About cinema - What does it need to do to stay relevant?

Can cinema compete with TV and Streaming? How can cinema still be relevant today?

Why The Movies Will Never Feel The Same Again

"Hollywood faces the largest crisis it's seen since 1950. This is the story of the shifting role cinema plays in our culture and what it needs to do to stay relevant."

(c) Thomas Flight

Very interesting video essay on YouTube by someone called Thomas Flight. I hadn't heard of him before (but that doesn't mean anything, he has over 1.2m YT subscribers. About.  Link to the video in purple font above).

He describes the various ways in which the movies, radio, television, streaming, distribution systems, etc competed with each other historically.  He speaks about the dopamine from using smartphones. And various other aspects.

I feel that he says that immersion is the strength of movies. In contrast to video clips on YouTube, Instagram, TicToc, etc, and particularly their short forms, - movies are the medium that forces you to sit and experience this one unbroken block. No adverts in the middle, no shift of your focus onto other things, just the one movie.

I thought of the other way that cinema can be relevant and important - the presenter spoke about this too  towards the end of the video: the communal experience, going to the movies with others. 

In contrast to streaming by yourself at home, you don't have to hope that your friends, colleagues and family members managed to watch the same series and the same episode the night before so you can discuss it - a film watched in a cinema by a group, allows you to talk about that immersive experience, compare notes about your impressions and perhaps gain more from hearing from others - I do think that that's cinema's super power.

What did you think of this essay? Do you agree with him, would you add anything? What is Going to the Cinema like for you? 

Something not mentioned yet.  There may be something about the venue of cinema that can also be appealing and exciting. The social aspect of mingling with others who are not part of your group. There is that intangible (je ne said quoi) something about seeing a film on the big screen.  What does that mean to you, how do you feel about it?

Mona Lisa (1986)

Very interesting film, it didn't turn out quite as we wondered or expected. A number of us who went to see this film at the Garden Cinema recently. It was really great to chat to all of you about it afterwards!  Love their new Atrium Bar.

I got stuck on Why on earth would the Bob Hoskins character bring a white rabbit into this story? The plates of spaghetti and green-lit Jesus statues were also plenty weird.  Turns out that someone had a brilliant thought about precisely that plot element! (Link to follow) And I've got to put that some place that offers the opportunity for others to add their take, make it more of a discussion. The functionality on the group's event page isn't ideal for that.

So I came up with the idea of starting a blog. Hey presto, here we go...

I will add to this post soon, to do this justice. I can promise that this idea is thought-provoking. More to follow soon! 

When looking at what others are saying about the film and the role of the rabbit, 'Alice in Wonderland' often gets mentioned.  "Going down the rabbit hole" comes to mind.  

 

Much interesting stuff has been written about this movie, here's more reviews:

About Mona Lisa and link to fairy tales (link here) 

The RogerEbert.com review featuring a terrific photo from the film! (link here) 

Body Heat (1981)

 

After watching the film, we were standing outside the cinema to discuss the twist and turns of this film. It was quite funny actually, we started to chat as we left the screen, and it felt like they shut off the lights behind us, bit by bit, as we gradually moved to the exit. You would think they wanted to close!

There were four of us and I think we all really enjoyed this film with Kathleen Turner and William Hurt. Great twist at the end.

One of you mentioned a plot aspect of blackmail. I didn't pick up on this while watching, that's very intriguing!  I'd love to explore that bit more, who remembers who said or thought of this?

I think it was by the original, actual Matty?  Please tell me more!

 

I want to add more below (blog post to be edited), but wanted to post a placeholder to keep it chronological.

Watch this space.