Intermission
I decided to watch Kingdom of Heaven today, mostly for the simple reason that it features none other than the beautiful Eva Green. You may recognize her as the most recent Bond girl, cast as Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale. In any case, I decided to watch 'Kingdom of Heaven' because I've not seen it in its entirety and because Ms. Green graces the screen with her presence.
It's a fairly long movie. The director's cut is over three hours long, putting it in the runnings with movies like any one of the 'Lord of the Rings' installments. Right in the middle of the movie, at an hour and a half into it, it fades to black and displays the word 'Intermission' in the middle of the screen.
Now… this confuses me. I started this movie knowing full well how long it was. I knew I was in for a long movie; I was fully aware of the amount of time I was committing to. So here I sit, in the comfort of my own home, watching a movie at my own leisure. This isn't a public performance, it's not being put on as a show on Broadway, there are no others in attendance for this viewing. Just me and my glass of orange juice. And animal crackers. Never mind them, they don't talk much.
In any case, I'm free to come and go as I please. I can start, stop, or even — gasp — rewind this movie as I see fit. It's as though I'm a minor deity, with ultimate power over this, my digital entertainment du jour. My media player bows in accordance with my wishes, playing on my command. So why does it feel the need to tell me it's time for an intermission?
Why can't I choose to have an intermission, say, at the one-hour mark instead of the one-and-a-half hour mark? What about the 23-minute mark? Or the two-hour mark? I'm just confused as to why there would be an intermission on a DVD — is that not what the remote control is for? I'm pretty certain there's a pause button here… lemme check… yep. There it is, an intermission button right there on the remote.
I don't get it. Maybe it's just me.
Eva Green picture from PopStarsPlus.com.
Dan said,
May 2, 2007, 10:57 pm
Simple. There was an intermission inserted into the film when the movie was in theaters, and during the transition to DVD/VHS, they were too stupid to cut that part out.
Tigerblade said,
May 2, 2007, 11:10 pm
That's exactly my point. Why?? Was it that difficult for them to take the intermission thing out? C'mon studios…
RUMandCOKE said,
May 3, 2007, 1:42 pm
I like the picture. I wonder who sent it to you. hmm. =) I havent seen the movie, but it also confuses me why a movie that you can buy and pause whenever you want would have an intermission in the middle. As you said, for theaters that makes some sense, but for a DVD? Intermissions are for the actors to take a break as well. I dont think the DVD needs a break.
Phil Jefferson said,
May 3, 2007, 4:42 pm
A few possibilities spring to mind:
- TVs are getting bigger, higher definition, sound systems are improving all the time, we're getting closer and closer to a true home theatre, and if you're going to have the true cinimatic experience it should be as close as possible to, well, the experience you'd get in a cinema. Feel free to overcharge yourself for popcorn or eat ice cream with a bit of wood to enhance this experience.
- This is how the director wanted the film to be seen, it's how it was designed to be seen, they knew it was a long film and would require an intermission, so the intermission is designed in, at that point they plan for you to take a break and mull over what you've seen allowing them to more easily lay a complex foundation and have it pay off after the intermission. (I haven't seen kingdom of heaven, so I have no idea how likely this is to be accurate, but it does explain why it isn't at the midpoint of the film)
- Maybe the film was so awful nobody could bring themselves to watch it again to take out the intermission.
- Following on from that, maybe it provides a point at which people can say “Shall we watch something else instead?”
Sam said,
May 10, 2007, 4:06 am
So…the movie was good, right?
I didn't expect much, but it really dazzled me, personally.
That and…yes, Eva Green is a goddess.