The pandemic massively accelerated many trends that were already firmly underway and one leisure activity that must have taken a severe knock on the chin is movie going. Cinemas were in the process of competing against home viewing systems offering large screens and quality sound. That's a hardware issue, but the lockdowns prompted many people to sign up for streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Video. The rapid rise of these on-demand platforms means some movies are produced directly for that market, by-passing the traditional picture house altogether. A significant number of film fans must now be asking themselves whether it's worth shelling out for cinema tickets, not to mention the travel costs and the exorbitantly priced refreshments, when they can group round a 50-inch TV with quality sound output and peruse an extensive choice of viewing from the comfort of their own sofa. Snacking from the fridge as and when required.
Of course, there will always be people wanting to experience the communal surroundings of a movie theatre. But with any business model, if you slice off a significant percentage of your previously semi-regular crowd, this can equate to catastrophic losses over a period of time. The sudden arrival of lockdown and the resulting long-term changes in lifestyle meant the cinema industry wasn't given the time to formulate a strategy to counter declining interest. The danger is a trip to the movies is now seen as expensive, even if those doing the mental reasoning can actually afford the cost. Pubs too have been a victim of this argument. Yet many people think nothing of selling out £50 per month for a smartphone contract. A Netflix direct debit at just under a tenner seems like a bargain but how many millions of viewers just limit their spending to just one streaming service? The poor old picture house is being attacked on several fronts. I've noticed the Vue chain is offering all seats at a fiver. Certainly, Nicole and I were baulking at the £13 (per person!) asked by Odeon in the run-up to the pandemic. A pricing re-think is now surely required across the industry. Extra bums on seats means the fixed running costs can be met by a more affordable ticket rate. But that's a gamble and it may well be tempting for the bosses to simply attempt to wring more cash out of the remaining loyal customer base. I definitely think that has been the case with pubs. No way has the increase in beer prices been merely pegged to inflation over the past 30 years.
Nicole and I decided to travel across to Edinburgh and take in a film, followed by a bite to eat. The bus is now our favoured method of reaching the capital city. I can use the weekly pass I purchase for commuting to work and Nicole can ask for a student ticket. Easy parking at Ferrytoll is guaranteed at all times, which isn't necessarily the case at a railway station. Plus, the coach stops at the West End, just a short walk from the Filmhouse cinema. Opened in 1979 and heavily associated with the annual film festival, the Filmhouse screens a varied programme throughout the year which includes many independent and foreign language releases, the sort of fare that struggles to find a home outside the arthouse circuit. Three auditoriums are housed within the former church, the largest having a capacity of 280. A spacious café/bar offers the chance to relax pre-or-post film, or indeed just drop in as I have done on a number of occasions. A good selection of cask ales is normally available.
I vividly recall my first trip to the Filmhouse. It was 1999 and the main source of cinema listings back then was newspapers and teletext (remember that?). The web was rapidly developing but hadn't yet taken hold among the masses. I rather randomly went to see The Third Man - a 1949 British film noir classic, although I didn't know that at the time. I entered the tiny Cinema 3 and a captivating evening ensued. I was back a week later to see the sizzling Summer of Sam and from then on I became a fairly regular punter. I watched mainstream fare at the Dunfermline Odeon and would take a train across to Edinburgh for more obscure releases. I eventually subscribed to an unlimited pass at Edinburgh Cineworld - a large chain that did also show a fair whack of overseas and independent movies, but still frequented the Filmhouse and the city's other main arthouse - the Cameo - just up the road.
Today we were booked in to see Lingui: The Sacred Bonds. Filmed in Chad with a largely non professional cast, determined and devoted single mother Amina works tirelessly to provide for herself and her 15-year-old daughter Maria. When Amina discovers Maria is pregnant and does not want to keep the child, the two women seek an abortion despite it being condemned by both religion and law. Strong on feminist values, the movie was an enthralling couple of hours. The dialogue was in French and the film has been released in various territories following its premiere at the legendary Cannes Festival. Well worth the £9 per head we paid online. We also had a quick snack in the bar beforehand in order to offer the venue some extra support. Cinema 2 holds around 100 people but today's attendance was - wait for it - just six. Not the smallest cinema crowd I've experienced (that would be me on my tod, several times) and I suppose it added another 50 quid to the worldwide box-office takings. Interestingly, our seats had been pre-reserved but I suspect this was purely a Covid measure. The Filmhouse used to stress that places were available on a first come, first served basis and if a group turned up and only single seats were left, then they sit apart.
I briefly mentioned the Cameo Cinema a couple of paragraphs back and I could be found in this establishment on a regular basis in years gone by. My first visit was to see Trainspotting in 1996. Just 400 yards away from the Filmhouse, the Cameo is Scotland's oldest cinema in continuous use. The Hippodrome in Bo'ness, West Lothian, predates the Cameo by a couple of years but was converted to a bingo hall in the 70s and closed completely in the following decade, before being relaunched in 2009. The historic Hippodrome is well worth a visit but that's for a separate post.
Opened in 1914, the Cameo's main theatre seats 250 patrons but originally more than double this amount was squeezed in. People must have been skinnier then and prepared to tolerate less leg room! Probably all smoking too! Can you imagine the fug? Two smaller screens have been created over the years by purchasing neighbouring shops. In 2005 there was a well-publicised campaign to save the famous cinema, following a takeover proposal that involved converting the main auditorium into a bar and restaurant. Film fans were incensed and successfully petitioned for the conservation status to be upgraded to B-listing, meaning the interior became safe from major alteration. Thankfully we can still enjoy movies while appreciating the amazing architecture. Drinks can be purchased from the 1960s bar (Scotland's first ever licensed premises within a cinema) and taken into the theatre if so desired. The Cameo is here to stay, in its true form!
After leaving the Filmhouse, we walked round to a small sushi restaurant on Morrison Street called Chizuru Tei. The area around Haymarket Station was thronging with rugby fans but we were working on the assumption they wouldn't invade a Japanese restaurant. Fish & chips might have been a different story! We duly snaffled a vacant table in the far corner although I had to dash to the station's ATM as the restaurant was strictly cash only. The exact opposite from the Filmhouse bar. After threading my way through the advancing tide of Murrayfield-bound supporters, I took my seat and ordered up my first ever California roll (pictured above), along with a plate of duck noodles. Many folk wrongly assume that sushi equals raw fish, which in reality occupies just a fraction of the menu. One thing I had failed to spot was the BYOB notice. I could have popped into the nearby Co-op for a couple of beers. Coca-Cola it was then! I love a Japanese feast every now and again and can use chopsticks with a degree of panache. The bill does strain the wallet and a sushi session is best limited to an occasional treat. By the time we left, the rugby was still in progress (a win over England, no less) and we were able to catch the bus home before the kilted and face-painted hordes descended.
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