The Self Preservation Society

In my ongoing mission to support Columbus area movie exhibiting in its many incarnations, I attended the Studio 35 theatre for the first time in ages Friday night. My excuse for going was a one-night-only screening of the 1969 version of The Italian Job, which I'd never seen, but I've always had a soft spot for the Studio, and not just because they serve local microbrews on tap. It's been around since the late 30s, and as such it's got more character than the prefab multiplexes around town. Theatres like this are a dying breed, and can use my patronage more than the big chains.

But I was in for an unpleasant surprise when the movie began- the screening was taking place on *gasp!* projected DVD rather than film. Of course, I stuck around, since I wanted to watch the movie, but I was pretty miffed. The Studio screens all of their new movies on film, so one would assume that maybe they'd get film prints of the classics as well, and if not, that they would be honest enough to admit as much on their web site. Unfortunately, this isn't an isolated incident for them. I've been attending the Studio for years, mostly for screenings of older films, but in the last few years- since they were bought by their present owners, come to think- more and more of these screenings have been projected video.

Now, I can guess why this is happening. It's a financial issue- film rentals are too high, and these screenings aren't well-attended enough to justify the cost. Besides, most people don't care. With practically everything going digital, most people won't complain, and in their eyes the somewhat lower quality is a small price to pay for the big-screen experience. Still, that's not what I go to a place like the Studio to see. The digital projection takes me out of the old movie-house experience. Show me a movie as it was meant to be shown, folks. Is that too much to ask?

I suppose it is. In order to keep Studio 35 open to the public, certain corners have to be cut in order to turn a profit. Showing a one-off late-night screening of an older movie on digital rather than film is a relatively minor concession, born more of financial necessity than negligence. It's certainly not as distracting as the wacky projection at the Drexel Grandview, not to mention the shitty sound system in auditorium 3 at the Drexel East, which gurgled so much today during a screening of Molière that it sounded like the orchestra was playing the score underwater. I skipped out on that film for that reason, while I was able to reconcile myself to the digital projection of The Italian Job at Studio. Still, in future I'll think twice before seeing a movie there. If nothing else, I'll be sure to call ahead to inquire how they'll be projecting the films.