What is the definition of a home cinema ?

[Kilian Henin]

Steve, that is a nice summary of where we are and how we got here. By 2013 the conversion from film to digital was pretty complete. There are a few theaters around here that still show film, but of course, nothing new. I had thought that film makers would continue to shoot on film and convert to digital to edit and distribute movies. How naive I was! When I saw that the first generation of digital projectors in theaters only had resolution slightly better than a Bluray I was surprised and disappointed. Film is still being made, but the expense is so high that I do not see any path forward. What we have on film now, is about all we are going to have going forward. We are the old generation who grew up watching film. The new generation has little interest in film, and considering their love of Tiktoc videos, they may not have the patience to sit through a 2-3 hour movie. Hell, they don't even have interest in learning to drive a car. Film is not dead, but it surely is fading away. Someday (when we are all gone) people will marvel at the technology of the 19th and 20th centuries and view it as something quaint, just as our generation viewed handheld stereoscopic photo viewers and magic lanterns.

Got to go now. I see kids playing on my lawn again. Dam!

Although I agree with your point that film is fading away, there are some exceptions. There were 35mm prints of Pinocchio and Empire of Light (shot digitally!) and 70mm prints of Babylon. Also, Oppenheimer is coming this summer. Pretty much any movie by Nolan, Tarantino, or Anderson will be available to see on celluloid somewhere, at least in the major markets.

[Ed Gordon]

Ed, I do the same as you but as my home cinema is a nod to the old U.K Associated British Cinema circuit I use the ABC day sets or the later EMI ones from my collection of dvds produced by Keith Wilton and personalise them via my computer editer to a dvd. Ken Finch.

Ken, another option is to download trailers for upcoming movies to include in your presentations. The Digital Theater (link) is a great source for high quality theatrical trailers. The even offer some as ISO's that you can burn to disc directly.

[Ed Gordon]

Although I agree with your point that film is fading away, there are some exceptions. There were 35mm prints of Pinocchio and Empire of Light (shot digitally!) and 70mm prints of Babylon. Also, Oppenheimer is coming this summer. Pretty much any movie by Nolan, Tarantino, or Anderson will be available to see on celluloid somewhere, at least in the major markets.

Things are changing slowly but surely. Go back as few as three years and any mention of watching a film from a digital master was absolute anathema. There will come a point where film economics will doom it. A new 70mm print can cost as much a $30,000. Compare that to the cost of distributing a movie as a DCP, and it is difficult to justify striking new film prints. We are in a period of shifting baselines.

I admire Tarantino for adamantly insisting that his movies be produced and distributed on film. Unfortunately he has decided to retire after making one more film. In Seattle we had Paul Allen and his Cinerama Theatre. The Cinerama closed to remodel just before the pandemic hit, and has not re-opened. Paul was a patron of film. When he could not find a good 70mm print of Battle of the Bulge, he paid to have a new print made for exclusive use during his annual Cinerama revivals.