DVD versus Cinema . . . a Cultural Change?

As someone who relishes most things visual, I am a definite movie lover and have enjoyed home cinema in one way or another for years and been frustrated that films are not available when they are ‘hottest’. The traditional 17 week window between cinema release and DVD release is under threat – Disney intend to release Alice in Wonderland (by visionary director Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp) after 12 weeks instead. To be honest, most films have burned out at the box office by this time anyway, so Odeon’s newly announced refusal to show the movie is more about preventing that window from shortening further . . . or at all.

I cannot help thinking this is the start of a cultural shift in attitudes to movies which just might make them more of a visual art form. Whilst Cinema corporations are gasping at the idea, the best visual movies are such treats that even a 42″ screen does not do them full justice. Avatar is a good example. It will be stunning on big screen TVs, but not as stunning and let’s face it, the crowds love a spectacle.

Personally I think it would be great to have faster access at home to movies when they are fresh in the audience’s mind and I really hope that it would give greater incentive to reach toward true artistry, something which need not require a huge budget. Indeed, some of the most visually aware movies have required a fraction of the budget of big-budget flops which lacked vision or adequate narrative structure.

I say, bring it on – reduce the DVD release window and let the revolution begin . . . but make it one Kubrick would have believed in! Give it vision! Give us genuine reasons to love the huge screen cinema experience too and restore the kind of awe audiences had when cinema was new. Let cinema do what it does best! Then everyone wins . . . Short screening runs for average fodder, longer for the visionary spectacles, low or high budget!