Steven Spielberg says (http://joblo.com/no-digital-indy-4) "INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL" will not be available in digital format. Film only.
Most theaters have done away with union projectionist and use untrained high school/college kids and the lack of quality presentation shows. Not that film projected properly cannot give excellent results but the lack of digital will no doubt lend itself to some underwhelming showings.
Still this is one movie I prefer both to see on the big screen and later grab it on BD.

What will you do?

download it from a torrent.

:D

A lot of multiplexes have gone all-digital.
They have film as a back-up.
This will lower the theater screen count for the movie - I'm not so sure that's what
Paramount had in mind when it bankrolled this.
We'll see,...

Theater? I've heard of a 'home theater', but this theater thing, what is that again?

Alimentall: I think they went extinct years ago but I am not sure.

Don't you need a car for one of those, preferably a station wagon?

OMG, I'm having a flashback to my grade school years: hitting the drive-in with a carload of kids, that awful metal speaker hanging on the window: we loved it! (My apologies to those who are too young for that image.)

Funny, we're still all film up here in Vancouver. I believe one cinema.multiplex has ONE screen that's digital, but every one I've been to is still fi<badsplice>lm.

Thanks for the flashback Will.:) Accidently knocked a bunch of those metal mono speakers to the ground in my youth.:D

Jim

Still this is one movie I prefer both to see on the big screen and later grab it on BD.

What will you do?

I would love to see it in the theatre, but I rarely see any movies in the theatre anymore. I really want to see "Jumpers" in the theatre as well, but I just have a hard time going through the whole ritual required to drive to the theatre, buy tickets, get popcorn and hope some jerk sitting next to me isn't going to ask her husband inane questions about the movie during the movie or chew popcorn loudly.

Yeah. I'll probably just wait for it on video and rent it. Unless they release the trilogy on BD all at once, in which case I would buy it... ;)

Yeah. I'll probably just wait for it on video and rent it. Unless they release the trilogy on BD all at once, in which case I would buy it... ;)

It will be a Quadrilogy by then. :D

It will be a Quadrilogy by then. :D

That's right, I forgot how many there are. Hopefully Star Wars will be a nonology eventually instead of just a hexology.

I'm not so sure that's what Paramount had in mind when it bankrolled this.
He might be getting away with this because I am guessing the VAST majority of theaters are Not all digital. In which case is just means the theater that would have played it in digital will play it in film.

Does anyone know the percentage of digital versus film screens- if you add up all the screens in all the theaters, how many are digital?

Next would be what percentage of theaters have gone all digital and cannot play film? I'd guess very, very few but I could be wrong.

My question would be why Spielberg would do this ? What is the motivation ? Is he throwing his weight to slow the tide of theater conversions to digital ? Is he being a purist ? Has he been to a regular old mutiplex theater using film in the last decade ?:eek:

Art

My question would be why Spielberg would do this ?

His home theater is set up to run film?

Hi

You will excuse my ignorance here.
Does that mean that at this point in time (Feb 2008), a standard multiplex with Digital Cinema would provide a better experience than one that is film based?
Or Does it mean that again at this point in time that digital cinema has surpassed analogue film-based cinema?

Hi

You will excuse my ignorance here.
Does that mean that at this point in time (Feb 2008), a standard multiplex with Digital Cinema would provide a better experience than one that is film based?
Or Does it mean that again at this point in time that digital cinema has surpassed analogue film-based cinema?

IMO, no question about it since there are no trained projectionists out there anymore.
The picture in most film theaters is mediocre at best even if the theaters are new.

Digital cinema is much more "set it and forget it" which bodes well when you pay 17y.os $6/hr to "man" it.

Plus digital can play 3D movies with one projector and it's spectacular (as in the case of "Nightmare before Xmas" that we saw...

PS I'm not a Pro, just a consumer

My question would be why Spielberg would do this ? What is the motivation ? Is he throwing his weight to slow the tide of theater conversions to digital ? Is he being a purist ? Has he been to a regular old mutiplex theater using film in the last decade ?:eek:
I wonder too. I'm guessing 99% of his exposure is to top notch screening rooms and Hollywood premiers where the best equipment is used. I'd guess the answer to your question is "being a purist" as I don't think even his weight is going to slow the advance to digital.

Don't you need a car for one of those, preferably a station wagon?

OMG, I'm having a flashback to my grade school years: hitting the drive-in with a carload of kids, that awful metal speaker hanging on the window: we loved it! (My apologies to those who are too young for that image.)

You mean one of those big cast aluminum speakers with the hook cast right in with it? Nope never seen one. Wouldn't know what it was if I tripped over it.;)

Chip

That's the one! My oldest brother was out with a buddy, who forgot about the speaker when he peeled out of the drive-in... so long window. Then he tried to tell his parents that kids threw snowballs with rocks in them. "Ahhh yeah, so why isn't there any glass on the inside of the car?"

