Movie Etiquette, Observations and Other Experiences

[cardero]

I love movies. I really do and over the years I have noticed certain things about films that I feel qualified to share with fellow forum members. If anyone has any ideas they would life to share feel free to post on this site. I will try to post them when I think of them.

1. Wait for the movie to come to a complete stop before exiting the experience. Many movies today like to include outtakes, funny credits and even stingers or tags at the end of their films and it would be a shame for you to hear that you missed the most funniest part of the film because you were too impatient to read the credits.

 

[Booko]

If you really need to stay in contact via cellphone, put it on vibrate mode. When you answer it, do NOT start talking on the phone until you're at least in the hallway. No one paid money to come hear you talk on your phone.

I was amazed a few weeks ago to go to a movie and see someone answer his phone (it was on vibrate) but he continued to talk on it for a full 5 minutes! There were only 12 of us in the theatre, and I do understand he was with his 12 year old kid, but if you are not in a position to be away from your phone and your kid simultaneously, then you either leave with the kid to talk, or you don't go to the movies at all. :149:

I finally got up and tapped him on the shoulder and told him to leave. He looked confused at first as to why I would even ask him, but he finally figured out that the crazy old fart wasn't going to go away unless he either hung up the phone or left with it. sheesh!

 

[Booko]

1. Wait for the movie to come to a complete stop before exiting the experience. Many movies today like to include outtakes, funny credits and even stingers or tags at the end of their films and it would be a shame for you to hear that you missed the most funniest part of the film because you were too impatient to read the credits.

I don't wait, but I'm aware there are people who want to see all the credits (sometimes I do too), and so as I leave I make sure I'm not left standing around blocking someone's view.

Then again, I go at odd times when there are few people around, so this is easier to do.

I also arrive early enough to get the "quick exit to the bathroom" seats which makes my exit even less obtrusive.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

If you are very tall, please do not sit directly in front of a child or a short adult (like me) if there are other seats available.



This only applies to theatres that are not stadium-seating.



It always amazes me that tall people seem to gravitate to the seat right in front of me when there's just me and the husband and 7 or 8 other people in the theatre.





Peace,
Mystic

 

[cardero]

If you really need to stay in contact via cellphone, put it on vibrate mode.

....but you're not allowed to enjoy it. And if you must smile, smile to yourself.

 

[FatMan]

When you are in an R rated movie, it is not OK to bring your 4-5 year old in, even if you are present. The kids usually get bored and run around, generally causing a nuisance.

 

[cardero]

4. Do not arrive to the movie late. Not only is it discourteous to the people who are already seated watching the start of the movie but it is also disrespectful to the people who made the film.

Especially with a movie like Memento. I’d hate to show up five minutes into the movie just to find out that I missed the ending.

Which brings us to movie observation Number 5.
Attention Directors, if the story of your movie sucks while being played forward it is not going to be any better shown backwards.

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Movie Etiquette: Do not kick the seat of the person in front of you or lean back in your chair in a spirited attempt to crush the legs of the person sitting behind you. Do not do this because being bitten on the shins by Feathers often offends.

 

[Willamena]

When I was a kid, I loved to go to the theatre early, as soon as the doors would open, to sit in the theatre alone, or mostly alone, and just enjoy being there. I would sit to the left side, three rows from the back. They didn't have music or radio playing on the speakers --it was quiet, and still, and there was nothing to look at but a lit curtain, sometimes lit by multi-coloured lights, and I would stare into that curtain until day-dreams came. I would dream in anticipation of the movie, I would dream in memory of events of yesterday, and I would dream big dreams about what might be (or might have been). Those were happy times.

Now I go to a theatre and the doors don't open until shortly before it starts. The theatre fills quickly with bustling, noisy people, pushing to get the best seat it the middle, spilling pop and popcorn before the movie even starts. Popcorn costs as much as the movie. The teasers begin playing as soon as we get into the theatre, and the commercials just before the movie starts. Somehow, when I go by myself, I still manage to find my seat on the left, three rows from the back. I still manage to lose myself in thought, although this time it's with the help of artistic wall designs. And I still manage to enjoy the movie-going experience, dispite all the changes.

I guess the movie rule is, don't bug that strange lady in the back row, just let her be.

