jeffers.
if you value an audience so highly, why do you demand they be a moribund lot of stiffs? i grew up in movie theatres where people screamed at each other and talked back to the movies. some of the best lines ive heard came from the audience, not from the screen. my experiences in these theatres were full of life, even when life was sometimes threatened with a punch to the head or a hand to the crotch. ssshhers hadnt yet discovered the movies. they sat comatose in opera houses. whenever i hear these silencers making their awful, evil sounds, i get punchy. once i got yelled at by some creep for talking for a moment when the film broke during a screening of the sacrifice. this dope demanded reverence be maintained even when the film was off the screen. and talk about not being able to shut up. you should talk. just last week, an awful woman told you and me not to talk about a movie that had played the festival and she missed. she was so afraid of us ruining a movie for her that she might see in the future that she was near throwing up with anxiety. and you just kept on talking about it nonetheless. my belief is that when you go into a public place, you have to put up with the public, whether that public is telling you to shut up, or is disturbing you with their commotion. y'all up here in seattle take movies way too seriously. this is fine if its a serious movie, but when it's something like king kong, you risk becoming an imbecile. lighten up, jeffers. not everybody is as interested in reading every last credit as you are. Most of the audience just wants to get the hell out of the theatre as fast as possible. i know I do.

If you recall, the lady you mentioned didn't want us to discuss any movies we had seen. I mentioned the film I was talking about had finished its run at SIFF and she said she might see it later. I did avoid saying anything that might seem like a spoiler after that, but her request was a bit extreme and I was annoyed. You on the other hand remained mute and expressed your opinions to me later (Bill has the ounce of common sense I lack). Do you recall this person later walked out of the movie?
I’ve been to shows where fights broke out. I’ve seen plenty of outrageous theater behavior. Haven’t I ever told you my New York stories? I myself was nearly thrown out of the Neptune once (pre-Landmark) when I drank an enormous bottle of wine with two friends and things got a little out of hand in the back row of the mezzanine. I appreciate the fact that people will quite naturally make noise. It is impossible to be silent. I do try to ignore as much as I possibly can. Distractions make it harder to concentrate on the movie and audiences are less well behaved and less respectful of each other than they used to be.
This is a topic we have discussed frequently. I have come to realize through your observations and advice, that I do not respect the audience myself. Like I said, I struggle with this. Lately I’ve concluded, going to shows where the audience is primarily cinemaphiles, will likely be a calm and distraction free experience. Bad behavior and I are old friends, you’d think I would know better. If a disturbance gets too out of hand, someone else will say something.
I’m much more interested in what you think of my approach to viewing films.

I'm with you on watching movies in theaters instead of at home. I don't have a big enough television or enough patience to give a film the attention it deserves when I'm watching a DVD. And seeing things with a crowd of suitably behaved people in the dark makes the experience all the better.

You lost me on the credits part though. I don't understand the reverence for watching the names scroll across the screen. The movie is over. If I want to know who took care of digital penis removal (actual credit in Science of Sleep) I can look it up on IMDB.

Thanks for your comment. I prefer to use the television for my research on film, a great tool when used with a dvd player. As far as the credits, the only way to get the complete credits is to get the press packet, which is often incomplete, or watch them at the end of the film. IMDb doesn't scratch the surface most of the time. End credits include music, locations, all production credits, thanks, and acknowledgements that are never listed completely in online resources. And from time to time, IMDb, like all Internet sources, is wrong.

Often there is useful and interesting information in the credits; sometimes there are little post-credit treats (count on a Joe Dante movie not being over till it's over); but mostly I like to take the credits as a time to meditate on my feelings on the movie, appreciate the music played under the credits (even if it's Peebo Bryson or Shadows Fall), gives me time to dry tears (although often the music doesn't help with that). It helps me decompress. My response, even to movies I don't like, is still sufficiently intense that I welcome a long crawl, to the point that, with Vertigo, say, I resent the fact that I have to get up and leave 20 seconds after Scottie is cured of his vertigo. I'm actually puzzled that more people don't stay through the credits--it doesn't have much to do with memorizing all the best boys of the world, although you're certainly welcome to do that, I'm sure the best boys of the world would appreciate it. And there's the part where the aisles are clear when you finally get up to go--that's good, too.

I'll never understand why anyone would leave during the credits, unless they're in a rush to get somewhere afterwards. I often come across revealing information that isn't listed in the press packet or official website or IMDb or whatever. Plus, there are a lot of directors who sprinkle little "goodies" throughout their credits, but you won't know that if you leave before they begin. Even mainstream movies like the "Harry Potter" series & the first "Pirates of the Carribean" have included some fun surprises at the very end. Glad I stuck around to enjoy 'em.

Brilliant observations! Very well put! I totally forgot about the little rewards! Doesn't it seem like they are usually at the end of comedies? This would be an excellent trivia category. There was a good one at the end of Duck Season, the mother standing in front of the TV, I think she's eating one of the 'special' brownies, for about one second! And I detest the moo-cow shuffle when everyone jumps up to leave at the same time.

The last time I was at Columbia City Cinema, they started letting in the crowd for the next show while the credits for Batman Returns were still running, and then simply shut the projector off before they were done! (Thanks so much Paul)
As always, the shrewd one, I am with you sis!