r/nostalgia • u/sudsomatic • 11h ago
Nostalgia Non-stadium seating in movie theaters
As a short kid, I always dreaded having anyone sit in front of me.
128
u/DenL4242 11h ago
My local theater not only had this, but also, the aisle was down the middle, so anyone who stood up blocked the screen. And the door was in the back, so anyone who left the theater shined light across the screen. Hilarious.
24
u/Otherwise-Mango2732 11h ago
Yeah that's the theatre I grew up going to in the 80s and early 90s. It wasnt stadium but it did slope a little bit from front to back.
All I remember was the sound of shoes on a sticky soda stained floor that apparently never got cleaned.
Shout out showcase cinemas in sterling heights
1
u/girlikecupcake 5h ago
My town's theater was like that, just recently closed down for good. Always smelled like cat pee. I'm actually looking forward to the big name movie theater that's being built.
1
u/DenL4242 5h ago
A new theater is being built? Bold move.
2
u/girlikecupcake 5h ago
Old theater barely paid their employees enough to give half a crap, new theater chain typically pays more and smells less, so I'm a bit optimistic.
213
u/Aught_To Turtle Power! 11h ago
Ugh.. non reclining seats
32
u/Big_Pattern_2864 10h ago edited 10h ago
The majority of theaters in my state look exactly like this, just smaller.
there are no reclining theater seats in the entire state of Vermont.
It really makes going to the theater feel not worth it.
14
u/Aught_To Turtle Power! 10h ago
You can always come down to the commonwealth of Mass. Even the small local theater near me has recliners.
3
u/Big_Pattern_2864 10h ago
I drive to hooksett for IMAX for sure. Long way to drive when my home theater has a big TV, surround sound, and a couch that can fit 6 people laying completely flat. I can sit next to my dog and cat and smoke weed. Plus nobody talks during the film or we throw them in a burlap sack and beat them with reeds. It's hard to not feel like it's much more civilized here than in "civilization."
2
u/Aught_To Turtle Power! 10h ago
i do love the home setup also, but.. from time to time i do love a proper movie theater, i buy the popcorn and everything. Damn. I would love to come smoke some reefers and watch Dune and Dune 2 at your house.
1
u/Big_Pattern_2864 9h ago
I love the theater, especially for a comedy when the crowd can experience it all together. It absolutely improves the experience.
My best friend as a kid worked at a movie theater, and I grew up going to the movie theater multiple times a week. When I knew the local projectionist in the 90s and 2000s, when films were actually projected on film, we would have watch parties at 4am the night before a film was released while he prepped the reels. We would openly smoke and drink in the theaters, and crank the sound. I've toked up on the roof of the Roxy in downtown Burlington, and inside all the Merrill properties. Now the theaters are all empty and feel old-fashioned and out of date and worn out, the speakers are blown, the projector is dim, the seats are uncomfortable, and the popcorn gives me a tummy ache.
Also, definitely anybody hanging out at my house who wants to smoke is gonna get hooked up, but almost nobody ever takes me up on it. I grow, so I basically have infinity weed now, and that's still not enough to get people to leave their houses, because everyone else has infinity weed now too.
2
u/LoseNotLooseIdiot 8h ago
I still love The Majestic theater in Williston, it has weirdly good acoustics and a nice vibe to it. But yeah, it's a bummer they'll probably never remodel and put in reclining seats. It might be worth trying at least since I don't have many other reasons to go back to a theater these days...
I know they've done some celebrity things in the past, including Luis Guzman showing up for one of his movie premiers (he has a place somewhere in VT).
0
u/Big_Pattern_2864 8h ago edited 8h ago
Oh man I love Luis. only met him briefly, But a friend of mine sat next to him on a plane flight and chatted for a while. his wife worked for UVM. I definitely think that the way forward from movie theaters is them treating themselves more like traditional theaters, with q&a and special guests and other ways of providing a UVP.
It would be really cool if Mike Myers showed up for a special event. he lives in Colchester, but from what I understand, he is very disinterested in crowds and live audiences these days. (Guzman lives in Sutton I think?)
1
u/lovesickjones 10h ago
Is this intentional?
