Correction Appended
The era of home entertainment of a society in which people more often choose to rent a DVD than to head out to the theater means the movie theater experience is becoming increasingly scarce.
This winter, the Dartmouth Film Society will combat the idea that all formats are created equal with the film series "Size Matters." And although the size of the screen in Spaulding Auditorium 24 by 32 feet contributes a great deal to the enormity of the series, it is the movie-watching experience as a whole that DFS hopes to resurrect this term.
All of the films on the roster were chosen because they are best experienced in a large format - whether for reasons of renown, plot, aesthetics or ideology.
DFS is comprised largely of Dartmouth students, and proposals for series themes often come from students, director AJ Fox '09 said.
Fox is a former member of The Dartmouth Senior Staff.
This term, however, the idea for "Size Matters" came from Hanover resident and DFS directorate member Dennis Moore. According to both Moore and Fox, appreciation of the greatness and grandeur of film was central in creating this year's theme.
Fox said he sees the age of iPods and personal DVD players as a minimization and personalization that disrupts the communal nature that used to feature so prominently in watching a movie. The series represents a return to the big screen and the way movies were meant to be seen.
For example, "Avatar" (2009), which will be screened on Feb. 21, employs production techniques that intentionally defy the notion of making movies for DVD, Fox said. Such films, however, are now rare exceptions, signaling a dramatic shift from the bygone years when movies were created solely to appear on the big screen.
According to Moore, the series premieres at an opportune time. With the construction of the new visual arts center, the Spaulding Auditorium's large screen and its 900-plus seats may no longer be the chosen venue for DFS to use for its series, Moore said.
He explained that only a large screen can do justice to a movie like "Gladiator" (2000), wherein a cast of thousands brings to life scenes that take place at the Colosseum, a venue famous precisely for its size. "Gladiator" will play on Jan. 13.
Moore also emphasized the personal fulfillment that comes from seeing a movie on the big screen.
"We like to be enveloped by the movie screen. Through this series we replicate the group experience," he said.
Moore said he hopes showing the films of "Size Matters" in their intended form will transport viewers back to an age where the experience itself was essential to the movie as it was when he was younger.
"Many of these movies call up an earlier era, when people only saw them on the big screen, dressed up for the movies and talked about them afterwards," he said.
The DFS serves as a forum for people like Moore, who want to share the experience of movie-watching, during its weekly discussions. The series represents an attempt to bring that relationship with film to the greater Dartmouth community.
"The nature of movies, I would argue, more than any other art form, is about bringing people together," Fox said.
The series, featuring films from a variety of eras and genres, should attract a wide range of audience members. Two 1939 blockbusters, "The Wizard of Oz" (screened Jan. 4) and "Gone with the Wind" (March 6) bookend the series, with less well-known but equally significant films in between, including "Napoleon" (1927; Feb. 24) and "Children of Paradise" (1945; Feb. 28).
Such lesser-known films, Fox argued, merit just as much attention from audiences as the big-budget epics on the roster.
Fox emphasized this point with the example of "Napoleon," a silent film directed by Abel Gance. The reel expands near the end of the film such that it no longer fits on the screen, a physical manifestation of the message the series' theme conveys.
This term, the Dartmouth Film Society will also present the Dartmouth Film Award to documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman. While past recipients like Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon and Laura Linney have drawn crowds with their remarkable stardom, this year's honoree brings a slightly more invisible but equally important presence.
Wiseman has spent years examining institutions of society and how well they function, if at all. According to Fox, his films have been critically acclaimed for their ability to make a statement through observation, whereas many other filmmakers perhaps the most famous of which is Michael Moore, director of "Fahrenheit 9/11" (2004) seek out only the evidence that supports their already formed political agenda.
"He doesn't insert any aggressive didacticism," Fox said.
Wiseman's most recent work, "La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet" (2009), follows the performance of the company's dancers against the backdrop of the impressive 19th-century venue of the Palais Garnier. The film has gained recognition in major cities like New York and is currently making its way into regional theaters.
The tribute, scheduled for Jan. 15, will include a highlight reel of his greatest works, a screening of "La Danse" in its entirety, the presentation of the award and an onstage discussion with Wiseman and film professor Jeffrey Ruoff. "Size Matters" runs from now through Mar. 6.
