SF Bio (aka swedish movie theatre)
Phong and I saw the Captain America movie tonight. Don't worry about spoilers, this post isn't actually about the film but the theatre. We have one theatre in town, the SF Bio. For my non Swedish friends, I shall point out a few differences between Swedish and American theatres. The most noticeable is that it only seems to have showings between 5 and 9, whereas in the states some movies start around 11 (if I recall correctly). Also when you buy tickets they have a seat number! Forget waiting in line to get the good seats people, you can choose them online if you want or at the counter.
I happen to love going to the theatre. Unfortunately, the experience is beginning to decay. Trailers have become longer and in many cases made viewing the movie itself pointless, and 3D has taken over when it comes to big ticket movies.
Most American movies take months after their US airing date to come out in Sweden, but Phong and I wait patiently to get to see them in the theatre. Tonight the movie started. Or rather, the sound did, but the darkness left by the turned down lights was never illuminated by the screen. The image never came. After a minute or so of epic sounds and voices, it seemed no one near the door was going to make the move. Valiant as ever, Phong bound down the stairs on our side of the theatre, ran around the front, and then scaled the opposite side- elegant like a gazelle- and went to find someone to fix the screen.
Sound continued for another five minutes or so, it was hard to tell in the dark, until Phong returned. When the sound returned with picture, it was from the point where the sound had been. They didn't restart the movie.
At the end we waited through the credits, as is customary at the end of Marvel (and pretty much all) films now, to see the extra bit that may or may not arrive. It did! Or at least, the sound did. The image stopped just in time for it, right after the credits.
-1 for SF Bio.
Wow, what a bummer! Most of the times the cinema works just fine, but sometimes things like this happens :/
Here in Stockholm there are some movies shown later than 9 p.m. but I think that most small towns in Sweden show their last movie in the cinema at 9 p.m. and that really sucks. I used to live in a really, really small town (would probably be considered as a village in many countries), even smaller than Umeå, and the last showing was at 9 p.m.. Plus, many movies shown in the bigger cities didn't come to the cinema at all, or they were shown months after they were released in Stockholm, Gothenburg etc.. And that is really really bad because compared to rest of the world, they are shown very late in the Stockholm theaters.
I'm a movie nerd and I really look forward to some movies but then I realize they won't even be shown in Sweden, or I will have to wait until like one year after they were shown in the States! Because of that, I often download movies. If Sweden wants us to download less and buy movie tickets and DVD's more often, I think they will have to consider showing the new movies quicker and even later in the evenings. Of course, I love film in general so much that I buy new DVD's and BluRay's regularly, but I wouldn't download so much if only we were quicker to buy the rights for showing these movies in theaters. It can't be that hard, I mean, even in Poland movies come to theaters earlier than they do here.
The experience you describe you had, has never happened to me though. Thank God! I'm so sorry you had to experience that. :( Maybe you can complain and get the money back/get a free ticket/smth like that?
Btw, I don't like 3D at all! It's just a big, great hype imo.
I agree about downloading and it taking way too long for movies to show in Sweden. Unfortunately it's the same problem with a lot of television series as well. I think they should give up this mild war against downloading and instead of crying about no one seeing the commercials or buying tickets they should get their money by using more product placement in the shows. It's really just a matter of turning the bottle in their hand label side out and getting the company to pay them for it. Or at least... I seem to assume that's all it is. heh.
3D is indeed a crock. They're now making 3D televisions! How absurd is that? Don't even get me started on how Blue Ray dvd's won't play in a regular dvd player even though regular dvd's can play in the new shiny Blue Ray player... -_-
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