Or more accurately are cinema’s in danger from DVD rentals? Blockbuster, Sainsbury, and many other companies are now offering DVD rental by post. For as little as £13.99 a month you can rent as many DVD’s as you want, and often up to three at a time.
Now £13.99 is pretty much the same price as a monthly pass to the UGC cinema for one person or even the cost of a DVD or two to buy. However, a DVD rental can be watched by an entire family or group of friends. That could work out as a little as £3.50 each (for four people), around 50% less than the cost of a single ticket to the cinema in London. Not only that, but there is no travelling or cost of parking involved as the DVD’s are delivered direct to the door. Of course not only are the costs of watching the DVD’s lower, but the food can be cheaper and delivered to the door as well! And this rises an even wider question. This all provides good value for both the individuals and families.
Home Entertainment, particularly in terms of sound has improved in last few years to a point that it is producing a similar quality as a cinema – and it will continue to do some. Add to this the release window between theatrical release and DVD is shrinking, along with the thirst for older films to be made available on DVD. Some people could see this as greed of the distributors, although for the distributor it is an advantage to have a short release window for the DVD as it makes more efficient use of the publicity. When it comes to films in cinemas they are often seen as very expensive promotionals for the DVDs. There are echoes here between when television first appeared in the 1950s and the effects it had on cinema, and again in the 1980s when video players were first released. As it happened cinema managed to see these both off and this equipment is still expensive to buy.
Of course a visit to the cinema is more than just watching the film and seeing the best picture and sound quality. There is this “Cinema Experience” which includes a social integration which can’t be repeated in the same way in the home. After way if this were the case then remote parts of the country wouldn’t put on ‘film nights’ in village halls with DVDs. DVDs only tend to stimulate more interest in cinema/film – after all the release of a big film such as Harry Potter wouldn’t necessarily create the same media interest as it does when it is screen in Leicester Square.
With regard to the ‘pay £x per month and see as many DVD’s as you like – well very good value as those offers are they can only be sustained for so long as there are already so many companies offering the same deal that eventually this will not be viable. I also have another theory that the current boom in home entertainment will follow the same pattern as the home video boom of the late 70’s and early 80’s. After a time when the novelty has worn off (as it did for a previous generation) people will re-discover the pleasure of cinema as a night-out.
It is also true that many people also get hold of copies of films through piracy. While they may watch these low quality copies of the film, they will often still go to the cinema to see it on the ‘big screen’. It is fair to say that often part of the reason that people want to get hold of these films illegally isn’t just about getting something for nothing, it is also the ‘seeing it before anyone else’ feeling. More and more films are likely to see more day and date releases across the world to help try and cut down on the piracy.
The conclusion seems to be that there are pros and cons to this argument, as you would expect. While the sales of DVDs and home entertainment equipment has continued to grow for the previous years, so has the attendance at cinemas, and new cinemas are still opening. Maybe it really is the case that cinema will manage to survive along side DVD rental through the post, as it has survived along side television and videos for nearly half its life. Just as in the 1950s and the 1970s when cinema was potentially under threat, new technology allowed the cinema experience to be better than at home, through the creation or larger screens, better sound systems, scope pictures and IMAX, so will cinema continue to do this to keep one track ahead of home entertainment and the home DVD rental companies such as Blockbuster and Sainsburys. What good home cinema may be doing is making sure cinemas give us excellent sound and pictures which still can’t be created domestically.
Cinemas are certainly going to be around for a lot longer, even with the new threat of DVD home rental and home entertainment systems. What it realises on more than anything else is good quality films for people to watch.
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