Cinemania

I went into this afraid that it would be awfully reflective of myself, especially as the year comes to an end with over 500 logs - almost 550, actually - under my belt. I thought I would see me somewhere in these people, a film freak who only talks about niche directors who would never be household names or would only sit in the bargain bins unappreciated by a general public. And while I could see that sometimes - again, 550 logs - I also found that I was a lot better off than these people in some ways.

I do love movies, sometimes to an unhealthy degree, but they are not my whole life. They are merely a part of it. I read and spend time with my loved ones and go to a job; therein lies the insanity of these people. They go on disability and yell at ticket takers and force themselves to be constipated just so they don't miss a moment on the big screen. Some don't even watch television, because they think movies displayed on one cheapens the art form. I can't connect with these people, and I am thrilled about that. But even then, they don't seem anything akin to the reality TV world that has grown since this documentary's release. They lack something that in turn distances them from their reality TV counterparts and, in some weird way, brings them closer to the real world and makes them harder for a viewer to feel a connection to. It's actually quite jarring.

I went into this afraid that it would be awfully reflective of myself, especially as the year comes to an end with over 500 logs - almost 550, actually - under my belt. I thought I would see me somewhere in these people, a film freak who only talks about niche directors who would never be household names or would only sit in the bargain bins unappreciated by a general public. And while I could see that sometimes - again, 550 logs - I also found that I was a lot better off than these people in some ways.

I do love movies, sometimes to an unhealthy degree, but they are not my whole life. They are merely a part of it. I read and spend time with my loved ones and go to a job; therein lies the insanity of these people. They go on disability and yell at ticket takers and force themselves to be constipated just so they don't miss a moment on the big screen. Some don't even watch television, because they think movies displayed on one cheapens the art form. I can't connect with these people, and I am thrilled about that. But even then, they don't seem anything akin to the reality TV world that has grown since this documentary's release. They lack something that in turn distances them from their reality TV counterparts and, in some weird way, brings them closer to the real world and makes them harder for a viewer to feel a connection to. It's actually quite jarring.

this movie made me realise i wanna watch more movies.there letterboxd must go crazy.loved showing them watching ti at the end.good for a documentry ig?

this movie made me realise i wanna watch more movies.there letterboxd must go crazy.loved showing them watching ti at the end.good for a documentry ig?

I wish was better because it’s so interesting

I wish was better because it’s so interesting

really interesting artifact of this era in the NYC rep film scene. I wish it focused a bit more on the theaters themselves, but the glimpses we do see are great.

really interesting artifact of this era in the NYC rep film scene. I wish it focused a bit more on the theaters themselves, but the glimpses we do see are great.

An obvious companion piece to my Vinyl watch yesterday. Both of these docs are odysseys of sorts into the world of obsessives, specifically obsessives for antiquated media consumption which has consumed their lives to an unhealthy extent. While Vinyl is told through the lens of someone just as invested in this realm as his subjects, Cinemania adopts a more traditional documentary form as it follows a cast of five New Yorkers whose lives are planned around attending at least one or two screenings a day. They share strong opinions on projection, on film selection, on the home video market. One of them even apparently choked a theatre worker for ripping up their ticket stub. And yet for all its discomfort there's something about this crew that reads a bit more optimistically than their Vinyl counterparts. Yes their lifestyle being so defined by repertory houses is clearly at the expense of healthy living but they find companionship among each other and other buffs living vicariously through the screen. At one point, they even mull the idea of living normally and scoff at it as ridiculous. Maybe it's because their pursuit reads closer to home for me but I found myself endeared to this band of outsiders, this crew prowling their way from Film Forum to MOMA to Japan Society to Lincoln Center all to spend a couple of hours in a dark room with strangers getting lost in the flickering light. It sure as hell makes me feel better about my own watching habits.

An obvious companion piece to my Vinyl watch yesterday. Both of these docs are odysseys of sorts into the world of obsessives, specifically obsessives for antiquated media consumption which has consumed their lives to an unhealthy extent. While Vinyl is told through the lens of someone just as invested in this realm as his subjects, Cinemania adopts a more traditional documentary form as it follows a cast of five New Yorkers whose lives are planned around attending at least one or two screenings a day. They share strong opinions on projection, on film selection, on the home video market. One of them even apparently choked a theatre worker for ripping up their ticket stub. And yet for all its discomfort there's something about this crew that reads a bit more optimistically than their Vinyl counterparts. Yes their lifestyle being so defined by repertory houses is clearly at the expense of healthy living but they find companionship among each other and other buffs living vicariously through the screen. At one point, they even mull the idea of living normally and scoff at it as ridiculous. Maybe it's because their pursuit reads closer to home for me but I found myself endeared to this band of outsiders, this crew prowling their way from Film Forum to MOMA to Japan Society to Lincoln Center all to spend a couple of hours in a dark room with strangers getting lost in the flickering light. It sure as hell makes me feel better about my own watching habits.