I was watching 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) not long ago and I sat through the intermission in the middle of the movie. During that short break, I just sat there collecting my thoughts, even though I’ve seen the movie several times before. I love that portion of the film. It shows nothing but black and has an eerie, yet mesmerizing score throughout. It only lasts for about three minutes.
Then it hit me: why don’t movie theaters show intermissions anymore? They don’t take long, and they give the audience a break from the film. Almost every live show (play, musical, etc.) I’ve attended has had an intermission. The shows can be up to three hours long, and having that twenty-minute break is beneficial to the audience.
Think about it: many movies have long run-times, and some people are already dying to use the restroom as soon as the credits start rolling. I know I’ve been there, and I’m sure you have too. I hate missing a single moment of the movie, and I don’t have the convenience of pausing the film for a restroom break. Asking the projectionist to pause the reel for my benefit is certainly not an option.
I’m happy to oblige when someone needs me to move out of the way so they can get past me, but it can be distracting at times. Having an intermission could help prevent that.
Sometimes people need to stretch their legs after sitting for a certain length of time. I’m grateful for that reprieve while I’m watching a play. It would be rude of me to spontaneously stand up and stretch during a movie – I wouldn’t blame my fellow audience members for throwing popcorn at me if I did.
This may be a hard pill for me to swallow, but an intermission would also give the rude moviegoers a chance to talk amongst themselves. They could talk about the film or whatever else their chatty little hearts desire. That’s their business, and if they need to let it out, that would be their chance. I believe in proper theater etiquette, but this break would allow an exception for those who can’t keep quiet for two-plus hours.
I think intermissions should be included in films that are at least two-and-a-half hours. Shorter movies likely wouldn’t require the break.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) hilariously spoofed the intermission by having one that lasted about five seconds. The mental image of an entire theater getting up out of their seats, then immediately sitting down when the “Intermission” sign went away, is hilarious! While that joke was for comic effect, the movie is only an hour-and-a-half long. It didn’t need an intermission, but I’m still happy that it had one for laughs.
If my memory is correct, I think I had to use the bathroom right after each of the Lord of the Rings movies. They were all at least three hours long, and I couldn’t bring myself to leave the theater. I was too engrossed with the story unfolding in front of me.
Intermissions started to fade away in the 1980s. Gandhi (1982) is one of the last mainstream films known to have an intermission shown in the theater. I’m not sure why cinemas stopped using them.
I would like intermissions to be brought back on an “experimental basis,” even if for a short time. They should play again in theaters, just to see how audiences react. I even have friends who have said they couldn’t get into some movies, purely because of the length. I wonder if an intermission will help them change their minds.
To the powers-that-be, bring the intermission back. The short break doesn’t need to be an inconvenience.
Happy watching!
