Watching Movies is a Lonely Business

Movies, or "films," have been around since the late 1800s. In the early days of the Lumiere brothers, films was in its infancy. This famous team of film makers produced hits about "quitting time at work," and train arrivals. The technology was new to the public - and difficult to get to the public. There were no film theaters, so the films can to go to the viewers. Or, folks could visit a Kinetoscopes - a machine that the viewer peered into and watched the film. This was a lonely form of film watching, and usually required standing to look into the viewer.



It didn't take long for the inventive Thomas Edison to find a means of delivering the entertainment. Not only did he improve camera technology (putting those tiny track feeds on the side to keep the film steady), but he also created the Vitascope. The Vitascope projected the film onto a large screen so many people could view at once. This increased profit per showing, and increased the market for films.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the film industry grew (moving from New York City to Hollywood Land). And the theater grew as well. Vast movie palaces were built, with multi-screen theaters, restaurants, entertainment, and quite a few other things (such as roller rinks and child care facilities). All seemed well. By the 1940s, film had peaked with box office sales. In fact, even with the large numbers produced by blockbuster films today, theaters have never seen the level of viewers in a theater since the 1940s. Yes, the price has gone up, and the money earned has increased, but the total number of people visiting the theater has continued to drop.

Some blame television. Why go to the theater when you can stay at home, watch a film and eat a "television dinner" on a tray in front of the 12 inch screen?

Well, to skip ahead, around the 1980s the film industry seemed like it was on a comeback. After countless inventions such as 3-d, sense-o-vision (which included odors, fragrant scents, vibrating chairs, and other oddities that went with the film), people returned to the theaters. The industry flourished. And new movie palaces were built - this time called "multiplexes." I wondered at the time if that was a wise choice. Had the golden age of film viewership returned, or was it simply a wish?

Then something changed again. The VCR gave theaters a run for their money. The theaters won for the most part. But that didn't last, as the DVD came into existence. In the 1990s, theaters started to see declines in attendance. Multiplexes were still being built, and were starting to go out of business. People were renting DVDs and watching them on 27 inch screens, or even larger projection screens.

This time the film industry embraced the change, and lowered the price of DVDs. The joke of a "straight to DVD" release started to lose its meaning as many studios bypassed theaters, cable, and television, taking a straight to DVD path for a larger profit. The DVD industry boomed, and theaters fell behind. Attempting to compete with this market, cable companies start providing On Demand films. Then a decline in DVD sales, renting, and profits occurred.

Now we add in the Internet and home theaters into the fray. Film studios have been looking for a means of cutting out the added material costs of films. Digital sounded like the answer, but digital theaters are costly, and still compete with the vast array of film available directly to consumers. Mailing DVDs is helpful for those in rural areas, and organized people who return them :), but it still didn't pep up the industry. As with Edison's Vitascope, several companies have come to the rescue. Except, rather than producing a technology that allows people to gather together and watch a film, now they can stay at home. TiVo is capable of downloading movies from Amazon.com and other sites, allowing "on demand" watching, without having to drive to the video store, or to wait a day or more for a DVD to be mailed. Apple has also jumped into the arena. Well, they already were with the new generation iPods. However, Apple TV promises consumers much more than the hand-held devices. The list of similar devices are countless. I'm just referencing the two that seem to be dominating the market. And of course, a personal computer can do the very same thing.

I wonder if this will be the "hook" that studios have been looking for. And are viewers happier with it? Sure, there is no large audience to share in the enjoyment, but then "blockbuster" films and classics are readily available (if you have a good Internet connection). In a way, we've come full circle, returning to the Kinetoscopes.