There’s been a lot of talk this year about the future of movie theaters and whether a group of four is willing to drop $60 on tickets when they can watch Dune at home. First off, don’t watch Dune at home; see it on the biggest screen imaginable. Also, while staying home might be easier, it’s a less than ideal way to watch a movie.
On Tuesday, director Quentin Tarantino dropped by The Late Show, where he was asked by host Stephen Colbert to “make the case” for still going to the movie theater. “I think the main reason is, TV’s fun. It’s good. I’ve carried memories that I’ve seen on television for most of my life. But when it comes to watching a movie — and I’ve seen many movies that have become some of my favorite movies and the only way I’ve ever seen them is on television — but it’s also a disposable experience,” he answered.
Tarantino continued, “When a movie comes out that you’re interested in enough to see, and it makes you leave your house and buy a ticket and you can do anything in the world you want to do that night, but you decide to go see a film, one film in particular.” That’s when you have “an experience” with a bunch of strangers, he said, “and once the movie gets going, once the lights are down, you become a collective… There’s you by yourself, but then there’s all of you together. And you start appreciating the movie in that way.” The experience isn’t always good (there’s a lot of bad movies!), but when it is, “those are the things that stay in your mind and that you remember for the rest of your life.”
I believe the wise poet Vin Diesel said it best:
it’s the way Vin Diesel says “the movies” for me pic.twitter.com/59LqfpKd9Q
— Sam Muñoz (@samunoz19) April 25, 2021
You can watch The Late Show clip above.