Hello DVD-Talkers.

My name is Summers Henderson and I am a journalism student at City College of San Francisco. I am writing a story about how DVDs have changed the way people watch movies. Has this medium really led people to have a greater appreciation for the art of cinema?

I think so. Even five years ago most Americans didn't understand why videos should be letterboxed; now it seems that everybody knows "widescreen" video is best, because of DVDs. And there are really good director and critic commentaries that appeal to people who would never pick up a book on film style or film history. And maybe people are exploring more diverse films with what they find on Netflix or the classics that get well-publicized DVD releases.

On the other hand, lots of people are just watching old TV reruns on DVD, or seeing the same Hollywood blockbuster over and over again.

What do you think about DVDs and film appreciation? Feel free to respond to me at [email protected] or post here.

If judged by the comments on this board, absolutely not. Wade through all of these threads and you'll see that we're connoisseurs of mindless sci-fi movies, wrestling anthologies, and anything with a DTS soundtrack. We collect to acquire. Who has time to learn about and study the artform when there's 20 more new releases this week? Who really cares about the movie? The real question is: Does the DVD come with an insert?

i know they led me to a deeper appreciation of film. dvd makes it easier to get of more divirse and older films. im 16 and in the last 5 months ive explored hitcthcock, bogart, kazan, welles, houston, kubrick, film noir, and more. and thats just looking at my top self of my dvd collection. i owe all that to the easy access of dvd.

If it wasn't for DVDs, and especially multiregion DVDs, I may never have gotten into film the way it has me right now.

DVD's (and a dedicated HT) have allowed me to give up the cinema for good. That's it.



Stew

No. DVD is just a medium that happened to be the format at the time of the collection explosion for films.

There wasn't a large sell through market for VHS/LD due to the pricing structure. DVD's don't enhance ones appreciation of cinema rather it is driven by the viewer. Those that are only interested in it as entertainment will not develope an appreciation for the art form because of the medium and those that do take to appreciating it will do so regardless of the medium.

Most Americans may appreciate OAR now but it is fueled by the choice that was barely available in VHS days or an expensive niche market for laserdiscs. Same goes for having more, better access to a wider spectrum of films than a local video store in the 80's and early 90's would be able to carry. Combine that with the internet age happening at the same time and all of that ties into the growth in collections and easily available flow of information.

For example, most of my appreciation of the world of cinema was developed in the 80's/early 90's on VHS (only Radio Shack carried LD at all here and prices and selection were not viable). That includes foreign films, widescreen, film theories, criticism, etc.

The medium doesn't dictate the appreciation, the viewer and films do. The only thing that has changed is access and cost.

Cinema happens at the cinema, not in front of a television screen.

If I can watch the same movies at home as I can in the theaters, what is the difference? I agree that being around other people can be a positive experience in the theaters, but being around those same people can produce a really bad experience too.

It depends on the film, but DVD allows me to make that choice, in that, I can watch a movie in OAR instead of on butchered vhs, as was typical in those days.

Although, watching "popcorn movies" in a packed theater with a lively audience cannot be beat, IMO.

In a theater you watch film. At home you watch video.

Cinema = Film

I think you're being a bit too pedantic and/or literal. The viewing medium isn't the defining factor here, it's the experience of viewing the film. I think there is a definite difference between watching a movie in a crowded theater and watching it alone at home. But the movie you watch is the same, no matter where you see it.

Also, if cinema=film only, then how would you categorize digital projections?

You're putting the cart before the horse or whatever... I already had an appreciation for cinema and DVDs just allowed me to have better access. Not the other way around. Perhaps some people out there gained appreciation for cinema because DVDs are so accessible, but I wouldn't try to speculate on people I don't know.

I know my roommate has told me on several occasions that he has a much greater appreciation for films because of the DVDs I've lent him, but I think that has more to do with what movies I selected and him just knowing me rather than DVD as a medium.

Film and video are both mediums of moving images, but they render images in a vastly different manner. You cannot expect a fixed field of radiating pixels to reproduce accurately the chaotic field of grain created when light is passed through a strip of film. In addition, color temperatures are very different in film and video... video images tend to have less depth of field than film... video looks "realistic" while film looks "magical"... psychological studies have shown that film induces a viewer into a state of reverence while video induces a sort of hypnotic state... etc...
Except good movies are created for the big screen. A lifesize head-shot on TV screen is just a different entity from a 30-foot-tall close-up of Marilyn Monroe on a cinema screen. You may say they are the same (and don't tell me about your puny 65" rpt or 100" fpt when we are talking about 1000"+ ) but I do not.

And I won't even get into how much of the information contained in a film image is lost when transferred to a low-res format like DVD. How watching a 70mm classic like 2001 or Lawrence of Arabia on home video as an experience is rendered something close to meaningless. I just won't go there.

No.

As for cinema, I have not been to a theater for like 4 years. I bought widescreen VHS back in the day so I have always wanted widescreen they were just harder to find.

Target only sells FullScreen now, so I don't really think the general public cares anymore now than before. I am a "movie guy" and I seldom listen to the commentaries - so just because they are there, does not mean anything. I have LaserDisc that had them way back when so its not like they are new.

The way I read the OP's question is whether the DVD medium has led to a greater appreciation of the art of cinema. I have to agree with FishPink when they refer to you being too literal and/or pedantic. If we're talking about the difference between watching a video of "Lord of the Rings" and a video of "The Tonight Show", then your point makes sense, but we're not. Although a smaller image relative to the size of the room and the screen, I find "The Lord of the Rings" just as "magical" at home as it is in the theatre. I saw "The Day After Tomorrow" over the summer in a DLP theatre and while kind of a crappy movie, the experience was definitely the "magical" I think you're speaking of even though there was no light passing through celluloid.

