Classic movies – better on Blu-ray disc?

For myself the best way to watch a film is at the cinema (no brainer) however there are cinemas and there are cinemas the usual suspects the big chain multiplexes are ok but leave a lot to be desired in many respects. I profess to being something of a film buff you know art house movies etc. I am fortunate to live a short commute by train to one of the best art house cinemas in the country the Showroom in Sheffield it is redolent of the film buffs enthusiasm and a sheer delight to go watch a movie with like minded enthusiasts.I sometimes visit my local multiplex,recently I saw there the superb Life of Pi. I saw it in the 3D format and the use of this format was brilliant. But yes I catch up with movies I have missed on the BBC etc. I do not use pay TV. I also have a number of DVDs of many of my favourite films but not as yet in BLUE-RAY though I do have a player. I have a Blue Ray version of Jack Hazan’s A Bigger Splash the fly on the wall documentary of the life style and working life of David Hockney also I have a Blue Ray of Glyndebourne’s production of Purcell’s Fairy Queen.But that’s it apropos Blue-Ray discs though I do hope to add to this list in the future. Some of the titles you mentioned in your article will probably be some of them.But I do emphasize, if you can the best way to watch a good film is in a good cinema with excellent projection technology. I missed the re-release of Lawrence of Arabia but I hope to catch up with it.If ever you needed evidence about my enthusiasm for CINEMAS see this film in the cinema(the thoughts of watching on small tablets or other such gadgets is of course a joke) I rest my case.

Whatever media is used for the Video part of the film is, to me and probably to thousands of other deaf people, largely irrelevant. The other part, the audio sound track is not available as we are deaf, and rely on a well subtitled version to get a complete understanding of whatever it is being presented.

In the last 20 years I’ve seen one main stream film shown at a sensible time…. last year’s subtitled version of “Skyfall” shown at 3.30 pm at a local multiplex cinema….. but the ‘Screen’ in which this was shown was deserted apart form myself and two others. This was in contrast to the sell out at other ‘Screens’. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, albeit feeling a mite lonely!

In vain I look for the letter “S” ( Subtitled) on the majority of Sky TV offerings and as for the alternative open to me , “T Loop”, the local Cinema complexes and the hugely expensive hi tech building which forms the SAGE theatre on Tyneside, fail abysmally when it comes to a solution to the problem of accessible sound reproduction for the partially deaf. BUT, when I attend my local Church Services, the sound of the celebrant’s voice is delivered with crystal clarity to my hearing aids as they pick up the T Loop produced, by the installed low budget PA system.

Blue Ray may be wonderful to watch but does the re-mastering bestow subtitles alongside the video content? When THAT aspect of media reproduction is given due consideration, I’ll lash out and buy a Blue Ray player