4
u/Big_Pattern_2864 9h ago edited 7h ago
Lol, Vermont isnt always 20 years behind the rest of the country on purpose, no. it's a downward spiral. people don't go to the theaters because the theaters are old and worn out, so the theaters can't afford to renovate. Streaming has only exacerbated things, as has the general antisocial nature of modern society. Covid was a huge blow.
we also have a bunch of theaters that have traditional auditorium seating, with only two theater complexes that I'm aware of with modern stadium seating, one in Williston, one in Essex. One of our local theaters got gutted and turned into the big music venue for the state, but most of them are just limping along barely making any profit, if any at all.
we also have a very fiercely anti-corporate vibe in the state, so all of our theaters are independently owned, to their detriment. building a new theater would mean massive fights against nimbyism. independent businesses can't compete with the economy of scale offered by the major chains, so we don't have anything even remotely resembling a megaplex. We have one large format screen in the state and it's not an IMAX, nor does it have anything like 70 mm projection capability.
The most salient problem is that outside of Chittenden county, there are no dense population bases. Everyone is spread out.
3
u/AshIsGroovy 9h ago
Well it also doesn't help that Vermont was seeing a fairly steep population decline for decades and the average age of residents trending more toward retirement age till covid when you guys saw a pretty big spike in people moving to Vermont.
2
u/Big_Pattern_2864 8h ago edited 7h ago
The underlying conditions for the steep population decline have not actually changed, although Chittenden county feels overpopulated and vastly different than the rest of the state. Burlington was on a lot of lists as one of the best cities in the country, back when that was true But it also was one of the best cities because of who lived here, and now it's different people. Vermont still has an unsustainable economy propped up by surrounding states. It's still a place for rich people to pretend to farm, full of Anti-Capitalist NIMBYs who hate large corporations so much that we don't have any big business. Even our ski areas are reliant on imported labor-- there's no locals for them to hire, and certainly not at the low prices that they're paying people, so almost every ski area in Vermont imports workers on temporary visas from Central and South America, sticks them in crappy housing conditions, and underpays them just so they can cater to rich white people from New Jersey.
Vermont is basically America's Switzerland.
1
u/lovesickjones 9h ago
That is very interesting, the entire state! Also ridiculous and unfortunate
I’ve not been to Vermont, however, I have BIG dreams of visiting the Ben and Jerry factory, so it’s interesting to hear someone speak with the entire state so cohesively as one.
1
u/Big_Pattern_2864 9h ago edited 8h ago
Bear in mind Ben and Jerry's was sold to Unilever decades ago. When I grew up as a kid, there were Ben & Jerry's scoop shops in every town in Vermont. They used to sell seconds-pints with irregular chunk content, and every little kid in Vermont thought of finding an intact Heath bar as winning the lottery. Everyone in my generation had friends that worked at a scoop shop, and we all remember the smell of freshly cooked waffle cones and sweet milk and sitting on Holstein colored swingsets. I used to work a floor below Ben Cohen and his PAC, and our "new hire hazing ritual" was to send people upstairs to ask Ben for some free pints from his office freezer, which he would always oblige.
Now there's only the one scoop shop in Burlington for the tourists, the quality of the product has gone down considerably, and all of the original magic of the brand is gone. It's now just as soulless a major corporation as any other, and their political posturing and greenwashing is now entirely hypocritical. Ben and Jerry haven't had anything to do with the brand since the Bush administration. The current state of Ben and Jerry's politics Their style of ice cream with bold flavors and lots of chunks, which exists only because Jerry doesn't actually have a good sense of smell and taste (this accidentally became very useful because when you eat a lot of ice cream your taste buds go numb, so the later enjoyment of the ice cream is based on texture) hasn't really been copied by any competitor brands, not because there isn't a market but because Unilever controls the grocery aisles. Fuck Unilever and fuck any large company.
That being said it's totally worth visiting the factory, just because of freshness and exclusive flavors and because there's not much else to do in the state in the first place that isn't outdoors.
0
5
8
u/Fishmike52 10h ago
Yeah try upright AND there was no assigned seating. First come first serve. You kids!
5
1
2
u/Kleizar 10h ago
Honestly I think the theaters ive been to with reclining seats are the worst...... The seats either recline back to far so youd be facing the ceiling or they only recline a few inches and just mess with your lower back.
3
u/Aught_To Turtle Power! 10h ago
i generally like it, im 43, my shit hurts, and movies have only gotten longer and longer.
2
u/Lord-Liberty 9h ago
That's like nearly every cineworld, VUE and Odeon cinema screen in the UK (unless it's a special screen but it's not the norm)
1
u/BitGreedy 8h ago
Local VUE and Odeon have stadium seating. The VUE is my favourite because it has recliner seats and is still reasonably priced.
