I was lucky enough to get tickets to see the master and commander at the film 4 summer screen and Somerset house so these are my experiences.
I am not sure if someone has already posted about this event on here, I did a quick search and nothing blindingly obvious came to front. I managed to get tickets to attend last night and god was it a great experience. I have attended open air cinemas before. In America I have been to drive-thru cinemas but they lack a certain togetherness that this kind of venue provides to film connoisseurs looking for something a little more special. For those of you that don't know film 4 hold a film even every summer for a limited about of dates. Films are carefully selected so that they get maximum benefit from the beautiful surroundings, so no scary movie 3 etc. Somerset house is transformed into a giant cinema it has a 35mm projection and surround sound that was almost without equal.
The ticket said to that doors were due to open at 6.30 but I stupidly convinced my girlfriend to stop off in Starbucks in Charing Cross on the way over there. Even so when we arrived at 7.15 there were still plenty of decent seats available. By seats I mean empty patches on the ground because there were no seats here, you were required or rather recommended to bring your own creature comforts here. So cue masses of sheets, blankets, pillows and cushions. Arriving to this type of event it sort of like an anti-music concert, Instead of arriving as early as possible to get a good spot near the front so you can see your favourite bands up close, you are getting there early so you don't get stuck with a spot that's going to require you to get neck surgery later on.
I eventually found my spot and it was a nice section in the middle of the court yard surrounding my hundreds of other people. The screening had two shops on the inside. A food hut that was strangely lacking popcorn, which I didn't understand and I was left with having to buy sweets and crisps - another bad point was that they only provided the option to buy single packets, No massive sharer packets were available which seemed rather silly to me. Drinks as well were lacking and only bottles were available. It was as if someone had gone down to the local Tesco and stocked up beforehand rather than providing genuine over-priced cinema food this was just stuff that I could have brought myself. The drinks hut was strange too; Jamison’s whisky had obviously bribed the event organisers because this was the only alcohol available. My girlfriend not being the big whisky drinker that I am decided to skip and glared at me when I didn’t come back with the promised pint of beer.
The music was surprisingly good, although advertisements said that dj's would be playing before the film, I had expected a guy/girl behind decks spinning records from the latest ministry of sound album but it was pleasantly surprising to see the DJ was playing nothing but famous film scores so it turned into a game of trying to identify what score belonged to which film. Songs I got stuck on were the al Capone hotel theme from "the untouchables" and the theme from "Wall-e" notable mentions that sounded brilliant on the night were the theme from "American beauty" and nearly all the "kill bill" songs.
The film eventually started at 9.15 on the dot and it was a totally different experience seeing it in a nice surrounding. The night was perfectly clear and the stars were out. Everyone started the film sitting up and by the end of the film, everyone was pretty much laying down on the floor and it looked like a massive slumber party/sleep over. I've never seen a film look or sound better and this is including IMAX as well. At one point I could hear some noise coming from the left hand side of the courtyard, I looked up to see what it was as did many others only to realise it was the film and it was the surround sound - It really is that good!
When you see tickets for sale next year, Don't miss out! I have included some pictures, sorry about the quality but they are from an iphone 3gs, not the ideal night time camera.
I am not sure if someone has already posted about this event on here, I did a quick search and nothing blindingly obvious came to front. I managed to get tickets to attend last night and god was it a great experience. I have attended open air cinemas before. In America I have been to drive-thru cinemas but they lack a certain togetherness that this kind of venue provides to film connoisseurs looking for something a little more special. For those of you that don't know film 4 hold a film even every summer for a limited about of dates. Films are carefully selected so that they get maximum benefit from the beautiful surroundings, so no scary movie 3 etc. Somerset house is transformed into a giant cinema it has a 35mm projection and surround sound that was almost without equal.
The ticket said to that doors were due to open at 6.30 but I stupidly convinced my girlfriend to stop off in Starbucks in Charing Cross on the way over there. Even so when we arrived at 7.15 there were still plenty of decent seats available. By seats I mean empty patches on the ground because there were no seats here, you were required or rather recommended to bring your own creature comforts here. So cue masses of sheets, blankets, pillows and cushions. Arriving to this type of event it sort of like an anti-music concert, Instead of arriving as early as possible to get a good spot near the front so you can see your favourite bands up close, you are getting there early so you don't get stuck with a spot that's going to require you to get neck surgery later on.
I eventually found my spot and it was a nice section in the middle of the court yard surrounding my hundreds of other people. The screening had two shops on the inside. A food hut that was strangely lacking popcorn, which I didn't understand and I was left with having to buy sweets and crisps - another bad point was that they only provided the option to buy single packets, No massive sharer packets were available which seemed rather silly to me. Drinks as well were lacking and only bottles were available. It was as if someone had gone down to the local Tesco and stocked up beforehand rather than providing genuine over-priced cinema food this was just stuff that I could have brought myself. The drinks hut was strange too; Jamison’s whisky had obviously bribed the event organisers because this was the only alcohol available. My girlfriend not being the big whisky drinker that I am decided to skip and glared at me when I didn’t come back with the promised pint of beer.
The music was surprisingly good, although advertisements said that dj's would be playing before the film, I had expected a guy/girl behind decks spinning records from the latest ministry of sound album but it was pleasantly surprising to see the DJ was playing nothing but famous film scores so it turned into a game of trying to identify what score belonged to which film. Songs I got stuck on were the al Capone hotel theme from "the untouchables" and the theme from "Wall-e" notable mentions that sounded brilliant on the night were the theme from "American beauty" and nearly all the "kill bill" songs.
The film eventually started at 9.15 on the dot and it was a totally different experience seeing it in a nice surrounding. The night was perfectly clear and the stars were out. Everyone started the film sitting up and by the end of the film, everyone was pretty much laying down on the floor and it looked like a massive slumber party/sleep over. I've never seen a film look or sound better and this is including IMAX as well. At one point I could hear some noise coming from the left hand side of the courtyard, I looked up to see what it was as did many others only to realise it was the film and it was the surround sound - It really is that good!
When you see tickets for sale next year, Don't miss out! I have included some pictures, sorry about the quality but they are from an iphone 3gs, not the ideal night time camera.
