When looking at this question, I had two thoughts. If you’re looking at which one will give you the better viewing experience, then the theater would win this debate. But if you’re looking at which one is better from an economic standpoint, then the DVD would win. I ultimately decided that I had to use the viewing experience for my criteria. Once I chose that criteria, I had to come down on the side of the theater.
When a director is making a film that is intended to be shown in the theater, he or she will make their aesthetic decisions based on the fact that the film will be seen on a big screen. Unfortunately, some of these aesthetic decisions don’t come across as well when watching the film on the smaller screen on your TV. Also, the audio sounds so much “fuller” in a theater compared to what a home stereo system can provide. For example, watching one of the Star Wars films is a much better experience in the theater than it is on DVD. Seeing the Death Star on the big screen gives the viewer a much greater sense of dread, because it appears to loom so large; however, on the DVD, this effect is greatly diminished, because the Death Star isn’t looming so large in front of you. And, many of the audio effects utilized in the Star Wars films sound so much more impressive in a theater than on your home stereo system.
There is also a very different atmosphere and feeling when you watch a film in a theater instead of on DVD. In a theater, the film can be an experience shared with a multitude of people, especially if the film you have gone to see is really popular. While watching a DVD at home can also be a shared experience, you generally aren’t going to have as many people as you could have in a theater.
While it may be a hassle to have to make a trek out to a movie theater and pay the high price of admission, it can be worth it to view a film as the filmmaker had intended for you to see it. Plus, for parents, sometimes a trip to a movie theater can be a time to leave the kids with a sitter, get out of the house, and have some “alone time.” The “alone time” factor can be much harder to accomplish if you just rent a DVD from the video store; if it’s a movie meant for adults, you have to wait until the kids have gone to bed to watch it, and by then, you might be too tired to truly enjoy it.
Atmosphere,