Showing posts with label theater. Show all posts
Showing posts with label theater. Show all posts

June 6 - First Drive-In Movie Theater!

 Posted on June 6, 2021

This is an update of my post published on June 6, 2010:



Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in movie theater?

I did, a few times, back when I was a twenty-something. These once-popular theaters featured a huge screen, a large parking lot for cars facing the screen, and some sort of sound system.

Of course there was also a refreshment stand. Some drive-ins had a few bleachers for non-vehicular seating, and others had playgrounds for kids between the cars and the screen.

On this day in 1933, the world's first drive-in movie theater opened in Camden, New Jersey.



Richard Hollingshead had invented the drive-in concept, took out a patent, and invested $30,000 on this first drive-in, which featured a ramp for each car so that people would have unobstructed views of the screen. He charged 25 cents per car plus 25 cents per person (a maximum of a dollar).


This first drive-in, the Park-It Theater, had three giant speakers to go with its giant screen. Later versions featured little speakers that could be clipped onto each car window. (That's the sound system I experienced.) The speakers were connected to posts by wire, and sometimes people would forget to take them off their window and would start to drive off—usually resulting in a broken speaker, a broken window, or both! Still later drive-ins relied on car stereos to provide the sound portion of the movie.


Why Did the Drive-In Catch On?

Parents loved the low-cost, low-stress option for movie viewing—just pile all the kids into the station wagon, throw in plenty of water and snacks, and go to the movies. Parents didn't have to worry about kids being too twitchy or loud during the movie, and they could even take care of a baby while watching a movie. If the popcorn spilled, oh, well, that's kids—but at least parents didn't worry about being embarrassed or causing distress to strangers.

Teenagers and young couples, too, loved the privacy offered by sitting in a car at the movies.

In America, anything having to do with cars seemed to catch on. Drive-through restaurants were pioneered here in the US around the same time as the drive-in movie theater.



Why Did the Drive-In Die?

There are still a few drive-ins left, but most of them have died out. Some of the reasons include:

In many places, watching a movie out-of-doors is only possible in the summer.

Daylight savings time makes the hour that a summer night starts awfully late.

The price of land is, in most places, now too great for the huge theaters.

Movies at home have become even more comfortable, inexpensive, and family-friendly than movies at drive-ins. Nowadays, especially, many people have large screens and good sound systems in their home television system, and people can choose from bajillions of channels and streaming platforms!

 



Wait a Minute! DID the Drive-In Die???

Apparently there has been a revival of sorts of the drive-in, in a few locations, including some “guerrilla drive-ins” that are organized by groups rather than businesses. Films shown in vacant lots are an example.

This is a secret drive-in.
But I don't know how something this big
can stay a secret!!


Enjoy books and movies that feature drive-ins.

The Outsiders
Grease
In Grease, Sandy and Danny watch a movie at the drive-in (above)
and ignore the movie at the drive-in (below).

 

Back to the Future Part III
Cars

 

Design an all-new sort of movie theater.

More and more movies are now shown in 3-D, and many are even released in a much larger IMAX format.

What would make movie viewing even better than it is now? Surround Smell-o-vision? Seats that get you into the movie by providing the movie's motion? Virtual reality goggles?


Below - chairs that move with the action already exist -
but only in a very few theaters!




Have you ever seen a 360-degree wrap-around-you movie? Have you ever laid on your back and watched a movie on a dome that curves above you? These special sorts of screen can help you feel part of the action!

Or maybe you would like to take a step back from so much reality and have a movie theater that includes massage-seats, pedicures, foot rubs, full meals, and so forth.


(Above) comfortable chairs -
(below) dinner and a movie -
are these things you would
pay extra for?




Also on this date:






 




















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April 23 - Movie Theatre Day

Posted on April 23, 2020



There's theatre and theater.

The -er spelling is preferred in the U.S. to mean both:
  • the place where people see plays and movies, and 
  • the art of acting and staging dramas and comedies.
The -re spelling is preferred in Britain and former British Empire nations to mean both of these things. Also, theatre people apparently prefer this spelling, too.

Then there's theater theaters (as in live productions) and movie theaters / cinema theaters (as in films).

Probably there was once a time when live-action plays AND movies were shown in the same place, but generally the needs of live theater are very different than the needs of a movie theaters, so these entertainments have different spaces now. 

And the multiplex - a place with two or more screens, with regular or stadium seating for each screen - started in the 1960s. Now we have the megaplex - a complex with a LOT of screens. Like there's a megaplex near me that has 30 screens - it can show 30 different movies at one time!! Wow!


Except:

All of these theatres and theaters, live-action theaters and movie theaters are closed down, right now, because of COVID-19.






Movies that would ordinarily be seen in theaters can be seen on specially-priced streaming services, which is good, because otherwise a lot of wonderful movies that cost a lot of money to make and that a lot of people worked really hard on wouldn't be seen at all!
Now, here's the question:

Given the fact that large-size, very clear TVs are much more affordable and therefore much more common in homes...
...and the fact that streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime are pretty ubiquitous (which means seen EVERYWHERE)...

...will movie theaters survive the global pandemic?

I don't know the answer to that question, but here's my best guess: some of the current movie theaters will go under, never to recover, but others will come back into use after scientists "beat" COVID-19 and lockdowns are lifted, and at least a few of the theaters will continue to be movie theaters, but they will be converted to homes for viewing indie films or art flicks or other specialties.

Some people just love to watch movies when they're the newest. When they've heard zero spoilers and precious few reviews, when they can eat giant containers full of buttery popcorn and hear other audience members reacting while they're reacting.

Other people have never been all that much into watching movies in theaters. One friend finds it hard to stay awake in a darkened theater, so she calls movies "very expensive naps." Some people just prefer to stay home, warm and cozy, with inexpensive, more delicious or at least more nutritious food and as many bathroom breaks as they want. I think it takes all kinds, and both kinds of people will continue to exist, and both kinds of movie-watching (in theaters and streaming) will continue to exist.




 


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