8mm Forum: Intermission in classic film (King and I)

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Topic: Intermission in classic film (King and I)

Winbert Hutahaean
Film God

Posts: 5468
From: Nouméa, New Caledonia
Registered: Jun 2003

posted June 14, 2013 04:53 PM

As you have just read, I was given by my wife a ton of prints and one of them is King and I.

Last night I screened it and found the intermission is very long. It is only black background on the screen with an accompany song.

What a waste for film stock that could be used for something else.

Is this a common thing for classic films to have such long intermission ?

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Winbert

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Jonathan Trevithick
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 569
From: Gold Coast Australia
Registered: May 2012

posted June 14, 2013 05:35 PM

Yes and we were still doing intermissions at the cinema I worked at in the 90s. We had to for "Titanic" because using a tower system,it wouldn't all fit on the one reel.
I guess it didn't have to be done in older cinemas using two projectors for changeovers but I suppose it was considered necessary for the theatre of its day (and an excuse for them to sell more food and ice cream).

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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God

Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012

posted June 15, 2013 05:48 AM

Well do I remember intermissions Winbert, when taken as a kid to see "Ben Hur" or "The Ten Commandments", remember that these
were very long epics and the seating in cinemas at the time were
not the comfortable seats nowadays,so patrons were allowed a
chance to stretch their legs and being Hollywood epics,there was
usually the pressbook for sale on the making of the film,so the
intermission was a useful point in the films presentation and also added to the showmanship, sadly missing these days.

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Guy Taylor, Jr.
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 606
From: Galveston, Texas, U.S.A.
Registered: Mar 2007

posted June 15, 2013 05:58 AM

Many of the older musicals that were based on stage musicals had intermissions. There was usually intro music and exit music as well.

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Guy Taylor

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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God

Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012

posted June 15, 2013 06:04 AM

That's true Guy,but the main theme music was only played at
the time when the second half was due, giving people
warning that the film was about to start.Very clever when you think of it.

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Jean-Christophe Deblock
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 693
From: Grimbergen, Brabant, Belgium.
Registered: Mar 2007

posted June 15, 2013 06:43 AM

Ben Hur has an overture music of 6 minutes.
Just like The 10 commandment.
The intermission music of Ben Hur is about 4 minutes.

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Ricky Daniels
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 587
From: London & Kent UK
Registered: Jul 2003

posted June 15, 2013 06:52 AM

I'm now heavily involved with an independent cinema (basically I am it apart from the owners!) and we always insert an Intermission so the punters may take a pee break and spend some cash on refreshments. Personally I like the challenge of inserting an Intermission into a live screening. I always review the plot to find an appropriate point to 'break' and make up stills for the Intermission and switch to an 'entr'acte' with 5 mins of music and it's their cue to return to their seats. The punters love it, as do I, it's cinema presentation as it should be. Les Mis was a very theatrical experience for my audience, so much so they want it again! Great to do some classic showmanship from time to time.

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Winbert Hutahaean
Film God

Posts: 5468
From: Nouméa, New Caledonia
Registered: Jun 2003

posted June 15, 2013 07:03 AM

Hi thanks guys for the input.

What I was talking is in this super 8mm. Why at that time Derann did not just put 30 seconds frames saying "intermission" to save the stock and let the projectionist to turn off the projector and change to CD as the background.

6 minutes of black background can be nicely used for trailers or somethiong else.

In today's world when the frames arrive at intermission, I quickly turn off the projector to save the bulb too.

Everything and every second is counted now.... [Big Grin]

Was it because of the copyrights? Derann was compulsory to include the intemission in the print?

--------------------
Winbert

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Paul Spinks
Master Film Handler

Posts: 453
From: Barking, Essex, UK
Registered: Mar 2006

posted June 15, 2013 08:35 AM

I personally like the overture, intermission and exit music to be included with the feature. You slowly dim the lights as the music comes to an end and it adds to the overall "cinema" experience. My "El Cid" feature contains all these musical sections and it's great to listen to Miklos Rozsa's wonderful music. Does anyone know if Derann included Ron Goodwin's excellent intermission theme medley in their release of "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines"?

Paul.

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Ricky Daniels
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 587
From: London & Kent UK
Registered: Jul 2003

posted June 15, 2013 10:23 AM

Hi Paul,

Yes, "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" has the intermission music used for the entr'acte to the second part...

Checkout the print review on the BFCC site, the Intermission music is noted too http://www.bfcc.biz/

Best,
Rick

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Douglas Meltzer
Moderator

Posts: 4554
From: New York, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted June 15, 2013 10:30 AM

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang has a great intermission break. The car is plummeting off a cliff, soon to hit the ground and......it's intermission time!

Doug

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I think there's room for just one more film.....

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Graham Ritchie
Film God

Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006

posted June 15, 2013 04:40 PM

I think its great to have overture and intermission, it adds so much to the atmosphere. I have never come across it on Super8 though, only at the cinema "intermission" both in digital "Sound Of Music" of late [Cool]

and when we ran a series of David Lean films on 35mm [Smile]

I think the start of second half of Dr Zhivago was very well done.

I remember telling the projectionist "now" listen on the sound monitor and when you hear the sound of train bring the lights down to total darkness as we are starting the second half in a tunnel and its "black" on the screen for quite a while..then....the next thing, you leave the tunnel and you are then into the second half....the intro into the second half of Dr Zhivago was brilliant [Big Grin]

A lot of 35mm film would run through the projector for the Overture and Intermission...but its well worth it, as its all part of the "presentation" of the movie [Smile]

Plus you make lot and lots of money at the intermission [Big Grin]

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David Ollerearnshaw
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1373
From: Penistone Sheffield UK
Registered: Oct 2012

posted June 19, 2013 12:40 PM

My mate almost took the dvd of Lawrence Of Arabia back because it had an intermission of black.

The local cinema used to intermission, they got in the local papers might have got in the nationals too. The film companies didn't like it. Plus there's a bar.

I like the break on a long film, I also liked the double bills for real value. They are a crafty lot make the film longer only one film on, or now only one video, but charge them more.

"Goldfinger" when I only had only 1200ft reels, had an ideal fade out for the intermission. I just put instrumental bond music on for about five minutes.

An interesting bit on the blu-ray of "The Guns Of Naverone" you can watch one with or without, according to the doc not many had the break.

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I love the smell of film in the morning.

http://www.thereelimage.co.uk/

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