I sat down on Saturday to write a review of the film "To All a Goodnight." It's a Christmas horror movie directed by "Last House on the Left" actor David Hess. Yet, after attempting to write about it twice, I just felt like I had nothing to say about the film. It's a $70,000 slasher film from the early 80's, and you can probably find ten different reviews that would share my thoughts. It's a fairly rough film and I will leave it at that.
I want to take this blog post to write something other than a film review. Earlier today I read this blog post by Roger Ebert, which then brought me to this blog post by David Bordwell. Both posts deal with where people sit in a movie theater. It may sound like a boring topic to some, but really think about it. Everyone has their seats or place they like to sit in a theater. I'm fascinated by the different rituals that people have when going to the movies, and hearing from these two inspired me to write about my own theater habits. I do not have the writing prowess that they do, nor will this post have the eloquence that the ones above have, but I must share.
Growing up, I often went to the theater with my mom and two brothers. This wasn't an issue, but there was a bit of an awkward ritual as far as seating was concerned. We would always sit towards the back, on the right side (as the Waterville theater had two sides and an aisle in between), and sometimes a chair between certain individuals. I don't know when this started or why we sat in this particular spot, but I'm sure it had something to do with my mom and eyesight. I feel like I remember her complaining about that at some point in my life.
After striking out with just my brothers, we continued this ritual of sitting far back. It just seemed natural and something we never questioned. Yet, when the Bangor theater got stadium seating, I noticed that more and more people were sitting towards the back. I, personally, do not like to be around other people when seeing a movie. When the lights go down, a personal experience should occur. As a viewer, I put away all thoughts and focus entirely on the film, and when someone talks or distracts from that experience, I find that I lose my focus and the viewing is tainted, even if just slightly.
With all these people beginning to surround my seat of choice, I began to re-think my placement in the theater. I noticed that more and more people began huddling in the back, whereas nobody was going towards the front. This also included the Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville. It was the summer of 2005 that I began experimenting with choosing a new seat. I tried as far back as I could go, but found it was just like watching my television at home. It wasn't a true experience. I tried sitting more towards the middle, and while this was better, there were again the crowds of people that would surround me. It didn't happen for every movie, but if it was a popular film then I knew I'd be surrounded. Finally, I just went for it and did the (at the time) unthinkable: I sat dead center in the first three rows. It was either the third, second, or first row that I would sit in, and while it did take the trailers to adjust to my position, it created an experience.
This is ultimately what the cinema is all about and what has become lost on moviegoers. We have Netflix at home. We have Blu-ray and DVD copies of movies readily available to watch on our laptops. Digital copies for our iPads. In no way can I knock these, because they are excellent ways to see films that I would not otherwise be able to. Yet, the experience of a large screen like you find at movie theaters cannot be recreated, and sitting towards the front enhances our ability to take in the piece and become totally immersed. No longer was I the victim of a distractingly tall 60 year old who thinks "The Queen" is the funniest movie she has seen all year and who wants everyone around her to know that. No longer did I have to see a person get their cellphone out to check if anyone called. I was free from all of that, and whenever I'm alone in a theater, I go straight towards the first three rows.
