That’s the question that Diamond Geezer raised on his blog recently. He rightly notes that the time between a film being released in the cinema and it being released on DVD is becoming alarmingly short. It used to be a year, now it seems to be a few months.
He argues that we should still continue to go to the cinema (a) because it’s cheaper and (b) because it’s on the big screen. In an ideal world (b) would be true. There can be something magical about the shared experience of the audience sitting in the dark. But too often these days the experience is tainted for me by people talking, eating or slurping huge cartons of coke before tossing them aside. Increasingly, I find myself content to wait a few months (or even a year) for the DVD. Yes, it may cost more initially, but I see some good films being reissued at little more than the price of a cinema ticket. And every time I watch a DVD again, the value increases. I estimate that I’ve seen 30% of my collection at least three times and 40% at least twice. Basically, I’m willing to pay good money for a good DVD secure in the knowledge that I can devote my full attention to it, and not be distracted by my neighbours discussing the charms of the actress on the screen.
Geoff Coupe's Blog 
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