‘Attraction’ Cries Out for Movie Grandeur

The summer of ’93 will likely go down in the cinema history books as the summer to beat. Are studio executives and movie producers jumping for joy? Yes and no. They are happy that the money continues to roll in but unhappy that the number of tickets sold remains “steady.” Producer Robert Cort’s proposal to increase revenues by implementing a variable pricing schedule for movies, depending on their appeal, is interesting, but like everything in Hollywood, unoriginal and problematic (“One Price Doesn’t Fit All,” Calendar, July 25).

As Cort is aware, Hollywood has used different pricing policies for years. In Hollywood’s Golden Age, studios routinely paired many of their less attractive “program features” in double bills. The ideas was to lure an unsure audience away from an A film like “Gone With the Wind” with two B features like the “Andy Hardy” films. Two for the price of one.

When television exploded throughout the country in the early ‘50s, Hollywood made many attempts at recapturing its lost audience. One of these became the “Roadshow Attraction.” Expensive, prestigious productions such as “Lawrence of Arabia” and “The Sound of Music” were initially presented in magnificent grand theaters. Tickets, for reserved seats, were sold in advance. Going to the movies was a special event, much like going to a play or concert.

Cort’s “vision” is still practiced, in part, to this day. Disappointing films are quickly double billed in an effort to extract a few more dollars before resurfacing in video stores. Other films, “Jurassic Park” and “The Firm,” for example, deliver entertainment. They are well-made, and the closest thing we have to the “Roadshow Attractions” of yesteryear.

Cort is basically proposing that we reinstate the “Roadshow Attraction” policy with films like “Jurassic Park” and “In the Line of Fire.” Unfortunately, one of the main ingredients for this concept to work is missing. The majority of theaters in this country are little better than a large-screen TV and unsuitable for the grandeur of “Roadshow Attractions.” Would anyone pay $12 to see “Jurassic Park” at a multiplex in a shopping mall? It seems painful enough to pay $4 for bargain matinees and have to sit in cramped seats and watch a series of commercials before the movie starts.

Then again, $7 can seem like a bargain at the Cinerama Dome or the El Capitan. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough of these grand theaters to make the increased cost a viable alternative to Hollywood’s stagnant attendance problem.

Cort might find better success for his proposal by lobbying theater owners to build larger screens in larger theaters with better sound systems, to make going to the movies the grand experience it used to be.