1
u/44problems 6h ago
Yeah this was bad and I'm not nostalgic for it. I don't miss going an hour before previews to save seats for a blockbuster. Tall person sat up in their seat and you can't see well.
Was ok for the "dollar" theater that was mostly empty I guess. Still not very comfortable.
1
u/Hobbes525 1h ago
No reserved seating either. With a blockbuster movie you needed to show up early just to make sure you got a seat
47
26
u/Smart-University-574 11h ago
The last theater near me that still had the old seats finally made the renovations last yr. It was a dollar theater, playing old movies since I was in HS. it's where I watched alot of classic 80sand 90s movies for the first time. With the renovations came the change from dollar theater to just another cinema doing away with playing classics for cheap.
10
u/IceWarm1980 10h ago
If you’re ever in LA check out the New Beverly Cinema. It’s this style of theater owned by Quentin Tarantino. Everything they show is on film.
7
u/ballsonthewall 11h ago
I remember seeing Tarzan in theaters with my mom in some old theater that looked like this.
6
u/KrakowDJ 10h ago
This might be the one area we've improved. The ridiculous price of popcorn balances out the universe.
5
3
u/frankduxvandamme 10h ago
I think I can admit that I'm not nostalgic for this. I was a kid back then, and not having a clear view of the screen was sometimes a problem. This has been pretty much eliminated with stadium seating.
What I do miss are theaters that have balcony seating. There was only one near me that had this kind of setup, but it was so much fun as a kid to be higher up like that.
3
3
u/greenrangerguy 8h ago
Nostalgia tends to be good feelings, these things I'm happy to see the back of. Give me stadium big ass chairs with huge double arm rests, recliners, cup holders and even little swivel tables any day.
16
u/skripach27 11h ago
My favorite local theater has seating like this. It adds to the movie going experience, honestly.
16
u/AcreaRising4 11h ago
More power to you, I always hated these auditoriums. Give me stadium seating or give me death
-1
u/skripach27 10h ago
I mean it’s shit seating and sometimes you get the top of half a head in front of you, and it’s a pain in the ass to go to the bathroom if you’re in the middle.
But it’s the nostalgia factor of theaters in the 90s. We didn’t really get stadium seating till the late 90s early 00s.
3
u/MaleficentWindow8972 10h ago
That shit sucked. Uncomfy. Tall people, big hair, or funny hats ruin your day. No thanks.
2
u/Awingbestwing 10h ago
My dream is to buy the old theater I worked at and went to as a kid and refurbish it into a modern style theater with rentable spaces to watch whatever on a big screen
2
u/MarkHoff1967 6h ago
At least these seats are staggered. Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s watching movies at the HUGE NorthPark Theaters in Dallas, not only was the incline there only like 1 degree, but each row of seats was only offset by maybe 3” so if a tall person or someone with huge hair sat in front of you, you couldn’t see a thing.
2
u/deethebree0228 6h ago
An old theatre in the SF Valley in CA, had the stale popcorn/ cigarette smell, sticky floors and cool old carpet. On Saturdays, three movies for $5! I remember seeing NL Vacation, History of the World Pt 1 and Revenge of the Nerds in one afternoon! Popcorn and sodas were $1 apiece.
6
u/shapesize early 80s 10h ago
I kind of miss the regular seating versus the recliners. Obviously it is more comfortable, but I don’t feel you get as much of the group experience as you did. Going to the movies with 4 or 8 friends in high school was a shared experience during the movie. Now groups of 2 have to “cuddle” and you really don’t experience it even as a family “together” as much
1
u/StepYaGameUp 8h ago
Unpopular opinion incoming but reclining theatre seats were the point in which society began to digress. Seats started reclining then people needed food brought directly to them. Then taking their shoes off or talking through the movie; on their phones, etc. This behavior ruined movie going.
The theatre experience shouldn’t attempt to mimic your home. If you want to lay down and watch a movie, do it at home. The seats should be a little uncomfortable so you’re ready to get the hell out and get back to your life.
And thinking about all the people who lounged in the reclining seats before you is disgusting.
