Should movies start featuring intermissions again? (The Irishman)

Scorsese's upcoming movie The Irishman is three and a half hours long and probably won't have an intermission. It's basically never done now. I know The Hateful Eight had one for some of its showings, but that's because Tarantino really respects the old. If you can sit still for three and a half hours, I commend you, but most people can't, which is why long plays and operas have had intermissions for centuries. If I have to use the pause button, there is a problem. I don't want to be tempted, because that makes it harder to pace myself. Plus, I could unknowingly pause it somewhere very important. They're talking and the next second someone is shot, for example. It throws off the pacing. I'd much rather have it stopped somewhere ideal.

I like the idea of a built-in intermission for exceptionally long movies.

Yes, it's unhealthy for sitting too long.

Good idea. I'd be in support of any move over 2 hours having an intermission. With longer movies having longer intermissions.

Intermission?

3 hours is a long time but no I don´t think an intermission should be put in, but then again I never go to a theater I wait for it to come out on Blu-ray and watch it at my home-theater which is 100 times better.

Movie theater chairs have evolved into la-z-boy's unlike how it used to be similar to sitting on a cement. 210 minutes in a comfortable, reclining chair? Sure. The same time in an old cement like chair with springs poking your arse? No.

Do people really have trouble sitting through long movies? I mean sure, if the movie sucks, I'll get bored, but that's an issue with the film's quality, not length. Sitting still and paying attention to something on a giant screen for 2-3, even 4 hours really shouldn't be difficult, if you're interested in that thing to begin with. Go to the bathroom before it starts. And for home viewing? I don't think directors should be concerning themselves and messing with the pacing of their films in order to cater to people who have some bizarre aversion to the pause button.

If it's a three and a half hour mark, sure. Absolutely.

Cutting stuff out and changing it (Once Upon A Time In West) can completely ruin it and change the entire context of scenes.

If you really don't think the runtime matters, then I dare you to watch the movie Out 1 in a single sitting. The uncut version. I double dare you.

Most of the people who will be watching The Irishman are the older generation, who will be in more pain sitting still for that long. It's unhealthy for everyone.

It only feels long if the movie is slow or something. Endgame was 3.5 hours long, wasn't so bad.

I do like intermissions though for bathroom breaks. It's gotten to the point where I don't drink anything at the theater or before the movie simply so I don't have to go during the movie.

@ezekiel43: if you need to bring up a completely ridiculous outlandish example of a 13 hour movie to make this point, it's clearly not a real issue. Also, literally every person over 50 I've ever known is more than capable of sitting in a chair for 4 hours. They do it every single day, if not more. You can say "it's unhealthy" all you want, and you're probably right. Doesnt change that the vast majority of people do it, including old people.

I wouldn't mind it, but it would have to be a "real" intermission, at least 5 minutes long maybe even 10, so it gives me enough time to go to the restroom and back.

But I don't go to the movies so, ha, jokes on Hollywood.

Plus this is a Netflix film, just pause it when a scene is over.

Any pics of your home theatre?

I'd rather not have to. Harder to pace myself, like a worker looking at their watch.

I don't understand, what is this "pace myself"? You watch, you stop it, you take a break, look at Twitter for 2 minutes, you continue.

Or I could just keep watching without the ever-present temptation to pause that hurts the movie's flow, until I get to a controlled stop somewhere that is ideal. I tend to feel refreshed after an intermission, more ready for the second part. Honestly, if a movie has to rely on a pause button for the sake of its viewers, that's a flaw. The pause button isn't part of the movie, it's external.

Citation needed. My coworkers and I sit all day. We need those breaks, if only to stretch out our legs and breathe. Most people don't like sitting for four hours straight. Outside of work, I'm a hermit, always in my home theater or before my computer, and even I hate sitting for that long.

I don't get why you guys are so opposed to this idea. As I said, plays and operas have had intermissions for hundreds of years. Why are you against this for long movies now?

@ezekiel43: I'm just pretty sure that most people don't need an intermission, are perfectly capable of sitting and watching an entire movie when they make a point of going to a theater to do exactly that, and would actually be more annoyed by the additional 10-20 minutes they would be forced to spend at the theater for a movie that's already very long.

And for home viewing, the pause button makes this a non-issue. I don't even know what you're talking about with this, "ever-present temptation to pause", and "movies relying on pause buttons" nonsense. Nobody makes a movie thinking about where people will want to pause the home video. That's ridiculous. They make movies to be watched, and when you watch them at home, you can pause at your own convenience. If you have some kind of uncontrollable urge to pause constantly just because you can, that sounds like a you-problem, and a weird one at that.

I don't need an intermission, am capable of sitting through a 2-3 hour movie, but I would prefer an intermission. This would make the movie more enjoyable for me -- especially going to see a movie with family.

Plays and operas also have live performers doing shows nightly. They have intermissions not just for the benefit of the audience, but for the actors as well--to change costumes, touch up makeup, bathroom breaks, what have you. The last time I recall movies having intermissions were some of the bigger musicals or epic films from the 1950s, but then again, Hollywood didn't put out too many 3 hour plus movies back then either. With modern movies, it almost practically the norm.

In this day and age, I don't see too many studios or theater chains liking the idea for intermissions because they want to get as many showings for a movie as possible--a scheduled intermission interferes with that, even if it's only for 10-15 minutes. While I'm not disagreeing with you, the idea of an intermission in a modern movie just seems... antiquidated.

Its coming out on neflix 20 days later.

Hell no. Don't want intermissions.

I usually get up, take my piss, and return without missing a whole lot. It is what it is. An intermission could be cool, but I can usually live if I miss a few minutes of dialogue.

Depends how compelling the movie is. If time flies from me being entertained, I can sit for quite a while.

Nah, that's what the pause button is for.

Going to theaters is for chumps!

Yeah, I think it would help. I hadn't watched a long movie such as Avengers: Endgame in a while. Thought I really needed a break while seeing that even though it was good.

Not only that, but in opera (and I assume it goes for other theater, just don't have any non-opera experience), there are clear delineations of the acts and where to put the intermission. I don't 100% recall if composers themselves put the intermission into the score, I don't have a score handy, but for the most part, each Act/scene is self-contained. It's easy to take a break in between acts, as it doesn't disrupt the storytelling and thematically the acts are completely different. (I hope that made sense)

A lot of movies do not have such a clear delineation, so it would feel forced and out of place. I wouldn't be opposed to an intermission in movies if the movie was constructed in a way that an intermission would feel natural

Nah

I'm fine with or without intermissions, but yes, I do agree that movies need to bring them back. It gives you time to go to the bathroom or get some more popcorn without missing anything.