The aspect ratio discussion in this reminded me of Stanley Kubrick's projection instructions for Barry Lyndon: https://somecamerunning.typepad.com/some_came_run

The aspect ratio discussion in this reminded me of Stanley Kubrick's projection instructions for Barry Lyndon: https://somecamerunning.typepad.com/some_came_running/2011/06/test.html https://somecamerunning.typepad.com/some_came_running/2011/0... When I went to see the new Avatar movie I looked at the AMC app and realized that I had only been to see 5 movies in theatres since 2017 and with one exception (the anthony bourdain documentary) I had seen them all at the big IMAX at Lincoln Square in New York. I went from being someone who went to sometimes multiple movies a week in theatres to having only been to five movies in the past five years! I know a lot of this has to do with me personally but I also think it's indicative of factors (including bad projection) ruining the experience. Factors for why I've reduced my moviegoing, in no particular order: Theatres seem to be absolutely disgusting now. I went to a "dine in" theatre near me years ago and there was a spill of something on the seat. After searching for and finding someone who worked there they helpfully gave me some paper towels and shrugged. Even ignoring extreme events like this, theatres just don't seem clean anymore. The anecdote about them using leaf blowers to clean seems apt and accurate. The experience in general seems to be degraded and less respectful. I find the attitude of others in the theatre to be terrible (talking over movies, using phones, kicking chairs, etc). Whatever foods they are selling now smells awful and is nausea-inducing to me. I'm not even sure it would be /possible/ for me to go see as many movies as I used to. I'm sure this is partially my shifting taste but there also seems to be far less variety now vs 10-20 years ago, more screens showing fewer movies trending towards blockbusters. I definitely could not find one movie a week I was interested to see, even ignoring other factors. Streaming is completely upsetting this as well. Previously I had to decide between "see this now or wait 6-12-18 months" and now movies either release on streaming in a few weeks, or, have simultaneous releases. Many of the most interesting (to me) movies don't even release in theatres. I have vastly upgraded my home cinema experience. This is largely in response to all of the above points, but, it absolutely factors into it. I have an 85" OLED screen with a Very Good ATMOS sound system. For all but the largest of movies I can now watch them at home, in better quality, in better comfort, at my own pace. Movie theatres are dead, long live the movies!