Next would be what percentage of theaters have gone all digital and cannot play film? I'd guess very, very few but I could be wrong.Probably a low percentage, but the all digital ones are some of the best theaters around Washington state, IMO. Galaxy Theaters is opening a brand new theater this weekend south of Seattle (Gig Harbor) and I've been expecting them to be all digital, like another one of their theaters north of Seattle. It is possible they will have a film projector or two, but be capable of digital in all theaters. This one will have 3D capability with digital also.

As far as Alan's question, if they follow through then this definitely increases the likelihood that I'll wait for a release for home theater. I might go see it on film, but if it comes out in the digital theaters like Galaxy runs, then I would pretty much be guaranteed to go.

I wish I could show a short clip of a film presentation I went to a couple of weeks ago. 3 sides of the image were very blurry, the image was shaking really bad, and it was almost like watching something where they are making it look bad on purpose.

At the AVS party at CEDIA around 3 or 4 years ago (in Indianapolis) Runco was showing The Fifth Element with a digital projector in a theater and we were told that we could stay and watch Mr. and Mrs. Smith if we wanted to. That was on film and as soon as it started I heard a bunch of mumbling and something asked me why the image was shaking so much.

I think this probably goes against what the studios want in general also. Especially where going to digital 3D could help them protect their movies (like from camcorder recordings) and we may see a case in the not too distant future where the only release of some movies for a while is in 3D (digital and IMAX), with regular film theaters having to wait. That is my speculation based on some things I've heard about the studios wanting 3D partially for the copy protection angle. With almost 700 theaters capable of 3D there probably aren't enough to open movies only that way and then on 2D film later, but with enough new installations over the next few years I could see that happening.

--Darin

Alan,

Fortunately, Tinseltown (owned by Cinemark) here spends a lot of money for vieo and audio. Most presentations are quite good in them.

I'll be seeing Indy 4 on film because to me, film is still number one. I only go to Tinseltown because I regularly get offered tours of the projection booths and I know the union projectionist.

I've seen many films in Digital there and I still don't find it has the same "feeling" of a real movie. I guess it's what we grow up on. I'm used to film and prefer it that way.

Richard

There are still trained projectionists out there. In September,my wife and I attended the Teluride film festival and I will be there again.Its the weekend before Cedia. Guess what?
Film.

Lots of different theaters set up around town. Even the one free outdoor one had absolutely first quality picture and sound.

nice 13 foot lamberts. sharp. Really better than the $60k and less projectors were consumers use. Don't kid yourself.

That doesn't mean most commercial theaters aren't worse than your HT. But some are a lot better. If you love film, go to one of the big film festivals. Two are in the states, Sundance and Teluride. The stars, directors, producers are all there and you can mingle. Almost everyone at Teluride saw Juno and knew it was a winner way before its release.

Me. I wouldn't recognize most movie stars or know who they were if they came to my house for dinner. Some lady standing next to me in our hotel lobby, said wow, that lady who just walked by was (I don't remember the stars name) was Sally whatsherebody. I said who? My wife knew. They laughed at me and asked my wife how should could have married a movie star ignorant.

A few weeks before I sat with the owner, trainer, and jockey of the kentucky derby winner at Saratoga. I looked at these movie buffs and rattled off the names of my horse people friends as well as the name of the horse. They hadn't a clue. To me they were the ignorants. They laughed and chased after Brad Pit or somebody like that. A guy dressed in jeans and wearing a red sox cap. Funny, I had just spent 10 minutes with him discussing sports. We chatted sports. Just a guy, I had no idea who he was when we chattted. sports are sports. Fans names are not important unless you interfer with the home team trying to catch a ball tomake an out. Then you have to move away from Chicago.

Well, I’m so excited about the movie that I already have a poster up. But no digital? I don’t understand why Lucas who was at the for front of technology in the 70's is such a technophobe now...

(ps, "theaters" are those things that you still have to visit and have kids pelt the back of your head with popcorn as you watch a movie that we all wish we could see in our own "home theaters" first.)


http://www.silverti.com/ht/March%203,%202008/DSC03919.JPG

Does anyone know the percentage of digital versus film screens- if you add up all the screens in all the theaters, how many are digital?

Next would be what percentage of theaters have gone all digital and cannot play film? I'd guess very, very few but I could be wrong.

Digital theaters are 10% of the market.

My question would be why Spielberg would do this ? What is the motivation ?
Art

He is playing the hard to get Virgin Debutant. It is pure marketing inspired by the Disney cycle engagements. The fact of the matter is that Steven Speilberg needs to see the SUPERKONTRAST.

My immediate thought was that he wanted to maintain the same epic look for his new movie as the old series.