I think you may just need a better TV.

To the OP's question: It may be true that DVD has led to a greater appreciation of the art of cinema for some people, but I really think that in the "real world", this is not true. The "real world" I refer to is the world where you now have to concern yourself with whether the DVD you're picking up off the shelf is Original Aspect Ratio or not. Back in the day (1997), it was pretty much a given that any DVD was going to be OAR and the picture was going to be fantastic and the sound and, and, and.... it was a great time for the art of cinema!

Now, of course, everything is driven by money and we have as many "Modified to Fit Your Screen" DVDs as the OAR. I believe that the people that welcomed DVD into their lives had an appreciation for the art of cinema before DVDs arrived and that very few people have grown to appreciate cinema more because of DVDs.

Really? Your Target must suck ass because I picked up ROTK, I, Robot and Top Gun all in widescreen yesterday at Target. I would picket your Target!!

Summers, aside from the clear point that video is inherently unable to replicate the film experience, I think the answer to your question is that DVD makes it much easier to develop a deep appreciation for cinema, but the viewer must seek out this appreciation willingly. As people have commented, tons of people still buy lots of fullscreen discs because of the "blasted bars." Plenty of people will simply watch The Fast and the Furious everyday and may never pick up a Bergman, Kurosawa, et al disc. But for people who have an interest in film, or people who think that film may interest them, have a great opportunity to learn about cinema through the DVD medium.

Although its a video format, it is a much closer representation of a film presentation than we've had in the past. 35mm isn't exactly practical for watching movies in your home, so we must compromise. The close approximation of the film experience coupled with the very insightful content included on the best DVDs gives a cinema enthusiast plenty to appreciate, certainly more so than VHS, and to a lesser extent Laserdisc.

Again, I think you are missing the point of this thread. I believe the OP's question was essentially asking does DVD help us appreciate the wide variety of films that are out there. I think we all understand and appreciate the difference in seeing a movie projected in a theater vs. seeing it on a home theater TV screen. But I can still appreciate the storytelling, acting, sound, music, etc. no matter where I see a film. Of course the picture will not be exactly the same (even HD-DVD/Blu-Ray won't be as good), but I'm not watching the movie for it's visual presentation only.

Yes!!!

Just from my own experience, DVD has helped me become a better film buff. 1/4 of the AFI 100 films are movies I saw on DVD first. Thanks to DVD, I have been exposed to the films of Hitchcock, Fellini, Tarantino, Kubrick, Lucas, etc. Of course, this does mean that some of my favorite movies include 8 1/2, UHF, and Lawrence of Arabia.

Yes, to the original poster. If it wasn't for DVDs and Criterion if you want to name names, I would have never known about so many great classic foreign films. And the extras on some dvds are simply amazing detailing every little process of filmmaking. Before DVDs, I watched a very minimal amount of foreign films and thought most black and white films were boring. Thanks to DVD I have a greater appreciation of cinema.

It has expanded my appreciation of cinema both new, foreign & classic. It has also helped my family deal with our elimination of the theatrical experience. Rude and violent teenage behavior born of the present generation (which is dramatically worse than the 80's or even the early to mid-90's) has made our cinemas a complete waste of money and time.

DVD has introduced classic films to a new generation of moviegoers, including myself.
There are films, if it wasn't for DVD, I probably would have never seen.
The difference between Home Theater and the actual movie theater isn't the screen size, picture quality, sound quality, etc. It is the shared social experience.

I would prefer to watch these films the way they were meant to be seen in the theaters with a bunch of strangers, because watching a film is a social experience, a community of shared feelings
As much as I love my HT and DVD collection, watching these films alone in our home theaters isn't the social experience these films were meant to be. Laughing at something on screen alone or at most with a few other people in your home is different than laughing at something on screen with a 100 other strangers.

I would love to see a film such as The Great Escape or Mildred Pierce at the local theater but that is close to impossible nowadays, so DVD is the next best option.

The film needs to control US, we do not need to control the film. The film holds our attention at the theater whereas we pause and play and are continually distracted when watching these films at home.

Much as I want to respond to the argument above and show just how wrong one side is!, I'll stay on topic....

I think DVD's wide acceptance has raised the overall level of film/movie/cinema appreciation in the world. For the reasons mentioned above by various people: There are many people who would never have gotten as deep "into" film viewing if it weren't for DVD.

Now, there are many people for whom DVD simply makes it more accessible. This group hasn't improved their appreciation because it was already high, as has been seen from other posters above.

My longish response was to your question, not the OP, so I admit pulling things off-topic. Sorry Summers. Here is my on-topic reply:
The great majority of DVD extras concern the making of a film rather than the meaning of a film. In other words, the average DVD watcher probably understands better what a director does, what a cinematographer does, how CGI works and what an actor's on-set life is like than a VHS watcher did ten years ago; but if they want to understand the thematic concerns, visual tropes and ideology contained within the movie, then they are still much better off learning the old fashioned way, by reading good theory and criticism and through multiple active viewings.
If you wanted to discover art/classic-film in the past, you certainly could. In fact, there there were far more classic and foreign films released on VHS than have yet made it to disc. Netflix is pretty cool, though.

Yes they are. Just look what most people buy in the "What Are You Getting This Week" threads. 'Nuff said.

Without dvds i dont think i ever with have gotten into foriegn flicks.

Speak for yourself DVD has definitely enhanced my appreciation of cinema. Because of this format and its effect on the video rental industry (e.g. Netflix, et al.), I have come across tons of independent, foreign-language and classic movies I might have never bothered to watch otherwise. The commentaries are my favorite feature on the discs, and they have stoked a curiosity into the movie making process that has led me to further reading as well.