of a live performance, but that's all I have... so far.)

Lyle

The shortest way home is the longest way 'round....
[ Parent ]

CD's to get.... by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #5 Tue May 06, 2008 at 09:50:00 AM EST
I wonder if his stuff is on iTunes?

When just starting out, the "Greatest Hits" collections (Volumes 1,2, and 3) are best. They weren't just slapped together by the studio, as so many other greatest hits collections are. Dylan recut some tracks, and put some previously unreleased tracks on those albums.

To go deeper: "The Times They Are a-Changin'", "Highway 61 Revisited", and "Blonde on Blonde" are the albums that made his reputation.

Earth First!
(We can strip mine the rest later.)
[ Parent ]

And the Grateful Dead by georgeha (2.00 / 0) #3 Tue May 06, 2008 at 08:58:55 AM EST
They've covered 16 of his songs, and played a bunch more with him.


[ Parent ]

Also, Guns 'N' Roses by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #4 Tue May 06, 2008 at 09:45:47 AM EST
Axel and the gang covered "Knockin on Heaven's Door"

Earth First!
(We can strip mine the rest later.)
[ Parent ]

archive.org by ad hoc (2.00 / 0) #6 Tue May 06, 2008 at 10:45:09 AM EST
has a boatload of Dead stuff.
--
The three things that make a diamond also make a waffle.
[ Parent ]

Movie theaters suck by duxup (2.00 / 0) #7 Tue May 06, 2008 at 11:56:08 AM EST
n/t
____


"Larger TVs & Smaller Movie Screens..." | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback

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