 

[cardero]

10. Movies are begging to be judged or critiqued. They are about the only thing that we are allowed to judge. You plunk your money down, you watch the movie and you have the right to your judgment, its that simple. Be honest, do not let irrelevant issues influence your opinion (for example, the air conditioner in the theater wasn't working or I wasn''t feeling well when I saw it). Make sure you watch the movie all the way through and when you and your friends depart from the theater and someone asks "what did ja think"-let er' rip!! You have the right, it is your duty, enjoy it, moments like this do not come along often.

 

[cardero]

Movies can make you think, laugh, cry. They can move you, inspire you and disturb you.


Movies CANNOT harm you. Don’t let anyone else convince you otherwise.

 

[NoahideHiker]

It has to be a blockbuster hit or something we can't wait for to get the wife and I to the movies. People are so rude. We seem to always attract the talkers. The quietest movie we ever saw was Brotherhood of the Wolf. It was a French film that was subtitled. Everyone was so busy reading they couldn't talk. LOL!

 

[Kay]

Especially with a movie like Memento. I’d hate to show up five minutes into the movie just to find out that I missed the ending.

:biglaugh:

 

[Shadow Wolf]

4. Do not arrive to the movie late. Not only is it discourteous to the people who are already seated watching the start of the movie but it is also disrespectful to the people who made the film.

I had a date with a former co-worker to see Saw 3. The only problem was, we had no choice but to be late because we got off work 10 minutes after its listed starting time. Givin the commercial time, we only missed about the first 5 minutes.

-If you decide to go watch the movie stoned, purchase all of your munchies before you get your seat. Constantly getting up and down during the movie to get more munchies will only annoy those you are disturbing to a severe degree.

 

[cardero]

Spending $200,000,000 on a movie does not equal a good movie.

 

[cardero]

You can learn a lot from they types of movies people watch.

 

[Hema]

1. Wait for the movie to come to a complete stop before exiting the experience. Many movies today like to include outtakes, funny credits and even stingers or tags at the end of their films and it would be a shame for you to hear that you missed the most funniest part of the film because you were too impatient to read the credits.

Hah! In Trinidad, at the drive-in cinema, when it's about five minutes before the movie is over, people start to drive off; perhaps to avoid the rush. As soon as the head villian is dead or the two lovers are reunited...vroom - time to leave...no need to stay and see the wedding or anything. Not me though, I stay until the end.

 

[klubbhead024]

I boycott going to movie theatres!!! People are so rude, they answer their phones in the middle of the movie, carry conversations, there are always bags wrestling around, people coughing and sneezing, crap on the floor, and it costs to damn much! I would much rather wait until it comes out on DVD... especially since they put like 10 minutes worth of commercials before the coming attractions even begin!

 

[cardero]

Whenever someone offers to lend you a movie whether it is a movie that you never heard about or a movie that you have always wanted to see, GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY, ACCEPT IT!!! This is what is known as A FREE MOVIE!! What exactly does this mean? Well it could possibly save you up to $9.00 at the box office, $20.00 if it was a movie you planned to purchase, up to $5.00 on pay per view and up to $4.00 if you rented it from a store. Trust me, this money adds up in the long run. It is a free movie, these things do not come by too often.

Don’t feel envious because your friend saw or has it first.

Don’t borrow the movie if you have no intention of seeing it.

Don’t keep the movie for 9 months because you keep putting it off or because you haven’t seen your friend for a long time. A movie is most likely just 90 minutes of your life, so watch it, keep it safe and return it as soon as possible, preferably in better condition than when your friend lent it to you (rewind the video tape or clean a dirty DVD). Plus it would be a good reason to get together with your friend again, if just to see what more FREE movies he wants to lend you.

With a sharing friend who is a movie aficionado, you may never have to pay for your favorite flicks again and who knows, they may just have something you never seen before, so don’t be timid or stubborn, try experimenting.

 

[cardero]

Sometimes you can never go home again.
After renting a rash of movies that have somewhat influenced my upbringing, I couldn’t help but notice that some movies do not stand the test of time (or plot points that could have just as easily been settled if not for the advent of the cellular telephone).Now I realize at the time that these movies are all we had back then, I also understand that they were important in helping me understand not only where I came from but how far I have traveled in my current appreciation of movies today.