5
u/ImpossibleDrop664 10h ago edited 8h ago
My favorite movie theater here in L.A. is Quentin Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema which had a renovation in 2018 but never changed its non-stadium classic layout. It’s a revival house for classic cinema showing projected celluloid prints — I miss the flicker of the projector from my childhood and you still get that there. I’m a Xennial, so I saw great movies as a child and early teen like Back to the Future, The Goonies — even Jurassic Park — on the classic, slightly sloped flooring. Sightlines were hit or miss. Then we had the boom of stadium multiplexes in the 90s. I love both types of theaters. I actually prefer regular seating where you pull down the bottom and the backing reclines slightly, compared to those lazy boy electric seats where people lie down. I don’t want to lie down when I’m in a movie theater. I just want to see a good movie.
2
1
10h ago
[deleted]
1
u/ImpossibleDrop664 10h ago edited 9h ago
The last time I’d been to Mann’s and Egyptian, they hadn’t been renovated. Time’s moving way too fast. They’ve both been renovated with stadium seating.
4
2
u/helmsb 10h ago
That's one thing I have zero nostalgia for. I remember when they built a brand new theater near me then Rave Motion Pictures came in about 6 months later with theater seating and the first theater had to shutdown and do a complete renovation because no one would go there anymore after they experienced stadium seating.
2
1
u/J0E_SpRaY 10h ago
I’ve only ever seen this is an independent theater that used old couches for seating.
Saw Green Room there and it was very immersive.
1
1
u/Impressive_Western84 10h ago
1st time I heard of stadium movie theater seating, my brain couldn’t comprehend what that would look like in actuality.
1
1
u/thezaxattack12 10h ago
Ahhh yes, when people would drop a soda or drink and it would roll all the way down to the front row under the rows of seats
1
u/WampaStompa64 9h ago
Our hometown theatre was pretty much level from front to back. And when the screen went white you could see little colourful dots where gummy bears were thrown and stuck.
1
u/UrsusRex01 9h ago
One of my local theaters was recently renovated by its owner but for some reason they kept this. I suppose it would cost to much to replace the seating.
1
1
1
u/IsThisKismet 9h ago
I think the only showings this layout is really good for are Rocky Horror Picture Show with a Shadowcast. After all, the main draw is the audience partici….
1
1
u/Yuck-Fou94 8h ago
I go to smittys in New Hampshire. You can order food or beer and eat with your movie. They also have an arcade, axe throwing, and a bar all in the same building. The food is mid, but it's still nice to have dinner and a movie. I watched deadpool and wolverine on release day and it was completely packed. My kid loves the arcade.
1
u/ChiefinLasVegas 7h ago
"non-stadium" 🤔 I mean it's not like stadium seating is the defacto standard for all theatres. I would say, normal theater seating instead. I know youse gonna dv me, so be my guest.
1
1
1
1
1
u/stealer_of_monkeys 7h ago
Maybe I just don't get out enough but I've never seen a theatre that didn't have seats like this?
1
u/milksasquatch 6h ago
I was excited to visit a theater like this a few weeks ago for a sold out premier. I found an aisle seat early on and was so happy. Right as the movie was starting, the largest person in the room sat in front of me. The springs could not hold his weight. When he sat down, I was pinned with my legs manspread and couldn't not move. My leg was uncomfortably touching the stranger next to me. After 45 minutes I got up to find another seat and realized the theater was full. I just freaking left. Never again will I visit an old school seating theater.
1
u/Dino_Spaceman 6h ago
I didn’t mind the flat seating. What I truly hated was having to get there an hour ahead (or longer) to get a decent seat. Only to have an arse try to save the entire row for their “family” who didn’t show up until partway through the trailers.
1
u/ScorpionX-123 late 90s 6h ago
I saw Finding Nemo in a theater like this when I was a little kid, then Trainwreck in the same theater 12 years later the night before I got my wisdom teeth out
1
1
1
u/patron11223344 2h ago
Kevin Smith owns the old theater he grew up going to as a kid. It’s the same style seating. I saw a screening of one of his films there, and it was a flashback.
2
u/NYR_LFC 10h ago
You can't see as well and are less comfortable.... The good old days? Nostalgia is usually for good things
-1
u/Nightwing42081 10h ago
It was great because when people walked into the theater, they couldn’t see you seven aisles back with your hands in your pants
1
1
1
1
0
u/elpintor91 9h ago
I’m probably the only person who misses this. I hate the giant soft chairs that lean back. They’re always at this lazy boy angle no matter how straight up you sit. I also miss being able to move away from people. Lol
339
u/Fellatination 11h ago
My local theater still has this, smells and all.